Mindy Mejia

"Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good girlfriend. When she's found brutally stabbed to death, the tragedy rips right through the fabric of her small-town community. Full of twists and turns, Everything You Want Me to Be reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town's darkest secrets come to the forefront, and she inches closer and closer to her death."--

A Novel

Everything You Want Me to Be

Sven Test

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

Hattie was found murdered in an abandoned barn. The town's sheriff immediately starts investigating the murder of his friend's daughter. But many people Hattie was one thing when in reality she was very different. Most of the time, she would be acting, not really showing who she really was.

I was not expecting a lot of things that happened in the story. I was quite impressed by how everything unfolded. With its unlikeable and unrelatable characters, I didn't know who to trust and what was real, which made it more interesting. I do wish this book had been a little fast paced. It was quite slow and I found it to be dragging at times. Despite the pace, I actually couldn't stop reading. I had to know what had happened to Hattie and why. I liked that this story was mostly told in the sheriff's perspective, with alternating chapters of Hattie's POV and another male's character POV that happened before Hattie was murdered.

I had a hunch on the suspect but neglected it very early on. Mejia drew my attention away from the suspect in such a way that I forgot about the person. Even close to the end, she threw a curveball that had me questioning what was happening! I really liked that the author did that because it kept me guessing until the end. Now, I have a few problems with the ending. I guess I was expecting more from it.

Overall, Everything You Want Me to Be is full of complexity and doubt with unlikeable characters. It's a good mystery novel that will keep you guessing and doubting what you think is correct.

I received an ARC from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

Kat A

This book had no likeable characters, inconsistency, and the huge plot twist at the end was disappointing. It was a fun cabin read, though.

Lauren Attaway

** spoiler alert **
           I stayed up late to finish this one and I'm so glad I did! I just knew I had the ending figured out from the start and it was such a treat to be wrong. These characters really breathed, and I especially loved the way this book showed how a few mist steps can change anyone's ending. They weren't bad people, they just had their share of mistakes. The author really established the suffocation of a small town and reminded me of the feeling of seventeen, that pressing desire to be an adult. There's a line that one of the characters has about the optimism of youth contrasted with the realities of adulthood that should resonate with everyone who reads this. Thanks to NetGalley for another solid mystery to head towards the year end with.

Everything You Want Me to Be A Novel

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