OUR LITTLE SECRET

A true villain gets his comeuppance in this revenge thriller.

One Monday morning, the students of Toronto’s Ridgeview Alternative School (“an oasis of acceptance” for kids interested in the arts) arrive to discover their greenhouse blocked off with yellow crime scene tape. Few are upset that the body inside is English teacher Clifford “call me Cliff” Lowell—a rumored sexual predator, known for grooming underage girls and giving popular boys unfairly bad grades. Earlier in the semester, seniors and best friends Jordan Byrne and Nick Moretti entered Lowell’s class. The teacher acted very differently toward autistic Jordan before his transition; now, both boys’ low grades jeopardize their college acceptances and scholarships. New senior transfer Chloe Underwood, on the other hand, at first welcomes Cliff’s attentions and falls under his spell, a process described in explicit scenes of grooming and sexual abuse, but she quickly realizes how manipulative he is. What starts as a silly game among Jordan, Nick, and Chloe, who all present white, becomes an actual plan to commit murder. Lowell is such a horrendous human being that readers will easily root for his demise at the hands of these understandably frustrated teenagers. At times darkly humorous, this story offers meaningful representation of the powerless taking back control within a system that’s set against them. The authors include a fun thematic parallel as talented actor Chloe plays Lady Macbeth in a school production while Nick writes and performs the music, and Jordan works tech.

Utterly satisfying.