Very Bad People

When a minivan mysteriously plunges into a lake, the mother drowns and the three young girls barely escape. Calliope has lived with the uncertainty about that day for years, and hopes for a new start at Tipton Academy, where her mother was also a student. While sad to leave her father and sisters behind, she hopes to discover the reason for her mother’s untimely death from an accident Calliope can’t remember but also can’t forget. Soon after beginning the school year, she is quickly installed as a new ‘ghost’ into Haunt and Rail, a secret society created with the intention of doing good and bringing justice to the school and its policies from behind the scenes. When the group’s agenda contradicts what she believes to be right, Calliope has to decide how far she will go to find the answers to her mother’s life that may be hidden behind school walls.

Sinister academia meets a horrific family past in this story reminiscent of books by April Henry and Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Short chapters and diverging plots make it a quick read although the ending may frustrate readers who like tight conclusions. Excellently multi-layered and dark.