“Mean Girls meets Donna Tartt’s The Secret History with a little bit of Riverdale mixed in. So yeah, it’s epic.”–HelloGiggles“In People Like Us, Dana Mele delivers the Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars young adult novel you’ve been waiting for.”–BustleKay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she’s reinvented herself entirely. Now she’s a star soccer player … past, and she’s reinvented herself entirely. Now she’s a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. But when a girl’s body is found in the lake, Kay’s carefully constructed life begins to topple. The dead girl has left Kay a computer-coded scavenger hunt, which, as it unravels, begins to implicate suspect after suspect, until Kay herself is in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. But if Kay’s finally backed into a corner, she’ll do what it takes to survive. Because at Bates Academy, the truth is something you make…not something that happened.
Debut author Dana Mele has written a taut, sophisticated suspense novel that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
more
I LOVED this murder mystery, and would highly recommend it. I’ve read so many thrillers (and I write them, too!), so it was such a treat to read one that genuinely surprised me in the most satisfying way. Dana’s writing is stellar, the characters are dynamic, flawed, and fascinating, and she did a masterful job at placing the red herrings. I read this book in two sittings (on two flights over the holidays). Plane rides usually stress me out, but I was so absorbed in this story I was barely aware of my surroundings.
Have you read Dana Mele’s PEOPLE LIKE US yes?
What are you waiting for?!
Propulsive and twisty, Dana Mele’s debut YA thriller is an emotionally charged thrill-ride set at an all-girl’s boarding school, where the popular girls are on blast in a murder investigation, and no one’s secrets–or hearts–are safe.
I loved the inclusion of not one but like ten LGBTQ characters and all the literary references. And the mystery is really fun to try to solve along with protagonist Kay. Read it for the literary Easter eggs, the complicated relationships, and twisty mystery. I tore through PEOPLE LIKE US, and I highly recommend adding it to your TBR!
It started out great, but the ending was predictable.
I liked all but the ending!
I think that this book started off really strong. I was really captivated by the drama and mystery. Also, I think this book was thought provoking. The writer made the reader think about how the same event can be perceived differently by each person involved. I feel like there are times in our lives that we see things so completely different than they actually occurred and those perceptions can change our actions and feelings towards others. It is really scary to think that if we just viewed something differently, our lives could have been on a completely different trajectory. I enjoy books that allow the reader to do some self reflecting and I believe this book did.
That being said, I think that there were a little too many “twists” that may have actually taken away from the story itself. I think that as the book was nearing an end, it said things that didn’t seem to flow with the rest of the story and maybe could have been said sooner or just taken out all together. I did enjoy the book, but there were a few things that may have added a little confusion to the reader and didn’t add to the suspense or mystery.
Holy freaking crap. I honestly don’t know to think after finishing People Like Us. I just finished and I still this anxious jittery feeling because although I had some answers, the ending is very much left open to interpretation.
I listened to the audio version of People like us and the narrator did a remarkable job, she had me so entrenched in the world of an all girls boarding school that dealt with so much more than my high school did, at least that I was aware of. Their were some mean and nasty girls in this school, and I found it rather shocking to be perfectly honest with you. The things they said and the way they treated each other was truly beyond my comprehension.
I thought that People would be a lot like One of Us is Lying, but it actually ended up being more like Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy. But a little more sinister, dark and psychological. When I finally made it to the end and all of the secrets were revealed I was honestly shocked! I thought that I knew Kay so well, but I feel like I had her completely misjudged the entire time I was reading.
I sit here questioning rather I would recommend People Like Us to a friend, and I think I would because quite frankly I need to talk to someone about this book and the ambiguous ending. I will be thinking of this story and slowly digest for a some time to come.
Great read! Keeps you guessing until the end. Excellent character development.