Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre: Mystery

Eva has always dreamed of attending Oxford University, partly because it was a dream of her late mother’s and she wants to make her proud. Eva’s friend, George, is also applying and they are both attending an interview week to try to secure spots. At first, it seems like a dream come true because George is positive they will both be admitted and can attend this prestigious school together. After arriving, however, it becomes clear that racial and economic factors do in fact play a part in who is admitted and Eva starts to doubt her chances. It doesn’t help that there are several interview candidates from Reapington, a fancy prep school, and they have made it clear they expect all of them to be accepted, which leaves people out. It becomes clear that George has a history with the students from Reapington, or Reapers as they are called, and it hurts Eva’s feelings that her best friend never told her about his past before transferring to her high school. They get into a disagreement when the Reapers dare George to do something that Eva knows is dangerous, but she assumes he is smarter than to cave to peer pressure. Early the next morning Eva leaves for a run and finds George’s lifeless body on the quad and for a second believes he went through with the dare. Some things, such as a late night voicemail, change her mind, however, and Eva becomes convinced that George was murdered and since no one is taking her seriously it might be up to her to find out who did it. The more she investigates, however, the more dangerous interview week becomes. Can Eva find out who killed her best friend and why? Will Eva be able to tell who she can trust when the entire atmosphere seems to exist on pure competition at all times? Will Eva ever know why George lied about his past?

This mystery does a nice job of setting up the characters so that when the murder happens there are several suspects already familiar to the reader. Eva is a good protagonist as it becomes clear why she wants to attend Oxford so bad, but also the hardships that have stood in her way and why she sometimes questions if she really belongs here. This world of elite education is described in a way that anyone could understand why this place is so tough to get into but also so sought after. The mystery is handled in a satisfactory way, but is more complicated than it first appears. The ending is not rushed, however, leaving the reader to feel like every clue was explained in a way that makes everything plausible and understandable. Recommended for mystery fans.