A life-changing secret destroys an unlikely friendship in this “magnetic” psychological thriller from the Edgar Award-winning author of Dare Me (Meg Wolitzer). You told each other everything. Then she told you too much. Kit has risen to the top of her profession and is on the brink of achieving everything she wanted. She hasn’t let anything stop her. But now someone else is standing in her … her.
But now someone else is standing in her way: Diane. Best friends at seventeen, their shared ambition made them inseparable. Until the day Diane told Kit her secret — the worst thing she’d ever done, the worst thing Kit could imagine — and it blew their friendship apart.
Kit is still the only person who knows what Diane did. And now Diane knows something about Kit that could destroy everything she’s worked so hard for.
How far would Kit go to make the hard work, the sacrifice, worth it in the end? What wouldn’t she give up? Diane thinks Kit is just like her. Maybe she’s right. Ambition: it’s in the blood . . .
Shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award
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Unexpected ending. She’s an excellent writer.
Boring actually. I kept hoping things would pick up….but not so.
Kit Owens is surviving high school but not living up to her true potential when Diane Fleming arrives at her school. Diane awakens a fire in Kit and the two form an unlikely friendship that propels Kit to academic success in her senior year. She and Diane study together and push each other to reach to be the best. Kit can’t help but feel bad for her friend, who lives with her grandfather after the death of her dad. But all that changes when Diane shares an explosive secret with Kit, one that changes the way she views Diane and basically ends their friendship. Ten years later, Kit has tried to put Diane (and her secret) behind her. She’s working in the lab of a female scientist, Dr. Severin, whom she’s idolized for years–a woman Diane first helped introduce her to. But when Dr. Severin earns a prestigious grant and Kit learns that Diane is suddenly in the running for one of the coveted spots to work with the Doctor on the research, the past comes rushing back. Soon Diane and Kit find themselves over their head, with secrets and horror lurking around every corner.
So, I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this one as I started it, but it grew on me. It’s not really a pleasant read, at all, and none of the characters are ones you’ll really love, but it’s very compelling and there’s a slow, foreboding creepiness that keeps you reading. I read this one quickly, as it’s dark, twisty, and intense and very easy-to-read (as in, a page-turner, not the subject matter).
“My mom always say, you don’t have a self until you have a secret.” ~Diane
The novel flips between the “then” and “now” format, with Kit narrating to us. It’s a female-centered book, and it easily depicts women’s uphill battle in the workplace. It also shows the complicated feelings of our female characters: Kit has a lot of thoughts. Her struggle from a poor high school student to doctor is a fascinating one, even if I found her hard to empathize with. You won’t necessarily agree with a lot of these characters’ (sometimes outlandish) choices, but you’ll find them oddly fascinating. I enjoyed how the novel delved into the darkness of friendship–and some of the competition that can come with it. Diane and Kit’s relationship is dark and intense, as is the entire novel, really. The secrets that layer this book unravel slowly and eerily, and it really does keep you reading.
I especially thought this one was redeemed or bolstered by its ending; often a thriller is so good and then deflates at the end, but I actually thought this one got a little better at the end. The ending is really well-done, and I didn’t feel let down whatsoever.
Overall, this is a dark, intense, and compelling psychological thriller. It’s not exactly packed with loveable characters, but they are flawed, interesting, and–at times–quite creepy. You’ll be drawn in by its twisty plot and complicated portrayal of friendship and secrets. 3.75 – 4 stars.
The book divided in Now and Then chapters brings you into the world and friendship of Kit and Diane. Kit and Diane meet in summer science camp. Kit living a life of a smart teenager caught up in wanting to have fun and lives with her mother barely scraping by. Diane not only smart and affluent but appears to be perfect in both looks and actions. One night they share a cabin with two other girls at camp and decide to share their worst secret about themselves. All participate except for Diane. One day Kit looks up and there is Diane now a student at her high school. The two are both in an AP science class together and this really begins the twists. From high school to professional lives Kit and Diane are forever determined and intertwined. The whys and connections slowly unfold to bring you to a surprising ending.
Too repetitive!
No one builds a female world quite like Megan Abbott. It’s as if she understands something about women the rest of us don’t know yet. It’s possible she is an omniscient mythical creature or is on her 7th reincarnated life. I do not know how she does it.