A manipulative teen sets his sights on destructionWhen Crystal Giordano, who's Puerto Rican and Italian American, recognizes new student Aaron Fortin as the Speaker-the masked streamer her friends obsessively follow-she blurts out that fact at their lunch table, not realizing the havoc that will follow her revelation. Aaron insinuates himself into the friend group, easily winning over "Extremely Online" Harmony and standoffish Paul (all three teens are white). Meanwhile, closeted Trevor (who's Black and Muslim), goth Gayle (who's white), and Crystal herself are harder nuts to crack. Crystal begins to suspect that Aaron has a dark side, but when he releases her private video diary to the entire school, the exposed secrets drive a possibly insurmountable wedge between her and her friends. But when she realizes Aaron has something huge planned for prom night, she knows it's up to her to save the day. A clean-cut teenage amalgam of Charles Manson and Slenderman, Aaron employs a variety of techniques to control his online followers and real-life peers. The point of view alternates between Aaron and Crystal, putting readers right in the middle of the deadly cat-and-mouse game. Cesare keeps the tension ramping up, while the stakes rise higher and the murders keep coming. Horror fans will have a tough time putting this down once they start reading.A killer read. (content warning, resources)(Thriller. 14-18)

Gr 10 Up— It's never easy to be the new kid in school, but Aaron is not like every other high school senior. Not only is his family very well off, but he has a very persuasive way with people. New friends should be easy to make, and certainly a lot less work than his online connections. Meanwhile, Crystal's friend group is pretty typical, but she has always felt like the one left out. When Aaron befriends her, Crystal is the only one who sees that something is not quite right with him. Just how deep his influence goes will take up more of her senior year than she imagines. Crystal's anonymity will have its benefits when secrets and lies start self-perpetuating. YA horror master Cesare delivers a very suspenseful story that will feel close to the everyday lives of his target audience. A novelization of a hit Audible exclusive, this work blurs the lines between making one's own choices and then finding they exactly align with what a mastermind wanted. VERDICT Rarely does a book build suspense as perfectly as this one. Readers will fall under the spell of the title and influence their friends to pick it up as well. Remember: Don't just read, share.— Adam Fisher

A manipulative teen sets his sights on destructionWhen Crystal Giordano, who's Puerto Rican and Italian American, recognizes new student Aaron Fortin as the Speaker-the masked streamer her friends obsessively follow-she blurts out that fact at their lunch table, not realizing the havoc that will follow her revelation. Aaron insinuates himself into the friend group, easily winning over "Extremely Online" Harmony and standoffish Paul (all three teens are white). Meanwhile, closeted Trevor (who's Black and Muslim), goth Gayle (who's white), and Crystal herself are harder nuts to crack. Crystal begins to suspect that Aaron has a dark side, but when he releases her private video diary to the entire school, the exposed secrets drive a possibly insurmountable wedge between her and her friends. But when she realizes Aaron has something huge planned for prom night, she knows it's up to her to save the day. A clean-cut teenage amalgam of Charles Manson and Slenderman, Aaron employs a variety of techniques to control his online followers and real-life peers. The point of view alternates between Aaron and Crystal, putting readers right in the middle of the deadly cat-and-mouse game. Cesare keeps the tension ramping up, while the stakes rise higher and the murders keep coming. Horror fans will have a tough time putting this down once they start reading.A killer read. (content warning, resources)(Thriller. 14-18)