Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book has bizarre parallels with How to Find a Missing Girl:
- It is a feminist young-adult murder mystery
- The protagonists are a high school girl who wants to be a detective and another girl she’s been friends with for years who wants to be a journalist. (The detective is the POV character in HTFAMG but the journalist is the POV character in MOASN.)
- The story kicks off when the most popular girl in school, who is called Heather in each book, asks the protagonist to investigate something. The protagonist discovers Heather’s boyfriend is cheating on her in both books.
- There are a series of murders which the police initially don’t treat as murders. (In HTFAMG, they treat it as a missing/runaway girl; in MOASN, they treat is as an accident.)
- They have at least one gay character.
- There is a character called Colin/Collin/Collins in each book who is involved in a twist ending.
- Drug dealing is an important part of the motive.
However, there are some key differences which I think makes MOASN the better book.
- It’s funny. (HTFAMG is admittedly not trying to be funny.)
- MOASN is feminist without the cliché of making every single male character a bad guy. (HTFAMG had basically two male characters who were decent: Joan’s sons who worked at the diner. All the rest were basically scum.)
- MOASN has queer representation without making 80% of the characters gay like HTFAMG seems to.
- The characters in MOASN are actually likeable. I want them to come out the other end of the adventure safe and unharmed!
There’s a sequel coming out soon and I’m looking forward to it. Kate Weston has also written a few other books in a similar genre, so I’m tempted to read those too.
