CW: homophobia, murder, student is drugged, spiritual hallucination induced self harm and suicide, outing to family, family disappointed son/daughter is LGBTQIA and disown them, bloody scenes where knife is cutting flesh, drowning, loss of loved one

Well, the rep in this book is outstanding.

It is really important to keep in mind that this is a YA sapphic reimagining of Macbeth. I say this because otherwise it feels like any other angst filled teen novel with girls and guys being backstabby, dramatic and whiny, in and amidst some spooky spectre action. The girls' slow descent into paranoia and madness was done quite well, as ambition, desire and guilt consume them. I liked Robin's interpretation of Macbeth in a high school setting with a major scholarship being the object of everyone's desire as opposed to the throne. I am a bit unsure about the paranormal aspect though. It kind of softened the brutality of Macbeth, which was likely the intent, but if you are going to add a chilling ghost element to a story then you should embrace it fully. There just weren't enough of the spooky scenes for me. The pacing is very slow which may not appeal to some Readers but I think this was an important part of the story telling, after all, Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's madness creeps up slowly too. An entertaining book but I wanted more. ( )

Disliked Story ( )

Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2020/01/06/how-i-learned-i-love-thrillers/ ( )

I've read her work before, and was so impressed by her. This book chased all that away. In the acknowledgements, it turns out another author I have deep respect for, gave this project the green light. NO. I AM SO HURT. -This- book? This book had so many offensive stereotypes jammed into it! And some of it was wish fulfillment, which does not always fit into a novel!
1. A shy gay guy becomes more popular at a white, straight, privileged, Southern boarding school that prides itself on its slavery roots: What?! WTF. What?! He indicates right away that he's white, privileged (but not as much as the others), and hey, it's how things are down here, but I'm sorry, getting a popularity boost by coming out would -not- happen. This is wish fulfillment, and IT RARELY FITS INTO NOVELS LIKE THIS. We are not there as a society yet.
2. Two of the protagonists are Latinos. That could have been great! Both are gay. There is some cliche in how this is expressed. I was annoyed, but kept reading. Um...I don't even know what stereotype to point at and start yelling, so I will just skip to the end: both of them wind up dead, struck by lightning. One is the main villain (UGH), so it's TOTES OKAY, GUYS, but the other is the HOOOOT GAAAAY GUUUY (also Shy Gay Guy's Boyfriend via Convenience) and so he gets resurrected. Um, when you get hit by lightning, especially enough to -kill the person who is holding your hand-, you get some serious medical repercussions. He did not. I CALL FAKE. There was no scarring, either. People who survive strikes wind up with distinctive scars. The author left this out.
3. This book has a disabled girl in it! The portrayal was so, so accurate, and I was so, so excited.
Until.
She arranges everyone's murders and is seen by others as either "the disabled girl' or "the creepy, psychotic bitch who's on crutches".
This happens within the first fifty pages. By book's end, she has completely detached from reality.
NO.
And the thing that gets me the most, is the author probably thought she was writing the disabled girl as a badass, instead of a murderous, vindictive crazy person. I have met people who think murder is badass. I thought so WHEN I WAS TWELVE. At sixteen, eh, I -wrote- characters who did it, but that's because I didn't understand. Murder isn't cool! No!
In short:
Bad author! Bad!

For positive disability representation, I highly recommend the "Percy Jackson" movies and books. The main character is dyslexic, but turns out that means he can easily read ancient Greek, and he helps save the day. His best friend uses crutches, but it turns out he's part mythical beast, and he helps save the day. A popular high school teacher who helps them, uses a wheelchair. It turns out he's a centaur. He guides the teenagers and helps them save the day. ( )

This book is fascinating and intense and succeeded both as a ghost story and as a drama. Its also very much a tragedy, which I wasn't quite expecting. The characters are diverse and complex and the setting haunting. I listened to this on audiobook and really enjoyed the book in this format. Definitely I would read again someday. ( )