cover image Live Your Best Lie (Like Me Block You #1)

Live Your Best Lie (Like Me Block You #1)

Jessie Weaver. Disney-Hyperion/de la Cruz, $17.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-368-07836-8

An L.A. Halloween murder mystery party turns into a real murder when 16-year-old social media influencer Summer Cartwright is found dead with #TOXIC written on her face. While Summer’s biggest fan, Cora Pruitt; ex-boyfriend, Adam Mahmoud; former roommate, Laney Miyamoto; rival influencer, Avalon James; and best friend, Grace Godwin, are shocked by her death, they’re also privately relieved, as Summer’s upcoming high-profile, tell-all memoir threatened to reveal each teen’s biggest secret. But when Summer’s five million followers begin turning against the teens, labeling them as potential killers, the group joins forces to solve the crime and clear their names before public opinion alters the course of their lives forever. Employing an eye-opening combination of Summer’s social media posts, police reports, and flashbacks, all told via alternating, realistic teen perspectives, Weaver expertly crafts a serpentine plot that moves without tarrying from one suspect to the next. Rapid-fire, wickedly biting dialogue and an almost suffocating air of uncertainty and stratagem cultivate a gossipy debut, which capitalizes on present-day social media obsession and one’s ability to take control of their own narrative. Character descriptions suggest racial diversity throughout. Ages 12–up. (Jan.)