People Like Us

Soccer captain Kay Donovan gets caught up in a game of murder and revenge in this sharp psychological thriller, Mele’s debut. Kay is at the center of a group of seniors who rule their girls’ boarding school. The girls find the body of fellow student Jessica Lane in a nearby lake, and as the school reels from her death, Kay receives an email—purportedly from Jessica—that forces her to expose her friends’ sins in order to keep her own secrets buried. As evidence mounts against Kay in Jessica’s apparent murder, the school turns against her, and Kay learns that cruelty does not go unrepaid. Feeling unmoored, Kay turns to Nola, a former target of the group’s bullying, but none of Kay’s relationships is without agenda, and Kay finds herself in the killer’s sights. Mele creates a cast of sharp-edged, prickly students; the fluid sexuality of various characters is handled well, and themes of betrayal and bullying are front and center. An eerie, unsettling thriller with deadly consequences. Ages 12–up. [em]Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger. (Feb.) [/em]