One of Refinery29’s Favorite Books of October 2019!Award-winning author Laurie Petrou makes her YA debut with this atmospheric thriller exploring the addictive pull of revenge.What you see isn’t always what you get. Stevie never meant for things to go this far. When she and Dee–defiant, bold, indestructible Dee–started all this, there was a purpose to their acts of vengeance: to put the bullies … their acts of vengeance: to put the bullies of Woepine High School back in their place. And three months ago, Stevie believed they deserved it. Once her best friend turned on her, the rest of the school followed. Stevie was alone and unprotected with a target on her back. Online, it was worse.
It was Dee’s idea to get them all back with a few clever pranks, signing each act Love, Heather–an homage to her favorite 80’s revenge flick. Despite herself, Stevie can’t help getting caught up in the payback, reveling in every minute of suffering. And for a while, it works: it seems the meek have inherited the school.
But when anonymous students begin joining in, punishing perceived slights with increasingly violent ferocity, the line between villain and vigilante begins to blur. As friends turn on each other and the administration scrambles to regain control, it becomes clear: whatever Dee and Stevie started has gained a mind–and teeth–of its own. And when it finally swallows them whole, one will reemerge changed, with a plan for one final, terrifying act of revenge.
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Wow!
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I am a bit blown away but probably shouldn’t be. In some ways you could see the ending to this coming a mile away and in others it was completely unexpected. I was actually pretty much bawling by the end of the book. But I really liked it also because of that. It definitely made me think and feel.
The book is about a girl named Stevie, who, over the course of a year gets bullied by the popular kids in school after her and her best friend start hanging out with them for a while. Though they like her friend better and she does something that makes one of them mad and gets on the outs with them and becomes a target. She then meets a new girl who, like her has a love of old movies and they decide to get back at some of the bullies by pulling pranks and leaving them signed “Love, Heather” like the movie Heathers from the 90’s where two kids get back at all the popular kids by killing them off.
Soon other bullied kids are pulling “Love, Heather” pranks and things begin to get out of hand at the school. There are a lot of side characters and most of the story revolves around things that go on In Stevie’s life and how everyone reacts to her. The thing about the book and these high school bully situations is that we all really like to see the bullies get their due. Because in real life we have all seen it and really they never do, or at least as far as we can see.
That is why movies like Heather’s are so popular and why the pranks take on a life of their own. But in the book as in life, the bullies don’t ever just take things lying down. It all comes to a head and Like I said, it is expected but unexpected and overall it was really worth reading. It wasn’t like anything I have read before and it did surprise me in the end. I know that is a bit wishy washy, but I really don’t want to give away too much. But also want to say I really did like it.
This is a real hard look at the high school experience. The situations that everyone goes through, Sometimes it makes the reading rough but that’s just because it hits home.
The book starts off really slow, and that made it hard to stay interested in it or to just keep my focus on it. I don’t know whether to recommend you give this a shot. It’s so so for me.
Upon finishing this book, I had to take time to exhale and think. This is a powerful read and will touch on subjects that may be difficult for some.
It is brilliantly written and I beg of everyone to give this book a try. It will resonate with everyone because everyone has been or knows someone who has been bullied in one way or another. The feelings Stevie is bombarded with and the bullying she goes through will hit close to home.
Love, Heather makes us take a step back to wonder if we are part of the solution or the problem when it comes to bullying.
It takes on the breakdown and dissolution of systems. Family, friendships, school, and worse of all, self.
This is a fantastic read and an accurate portrayal of the trials teenagers of today are going through.
The way Laurie Petrou has of making you feel, understand and sympathize with Stevie throughout the story is phenomenal.
The tension in this book kept mounting until it simply exploded! When it did, all my emotions came rushing fourth. This! THIS! Is so worth the read!
A powerful must-read. This author hit the nail on its head with this book.
I received an ARC via NetGalley of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own!