Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller, Diverse, 4 Stars
People who should read this: If you love a good thriller with a twist at the end, diverse and LGBTQ books, and enemies to maybe friends.
This is a review for an ARC I received from a friend. Some key items might have changed from my copy to the actual published book. All thoughts are my own. Also, there will be no quotes because you can’t quote an ARC.
Slowly but surely I’ve been making my way into the YA thriller genre. I was worried at first since YA shouldn’t pass a certain level of darkness, but All Eyes On US just spoiled me. It had all the things that I’ve been craving in its adult counterparts - good twists, believable characters, and a depth that’s more than good guy versus bad guy. Though the book didn’t have a morally grey antagonist, the book had a diverse story based in truth.
All the predictions you might have made at the beginning of the book… well, don’t set your heart on them. A portion of the foreshadowing was too obvious, making half of the ending really obvious, but while you were looking at the author waving her left hand, she pulled out a knife with her right hand. Reviewing the story in my head, I can see the signs now, they were jut concealed really well. This is a great reminder that just because it’s a YA book, does not mean that good storytelling is missing.
All of that doesn’t mean the book isn’t a little vanilla - the main reason I couldn’t give the story a full five stars. The click was missing for me. Maybe I couldn’t fully connect with the protagonists. Maybe the all consuming entertainment factor was missing, though I did practically binge the story in two days. Maybe it was the constant repeat of the character’s emotions and thoughts (both leads kept repeating the same thing over and over) that made it boring. The it factor was missing for me. Some elements felt overly dramatic instead of a key part of the story. And the cheating, an integral part to the plot, might end up clouding a few reader’s thoughts. It was like an annoying bug flying around your head that you couldn’t ignore.
All Eyes On Us is definitely the diverse book we need right now, not just in the thriller genre but in YA as well. Tastefully done, Frick showed the world that you can make any book diverse. She went beyond just an LGBTQ cast. She threw in conversion therapy too. Sometimes it felt like a lot, the flashbacks in Rosalie’s chapter slowed the story down, but how else can you cover the topic in depth - unless you want to read a book just on conversion therapy. Since the book is so entertaining, most readers will probably stick with it. The story showed what kids like Rosalie go through to get out. And that’s just one character in the story. Look a little deeper and you’ll see a lot of other important topics covered.
Overall, All Eyes On Us was a beautifully done book that felt believable in every way. With two distinct point of views, Frick covered manipulative relationships, family struggles, money struggles, and conversion therapy. With that long list, the story wasn’t overwhelming. Somehow, all the topics blended seamlessly into the overall story. Frick is a new master that we should keep an eye on. A diverse author that I think has a lot still in her tank.
Happy Reading
Love Kait
Reading Challenge: 47/100