Author: Kristen Simmons
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: February 5, 2019
Pages: 384
Format: Galley/NetGalley
Pretty Little Liars meets Ocean's 11 in this intrigue-filled contemporary drama from acclaimed author Kristen Simmons.
Welcome to Vale Hall, the school for aspiring con artists.
When Brynn Hilder is recruited to Vale, it seems like the elite academy is her chance to start over, away from her mom's loser boyfriend and her rundown neighborhood. But she soon learns that Vale chooses students not so much for their scholastic talent as for their extracurricular activities, such as her time spent conning rich North Shore kids out of their extravagant allowances.
At first, Brynn jumps at the chance to help the school in its mission to rid the city of corrupt officials--because what could be better than giving entitled jerks what they deserve? But that's before she meets her mark--a senator's son--and before she discovers the school's headmaster has secrets he'll stop at nothing to protect. As the lines between right and wrong blur, Brynn begins to realize she's in way over head.
Review: So I wasn't 100% sure I was going to enjoy this going into it. I've read books with a somewhat similar vibe, but not one completely like this. But since it is by one of my absolute fave authors, Kristen Simmons, I definitely wanted to give it a go. I actually really loved this book. I was pulled in immediately! This book had such fast pacing and such an intriguing story. I read it all in one sitting!
I really liked Brynn as a character! Kristen Simmons always writes such strong female main characters! So Brynn grew up in Devon Park, which is a bit of a bad neighborhood. She has a drug dealer "stepdad" aka moms boyfriend, who thinks he can control everyone in the area and literally act like Brynn's dad. She hates it. So she's been saving up money working at the library and running cons selling show tickets to be able to afford to get out and go to college. Until moms boyfriend, Pete, takes all that money and claims she got it from stealing and selling his drugs. Because what else is a psycho, paranoid drug dealer gonna think. This massive blow up is what leads Brynn to sneak out and ends up involved in her "initiation" into Vale Hall. Quite honestly, I think she was better off there. Not just because her education was getting a boost, but also because she actually had people looking out for her and the director and security of the school looking out for her. I mean, she ends up in a situation later in the story where Pete and his lackeys find her and her friends and school administration stand up for her where her mom never would. I mean, her mom seems nice, but has absolutely no backbone. Plus, Brynn was definitely in a better place at Vale Hall because she could actually focus on her education. Pete literally tried to ground her to the point where she wouldn't even be able to leave the house for school. Despite the situations Brynn ends up in with her target, overall, I still feel its a better situation for her.
So this whole idea of having a school pretty much for con artists was very intriguing. You get a good education, and a potential full ride scholarship to the university of your choice, and all you have to do it con your way into your targets life and find out incredibly useful information that can be used to remove corruption. Sounds pretty simple. Except it isn't. You really gotta work for your scholarship and to keep yourself in Vale Hall. You got high profile targets, strenuous "work" relationships to keep up appearances on, and actual dangerous situations. While initially, the jobs seem like fun and games, they end up being so dangerous that two of our main characters end up either getting hurt or in a bad situation where one wrong move could have got them hurt or killed. I did like though that all the students had each others backs when they could help during some of the dangerous or iffy situations. I especially loved the tight, got each others back, friendship that formed with Brynn, Charlotte, Caleb and Henry. Those four were always looking out for each other and you could see how much they genuinely cared. And I really like that Brynn and Caleb built such trust with each other that they were able to rely on each other regarding their targets, even though they weren't supposed to be telling anyone else about the details of their missions. With how dangerous it got, they needed each other to be in the loop.
I thought the ending was fantastic. Not necessarily with the events, but the amount of action and secrets and schemes that come out. We find out that a number of peoples targets are actually all related and part of a bigger overall mission. I was pretty shocked at just how well thought out it was and how they got so many pieces to line up. I wasn't amused with the danger Caleb and Brynn were put in, but in the end, with how many people got locked up, including someone well hated through the book, I think it was kinda worth the danger. Plus in the end, Director Odin finally got answers regarding his sister, even though he was a bit sinister with how he had Brynn work her target to get it. However, after the way he kept secrets and went about a number of things, I definitely think we need to keep an eye on him. All is definitely not as it seems with him. I can't wait for the next book!
Ok everyone, here's a little bit of fun to go along with the book. When it was about to be published, I was able to get an acceptance letter to Vale Hall and a syllabus for the Vocational Development class from Kristen Simmons. Take a look!
