[ARC] YA Book Review: This Book Kills by Ravena Guron

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to a very exciting review! I was SO EXCITED to receive this book, and it didn't disappoint! This is a YA murder mystery, guaranteed to shock you and keep you intrigued until the very last pages. I had very high expectations for this book, as it was marketed as being for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen. M. McManus, the murder mystery queens of YA. I love their books, and if Ravena Guron continues on this track then she will be joining them!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher Usborne for granting me free and advanced access to this book, in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Synopsis:

There's a murderer on the loose in an elite boarding school... But who is going to be next? This Book Kills is the deadliest YA thriller of 2023, perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen McManus.

"I'll make it clear from the start: I did not kill Hugh Henry Van Boren.

I didn't even help. Well, not intentionally."

When Hugh Henry Van Boren, one of the most popular and richest kids in Jess Choudhary's school, is found dead, the student body is left reeling and wondering who the murderer could be... Jess, a student under strict instructions to keep her record clean or risk losing her scholarship, finds herself at the centre of the investigation when it's revealed that Hugh died in the exact same way as a character in a short story she wrote.

And then Jess receives an anonymous text thanking her for the inspiration.

With time running out, Jess knows if she doesn't solve this mystery she'll finally have something in common with Hugh Henry.

She'll be dead too.

Firstly, the pacing of this book is absolutely spot on. I could not put it down and there were so many twists and turns so I was always second guessing the facts that had been presented. The writing was great, and the story really well laid out. 

Jess as a main character was just wonderful. She is flawed and in a society where she is in the minority, in several ways. This book really plays on prejudice and expectations and I loved that. The way that the plot is influenced by diversity and privilege at an elite boarding school added a real part to the story. Jess really develops as a character, going from a quiet girl to a young woman with a story to tell and an opinion to speak. 

One of my favourite parts of the book was where there was a section to write who you think the murderer is. I stopped to have a think and just didn't know at this point (I'm really not the best investigator!), but I remember thinking "well, it can't be ------, -------- or ---------", and of course one of them turned out to be the murderer. I was completely in awe of the way this was done and just wanted to reread the whole book to finally see the breadcrumbs. 

Something else that I really appreciated was the way that the side characters also had their say and played just as important a role. I also loved the romance and the way that the whole story threads together. 

From a few other reviews that I have read, the setting didn't seem realistic to some, but to me, this was an accurate representation of private schools in the UK. I have a friend who goes to a private school, which from the front literally looks like a castle or mansion! I have also had interactions with students from private schools in my area at a competition and some of them do have that air of entitlement and feeling of being above others, which was definitely represented in the novel. 

Ravena is a powerful new voice in YA murder mysetery and definitely one to watch - I will be!

Around The Blogosphere: 

- Teen Librarian reviews This Book Kills - click here!

- Culturefly reviews This Book Kills - click here!

- Pretty Little Memoirs reviews This Book Kills - click here!

- A Short Book Lover shares a review and interview - click here!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post, and I truly hope some of you will pick up This Book Kills! 

Do you like the sound of This Book Kills? Have you read it? What are some of the best YA murder mysteries you've read?

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p.s. casual magic of the day:

(If you are new here and have no idea what I'm on about, click here to find out more)

I had a public speaking competition at school, and my team won! There was such a good atmosphere afterwards and we took a ton of photos and it was just a really lovely night. I was not expecting to win and it was such casual magic, or maybe even a little bit of proper magic! Bring on the next round!!