Abigail Haas

Dangerous Girls

"While on spring break in Aruba, a young girl is accused of her best friend's death and must stand trial for murder in a foreign country"--

Dangerous girls

arwen

reread (i feel like it would have been better if the book was longer)

** spoiler alert **
           [redacted] is fucking deranged.

Ivan

Actual Rating: 4.5 ☆ 



  “Any one of us could be made to look a monster, with selective readings of our history.” 


Dangerous Girls is beautifully written! Hats off, Abigail Haas! I finished this book in just a couple of hours 'cause it is very engaging and gripping. You finish one chapter and crave for more. It revolves around Anna and her friends who went to Aruba for a spring break trip. This is where Elise, part of the group and Anna's bestfriend, was brutally murdered. The big question is,  Who killed Elise? 

What I like the most in this book is the way it was written. The scenes are coherent and structured. The changing time frame made the story development endearing. I already had a guess on who was the murderer but every time another scenes and characters were introduced, my guess wavers. It was like Haas was playing tricks on me to believe that almost all of the characters were murderers!

Another thing that I like is the portrayal of media as a huge factor in twisting public's mind against such judicial issues.


And then I knew who the murderer was.  Ugh!! . If only I knew that those subtle scenes and phrases were hints; if only (view spoiler)[ I knew that the narrator was unreliable and psychopathic,  (hide spoiler)], I wouldn't experience all the mind-bending shits. The second to the last chapter made me go back to my first hunch, but still the question  Why?  was left hanging. 

And then the last chapter!! Honestly, I read it thrice, especially the last sentences. 'Cause it was there, the reason I want to know. The conclusion. 

(view spoiler)[  Our gaze is caught across Tate's oblivious body, and for a moment, it's like I'm there beneath her; her skin against mine. Then her face begins to change--she's caught up, too far gone to stop. I watch the orgasm rush through her; I feel it in my bones. Like an awakening. Like a death. And all the while, our eyes stay locked on each other's.   (hide spoiler)]

The ending is superb. Just written to know that I was mind fucked.


The reason why I didn't give this book a perfect 5-star rating is because of the characters. Almost every single of them annoyed me. (Well, except for Lee and Gates.) I wanted to punch Elise for being so careless and reaching the maximum bar in slutmeter; Tate for being so coward; Dekker for being plainly annoying; Mel for being a crybaby; AK and Anna's parents for being so apathetic; and even Anna for being a basic bitch. 


Overall, it was such a brilliant novel. I'll start looking for more mystery novels.


 How much do you love me?

Patricia Nelson

Good book! Fast read and plot twists have you guessing.

Megan VanBuren 

I just loved this book! It had so many twists and turns and kept me guessing the entire time. I kept thinking I had it figured out and then I was thrown curve ball after curve ball! I am still completely floored by the ending. Definitely one of the best mystery books I have ever read!

Elise is dead. And someone must pay. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise and a group of close friends set off on a debaucherous Spring Break trip to Aruba. But paradise soon turns into a living nightmare when Elise is brutally murdered. Soon Anna finds herself trapped in a foreign country, fighting for her freedom. As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone is questioning her innocence. To the rest of the world, Anna isn't just guilty, but dangerous. And the truth is more shocking than you could ever imagine . . . 'The best teen thriller I've ever read' Wondrous Reads 'Told with the same "who can I trust?" tone of The Girl On the Train, Dangerous Girls is the perfect mystery' bustle.com 'I haven't wanted to talk about a book this much since Gone Girl' goodreads.com 'Tension to the very last page . . . a compulsively readable, hair-raising snapshot of [the] 21st-century' Kirkus Reviews

Nessa Luna

Read this review and more on my blog October Tune.

I have always loved mystery books, so when I heard about Dangerous Girls, I knew I had to read it as soon as I could. When I finally started it a couple of days ago, I found myself being sucked into the story.

During the first part of the book, I was mainly confused - I didn't really get what was going on because it was all happing right through each other. One chapter, they'd be in court and then they were back in school with Elise still alive and then all of a sudden Anna was in jail. While reading the book, I started to get used to these chapters more and more, and I even started liking it - even though I am not fond of flashbacks. It worked for this book.

Like with every other mystery book I read, I suspected everyone; at first I was convinced it was Tate, but then a chapter would happen and I would lean more to Mel or even AK. I even remember writing down, in my notes, that I thought Elise could have staged everything at one point. But hey, that's what a mystery book is for, you start your own little investigation, put on that deerstalker and walk around with your magnifying glass looking for clue.

I liked the fact that the story happened on Aruba, because that island is part of the Netherlands and there was a lot of talk about Dutch stuff and yeah as a Dutchie it just makes me happy that my country is mentioned in a book or movie or TV show.

Reading about all those grown-ups (*cough KLAUS DEKKER *cough*) being complete dicks (pardon my words) to Anna, and especially that show of Clara Rose (two of my favourite Doctor Who companions, by the way!), that made me really angry because that is what happens in real life; when someone gets taken in for question, the world already has their opinion ready on this person and they will always remain guilty in the eyes of these people until they are proven to be not. And the way her friends (especially AK) just dropped her immediately after she got arrested, so much for friendship guys. DO NOT READ THIS SPOILER UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK!! (view spoiler)[In the end, they all turned out to be right, of course, but still I got so angry, because it would have been even more awful if Anna had been innocent. (hide spoiler)]

The way this book was written just made it really easy to read, I think I read more than half of it in one day. There was the normal story of course, the flashbacks of Elisa and Anna's (whose names reminded me of Elsa and Anna from Frozen too much, I was kind of expecting them to start singing Let it Go together) friendship and some important scenes that were relevant to the trial. There were transcripts from the 911 call, Clara Rose's shows, police interrogations; I really loved the way those were written in this book.

I personally loved the ending, it made me gasp and put down the book for a while. It also made me unable to concentrate on the other book (Heir of Fire, I am so sorry I abandoned you baby) I am currently reading and I think I need to go to sleep as soon as I finish writing this review (I wrote it yesterday evening, right after I finished the book). And it also made me want to buy her other book, Dangerous Boys, which I think and hope will be just as thrilling as this one.

If you are looking for the Young Adult version of Gone Girl (imo: this book is WAY better and much more exciting than GG), Dangerous Girls is THE book for you! I do suggest you go for the edition of the cover I have, (ISBN: 9781471119149), because it's the prettiest cover that this book has (honestly, if the book hadn't had this cover, I would have been much more reluctant to pick it up). So everyone go and get your copy of Dangerous Girls, and read it!

My opinion on this book in one gif: 


(gif credit)

Another rec from my friends that never fail to give me a good rec! I love love love a book that's told in multiple timelines/chunks the way this one was. The inclusion of the trial proceedings along with the memories Anna had with Elise and the vacation timeline all came together nicely to create a narrative where you can't help but be on Anna's side as she goes through an unjust trial. The ending is highly satisfying and is just as chilling while leaving room for that moment of "what did I just read?" as I crave with a good thriller/mystery. Love love love this.

chloe ✩‧₊˚✧｡*ﾟ

** spoiler alert **
           omg OMG Oh My GOD FEELING SO MANY MIXED EMOTIONS I have no words but that I love how Abigail finished it with that last sentence and that I feel betrayaled 

Spoilers -->

Throughout the book my guesses on who did it changed but I had a feeling it was either Mel or Juan but it was neither and instead it was the girl who's mind we were inside of. It really made me think what were lies and what things she said that was the truth.

mercy

(4.5) i predicted the ending but. still. WHAT FRESH HELL JUST HAPPENED

brianna

... this book actually fucked me up and i know im going to be thinking about this for weeks

grace richards

how doth one sit down and think yes i am going to end my book like that. i am reeling!?!? the emotions i am currently feeling are indescribable???

'The best teen thriller I've ever read' Wondrous Reads 'Told with the same "who can I trust?" tone of The Girl On the Train, Dangerous Girls is the perfect mystery' bustle.com 'I haven't wanted to talk about a book this much since Gone Girl' goodreads.com 'Tension to the very last page . . . a compulsively readable, hair-raising snapshot of [the] 21st-century' Kirkus Reviews Elise is dead. And someone must pay. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise and a group of close friends set off on a debaucherous Spring Break trip to Aruba. But paradise soon turns into a living nightmare when Elise is brutally murdered. Soon Anna finds herself trapped in a foreign country, fighting for her freedom. As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone is questioning her innocence. To the rest of the world, Anna isn't just guilty, but dangerous. And the truth is more shocking than you could ever imagine . . . For fans of Gone Girl, We Were Liars and Lying About Last Summer.

2nd reread 30/10/2022 — 5 stars 

We freaking love you insane people 

Reread 08/04/2022-09/04/2022 

Literally my fav standalone and the only one I’ve reread so changing it to 5 stars

First read 22/11/2021-23/11/2021 — 4 stars 

The ending… wtf was that?!

Shaking right now this was so good it may be my new favorite standalone not even joking, the way I already want to reread help me.

Annaelise hello? Insane people we love you

Kailey Rios

i kind of predicted the twist towards the beginning but then told myself that would be ridiculous... guess i was right after all.

honestly, this book kind of fucked me up and i don’t know if it’s in a good way or not. 

regardless, i read this pretty quickly and did really enjoy it! just that ending, man. the only part of the story that actually scared me.


  4 stars

jess

Oh, man. This book was intense. In a lot of ways, this book is like Gone Girl - focusing on a murder prosecution for a presumed innocent (by the reader) suspect. I flew through it. Yes, the ending was a bit predictable, but how it was written makes it just as suspenseful as if it wasn't.

macy

sharyn

jupiter

divya

june

THE ENDING WOAH ????? " how much do you love me " people died

Livia

oh no no. nope no. i was HOPING, PRAYING that this one will end up as one of my fave thriller but NOPE. i will now stick to my adult thrillers please and thank you