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May 07, 2014JCLChrisK rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Boy, do I feel duped. This book pretends to be a standalone, for nowhere does it indicate it's the start of the series until the last sentence of the very short epilogue, "To be continued . . . " I was expecting some kind of resolution at the end of the book, when all we get is dramatic high of everything crumbling for the protagonists and a "To be continued . . . " ----- Of course, the fact that I care means I was wrapped up in the book and want to know what's going to happen next. It's a great premise: The private journals of the five students voted most outstanding in the freshman class at a highly competitive high school are being anonymously shared to expose the five as only pretending to be outstanding. The alternating journal entries take us back to the start of the school year and we follow each of the five through their journaled journeys. (Through mid-October, anyway.) We see their insecurities, inaccurate interpretations of interactions, and, gradually, secrets and lies as they each resort to different underhanded means to getting what they want, the last really only coming into play right as the drama builds at the end of the book. ----- I wasn't expecting a series-long commitment when I decided to read this, but now I've been sucked in and will keep reading to find out how each character earned his or her place as one of the "outstanding."