Beware that Girl

by Teresa Toten

For fans of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars comes a tense thriller of secrets, lies and obsession.

Kate O'Brien has always been known as the scholarship kid, running away from a terrible past and overcoming obstacles, some more sinister than others. She's determined to make a better life for herself. She deserves it. And at the elite Waverly school, Kate is willing to do whatever it takes to climb the social ladder and land her spot at Yale.

There's one girl in particular who catches Kate's eye. Olivia Michelle Sumner, all born blonde and rich and just messed up enough for Kate to latch on to. As for Olivia, she's a damaged girl, looking to be mended. She finds something promising in Kate. A study buddy. A best friend. A sister she never had. But even a vulnerable girl like Olivia has her own dark past to contend with.

When the handsome and whip-smart Mark Redkin joins the Waverly administration, he manages to woo the whole student body, paying particular attention to Olivia - an affair she very much wants to keep to herself, especially from Kate. And as a man who knows just how to get what he wants, Kate realises that Mark poses a huge threat, in more ways than she is willing to admit.

A deeply twisted YA novel that will have you guessing until the very last line.

• ISBN10: 1471406393
• ISBN13: 9781471406393
• Publish Date: 12 January 2017 (first published 31 May 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hot Key Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[wcs53]

I received this book free from LibraryThing Early Reviewers for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into this book, as I wasn't really sure where it was going. I'm glad I persevered. Once I got about half-way through I breezed through the rest. It was a fairly dark teen thriller that didn't end where I thought it would. There were some really strong and diverse characters, with hidden pasts and different motives. The unexpected ending made it worth reading. I also liked the way the narrative switched between the two main characters. Not too much was given away at any time, which may be hy I found it hard to get into, but this sparseness of information added to the suspense and guessing of what was going on.

[elvinagb]

Edge of your seat read. And my favorite twisty, twisted ending.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I went into this book blind. I picked up this book at BEA, I knew it was a thriller type book set in NYC, and I didn't need to know more. I found the book entertaining.

Beware That Girl is centered around Kate, the orphan scholarship student, and Olivia, the socialite, who is repeating her senior year. Both girls are harboring secrets they don't want revealed, as they believe the secrets will destroy their chances at admission to Yale.

I liked the way Toten painted Kate. At first I did not like her, but as the story unfolded, I was treated to another side of her. I also began to understand her a little better as her backstory was revealed. On the other hand, I was more sympathetic towards Olivia, but as the story unfolded, I became suspicious of her. Toten did a good job of making me wonder who That Girl was, and why she was That Girl.

I felt the buildup was done well. The trickle of information leading to the delivery of each characters' secret (Kate, Olivia, and Mark) was one of the things that kept me reading. I liked the short chapters, and the alternating between Oliva and Kate's POVs. I found it interesting that the author chose to write Kate in first person and Oliva in third. Some people found this unsettling, but I feel it was a choice that cements Oliva's "secret". I want to explain, but I have issues with spoiler type stuff. I was not completely surprised by the ending, but I was shocked in how it played out.

A quick, entertaining read, which reminded me of (oft mentioned from other reviewers) Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars (not a negative thing).