If you are ahem, of advanced decades like myself, this book is going to trigger all the 90s and 00s nostalgia. It's a poly relationship between The Skulls, Gossip Girl, and I Know What You Did Last Summer, with Get Out as a relationship voyeur.

There was a small issue the chat brought up, about teens absolutely not being willing to put forth hours of effort and I'd agree with that assessment. Especially as their actions were all voluntary, and not for a grade. There was also no social media and then suddenly was, which was a bit of a record scratch moment.

I will say a lot of the discussion involved people saying "it mad me mad", "it was disturbing", "I couldn't keep reading", and while I know their comments weren't meant in any malicious way, it felt akin to the BIPOC community stressing they can't "look away" from the prejudice they face. It's easy to look away and say it's a dramatized book, and could never happen, but the allegory and emotion it's rooted in, is not fake.