DIG TWO GRAVES

A self-aware retelling of Strangers on a Train with a twist.

Friendless Carlsbad, California, teen Neve Lanier goes off to GLAM—the Girls Leadership and Mentorship summer camp—where she befriends perky Diane Russell, quickly developing a crush on her. In a reference to the plot of the movie, they jokingly swear to kill each other’s bullies. For Neve, the perpetrator in question is her former best friend, Yasmin Attar, who, cued by her use of Farsi, reads as Persian American. In contrast to the default White main characters, this nonspecific coding of people of color is followed for Diane’s bully, Javier Flores, her stepbrother, who is supposedly guilty of sexual assault. While Neve had perceived this pact as a joke, Yasmin in fact turns up dead, and Diane starts blackmailing her to do her part and kill Javier in return. Complicating matters, Neve develops a crush on Javier once she gets closer to him. The story falters under the weight of pacing issues—static for nearly two-thirds of the book and rushed toward the end—as well as plot holes and inconsistent character development. Neve’s unsympathetic framing of her father’s mental illness as burdensome will not sit well with some readers. Neve is a fan of classic films, but the continual references to old movies take readers out of the narrative and ultimately add little to the story.

An anticlimactic thriller that tries to do too much.