Cambria Brockman | TELL ME EVERYTHING

Plot (via Goodreads):

In her first weeks at Hawthorne College, Malin is swept up into a tight-knit circle that will stick together through all four years. There's Gemma, an insecure theater major from London; John, a tall, handsome, and wealthy New Englander; Max, John's cousin and a shy pre-med major; Khaled, a wise-cracking prince from Abu Dhabi; and Ruby, a beautiful art history major. But Malin isn't quite like the rest of her friends. She's an expert at hiding her troubling past. She acts as if she is concerned with the preoccupations of those around her - boys, partying - all while using her extraordinary insight to detect their deepest vulnerabilities and weaknesses.

By Senior Day, on the cusp of graduation, Malin's secrets - and those of her friends - are revealed. While she scrambles to maintain her artfully curated image, her missteps set in motion a devastating chain of events that ends in a murder. And as their fragile relationships hang in the balance and close alliances start shifting, Malin will test the limits of what she's capable of to stop the truth from coming out.

Review:

First and foremost - Cambria Brockman is the ultimate cool girl - I mean, have you seen her Instagram? It's like Serena van der Woodsen grew up and just reached major all-star status. Anyway, you know how I hate when people are like "Ohhhh this is the new Gone Girl....Girl on the Train....blah blah blah." No. There's room for other fish in the sea. But, I guarantee the more people that read  this one, the more people will be looking for the next Tell Me Everything. I am one of those people. I will be looking for something that will blow me away in the same respect that Cambria Brockman did with this story. It's probably never going to happen, but I don't care.

Tell Me Everything is the ultimate read for me. It is layered, propulsive, dangerously paced, and sensational. Part coming-of-age, part psychological thriller, and a definitive and unsettling character study into the mind of one of the most complex characters I have ever read in my entire life. A Secret History meets Gone Girl meets Gossip Girl in this stunning read - I couldn't put this one down for long. I would take small mental breaks to try to digest what I just read or read certain parts again and again because they were either chilling, funny, or just so effectively written. Seriously - the prose in this novel is so razor sharp that it's dangerous just to pick it up.

I am all for collegiate settings in a thriller and this one did not disappoint. Unlike others, Brockman really exposed this setting realistically. It wasn't all glitz and glamor, it was the beauty, the ugliness, the temperatures of New England were even justified so effectively within her writing. Combining that with the fact that this one kind of has not one, not two, but three different timelines just really sent me over the edge of glory. We have the almost happier kind of coming-of-age timeline where we meet our main character Malin and her group of friends she is making. We have the chilling and ominous timeline of Senior Day - a day in which all of the seniors celebrate their upcoming graduation with day drinking and traditions - and then the small chapters that are more sporadic that feature Malin's upbringing in Houston.

Let's. Talk. About. These. Characters. MY GOD! Malin is the ultimate good girl gone bad or bad girl gone good. She is unapologetic, stunning to read, and just really carries this story brilliantly. The secondary characters were also all so fantastic - I mean, they just all really shine in their own ways and deliver plot points through their personalities in such a stunning way. Everything in this story was done in such a sensational way, but when it comes together like it does in a story like this, I was riveted and kept pausing to be like "Are we SURE this is a debut novel?" I can't give anymore away, but I will say that the pacing with this story was the cherry on top of a really chilling sundae. This novel really progresses into darkness the further you read and I was just captivated the entire time. I will say, Part 3 was the ultimate thriller-lovers dream and the very last page of this was my favorite last page of any book that I have ever read. EVER.

Dear Cambria, I don't care what you do next. I don't care if you have another novel that is connected to this one (and you know what I mean because we talked about it on Instagram) - I also don't care if your next novel is not connected. I don't care what you do from here on out - I just want you to know that all I care about is you keep writing so I can keep reading. Deal? Seriously, your talent feeds my love of stories like this and I don't want you to ever stop telling me stories.

Special thanks to Ballantine Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review...and major shout-out to Cambria Brockman for not only writing this one, but for listening to me constantly YAP about it on Instagram.

Rating: 5/5