The Good Girls by Claire Eliza Bartlett
Synopsis
"The troublemaker. The overachiever. The cheer captain. The dead girl.
Like every high school in America, Jefferson-Lorne High contains all of the above.
After the shocking murder of senior Emma Baines, three of her classmates are at the top of the suspect list: Claude, the notorious partier; Avery, the head cheerleader; and Gwen, the would-be valedictorian.
Everyone has a label, whether they like it or not--and Emma was always known as a good girl. But appearances are never what they seem. And the truth behind what really happened to Emma may just be lying in plain sight. As long-buried secrets come to light, the clock is ticking to find Emma's killer--before another good girl goes down."
My Thoughts
Wow. This book was such a twisting, turning tale! I had no idea what was happening until the very end and I loved it. The characters were fantastic and the story was strongly feminist.
The Good Girls is a mystery where you slowly learn details of the murder through three of the girls surrounding the case. The story is told through first-person POVs of the characters, as well as police reports, blog posts, and the local paper. It was such a fantastic way to discover the details of the case.
I had a minor gripe that some of the details of what happened didn't make a lot of sense and everything seemed to wrap up a little too neatly in the end considering the subject matter. But aside from this, it was really a fantastic book and I definitely recommend it, but I would be warned that there are some sensitive subjects that while not graphic could definitely be triggering to some. Please check out the content warnings below before diving into this one.
Genre: lgbtqia+, ya, mystery, thriller
Representation: bi, lesbian
Content Warnings: murder, biphobia, rape (of a student by a teacher), emotional abuse, bullying, underage drinking & drug use, eating disorder, cheating