I, like a few here, have searched for this book for YEARS. The last time I read this book was when I was between 8-10 years old. Rereading it as an adult... why was this in an elementary school library? Of course, I was reading Laurell K. Hamilton at 13 and 14 so... It's fairly intense in places and the only thing I can say is to describe the shock is... the rat scene in chapter 5. iykyk. I forgot that you're also reading this from the murderer's POV, which is what makes it intense, to me. It's a little off-putting that he's sorta relatable, in some instances, but the best murderers are relatable, right?

It's very reminiscent of the 90s (copyrighted in 1996 so duh) and a lot of the issues that were going on in high schools with body image and 'the rating game'. Yuck. It made me (a 90s baby) very nostalgic for pay phones. LOL

All in all, I liked this book. It was one of my favorites back then and it's STILL one of my favorites now. 90s writers weren't playing around.

I would recommend everyone to read it if only to compare it to how mystery thriller books were and are now. That'd be fun.