The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert

⭐⭐⭐/5

An unsettling exploration of toxic teenage friendship with paranormal horror vibes.

Melissa Albert perfectly captures the intense feels that accompany being a teenager. Small everyday conversations with parents and friends at lunch felt genuine, which makes the horror elements feel even more real.

The story begins with Becca going missing and her childhood best friend Nora trying to find her. We shift from past to present as we understand all the events that lead to the moment of Becca's disappearance, as well as what happens afterwards as Nora tries to uncover the mystery. Melissa slowly reveals pieces of the story, leaving us unsure if Becca ran away, is the cause of other missing students or is a victim herself. It really made me interrogate my own assumptions.

The pacing of the book is slow, because Melissa focuses on character development at the expense of moving the plot forward. In return we get fully formed main and side characters in a wonderful exploration of teenagehood.

This is a perfect book for a teen/young adult who is interested in exploring horror. As someone who is well versed in the genre, it didn't hit for me the same way it would for a YA audience.

The book is narrated by Emma Galvin, who sounds exactly like a teenager! A foundation of this book is the big emotions that accompany being a teenager, and she perfectly encapsulates that in her performance. The only thing that was a little confusing is I couldn't tell the different from when she was speaking from Beeca's point of view to Nora's point of view. They're both teenage girls from the same place, so perhaps it would have been more clear with a second narrator.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced ALC.

This book is best read after looking in the mirror and saying 'Blood Mary' three times in a row.