Genre: YA Contemporary
Published: January 10, 2017
Pages: 288
A captivating debut novel for readers of Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You and Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep, The Most Dangerous Place on Earth unleashes an unforgettable cast of characters into a realm known for its cruelty and peril: the American high school.
In an idyllic community of wealthy California families, new teacher Molly Nicoll becomes intrigued by the hidden lives of her privileged students. Unknown to Molly, a middle school tragedy in which they were all complicit continues to reverberate for her kids: Nick, the brilliant scam artist; Emma, the gifted dancer and party girl; Dave, the B student who strives to meet his parents' expectations; Calista, the hippie outcast who hides her intelligence for reasons of her own. Theirs is a world in which every action may become public: postable, shareable, indelible. With the rare talent that transforms teenage dramas into compelling and urgent fiction, Lindsey Lee Johnson makes vivid a modern adolescence lived in the gleam of the virtual, but rich with the sorrow, passion, and beauty of life in any time, and at any age.
In an idyllic community of wealthy California families, new teacher Molly Nicoll becomes intrigued by the hidden lives of her privileged students. Unknown to Molly, a middle school tragedy in which they were all complicit continues to reverberate for her kids: Nick, the brilliant scam artist; Emma, the gifted dancer and party girl; Dave, the B student who strives to meet his parents' expectations; Calista, the hippie outcast who hides her intelligence for reasons of her own. Theirs is a world in which every action may become public: postable, shareable, indelible. With the rare talent that transforms teenage dramas into compelling and urgent fiction, Lindsey Lee Johnson makes vivid a modern adolescence lived in the gleam of the virtual, but rich with the sorrow, passion, and beauty of life in any time, and at any age.
The Houston Public Library had this as the book club selection for September, and I wanted to become more involved with the local libraries so I decided to join their goodreads group. Out of all the book clubs I’ve joined within the last couple months, it is perhaps the most disappointing. Mostly because NOBODY else joined in on the discussion. Including the host. It was just me. #awkward Anyway, that’s beside the point.
While reading this I couldn’t help but compare it to Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. And I don’t say that in a good way… because that book was mostly boring for me. The difference between these two was that Into the Water started and ended strong, because of the thriller aspect. Whereas this one just fell entirely flat.
Pretty much think of every possible bad thing that can happen to a group of kids at a high school. That probably happened in this book. Except these kids were all rich and whatever other excuse the author gave for the atrocities that occurred within these pages. There came a point where I just rolled my eyes and didn’t give a shit anymore. And none of the characters was particularly interesting either.
There was no point during reading this book that I came away having been pleased I read it. It was pretty much just a waste of my time.
1.75 + 3/8th Platypires - Joood - Hooligan
Lindsey Lee Johnson holds a master of professional writing degree from the University of Southern California and a BA in English from the University of California at Davis. She has served as a tutor and mentor at a private learning center, where her focus has been teaching writing to teenagers. Born and raised in Marin County, she now lives with her husband in Los Angeles.
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