People Like Us by Dana Mele - OPTIONAL

People Like Us by Dana Mele, 375 pages. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2018.  $18.  

Content: Language: R (101 swears; 12 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.  

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW  

One night Kay and her friends go to the pond by their school to skinny dip, but when they get to the pond, they see a dead schoolmate floating in the water.  As the investigation starts to unfold, Kay feels like she is a suspect for the murder.  And life gets even more complicated for Kay when she receives an e-mail from the dead girl.  The e-mail forces Kay to play a cruel game in which Kay has to reveal the secrets of all of her friends, otherwise Kay’s biggest secret will be reveled, a secret that would make her look guilty in the murder of the classmate.  

This book sounds so good, but it is poorly executed.  Kay and her friends are bullies, making it impossible to like any of them or care what happens to them.  There are parts of the book that are bogged down with too much detail, dragging the story line and other parts that are repetitive.  In the end it was a disappointing read.  

C. Peterson