Kids face every possible pitfall of modern adolescence as they go from eighth grade to senior year of high school in Mill Valley, California.Johnsons debut novel bristles with authentic detail of life in Marin County, where the author was born and raised. She knows the high schoolstuccoed Creamsicle-orange, generously windowed, and radiantly trimmed; the parents: rich hippies parading along the triangle of avenues, congratulating themselves for buying Priuses along with their Range Rovers and getting their overpriced organic oranges at Whole Foods; the teachers: nothing they enjoy more than "laughing bitterly at their own poverty" or "the insanity of Mill Valley parents"; and the local version of each archetypal teenage clique. Here the stoners, for example, are the Bo-Stin beach kids, from the coastal towns of Bolinas and Stinson Beach, with hair that waved to their waists or shaggy mops or dreads, cutoff shorts or ripped flared jeans and thrift-store tank tops. Johnson knows exactly how they talkThats just Nick. Hes always doing some cutty James Bond shit like that; how they feel playing video games: The head exploded and shot fireworks of blood and bone into the sky and for a minute he felt hella raw; and how they address each other on social media: omfg em r u ok I cant beleive this happened. Perhaps this acutely observed novel would have been more successful if the author hadn't felt compelled to include all of the following scenarios: A boy bullied into jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge by social media taunts. A girl preyed on by a pedophile middle school teacher, exposed on Snapchat. A supersmart drug dealer charging a desperate Asian striver $700 to take his SAT. A beautiful girl everyone hates. A house party that ends in a car wreck sending kids to the hospital and juvie. And last but not least, a popular athlete lured over the internet into acting in pornographic gay films. Hella effort but may not make bank. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Johnson's debut novel centering on a high school in a wealthy suburb of San Francisco is a compelling story to which almost everyone can relate. Strong characters, issues ripped from today's headlines, age-old teen angst, and an idealistic new teacher bring life to an unforgettable story that is heartbreaking on so many levels. The main teen characters' lives were forever changed by a tragedy in middle school that they all played a part in, and now in high school, they are finally coming to terms with it. Told from a variety of viewpoints, this novel pulls emotion out of the listener, flaying the open wounds with which everyone escapes high school. Cassandra Campbell, as always, does an extraordinary job differentiating among the many teens and adults, without going to extremes. Verdict Destined to become a book club sweetheart. ["Johnson's polished debut novel puts a human face to the details of today's daily headlines of teen life.. This bleak, potent picture will scare the pants off readers": LJ 10/15/16 starred review of the Random hc.]-Donna Bachowski, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., Orlando, FL © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In a wealthy California neighborhood, a middle school case of cyberbullying leads to tragedy. Three years later, the now-high-school-aged kids are each dealing with their own stresses and personal issues: average student Dave suffers from his Asian parents' insistence that he get straight As and become a doctor; Abigail falls into an affair with a predatory teacher; troublemaker Damon goes to mandatory drug rehab and struggles to get his life together. Campbell's narration is empathetic, layered, diverse, and nuanced. Every character has a distinctive voice, and her acting is spot-on, even when multiple characters are having a conversation. Her choices are well-thought-out and astute: in the initial chapter on cyberbullying, her voice is neutral and factual, which makes the horror all the more chilling. A Random House hardcover. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Set in wealthy Marin County, California, Johnson's debut novel takes a look at the dark side of the suburbs. Molly, a young, wide-eyed teacher, takes over a high-school English class in the middle of the year. She wants to build rapport with her privileged students but never manages to connect. And how could she? These kids go way back they remember the middle-school incident that led to Tristan Bloch's suicide and left them all broken in one way or another. Calista, the object of Tristan's affection, spends most of her time stoned. Her friend Abigail finds herself in a dangerous relationship with a teacher. Damon, one of Tristan's bullies, ends up in jail, while Nick becomes the town's main drug dealer. It's all a bit much Johnson never gives the reader time to connect with any of the characters (there's hardly a sympathetic one to be found), and piling one soap-opera situation on top of another without any breathing room is a bit wearying. Still, Johnson shows flashes of good storytelling, and this may appeal to readers who like issue-driven fiction.--Vnuk, Rebecca Copyright 2016 Booklist

In every class, there is one kid who seems to attract bullies. At Mill Valley Middle School, that kid is eighth grader Tristan Bloch. Day after day, he eats lunch in the guidance counselor's office, wearing the same yellow sweatpants. Fellow classmate Callie absentmindedly accepts an origami bird from Tristan, one of the dozens that he obsessively folds each day. But, to Callie's shock, Tristan responds a few days later by sending her an eloquent love letter. Callie shares the letter with her BFF, Abigail, who in turn shows it to popular jock Ryan. On Facebook, Ryan and some of his buddies start deriding Tristan, with Abigail and other classmates piling on. Just before the end of eighth grade, Tristan kills himself. Readers catch up with these same kids for their junior and senior years of high school. The memory of Tristan seems to have faded, but his death has clearly left its mark. The rest of the book is told from the third-person perspectives of various students and teachers, revealing their suppressed grief and guilt. Each new protagonist offers such a unique point of view that the title reads like connected short stories. Despite the gritty, realistic theme, there is plenty of sly wit, such as when junior David Chu struggles with the strategies for SAT success. ("Pronouns: Mr. Ellison does not like He. He does not like You.") Debut novelist Johnson creates full-bodied characters who are impulsive, irrational, and never beyond redemption. She submerges readers in a complex tale told with beautiful prose and raw emotion, focusing on a danger that adolescents know too well-the hubris of youth. VERDICT For those who appreciate dark, intense reads.-Diane Colson, City College, Gainesville, FL © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.