A Dream Within A Dream: Amanda K. Morgan

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Such a Good Girl
Author: Amanda K. Morgan
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: June 20, 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Description:

Riley Stone is just about perfect. (Ask anyone.)
She has a crush on her French teacher, Alex Belrose. (And she suspects he likes her, too.)
Riley has her entire life planned out. (The plan is nonnegotiable.)
She's never had a secret she couldn't keep. (Not ever.)
Riley is sure that her life is on the right track. (And nothing will change that.)
She's nothing like a regular teenager. (But she doesn't have any problem admitting that.)
Riley doesn't usually play games. (But when she does, she always wins.)

She thinks a game is about to start...
But Riley always has a plan...
And she always wins.

Such a Good Girl is a thrilling YA contemporary that will have readers on the edge of their seats and devouring each page. This is going to be kind of hard for me to review because I don't want to give anything away - and that's tricky for this book. The description gives you a little taste of Riley - the main character - but doesn't really tell you much about the plot. It's twisty, dark, and full of suspense. I got sucked in immediately and couldn't quit reading until I finished - which only took a few hours. I honestly haven't been drawn into a book that way in awhile, so that's how I know it's a good one.

Riley is a fascinating and unique main character. She's a "good girl" - she has been as perfect as possible from a young age. She gets perfect grades, is valedictorian, captain of the cheer squad, tries to be humble and nice to everyone, doesn't drink or even attend parties, does tons of charity work and fundraisers - including running several - and so on. She must be perfect and won't accept anything else. She has flaws - everyone does - and one of these (in her mind) is crushing on her French teacher. I'm not going into detail here because I don't want to ruin anything, but let's just say we get to know Riley a lot better and we see some of her other qualities that she doesn't show anyone else. She was incredibly realistic and easy for me to connect with right away. Mostly because she reminded me of myself, especially when I was in high school. I could identify with a lot of her "rules" that she has for herself. Perfect grades. No partying. Always be seen in a good light. Make your parents proud. Be a star student. And so on. I got her and fell into her thoughts easily. Didn't quite prepare me for what was to come though - that's all I'm saying about that. One other mention is about the writing style. The book is done in the first person, from Riley's perspective. I'm SO happy the author chose to write it this way! It was the perfect fit for the story and it definitely wouldn't have had the same impact if written in another way. Riley's point of view was exactly how this should've been told - and it allowed the story to flow effortlessly but with tons of suspense and tension building.

The plot was awesome. I didn't know what to expect going in because of the vague-ish description, but I wanted to give it a shot. Needless to say, I lost myself in the story and I'm still kind of reeling (and somewhat confused) about what happens. There are lots of twists you don't see coming at all. I thought I knew where things were going and what was really happening, but I was always wrong. I love thrillers and it takes a lot to impress me after reading so many, but this managed to do it. Towards the end, I had figured most of it out, but I couldn't stop reading. The story just kept getting more suspenseful and I just had to see what was going to happen next. That's about all I can say without spoilers, but I loved it. I very highly recommend this one for fans of YA thrillers, mysteries, suspense, and contemporary!

Amanda K. Morgan is a freelance writer living in Nashville, TN. She covers events and works on freelance projects when she isn't working on her YA novels.

At age 15, Amanda finished her first novel and continued to write in college, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in English and an emphasis in Creative Writing.

Amanda’s books include After Hours, written as Claire Kennedy, Secrets Lies and Scandals, and Such a Good Girl.

For more information on Amanda's freelance/technical writing, to ask for information on a specific project, or for other questions, contact her.

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Secrets, Lies, and Scandals
Author: Amanda K. Morgan
Genre: YA Thriller/Mystery
Release Date: July 5, 2016
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Rating: 4 Stars!

Synopsis:

In the tradition of I Know What You Did Last Summer and How to Get Away with Murder, five teens must overcome their paranoia in order to keep their teacher’s death a secret in this fast-paced suspense thriller.

Nothing ruins summer vacation like a secret…especially when it involves a dead teacher.

Ivy used to be on top of the social ladder, until her ex made that all go away. She has a chance to be Queen Bee again, but only if the rest of the group can keep quiet.

Tyler has always been a bad boy, but lately he’s been running low on second chances. There’s no way he’s going to lose everything because someone couldn’t keep their mouth shut.

Kinley wouldn’t describe herself as perfect, though everyone else would. But perfection comes at a price, and there is nothing she wouldn’t do to keep her perfect record—one that doesn’t include murder charges.

Mattie is only in town for the summer. He wasn’t looking to make friends, and he definitely wasn’t looking to be involved in a murder. He’s also not looking to be riddled with guilt for the rest of his life…but to prevent that he’ll have to turn them all in.

Cade couldn’t care less about the body, or about the pact to keep the secret. The only way to be innocent is for someone else to be found guilty. Now he just has to decide who that someone will be.

With the police hot on the case, they don’t have much time to figure out how to trust each other. But in order to take the lead, you have to be first in line…and that’s the quickest way to get stabbed in the back.

Secrets, Lies, and Scandals is a taut young adult thriller that will have readers devouring each page. The plot isn't wholly original - a horrid teacher dies after a night summer school class, and five students witness it all. Each has their own reason for taking the course, for being at the school that late, for not wanting to be connected to the death in any way. What happens after that is what really gets the story moving - you don't know who is lying or who to trust - who might band together or turn on each other. Each of the students has something big going on in their lives that could be ruined by a mere few minutes - but can they all keep their secret?

I'm a huge fan of thrillers, so I was definitely excited to read this book. I was eager to see how things would happen and play out during the after-effects of the death of their teacher - and I wasn't disappointed in the least. There were lots of unanswered questions, lies, and not quite knowing what was going to happen - which kept me on the edge of my seat until I had finished the entire book (which ended up with a binge read that lasted only a few hours). The author did a fantastic job with every aspect of the story - the plot was intriguing and kept you guessing, the characters were all rounded with their own distinct personalities and issues, and the writing seemed to flow naturally. One thing that I both loved and hated (weirdly enough) was the author's writing style. The book is told from the five students perspectives, but it's written in the third person point of view. I absolutely loved that we got to see everything that happens from multiple characters - it really helped to build the suspense and kept dropping little twists and turns that came back up in the story later on. The only thing that could've made this better was if it had been done in the first person POV. I'm a huge advocate for using that writing style - mainly because of the deep personal connection that forms between the reader and the narrator. If the author would've written the book in the same style - but using the first person POV - this would have been a home run for me. I think the idea of using multiple narrators was smart and definitely added to the suspense, but it was dampened a bit because of the detached feeling of the writing. I hope that makes sense - it feels like I'm just rambling and not getting my point across. In essence, if everything had been exactly the same - except written in the first person point of view from each character's unique perspective - this book would be nothing short of amazing. It would have had me guessing until the end and would've added genuine thrills to the story - it would have been one of the best books I've read this year. Don't get me wrong - I really liked this book! It's just my personal issue with the whole point of view thing that hung me up a bit. This novel is great just as it is and I know that it'll be a big hit, especially for fans of the genre. I definitely highly recommend reading this book - for fans of mysteries, thrillers, suspense, contemporary fiction and even just readers looking for an overall well written book.

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Amanda K. Morgan is a freelance writer living in Nashville, TN. She covers events and works as a technical writer when she isn't working on her YA novels.

At age 15, Amanda finished her first novel and continued to write in college, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in English and an emphasis in Creative Writing.

Amanda is an avid volleyball player and spends time playing both indoors and out. When Amanda isn't writing, she enjoys being entirely too busy and trying new things. Endeavors as of late include appearances in music videos, TV, and movies, rock climbing, and attending as many concerts and shows as her schedule allows.

Amanda headed up the Do The Write Thing for Nashville Project (with co-organizers/authors Victoria Schwab and Myra McEntire), which tapped some of the biggest authors, editors, and agents in the industry for an online auction that raised over $70,000 for Midsouth flood relief.