First We Were IV

May 15, 2017
Four friends cement their bond with a secret society that gets beyond out of hand.Opening with the arrival of the police and the statement that "First we were four. Now we are three," the story then jumps back to relate how the four became friends, leaving the mystery of what happens to one of them (and to which one) to tantalize and pull readers through the story. The complicated bond among the four is born when they discover a dead body--it's a teenage girl, a written-off runaway, a murder never really investigated. Years later, now seniors in high school and wanting permanence for their friendship, the four invent a secret society, IV, to rebel against authority with meaningful pranks. Turned toward justice when they take down a pervy educator, they step things up by prodding at the long-buried murder. The destruction and cultlike mythos continue to escalate (brutally, for some animals), as popular kids--some their tormentors--want in on the action. The intoxicating power morphs justice to vengeance as the secrets unravel. Of the four, two are white and two are people of color; class tensions play the primary role in the conflicts, from the dead girl to school bullying. Sirowy's emphasis is on moral complexity, nailing the way good intentions can have catastrophic unintended consequences A disturbing, morally gray, intense page-turner. (Thriller. 16-adult)

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July 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-A secret society born through shared slights and promises among four friends is the centerpiece of this YA novel about revenge, friendship, and small-town murder. Izzie Pendleton can't stop thinking about the murdered runaway girl whom she and her friends found when they were younger. Izzie, Viv, Graham, and Harry, now seniors, create the secret society, IV, whose mission is to wreak havoc on their community. "We start a group dedicated to clandestine activities. We'll have rituals. Ones that we swear to repeat." What starts out as empowerment turns into retribution as the members of IV take revenge in the name of the girl murdered as well as on their high school tormentors. Although the book is told through Izzie's perspective, the other characters' thoughts are interwoven throughout via transcripts of recorded videos. As their pranks escalate, so do the consequences each member faces, leading to a suspenseful climax. Izzie, Viv, Graham, and Harry are all well-developed characters with their own rationales for their destructive actions. VERDICT A strong choice for fans of E. Lockhart's We Were Liars and Lauren Oliver's Panic.-Michelle Foster, North Caroline High School, Ridgely, MD

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Izzy and Graham have been inseparable since they were grade-school troublemakers. Over the years, their circle grew: first they added dramatic thespian Viv. Then came quiet, watchful Harry, and their circle of four was complete. For Izzy, these friendships are all-consuming, and as senior year progresses, she worries about the future. It's Izzy's idea to create a secret societyone last year of mayhem and memories to tie them all together. It's Izzy, too, who fixates on an old town mystery: five years ago, a girl was murdered, and Izzy and her friends found her eerily displayed body. The case was never solved, and Izzy harbors a long-buried anger against the police who dismissed it. Between the secret society, the murder, a revenge plot, and a budding romance, there's one thread too many here, but Sirowy (The Telling, 2016) is a master of suspense and keeps all the pieces moving fast enough that readers won't stop to be confused. Shocking, inventive, and woven through with dread, this is a satisfying mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)