I love a good thriller - especially one set in an elite boarding school amongst wealth and luxury, but it felt as though this book was trying to do too much by having this alongside the whole 'mother's disappearance' storyline.

6.8 cawpile, 3.5 stars

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy this but it was very confusing in parts. The perspective and timelines shift and change regularly and it was quite hard at times to be sure where you were and whose point of view you were reading.

I enjoyed the plot, especially the boarding school aspect- although I'd have liked more focus on the As and the trials plotline which I felt was lacking considering how much the synopsis talks about it- and I was interested to see where the story was going and to get to the twists.

I spotted the cover of this book and thought it looked beautiful.
At first I was put off by the multiple characters point of views as previously when reading books like this I have forgotten who’s part I was reading but I didn’t have that problem. I found the story compelling and got very invested in how it turned out.

I am a sucker for a thriller/ mystery set in a boarding school with a secret society/ initiation type read and this did not disappoint. This book is brilliantly executed. We have 3 POV’s as well as 2 timelines and she just writes them together seamlessly. Charlie was such a good imperfect, so utterly human main character. In this Charlie is trying to find out what happened to her mother when she went missing years ago. She is also trying to get into the A’s, which is the secret society that only so many people get chosen to go through. There is no sign up list. You don’t know you’ve been chosen until you get that envelope. This is such a wild ride. I didn’t know what was coming from one page to the next.

DNF. I couldn't connect with this book at all and found it really hard to get into. I had high hopes for this, which is a shame.

I was a bit dubious about starting this one. I’m always weary of longer books as there is that concern that it will be a drag and I’d end up slogging my way through it, hence why it’s taken me so long to get to it. Boy was I wrong!

This was the perfect mash up of Pretty Little Liars meets Gossip Girl but better! I started it one weekend and neglected everything until I had finished it. Come Sunday night the book was complete and all I could ask myself was why did I wait so long to read it?

There was so much going on with a lot of storylines weaving in and out of each other but I never found myself lost or confused. I loved the elite ‘A’ group and the whole initiation process, it reminded me just how cruel teenagers and school life could be. The relationships between Charlie and the other Knollwood student’s were interesting. I enjoyed seeing them develop and change particularly her relationship with Leo and Dalton. Whilst I was a little concerned about Dalton’s motives I do believe he was a genuine person and cared for Charlie, it’s just a shame that he got caught up in everything.

To top it all off we also had Charlie playing detective trying to figure out what happened to her mother and why she deserted them. I found the chapters where we were taken to past events a refreshing change from the school drama. The story between Grace and the Calloway’s was complex and beyond anything I imagined when I embarked on this story. Whilst my heart was broken at the end I couldn’t think of any other way to end Grace’s story.

Even though there was sadness at the end I did have a huge hooray moment for Charlie and what she did to change not only her path but everyone else’s. She had started as a conceited, stubborn and sarcastic character but by the end she had found her moral compass and used it for good. She become more and more likeable and relatable as the book went on which only made the book better.

For a debut this was incredible. The writing was detailed, beautiful, characters were well developed and there was a plot to keep me intrigued throughout. The story had everything; drama, mystery, romance and of course heartbreak!

DNF at 15%.

This is truly bad. The plot is crap, the atmosphere is non-existent, the characters are truly heinous and shallow and they truly don't sound like they're seventeen years old.

Gripping, a page turner, couldn't put down. All the clichés but all so definitely true. A great read with really believable characters and worthy of a place your must read pile

Update 9/1/20: it wasn’t you, it was me!

The first time I tried reading this book, I could not get into the swing of it. I just didn’t gel with the story (see original review below). But I still thought about it on and off in the intervening time between my first and second attempts.

Then a friend in my book club posted a reading challenge, and one of the prompts was to read a book that I’d previously abandoned. This felt like a good fit, or perhaps a sign from the universe that it was time to revisit it.

And boy do I have egg on my face, because I freaking loved it!

All the issues I had with it before were gone. It was compelling, and I really enjoyed the blend of narration from Charlie and her parents, it gave a unique and interesting perspective to their family dynamic, and yeah some of the characters were as I originally described, but the further I went along, the more I realised that I hadn’t given the book, nor Charlie, a genuine chance; a chance to develop, a chance to grow, a chance to tell me the story. I only saw the surface, and those early interactions and...well...I arrived at the very same conclusions that she did in the end. I learnt the same lesson.

“No one can really understand the whole of a person.”

In my first attempt, I only saw what I wanted to see, and my brain told me that it wasn’t for me. Big Mea Culpa. After trying again I now know that it was most definitely me and my frame of mind at the time, my bad, I’m sorry.

Original review 2/8/18: That cover is gorgeous, and as soon as I read the blurb I was highly intrigued about this book. However, the real thing was not what I was expecting.

I couldn’t really get into the story, nor warm to any of the characters; who came across as entitled, pretentious, superficial, and just plain rude. I usually love YA Fiction, but, I’m sorry, this one was just not for me.

In saying that though, I may try again in the future, perhaps I wasn’t in the right frame of mind when I tried reading it.

Thank you to Elizabeth Klehfoth, Penguin Random House UK, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Gossip Girl as well as Pretty Little liars, and this was a great combination read of both those twisted and turning worlds of high school kids. It was a good entertaining read that most teenagers can relate to!
Recommended.

The perfect mystery to get lost in on holiday. I read this in one sitting as I was so enthralled by the story. I don’t want to give away too much as the story has the perfect twists that a YA mystery needs, multiple timelines and a story of finding not only the truth, but also yourself too.

A gripping teen drama that can be enjoyed by teen upwards. I still cannot decide if I liked the protagonist, but that added to the interest of the story. Well-paced and a few red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I look forward to recommending this title.

All These Beautiful Strangers gave me the feeling of Pretty Little Liars, except it happened at a boarding school...mostly. The main character, Charlotte "Charlie" Calloway, wanted to find out what happened to her mother who disappeared 10 years ago. Along the way she also learned about other nasty secrets her family had themselves entangled with. There were suspenseful moments in the book, but they weren't the scary kind of suspense.

I believe this is the first time I've read a book where the main character was a narcissist. Charlie was a privileged, smart, rich girl. The narcissistic trait ran in her blood. I didn't hate her. She had strong morals. Her wittiness cracked me up. I love some of the things she said.

The ending was mostly satisfying. That's all I'm going to say.

If you're into young adult murder/suspense mysteries similar to One Of Us Is Lying, with a little bit of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars thrown into the mix, you'll love this one!

I honestly didn't expect to enjoy this novel as much as I ended up doing! I wouldn't say the ending came as a complete surprise, but the whole buildup with all the different mysteries, points of view and timelines was incredibly well executed and the beautiful yet eerie cover draws you right in.

Despite this being a considerably long book, I somehow breezed through this and couldn't put it down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.
Though Charlie and Grace weren't particularly strong (or even likeable) female leads, it just goes to show that nobody is perfect. Literally all the characters in this book have flaws! I feel like one of the messages in this novel is the importance of communication (I mean, pretty much everything that happened in this book could've been prevented if the characters just talked to eachother), family and friendship.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children’s UK for a review copy of this book.

This young adult mystery is the story of Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Calloway, the daughter of a real estate mogul who attends a post prep school, Knollwood Preparatory. She has just received an invitation to be inducted into the very secret club, the ‘A’s’ at the school for which she (and other initiates) will be given three difficult challenges which will get them to push many boundaries. But Charlie’s life is plagued by another mystery—her mother disappeared ten years ago, literally all of a sudden, and no trace has been found of her. Grace Calloway was from an ordinary, working class background so the Calloways only think the worst of her—her being a gold-digger and such. On the other hand, her mother’s family and friends believe Charlie’s father had something to do with her mother’s disappearance. When Grace’s brother, Charlie’s uncle Hank contacts her with some information about Grace, she decides to start looking into the matter. As the story proceeds, we start to see different events in different timelines from the perspective of Grace, and also of Alistair, Charlie’s father, besides Charlie herself. Going back and forth in time, the different pieces of the puzzle start to come together.

While this was a mystery, one of my favourite genres, it was very different from the mystery stories I usually read, with the prep school setting, and Gossip Girl vibes (as the description itself said). But still I found it to be a pretty interesting read. I liked how the story switched between different timelines and viewpoints, which meant that at times, the reader had learnt more about the characters’ (Charlie’s parents and friends and relatives) complicated (very) backstories than Charlie had at that point, and one was waiting to see how she finds out and how it helps her put the puzzle together. Being in a school setting, there are the usual school storylines moving on alongside—escaping curfew, classes, homecoming dance, and even a touch of romance. Though most of the students are the typical prep-school rich kids (a la Gossip Girl), one does like Charlie, even if not many of the other characters. As far as the mystery itself was concerned, it turned out that there was more than one puzzle that needed solving, but about less than halfway into the book, one could more or less work out what the broad answers to the mystery would be and how the two main mysteries were connected. But despite that, I found the book did have me hooked and reading on, both because I wanted to see whether I was right, and how things would turn out for the characters. Also the whodunit I only figured out a little later. Although about 500 pages long (a little over in fact) the book didn’t feel like it was dragging at any point, and kept me interested all through. My rating: 4 stars for this one—for a mystery to get full points from me, it really has to surprise me or have a twist I didn’t see coming, which this one didn’t really. But still, it was a very enjoyable read.

A well-written but ultimately low-stakes mystery story

When she was seven, Charlie Fairchild’s mother Grace vanished from her life without a trace, leaving behind several unanswered questions about her disappearance. Now seventeen, Charlie is determined to forget her past and to try to come to terms with the fact that her beloved mother most likely abandoned her family. While studying at the prestigious private school Knollwood, Charlie finds herself sought out by ‘The ‘A’s’, the school’s secret elite society known for their highly demanding selection process and their manipulation of the lives of those who work and study at the school. While struggling to complete the A’s demanding initiation tasks, Charlie uncovers some new information about her mother’s disappearance that seems to involve her father, real estate billionaire Alistair Calloway. As the secrets of the past and present begin to converge, Charlie discovers that some people will do anything to keep things covered up and that they don’t take kindly to people like Charlie trying to unearth the past.

This was a well-written and reasonably original mystery story with an interesting setting. The plot is written as a combination of the present-day narrative and flashbacks to Charlie’s parents and how they met, which gradually exposes more of their story and the secrets of the past at the same time as Charlie finds things out in the present. This was done very well, with the distinction between the two timelines remaining clear throughout the story and never leaving the reader confused or lost. Regarding description, the prestigious school of Knollwood was extremely well-rendered, with the boarding school lifestyle very well described, and the stress of trying to get on the right side of the popular kids by wearing the right clothes and having the right friends was very well-executed through the POV of Charlie. The elite students who use their money, popularity and influence to terrorise those they consider below them was also a thought-provoking and chilling concept, albeit slightly unrealistic.

Unfortunately, I did not connect very well with Charlie, and in fact, found her to be a bit of a selfish, privileged brat. While some of her self-serving personality traits may have been deliberately included by the author to highlight some of her similarities to her father (the equally cold and ruthless Alistair), it made me dislike her and as a result, care less about the outcome of her story. She seemed very inconsiderate of her supposed friends, and all her actions were extremely self-centred, with her only concern being herself. Many of the other characters who were presumably meant to be written as rich, obnoxious snobs were also unlikeable, which made it hard for me to engage with the book.

I also found that the story lacked any really thrilling or suspenseful moments and at no point did I feel that the characters were in any real danger. It felt more like a drama, with the main threat being to the characters’ future college prospects or their teenage reputation. I’ve never been a massive fan of this sort of American high school setting, but any readers who enjoy this sort of thing will find the cover-ups, secrets and backstabbing of the students highly enjoyable.

In conclusion, this was a fun read but a little too superficial for me. It lacked any genuinely thrilling moments, and I disliked the main character, which hampered my enjoyment of it. However, it is well written and deserves a solid three stars.

Daenerys

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

There's quite a few of these YA mysteries around at the moment. Usually I like a good yarn with an elitist school, a secret club etc, but this one didn't grab me as much as I'd hoped. However I will say that the flashbacks to the mother's life were done well. I'm not usually a fan of flashbacks, but these were interesting and kept the story going for me. An okay read but not a brilliant one.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for supplying a copy in exchange for an honest review.

All These Beautiful Strangers was recommended by one of my good friends, Bella, who knew that I enjoyed boarding schools, secret societies, and a lot of mystery. Charlie Calloway is immensely privileged. She’s rich, has a close family, a loyal set of friends and achieved top grades at her fancy boarding school. She’s always been taught that she’s different; special, better, so when an exclusive secret society – the A’s – sends her an invitation to join the club, there’s no question that she should join. But Charlie quickly finds herself at the heart of a decades-old mystery involving a terrible family crime: what does her mother’s disappearance have to do with the A’s? And is Charlie willing to risk her membership to find out?

Continue reading the review over on Pretty Books: https://prettybooks.co.uk/2018/09/18/what-ive-read-all-these-beautiful-strangers-my-heart-goes-bang-more-happy-than-not/

Teen read. Wasn’t aware of this until I became a bit bemused by the style. Once I realised it was this genre I read it with a different mind set. I’m not a teenager but I’d have enjoyed it if I was. 5/5 on goodresds

Beautifully written and evocative, this book kept me turning the pages frantically. I was sucked into the world of Charlie Calloway immediately and was reluctant to leave. A fantastic debut and I'm looking forward to seeing what Elizabeth Klehfoth does next!