Book Reviews

Review: Going Dark by Melissa de la Cruz

If you’ve been looking for a good YA mystery thriller, then you’ll have to add Going Dark to your TBR. This thriller has a core of sisterhood, (un)reliability, and the truth. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.

Summary

The Influencer

Amelia Ashley shares everything with her followers – her favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants, her best fashion tips, and her European trip-of-a-lifetime with her hot boyfriend.

The Boyfriend

Josh has no choice but to return home without Amelia after she abandons him in Rome. He has no clue where she went or how her blood got in his suitcase. Why won’t anyone believe him?

The Hacker

To Harper Delgado, Amelia Ashley is just another missing white girl whipping up a media frenzy. But with each digital knot she untangles about the influencer, Harper wonders: who is Amelia Ashley?

The Other Girl

Two years ago, another girl went missing, one who never made headlines or had a trending hashtag.

The Truth

Amelia’s disappearance has captured the world’s attention. What comes next? Watch this space…

Review

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

On the surface, Going Dark is an obsessive gripping mystery. It’s a story questioning everyone’s motivations, ambitions, and lies. The ways in which we all have this layer of perception. All the ways we hide in plain sight. Keep secrets from those around us. With multi-media features, Going Dark is a mystery which I read the last 30% in one sitting. de la Cruz only complicates this idea of image and truth with Amelia’s influencing. At the beginning, I was entranced with this level of performance.

How people can just portray our best selves on social media, to our ‘followers’ and ‘friends’. And, at the end of the day, how much do we really know about the people we follow? The secrets they’re keeping from everyone. On another level, Going Dark asks about all the girls that are forgotten. Because while Amelia’s disappearance is news, what about all the non-popular girls who are written off?

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de la Cruz only complicates this story line as Going Dark progresses. If you’re a fan of thrillers like Gone Girl, then you have to read Going Dark. As readers, we have to dredge through these (white) lies, the things we tell ourselves to get through the day, and the lies we use as hope. It’s a story that examines (re)invention with vibes of “Promising Young Women”. This is a solid thriller which I easily was sucked into. Find Going Dark on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org, & The Book Depository.

Discussion

What is your favorite recent YA thriller?


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