All The Beautiful Strangers by Elizabeth Klehfoth

Author : Elizabeth Klehfoth
Title : All The Beautiful Strangers
Published : 2018
Publisher : Penguin
Genre : Young Adult / Mystery / Thriller
Pages : 512







     Beneath the glittering heights of the rich and powerful, lie secrets that can destroy them all...
Charlie Calloway has a life most people would kill for. A tight-knit family. A loyal set of friends. A fast-track to whichever college she chooses. But Charlie isn't interested in what most people want. She's a Calloway. She's special. And she's been taught to want more. So when she's invited to join an exclusive secret society, her determination to get in is matched only by her conviction that she belongs there. But behind their mysterious facade is a history of lies which unravels everything Charlie thought she knew... including the story behind her mother's disappearance ten years ago.

     Over the last few years there has been a real boom in young adult mystery thrillers and to be honest I can't get enough of them. These books allow stories to tackle a subject in ways that adult novels simply can't. What first drew me to this as my eyes skipped over the endless young adult titles at the bookstore was the cover. Every econ in a while a book will simply scream buy me, buy me. After reading the blurb on the back I knew this would be right up my street. This is a book that is dark in a different way to others more about how one secret can not only tear apart friends but also ripple on down to there kids. How a simple discovery could be the key to everything that has had a deep impact on events that have shaped who you are.

     The story switches between people and time periods in its quest to tell its story. But all of it mainly spirals around Charlie, a girl with a desperate need to pull apart the clues and lies and get to the bottom of a mystery which might just explain what happen to her mum. She is a character with faults, all the same, a girl who is wrapped up in her world. You can't really blame her for that, as teenagers, we all like that, still trying to find out who we are and our place in the world. But through her search for the truth, she does grow and realize we all make mistakes. That given the opportunity most people change and the who you are today is not the person you will always be. With the switching of narrators, it gave me a fairly good idea as to all the things that lead up to an event which is truly horrific. Now overall I felt this was a mixed bag some are the love to hate and others  I just straight up didn't like, but if nothing else in made for an interesting story.

     The style of this book leaves a light touch and meant I sped through the book as I looked for even the littlest of clues as to what had taken place. The author did a really good job in building up the relationships between these charterers and just as you start to hope for them, she rips them apart and throws them on the rocks at your feet. It's like saying look at this mess, you can't trust these people they will all let you down in the end. The book overall twisted my emotions and this can only be a good thing. There is nothing worse than a book dryly relating a story to you, I want to feel something for these people. But overall this book is never going to dive too deep, a great summer read for want of a better thought. It will hook you in and deliver a mystery you can get behind. but its only ever going to be skin deep. I feel we do need books like this, it's something to play within your mind and give you enjoyment in the simplicity of reading. So for all these points, it was the perfect book to spend time with. Despite being set in the world of the rich and powerful during multiple generations the events that take place are never too far from the world must of us inhabit and when it came to the final few moments it was less of a big shock and more of a, Huh well I guess that makes sense.

     If you are looking for something to let your brain float away and give those little grey cells a bit of a work out I would suggest you give this new author a go.