Book Title: Killing November (Killing November #1)
Author: Adriana Mather
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Number of pages: 368 pages
Genre: young adult, mystery, thriller, contemporary, suspense, romance, fantasy
Release Date: March 26th 2019
Favorite Quotes:
“Look for subtle things that are different, a pattern. They’ll point you in the right direction.”
“” I met an eight-year-old a couple of weeks ago who called me a Skittle far. Now that’s creativity.””
“I guarantee she’s the type of girl who likes to pretend she never farts and if one did slip out she would pass out from overwhelm.”
…”” how reality can be immaterial because what matters is what your opponent thinks is real. For instance, if you can convince someone that you are more powerful than you really are, you can potentially scare them out of a battle.””
“ We’re quiet for a few seconds, all the unanswered questions hanging between us like thick fog.”
…”” I don’t want you to rely on the same answers every other person does. I want you to make up your own. If you learn how to approach a fight from an unexpected angle, you will become the weapon your opponent can’t predict.””
“Dad told me a million times that you either do something or you don’t, but hesitating is never an option.”
Goodreads Synopsis:
It’s a school completely off the grid, hidden by dense forest and surrounded by traps. There’s no electricity, no internet, and an eye-for-an-eye punishment system. Classes include everything from Knife-Throwing and Poisons to the Art of Deception and Historical Analysis. And all of the students are children of the world’s most elite strategists—training to become assassins, counselors, spies, and master impersonators. Into this world walks November Adley, who quickly discovers that friends are few in a school where personal revelations are discouraged and competition is everything. When another student is murdered, all eyes turn to November, who must figure out exactly how she fits into the school’s bizarre strategy games before she is found guilty of the crime…or becomes the killer’s next victim.
My Review:
5 out of 5 stars
I absolutely enjoy all of Adriana Mather’s books. Killing November was no exception. It was interesting, especially because it was so unlike her other two books (How to Hang a Witch) and (Haunting the Deep) because they were historical fiction, but I did like that she stemmed from that genre.
I liked how the author left the characters, like the readers, completely clueless. Meaning that November comes to this new secret school not knowing which end is up. Everyone in the school seems to know who she is and her family, but she has not idea. Mather does an incredible job at keeping the readers on their toes throughout the book.
The pace of this book was good, although in certain scenes there was A LOT being explained all at once where it was hard to keep up. These were the scenes when November was being told about the different families whose children attend the school. Everyone that attends this school are a part of different families that go back several generations. The main families that are at odds with one another are the Lions and the Bears.
The author was able to convey a distinction between how November acted, based on not growing up in the Strategia world compared to those within the school that did. She had to slowly learn all the nuances being in the school in order to protect herself. I was not disappointed with this book and would recommend this to anyone, especially those that love a good mystery.
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