This was, unfortunately, not very good. It's written in a way where it's assumed the reader is a fan and/or already knows at least some of the details of George's life. Hey, I've seen the Behind the Music episode, but that's about it. You're just dumped right into this book and he starts talking about people in his life like you, as the reader, already know who these people are. I had to resort to Google a couple times just to make the puzzle pieces fit.
What does work in this book is George's disarming self-awareness. I mean yes, there's an exorbitant amount of astrology talk, but even with his foibles George comes off as a straight shooter. This is a guy who will say it to your face and not just behind your back. He also owns and acknowledges his own foibles and failings. To be blunt, this is a guy I would love to have a one-on-one conversation with. Not only would it be a lot of laughs, but it would be an interesting, intelligent conversation. He never comes off as a phony. Also, even though I felt this book wasn't particularly well written as a memoir, the chapter where he talks about his mother's death was very well-written and very moving.
Final Grade = C-
Morton Academy is a British boarding school that caters to the cleverest and smartest kids. You don't need to be a blue-blood born with a silver spoon in your mouth, so long as you're clever and smart you've got a chance. Which is how Liz ends up there, despite neglectful, largely absent parents.
The previous year Liz and her friends were welcomed into the school's secret society, Jewel and Bone. However on the night of their initiation there's a horrible accident. Liz sustains a head injury and the golden Head Girl of the school, Morgan, accidentally drowns. Liz spent the entire summer recuperating at home and while she's still haunted by what happened, she's ready to be back at school. That is, until the new head girl, the one named to replace Morgan, also ends up dead. Soon the best and the brightest of the student body start dropping like flies...
The story centers around Liz, her two BFF's Taylor and Kat, Taylor's hottie boyfriend, Marcus (Head Boy) and new student, Cole - who Liz quickly develops a crush on. Morgan's death was chalked up to an unfortunate accident, but two dead bodies dropping in quick succession at the start of the new term, and the head mistress acting cagey and secretive soon has our clique turning into amateur sleuths.
This was a middle of the road read for me for a long time. For the sheer number of bodies dropping (it's more than 3 by the end...) the story lacks urgency, and frankly I expected the teen characters to be a lot more freaked out than they were. Also, "accidents" start befalling them personally, including Taylor who gets a cut on her face thanks to a rusty nail found in a make-up brush. I'm sorry folks, but a pretty teen girl with a hottie boyfriend who develops a festering wound ON HER FACE and refusing to see the school nurse about it? It beggars belief.
Then we get to the ending. Other reviews have cried foul, basically saying it doesn't make any sense. Does it defy some logic? Well, yes. Did I care? Not really. Honestly it's twisted and gruesome and perverse and well, I'm only human. I walked into this thinking I was getting a teen suspense novel and really it's more teen thriller / horror adjacent. It certainly wasn't without it's faults, but by the end I didn't care. I'm already planning on reading more by Murphy.
Final Grade = B
2 comments:
Boy, do I hear you on the nostalgia front (main reason there are so many cozy mysteries in my ARC TBR), but I confess that neither of these appeal to me in any way.
(I confess I was surprised Boy George is still alive, with so many well-known people younger than him having died in the past couple of years.)
AL: Well after the life he's lived - it is surprising he's still alive. It was a conflicting memoir experience - not well put together, but his self-awareness and disarming honesty were easily the high points.
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