a ya book done right. except when it's not. at first, my biggest issue was with the friendship that sets up the whole conflict happening too fast. the reader was supposed to see in the mc a smart girl who didn't trust easily and wouldn't go doing dumb shit bc of someone she's just met, but the number of impulsive actions only increased along the way. that made Vivvie, the friend (of color) in question, seem more like an excuse than a character. 

secondlly came the reminder that im not a fan of mystery or who-did-it books and only picked this up for the drama and the rags-to-riches trope. so despite the comparison with Scandal and Veronica Mars being surprisingly on point, i was waiting for more political stuff connecting the students of the fancy school. i wanted to see the transformation of a ranch girl into a queen bee, who cares for the hive but thrives in the power.

i am, however, a fan of cold-but-caring characters, and we get a bunch of those here. Tess, the protagonist, is kinda like Katniss Everdeen in Washington DC, if Katniss were the younger sister. instead of Peeta, we get Henry, to whom everything is a serious matter, and his bestie, Asher, to whom everything could be turned into a good joke, except when those he cares about (that is, Henry) are involved. together they make a trio that we can dare to wish will not become a love triangle in the next book, bc there's no romance in this one. 

unfortunately, even though im rooting for Henry, upon finishing it i decided not to read The Long Game. because, in the end, my biggest complaint was how underwhelming the plot twists were — the ones i predicted and the ones i didn't —, probably due to my lack of real connection to the characters. idk, maybe im dead inside, but in all those life or death situations i should've cared more, and i didn't. also, some reviews hint at an open ending to the duology, and i don't have the time to find out if that's true and get all frustrated about it.