whitneydaniell

by: Lauren Ling Brown
published: October 1, 2024
genre: Thriller, Mystery
386 Pages, E-Book
Goodreads | Amazon

Summary

On the eve of her sister’s Princeton graduation—what should be a momentous occasion—Maya is awaiting her arrival at the school’s Reunions, as they’re called. But when her sister Naomi is a no-show, Maya knows something is off. Under the bright lights of the fireworks, surrounded by friends and other Princeton alums, Maya is dealt the most terrible blow she’s ever had to endure: her sister is dead.

As she regains her composure and information from the police starts to trickle in, Maya knows something is amiss, and she’s hellbent on finding out the truth. With her sister’s death looming in the background, Maya must reach back to her own Princeton days, ten years ago, to dredge up old secrets that die hard.

As the story shifts between timelines—reliving Naomi’s final months and revisiting Maya’s four years at Princeton—we dive into the secret societies they were both members of. Underground, members-only clubs; secret meetings; closed-door initiations… the kind of stuff you only hear about in movies. But at Princeton, their eating clubs are something straight out of an Agatha Christie novel.

If Maya has to dig up her own past to figure out what happened to her sister, she might be in more danger than she realizes. Maya has secrets that could land her in jail—or worse, prison. Everyone is a liar, but whose lies are the most dangerous?

Character Summary

In present day, Maya Mason is married to her college boyfriend, Nate, and they have a young daughter, Dani. Maya is the eldest daughter of a Chinese mother and African-American father—both now deceased. When their mother passed from cancer, Maya was just 18 and Naomi only 8. Maya stepped up and took responsibility for her younger sister. She defied the odds to get into Princeton and was determined to give Naomi a good life.

Naomi adored her big sister, idolized her, and wanted to follow in her footsteps at Princeton—while also carving out her own path. And while Maya loved her time at Princeton, she didn’t often talk with Naomi about it, and a quiet distance grew between them. As the older sister, Maya played the role of “mom,” sometimes at the expense of true sisterly connection, and that caused Naomi to retreat into herself. When things at Princeton began to heat up and questions mounted, Naomi didn’t confide in Maya—and that silence may have cost her her life.

In college, everyone needs a strong circle to keep you grounded, and these two women had that. Maya found her tribe in Daisy, Kai, Lila, and Cecily St. Clair. Ten years later, Naomi had her own crew—Zalikah and Amy.

My Thoughts

It was cool.

There’s a lot going on at different points in the story—which I’m sure is intentional—to create confusion and keep you guessing. I liked that the chapters were concise, not too long, and ended with just enough suspense to keep you flipping pages.

This is a split-timeline and split-narrative book. You bounce between Maya’s present-day story (2023), her time at Princeton (2010–2013), and Naomi’s final seven months (October 2022–May 2023). The structure allows you to understand Maya’s secrets while slowly learning what led to Naomi’s death. It’s not hard to follow, but it can get a little chaotic.

Also, much of the narrative plays out on Princeton’s campus, which means there are a lot of characters. Some are briefly mentioned and never appear again, but the description of the campus and its centuries-old buildings was exquisite—it made me want to visit just to see the architecture.

Lastly, the drama is there. These are mostly 18–24-year-old women. There’s plenty of it—boy drama, friend drama, professor drama. It’s juicy.

What I especially appreciated, though, was the theme of Maya and Naomi not quite fitting in—of not feeling accepted in predominantly white spaces—but ultimately finding community and making it through. Personal Note: I didn’t go to an Ivy (though I wanted to and made it to the second round of Georgetown interviews), but I did attend a PWI. That experience can be isolating—when you look around your classrooms and lecture halls and don’t see people who look like you.

Final Verdict

All in all, I didn’t hate it—and that’s always a good thing over here. Would I buy it? Eh.
Would I read more books from this author? Absolutely.

Lauren Ling Brown won me over.