Murder on a School Night

May 15, 2023
Channeling the 1980s cult classic Heathers right down to the croquet set, Weston (Diary of a Confused Feminist) flaunts cozy English charm and puerile slapstick comedy in this propulsive mystery. Unpopular aspiring journalist Kerry would rather be enjoying a peaceful rom-com movie marathon at home than attending the party where she finds that fellow high school senior Selena, a member of the Les Populaires clique, has been suffocated with a menstrual cup. Desperate to clear her name, classmate and party host Heather Stevens—leader of Les Populaires and heir to her family’s V-Lyte period product fortune—hires Kerry and her equally unpopular best friend Annie, an amateur sleuth, to investigate Selena’s death. While Annie is convinced this is their ticket into the popular crowd, Kerry worries after her friend’s increasingly risky maneuvers around solving the crime. When two more deaths occur, the friends debate whether their investigation is worth their own safety. Though the banter sometimes feels outdated (“kills my lady boner”), the girls’ chemistry as best friends and partners-in-crime-solving is energizing. Refreshing attention to sex positivity and period politics combined with Weston’s timing—both comedic and plot driven—ensure a laugh-out-loud romp. Most characters read as white. Ages 14–up.

May 15, 2023
Mean Girls meets Midsomer Murders with a dash of Louise Rennison in this genre-blending story that centers girls' friendships and two ambitious best friends. Amateur detective Annie and aspiring journalist Kerry are feminist teens living in the sleepy English village of Barbourough. When Selena, their bullying classmate, is found murdered at a party with a menstrual cup in her mouth, Heather, party host and foremost among the clique self-styled Les Populaires, recruits the two Agatha Christie enthusiasts to clear her name as a suspect. Kerry and Annie are self-absorbed friends whose obsession over their lack of popularity results in hysterically funny dialogue and a lighthearted tone. As the story progresses, two more murders occur. Kerry's crush on newcomer Scott and the pair's subsequent romantic exploits offer sweet diversions from the intensity of the additional gruesome, period-product-related murders. However, what really elevates the goofy capers and over-the-top scheming is how well Kerry and Annie know both themselves and each other. Despite struggling with anxiety, first-person narrator Kerry deftly analyzes the cases and supports her brilliant best friend as she sleuths her way through the murderous local chaos. The cast largely reads White; brown-skinned twins Colin and Audrey play begrudging roles in Heather's friend group, and their individual secrets add depth and complexity to this insightful parody of teenage life. A nuanced, hilarious page-turning romantic mystery. (Mystery. 14-18)

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September 1, 2023

Gr 7-10-Kerry and Annie have always been outcasts, but when Annie offers to help Heather, the most popular girl in school, discover who's been threatening her over Instagram, they find themselves invited to their first-ever party. A party that ends when Kerry stumbles upon Selena, Heather's best friend, dead after choking on a menstrual cup. The police insist the death was accidental, but Annie is determined to prove otherwise, enlisting Kerry in her scheme to discover who killed Selena. But when the deaths continue to pile up and the evidence starts pointing to Kerry's boyfriend as the murderer, they'll really need to employ all their detective skills to solve the case. This purports to be a murder mystery rom-com, and while it does feature all of those elements, most of them fall a bit flat. Annie's quips initiate some chuckles, but most of the comedic elements border on the ridiculous. The romance itself is only mildly developed, though Kerry's awkwardness will be amusing and relatable to younger audiences. Most disappointing, though, is the mystery's denouement, which features a villain who acts more like a cartoon than a fully realized character. One solid plus is the friendship displayed between Kerry and Annie, and it's fun to watch them discover that the popular crowd are more down-to-earth than initially expected. VERDICT Younger teens may enjoy this whodunit but more mature audiences will likely find it too simplistic.-Chelsey Masterson

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 8, 2023
Grades 10-12 Kerry's always been fine with the fact that it's just her and her best friend, Annie, against the world, but Annie's desperate to fit in with popular Heather and her crew, no matter how mean they are. Annie's a wannabe detective, so when someone starts hazing Heather via an Instagram account belonging to her recently dead dad (he ran a not-particularly-feminist company that sold feminine hygiene products), Annie jumps in to solve the case. Kerry reluctantly gets pulled along for the ride, leading her to finally hit it off with her crush--but then the body of Heather's friend turns up at a party with a menstrual cup shoved in her mouth. The local detectives don't seem to know what they're doing, but as Annie pulls Kerry further into the mystery, they might wind up in real danger--and the murderer could be anywhere. A little bit Heathers, a little bit Booksmart, this British import is a campy, never-too-serious skewering of faux feminism that embraces the ups and downs of friendship.

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