Today is my stop on the #WhoWeWere blog tour.
SYNOPSIS:
A KILLER TWENTY-YEAR REUNION.
AND YOU'RE INVITED...
Twenty years after they went their separate ways, friends and enemies are coming together for their school reunion. Katy, who is desperate to show that she's no longer the shy wallflower. Annabel, who ruled the school until a spectacular fall from grace. Zach, popular and cruel, but who says he's a changed man. And Robbie, always the victim, who never stood a chance.
As the reunion nears, a terrible event that binds the group together will resurface. Because someone is still holding a grudge, and will stop at nothing to reveal their darkest secrets...
My Yearbook Entry:
Name: Gemma
What will you be remembered for: Doing stupid accidental things, like breaking my chair in Art and falling to the floor, not joining in during P.E, slipping down the Science corridor.
Best memories of high school: School trip to France; the friends I made; being in the drama productions.
Worst memories of high school: So many...Skiing trip, Maths, Art and Science lessons.
What will you be doing ten years from now: Working as a Primary School Teacher.
I didn't particularly enjoy my high school years. I hated P.E, the awkwardness of being a teenager, the politics involved, not being 'cool' enough. I guess I felt I had a few friendship groups but didn't really 'fit' in to any one particular group. The joys of schools. However, I did go on to become a Primary School Teacher so I couldn't have hated school that much 😜
My Thoughts:
This book will definitely evoke memories of your own experiences of school, whether you loved or hated it. The colourful mixture of characters within the novel are not only realistic but relatable. This book explores the effects of bullying and how it can eat away at you even in adult life, both from the perspective of victim and perpetrator.
I loved the structure of this book with the inserts from the original Yearbook, this allowed you to get to grips with the multiple characters in the novel very quickly. I loved the idea of a reunion 20 years on (I would personally hate this and probably wouldn't attend 😁); I was intrigued to see how each of the characters perceived themselves and their aspirations for the future, it was also great to hear about their own hangups as adults in regards to the reunion and to how their lives had in fact turned out. The pressure of living up to everyone's expectations and not appearing a failure is very true to life and made it a fascinating read.
Katy was probably the person I liked and related to the most in the story. Someone who was very much overlooked during her high school years but went on to achieve most things she set her mind too. I loved the easy way she formed relationships with people and how she set about to orchestrate the reunion. She was kind, caring and levelheaded.
The mystery behind who was sending the cruel notes was captivating and I started to mistrust everyone; I was desperate to find out who responsible for jeopardising the reunion. I became very much emotionally involved with the characters and the story line and must confess shed a few tears towards the end. This is a book that will evoke nostalgia, is a quick and easy read yet surprisingly deep and at times poignant.
Many thanks to Viper Books for inviting me to join the Who We Were blog tour.
Author:
B.M. Carroll was born in Ireland, and spent her early career working in finance.
She is the author of eight novels, her most recent being The Missing Pieces of Sophie McCarthy.
She lives in Sydney.
Don't forget to check out the other classmates involved in the blog tour.
