Welcome to Read This Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!
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Happy Friday, everyone! I’m excited it’s the weekend because these winter storms and many inches of snow we’ve been getting in the Midwest make me want to just stay home with a good book. I’ve collected my library holds and stocked up on tea, and I just want to read all weekend long. Today’s recommendation is great fun and the perfect book to breeze through in an afternoon!
Murder on a School Night by Kate Weston
Kerry and Annie are best friends, bonded by their love of feminism and their mission to make the world a more welcoming place. They’re also social outcasts (Annie’s penchant for screaming about periods and vulvas may have something to do with that) who aspire to be an investigative journalist and a detective, respectively, so when a mystery about popular girl Heather’s harassing messages on Instagram turns up, Annie volunteers them for the job. This leads them to a popular crowd party, where a girl is found dead with a menstrual cup stuffed in her mouth…and that’s just the beginning of what the media dubs “the Menstrual Murders” — murders where period products are left behind on the victims. Annie is certain they can crack the case. Kerry isn’t convinced. Either way, they’re in too deep to back out now!
This was a very funny and madcap mystery that actually reminded me of the TV show Sex Education — but with murder! The closest YA book equivalent I could think of was the Trouble is a Friend of Mine series by Stephanie Tromly (also excellent), but suffice it to say, if you like shenanigans and ill-advised schemes and sweaty palms over both murder and first kisses, then this book is for you! It’s told from the point of view of Kerry, whose mom is a sex therapist, and encourages open communication, much to her frustration and occasional horror. Annie is her best friend, whom she loves dearly, even if she is always pushing them into social situations that seem a bit absurd, all in the name of improving their social standing. Kerry isn’t thrilled about being dragged into an investigation involving the popular kids in their grade, mostly because they’ve never looked at Annie and Kerry once, but she is very much into Scott, the new boy who will definitely be at their parties. Their hijinks are absurd yet endearing and even somewhat relatable (who amongst us hasn’t angsted over a new crush and done absurd things in the name of pursuing love?), and the mystery keeps them all on their toes. Kerry and Annie’s friendship is what shines throughout this book — like the protagonists of Booksmart, they are relentlessly supportive of each other, and they know their worth. Their clear-eyed view of feminism and the way they critique the patriarchy also comes across as funny and real and not a bit didactic, making this book funny and smart. 10/10 would read another crime novel starring this investigative duo!
Happy reading!
Tirzah
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