ALA Booklist (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Becca and Tasha were childhood best friends, but now, in sixth form, Tasha is the ringleader of a trio of popular mean girls Becca dismissively calls the Barbies. Yet when Becca hears that Tasha is in the hospital after being revived from near drowning, she goes to see her former friend. Oddly, Tasha now wants to reconnect with her, even confiding in Becca that she suspects the Barbies are complicit in Tasha's brush with death. The intrigue unfolds through a third-person narrative that alternates with snippets from therapy sessions, text conversations, news reports, and Tasha's diary entries. Although the tone and vocabulary of these narrative voices could be interchangeable, it's a device that facilitates some dandy plot twists. Pinborough gets the overwrought drama of teen friendships right, capturing both Becca's intense feelings and her keen intelligence as she struggles to make sense of a string of seemingly unrelated tragic events. Readers drawn to the kind of debauched chicanery made popular in novels such as Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl (2012) will tear through this edgy thriller.

Horn Book (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Natasha is found by a freezing river, officially dead for thirteen minutes before waking with no memory of the incident. Diary excerpts, newspaper articles, text message exchanges, and interview transcripts add tantalizing details; a third-person-omniscient narrator largely positions Natasha's estranged friend Becca as the reluctant, vulnerable detective. A shocking twist will send readers flipping back to find hidden clues in this tense, gritty psychological thriller.

Kirkus Reviews (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Tasha doesn't remember the circumstances following her near drowning, so she enlists Becca's help in investigating whether foul play was involved.Tasha's the undisputed queen of the trio of sixth-form girls known around school as the Barbies for their focus on appearances and their general mean-girl behaviors. So it's surprising that it's Becca, Tasha's former best friend, ostracized years ago for her weight, whom Tasha gathers to her side after the drowning. That a near-death experience might cause Tasha to re-examine her friendships seems plausible, especially considering the suspicious behaviors of the other two Barbies, Jenny and Hayley. Transcripts of the girls' text messages even reveal—to readers—that Jenny and Hayley are far from real friends to Tasha. This initially detracts from the suspense as readers will quickly decide Jenny and Hayley are guilty. But soon Becca and Tasha's investigation into the world of white, middle-class teen insecurities, betrayals, manipulations, sex, and drug use becomes darkly fascinating on its own. Characters' desperation for attention lead them to accept treating others badly as the cost of winning Tasha's affection (or at least avoiding her scorn). And when another student's sudden death prompts Becca to take the investigation in a surprising new direction, the mystery's tension ratchets up again. Red herrings lead to a satisfying conclusion in this British import. (Mystery. 14-18)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

After drowning, Natasha Howland was dead for 13 minutes before being revived. As the police try to piece together what happened, Natasha, harboring suspicions about her closest friends, launches her own investigation with the help of former friend Becca, who she abandoned during an ascent into popularity. Third-person chapters focus on Becca, and readers- see Natasha-s thoughts, reactions, and nagging suspicions through excerpts from a journal. Text message exchanges, news reports, and interviews between Becca and her therapist further flesh out a multilayered narrative, filling in the gaps in Natasha-s memory. British author Pinborough-s thrilling murder mystery is filled with twists and turns, including a surprising second death-one that sticks-that sends the novel careening into fresh and emotionally raw territory of loss, forgiveness, and guilt in its final act. But at its most basic level, this is a story of petty high school betrayals, popularity contests with toxic frenemies, and vividly depicted peer pressure, all of which combine to create a painfully real novel. Ages 17-up. Agent: Veronique Baxter, David Higham Associates. (Oct.)

Voice of Youth Advocates (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Natasha was dead for thirteen minutes as she lay in the freezing water until a bystander saved her. Tasha has no memory of how she ended up there, but her two best friends, Hayley and Jenny (a.k.a. the Barbies), are acting guilty and strange. Tasha enlists her former best friend Becca to help her uncover the truth. Tasha dropped Becca as a best friend when she became popular and leader of the Barbies. Becca obsesses over the fact that her boyfriend once asked out Tasha and Becca’s violent streak of jealousy is always at the surface. The police investigation into Tasha’s ordeal takes many twists and turns as suspects are eliminated and new ones are uncovered. Tasha is portrayed as the victim, but evidence may suggest otherwise. Once the truth becomes clear, a sudden and unexpected death shifts the momentum of the novel.
The novel is told through text messages, excerpts from police investigation files, newspaper articles, Tasha’s journal, and both Becca and Tasha’s viewpoints. Both characters are difficult to figure out because Tasha is an unreliable narrator and it is hard to decide if Becca is likable or not. Sifting through all the possible scenarios of what happened to Tasha the night she died make exhaust or aggravate some readers. Secondary characters, like the Barbies, are not fully developed, leaving the novel somewhat flat. The shocking conclusion, however, will leave readers stunned. Netflix has picked up the movie rights so libraries serving young adult readers should consider purchasing this title.—Anne Keller.