If You Wrong Us

October 5, 2015
In this unsettling thriller from Klehr (The Cutting Room Floor), Detroit teenagers Becca Waters and Johnny Vega are brought together by a car accident that takes the lives of Johnny's mother and Becca's twin sister. Shifting among Johnny, Becca, and an anonymous user posting on the confessional website Hush, Klehr provides multiple perspectives on events both before and after the accident, which Becca doesn't believe to be accidental at all. As Klehr gives a glimpse into the mindset of an individual bent on getting payback, she slowly reveals the intricacy of Becca and Johnny's revenge plan, even as their relationship begins to deteriorate. Klehr starkly describes how far two teens will go for their loved ones, with Becca blinded by rage and Johnny blinded by love. While the final revelations and an inconclusive ending may not sit well with readers who like to see "justice" served, the climactic showdown is gripping, and the path to it has plenty of grim twists and turns to hold readers' attention. Ages 12âup. Agent: Jessica Sinsheimer, Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency.

August 1, 2015
Within the crumbling city of Detroit, two grief-stricken teens discover a tenuous thread that ties their personal tragedies together and concoct a sinister plan for vengeance. Johnny is a handsome, olive-skinned, Mexican jock who excels at sports but has difficulties academically. Becca is a fair, red-haired honor student whose brilliance is overshadowed by her lack of social skills. The two, with seemingly nothing in common, meet coincidentally at a crash site where Becca's twin sister, Brit, and Johnny's mother both died in a head-on collision. Becca, believing that the accident was anything but, befriends Johnny and convinces him to help her exact a plan for revenge. Their friendship deepens into romance, as does her control over him. When their plan goes horribly wrong-though wrong apparently only to Johnny-he begins to question the truth about Becca, their relationship, and their jointly diabolical plot for retribution. The story is told in short, keep-the-pages-flying, alternating chapters by Johnny and Becca, allowing readers to get into their heads as the intensity of their relationship ratchets to a darkly dangerous climax. Rife with angst and twists, Becca and Johnny's machinations seem to come to a somewhat far-reaching end; however, with the intense pacing and plotting, this should be easily forgiven.An intricate psychological page-turner that explores the darker side of vengeance and reads like Gone Girl through a teen lens. (Thriller. 13 & up)

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September 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-High school seniors Becca and Johnny are an unusual couple: she's a super-smart recluse, and he's been labeled a dumb jock. Their quickly escalating relationship was born of tragedy: Becca's twin sister and Johnny's mother were killed in the same car accident. But Becca knows it was not an accident, and she persuades Johnny to believe the same. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and Becca and Johnny certainly take their time to plot against Travis, a fellow schoolmate who they're convinced intentionally caused the crash. The novel is at times a gripping page-turner and a thought-provoking primer on the merits of revenge. But there are a few missteps. Too many narrators muddle the plot: Becca and Johnny's points of view are featured in alternating chapters, which are sometimes broken up by sections of two more anonymous narrators. Extraneous characters and inauthentic teen dialogue also weigh down the story. And in the quest for revenge, Becca's and Johnny's actions and their ability to roam so freely without parents noticing anything amiss are not believable. VERDICT A dark (and uneven) tale of retribution that will appeal to teens looking for a quick read.-Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann School, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 Revenge . . . is not impulsive, or reactionary, or blind. It is calculating, patient, and observant, muses a character in Klehr's taut thriller. Johnny, a jock with a learning disability, and Becca, a socially awkward honor student, have nothing in common until they are joined by tragedy: a head-on collision that kills Johnny's mother and Becca's identical twin. But was the crash an accident? Becca thinks not, and she persuades Johnny to help her retaliate against their classmate Travis, whom she believes staged the crash. Their partnership blossoms into romance, but when the time comes to make Travis pay, Johnny learns how much Becca has kept him in the darkand made him culpable. Johnny and Becca both narrate this story from different points in time, and the deceptively simple structure disguises some clever traps for readers' expectations. Short chapters give the story momentum, and the suspense intensifies as Becca reveals her plan. With such a buildup, it's a shame that the ending is a letdown, but readers will leave unsettled anyway.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)