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A review by liralen
Wicked Little Secrets by Kara Taylor
3.0
Note to self: In the event that I have children, do not send them to an incredibly uppity prep school. (Unless they set the gym on fire and have no other options -- but really, I think I'd find another option.)
Anne is actually a lot of fun. She has the bitchiness of a Gossip Girl-type character, but the writing's far better, and Anne's a lot more complex. She knows she's spoiled, and she knows she's a bitch. But she's also aware enough of the effect of her words to think about what she says, and who she is saying it to, and, well, temper her temper as needed.
In some ways I liked this a great deal more than [b:Prep School Confidential|13411546|Prep School Confidential (Prep School Confidential, #1)|Kara Taylor|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1362062511s/13411546.jpg|18668960] -- I love the idea of digging up a decades-old mystery, especially one that the school wants to keep buried. I couldn't care less about the romance, but at least the male leads are interesting rather than just pretty; I'm not sure Anne actually likes her new friends, but she does an admirable job of balancing her interests in partying and clothing with trying to stretch outside the Wheatley box.
On the subject of Wheatley: I have been trying, with no avail, to figure out exactly where it is located. Fictional school, fictional town, I get that. But I'm pretty sure it's geography relies on a rather skewed map of the Boston T system. Tentative verdict: Green line; more evidence to be collected from the next book.*
It's sometimes hard to sympathise with these characters; many of them are the unpleasant or vapid products of too much yes and not enough hard work. That said, Anne pulls through with her determination to find the truth and recognition of the fact that yes, it is probably a futile search. I had some trouble following the what-actually-happened, but I was so glad to see the Matthew Weaver mystery from the previous book followed up on.
*This is unlikely to matter to anyone unfamiliar with the Boston T system. Wheatley is supposed to be about 15 minutes outside Boston. At a guess, it's supposed to be on one of the Green line branches; Anne and Brent go to Fenway Park via T on page 5 without any mentioned train changes. Later (page 199), she mentions switching trains to get to Downtown Crossing, which rules out Red and Orange -- and, honestly, it's hard to imagine Wheatley on the Blue line. But. Why would someone on the Green line go to Downtown Crossing to get to Boston Common, when Park Street is a) closer and b) on the Green line? And when Anne pulls an in-one-door-and-out-the-other-side move (page), she's on a stretch of the Green line where the doors only open on one side.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
Anne is actually a lot of fun. She has the bitchiness of a Gossip Girl-type character, but the writing's far better, and Anne's a lot more complex. She knows she's spoiled, and she knows she's a bitch. But she's also aware enough of the effect of her words to think about what she says, and who she is saying it to, and, well, temper her temper as needed.
In some ways I liked this a great deal more than [b:Prep School Confidential|13411546|Prep School Confidential (Prep School Confidential, #1)|Kara Taylor|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1362062511s/13411546.jpg|18668960] -- I love the idea of digging up a decades-old mystery, especially one that the school wants to keep buried. I couldn't care less about the romance, but at least the male leads are interesting rather than just pretty; I'm not sure Anne actually likes her new friends, but she does an admirable job of balancing her interests in partying and clothing with trying to stretch outside the Wheatley box.
On the subject of Wheatley: I have been trying, with no avail, to figure out exactly where it is located. Fictional school, fictional town, I get that. But I'm pretty sure it's geography relies on a rather skewed map of the Boston T system. Tentative verdict: Green line; more evidence to be collected from the next book.*
It's sometimes hard to sympathise with these characters; many of them are the unpleasant or vapid products of too much yes and not enough hard work. That said, Anne pulls through with her determination to find the truth and recognition of the fact that yes, it is probably a futile search. I had some trouble following the what-actually-happened, but I was so glad to see the Matthew Weaver mystery from the previous book followed up on.
*This is unlikely to matter to anyone unfamiliar with the Boston T system. Wheatley is supposed to be about 15 minutes outside Boston. At a guess, it's supposed to be on one of the Green line branches; Anne and Brent go to Fenway Park via T on page 5 without any mentioned train changes. Later (page 199), she mentions switching trains to get to Downtown Crossing, which rules out Red and Orange -- and, honestly, it's hard to imagine Wheatley on the Blue line. But. Why would someone on the Green line go to Downtown Crossing to get to Boston Common, when Park Street is a) closer and b) on the Green line? And when Anne pulls an in-one-door-and-out-the-other-side move (page
Spoiler
219I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.