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A review by readingthestars
Death by Society by Sierra Elmore
4.0
9/13/22 update: DEATH BY SOCIETY IS OUT NOW!! Learn more and order your copy here: https://sierraelmore.com/death-by-society
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I knew I was going to enjoy this book, but going in, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.
This book tells the story in two alternating POVs: Carter Harper and Abby Wallace. Carter is intelligent and is the creator of an award-winning app, but she faces bullying and her depression every day. Abby, one of the popular girls in school, makes it her goal to bully Carter and beat her academically while having her own trauma. When Carter attempts suicide, Abby saves her, leading them both down a path where they, surprisingly, have to team up to halt the cycle of bullying in their school.
I first saw a lot about this book on Twitter, and I immediately knew it would be up my alley. I love stories that examine the very complicated and delicate relationships between women - whether it’s between two friends or a mother and daughter. And this book is full of that, and it’s definitely complicated. All of these characters had some depth to them - all are messy and intricate and human. We get to see a lot about why Abby does the things she does, and how her past trauma has affected her now.
The writing was easy to get into and read, and it was very realistic to how teenagers talk. I felt like the characters were sitting right in front of me, telling me the story. At no point did I really know where the story was going, since some of the characters were a bit unpredictable - and I liked that! I was able to get myself lost in the story.
I do think that some characters suddenly changed their minds almost too quickly, which left me wondering how. Kelsey could probably also use a bit more development, since we don’t see as much about what motivates her. She’s not the main focus of this book, and we don’t get a POV chapter from her, so there’s not as much opportunity for this.
But as a whole, I enjoyed the reading experience and this was a very solid and good debut novel! You can really tell how much the author cares for this story and these characters. I’m very much looking forward to anything else Sierra Elmore writes. :)
Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book. This review represents my honest opinion.
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7/6/22: Rating and review to come, but I really enjoyed this!!
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I knew I was going to enjoy this book, but going in, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.
This book tells the story in two alternating POVs: Carter Harper and Abby Wallace. Carter is intelligent and is the creator of an award-winning app, but she faces bullying and her depression every day. Abby, one of the popular girls in school, makes it her goal to bully Carter and beat her academically while having her own trauma. When Carter attempts suicide, Abby saves her, leading them both down a path where they, surprisingly, have to team up to halt the cycle of bullying in their school.
I first saw a lot about this book on Twitter, and I immediately knew it would be up my alley. I love stories that examine the very complicated and delicate relationships between women - whether it’s between two friends or a mother and daughter. And this book is full of that, and it’s definitely complicated. All of these characters had some depth to them - all are messy and intricate and human. We get to see a lot about why Abby does the things she does, and how her past trauma has affected her now.
The writing was easy to get into and read, and it was very realistic to how teenagers talk. I felt like the characters were sitting right in front of me, telling me the story. At no point did I really know where the story was going, since some of the characters were a bit unpredictable - and I liked that! I was able to get myself lost in the story.
I do think that some characters suddenly changed their minds almost too quickly, which left me wondering how. Kelsey could probably also use a bit more development, since we don’t see as much about what motivates her. She’s not the main focus of this book, and we don’t get a POV chapter from her, so there’s not as much opportunity for this.
But as a whole, I enjoyed the reading experience and this was a very solid and good debut novel! You can really tell how much the author cares for this story and these characters. I’m very much looking forward to anything else Sierra Elmore writes. :)
Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book. This review represents my honest opinion.
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7/6/22: Rating and review to come, but I really enjoyed this!!