The Liars Beneath

Gr 11 Up–Becca’s best friend, Rose, has just died by falling off a dam. It’s not clear whether it was suicide or an accident, but Becca can’t imagine Rose taking her own life. Rose’s older brother Ben, home from college for the funeral, tries to enlist Becca’s help in figuring out what really happened to Rose, but they are distracted by how attracted they are to each other. The narrative flashes back and forth between present day and the events in the year leading up to Rose’s death, including Becca’s backstory with Ben and with her scumbag ex, Travis. Travis’s father is a new teacher at their high school and he has major boundary issues, seducing teachers, students, and parents with no apparent consequences from the school. The villains are obvious, so there’s not much of a shock at the resolution. The plot does move along quickly, but most of the events in the rushed final chapters are quite unbelievable. Heavy topics such as suicide, abortion, abusive relationships, death, drug and alcohol use, and inappropriate teacher/student relationships make this better suited for mature readers. The setting is a small farming community in Iowa, and the characters cued white.