Carly was Audrey's cousin and her best friend. Her dad was convicted of the murder, but Audrey knows there's no way he did it. Now, she's determined to find out the truth.
Neily is the one who found Carly's body. She was his ex-girlfriend-- the one who broke his heart and publicly humiliated him, but the one he couldn't get over. He feels guilty that he didn't answer his phone the night before her death, and can't let himself off the hook for not helping when he could have.
Neily and Audrey are NOT friends. But Audrey needs Neily's help to prove that her dad is innocent... and Neily agrees to help because he can't get Carly out of his head. So a year after Carly's death, these two begin an investigation into the behind-the-scenes at their exclusive school.
I've been reading more YA Mysteries than usual. I guess I've just been in that kind of mood. This book was everything that you would want in a mystery. It was suspenseful, entertaining, and had me completely addicted.
The kids in this book are for the most part privileged... but that doesn't stop them from getting into some pretty dark stuff. After Carly loses her mother, she trades in her loving-boyfriend Neily, for the popular, drug-dealing Adam. She drops out of the special honors program and she starts keeping secrets, even from Audrey, the one who brought her the popularity. The evidence against Audrey's dad for murder seems open-and-shut... but the cops don't know the inner workings of the popular kids the way Audrey does.
Neily has always hated the crowd that Carly and Audrey got mixed up in. He never had time for people that were so caught up in themselves. So, he would like nothing better to bring down the guy who stole Carly from him--the guy who took a sad girl who had just lost her mother, and changed her completely.
I liked that the book was told in alternating perspectives... but I think I would have been just as happy if it was narrated by only Neily. He was the character that got my attention. He was almost too smart, but also completely damaged inside from Carly's betrayal and death. I really liked reading about his pain and insights.
So, if you're reading this and you like a whodunit mystery, you should definitely try All Unquiet Things! It kept me guessing until right before the end. I did figure out who did a few pages before it was revealed... but couldn't figure out why. Actually I'm still a little foggy on why.
OVERALL: A true YA Mystery that will keep you guessing and also pull at your heartstrings. It's part grief and part mystery book. A book you could read in a day for sure!
How I got this book: I own it
Date Published: 1/12/10
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Add it to your To-Read List!!
This Book Contains:
- An exclusive prep school
- Southern California
- Rich kids
- Diary entries
- Drugs
My Rating: 4.5/5
I'm so glad you liked this one because I've really been wanting to read it! It's been on my TBR list forever. I don't read much mystery either but this just sounds so intriguing. Also, doesn't it seem like privileged kids in books sometimes get into the most trouble?! Great review!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written and unpredictable. I like how it bounced between Neily and Audrey's point-of-view. It was a complex, mulit-layered book. A great read!
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