Review: This Book Kills by Ravena Guron

Title: This Book Kills

Author: Ravena Guron

Genre: YA, mystery thriller

Publication date: September 3rd 2024

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: eARC for review from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis: I'll make it clear from the start: I did not kill Hugh Henry Van Boren. I didn't even help... Well, not intentionally.

All Jess Choudhary wants is to keep her head down, do her work, and make it through high school without any problems. As a scholarship student—and one of only two students of Indian heritage—her future at the elite school depends on her ability to keep a low profile and spotless record. But when one of the most popular and richest kids in the school ends up dead in the exact same way as a character in a short story she wrote, Jess unintentionally finds herself at the center of the investigation.

And then Jess receives an anonymous text thanking her for the inspiration.

As rumors run rampant about who the murderer could be, Jess knows if she doesn't solve this mystery herself, she'll finally have something in common with Hugh: she'll be dead too.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

The title of this book is the thing that immediately grabbed my attention when I first came across this book. I was like, uhh...

How?? Oh, well, let me tell you how: Jess and her classmate Summer wrote a story for a class, a murder mystery, but the story was stolen from the teacher’s desk and the next day one of their classmates was found DEAD in the exact same way that Jess had described the fictional murder in their story.

It was WILD! I loved the premise of this book, and overall, I ended up liking it for the most part. I enjoyed the mystery of it all and just following Jess as she tried to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately for Jess, there were A LOT of suspects, especially considering that there was a super suspicious Super Secret Society at this school for rich kids. The more we discovered about this society and the victim, the more interesting it got.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t really care for any of the characters. I mean, Jess was fine, but I just didn’t connect with any of them. Although I did appreciate the unlikely friendships she built through this unpleasant journey. That was really nice.

As for the killer, I can’t say I had them pinned down for sure. The thought, “Oh, what if it’s THIS person,” crossed my mind offhandedly about the person who turned out to be the killer, but then when it was revealed that it WAS them I was shocked! Especially because I had no clue what their motive could possibly be. BUT THEN we got another twist that I did not see coming at all! Me:

😆 No, but that whole scene at the end there with all the revelations was insane! It was also very sad because Jess had a realization about someone... and I am being super vague because spoilers, but I just felt really bad for her.

However, I was enjoying all the revelations and villainous monologues... until I wasn’t. It went on for way too long. There was too much talking and not enough attempted murder in my opinion 😆 AND THEN the climax was over and I thought we were wrapping up but NO! I looked at the table of contents and we still had three chapters AND an epilogue left! Just- why? Why was the ending so long? 😭

I know, Dean! It just dragged on forever! I’m not gonna lie, I was getting a little impatient there. But I did like the way Jess stood up for herself in the end with all those condescending school board people. I was SO happy for her!

Overall, I thought this book was fine. It wasn’t bad, but I also didn’t love it. The mystery was intriguing, and while I liked Jess well enough, I just didn’t really connect with any of the characters. Not to mention what I felt like was a very drawn-out ending.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊