The Bookworm says... Yes! Bad Girls With Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten is twisted and sick in all the right ways.When Xavier dumps his cheating girlfriend, Ivy, Sasha is relieved that her best friend has finally seen the light; however, a few short weeks later, Ivy and Xavier are back together. Sasha feels the need to protect Xavier, whether it be out of platonic or romantic concern, and creates a fake online persona to trick Ivy. As Sasha poses as the confident, mysterious Jake behind a screen and begins messaging Ivy, she hopes that Ivy will be distracted from Xavier and that he will somehow realize Ivy is unfaithful and untrustworthy. The more Sasha pretends to be Jake, and the more she talks to Ivy, the more she realizes she is digging herself into a hole she won't be able to escape from.
Much like in her novel Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls, Lynn Weingarten creates a haunting plot line with twists and turns to keep even the most seasoned readers engaged. The most admirable quality of her writing is how genuine the stories are; all of her characters are real. Ivy is you, Sasha is me, Xavier is that boy who lives down the street... We can see ourselves in the characters, and as we watch them make wrong decision after wrong decision we wonder if we could ever do something like that. We wonder if we know ourselves as well as we think we do. When a book makes you question your moral standings, your character, your integrity, and your mental strength, you know the author is doing something right. How far would you go for someone you love? (If you think you know the answer to that question, read this book and then think again)
"When you are careening toward disaster, you never know it until it is way too late"
DISCLAIMER: Review is based on an advance uncorrected reader's proof. Tentative on-sale date is September 5th, 2017.
Previously reviewed by Lynn Weingarten: Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls