If you love mysteries, and are looking for something with a great plot twist, we recommend Dead Girls Don't Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf.
It's not a new book, it's been out since 2013, but it is definitely one we would call a "hidden gem."
The plot goes like this: Jaycee had a best friend named Rachel. They grew up together in a really small town, and were pretty much inseparable until Rachel (who is half Mexican in a town where being Mexican is NOT considered a good thing to be) started hanging out with some local gang members and changing basically everything about herself and keeping secrets from Jaycee. Then something horrible happens: Rachel is shot dead, in what SEEMS to be a gang-related drive-by shooting. This is the second gang-related death of a teenager in the small town - the first was a teenage boy who had been hanging out with Rachel and her gang friends.
Then Jaycee gets a text - from Rachel. The text basically lets Jaycee known that Rachel's death is not what it seems to be, and that a lot of people in town are keeping some really dark secrets, including Rachel and Jaycee's mutual crush and his two brothers (one of whom is a Sheriff). Rachel's message tells Jaycee the only person who can be trusted is a guy named Eduardo, a known gang member with a rap sheet. Jaycee knows she needs to figure out what really happened to her BFF, but she is not only dealing with her first real relationship, but she's hiding some secrets herself - and if they get out her life could be in danger too.
This book is definitely a mystery with a lot of twists and turns. It kept me guessing until almost the very end, and then the twist ending was totally unexpected. It is available to check out from the library in both regular book and e-book here: Dead Girls Don't Lie at YCLD.
Official Rating: We give it 3 out of 4 Booker Bears!
Reviewed by: Elia, Teen Services Manager
