Review by Booklist Review
Amanda Pruitt (anonymously) betrayed her sister, social media wannabe Cora. When star influencer Summer Cartwright was poisoned, Amanda found what she thought was evidence incriminating her sister, only to later find out she was wrong. Cora has just been proven innocent in court, and all Amanda wants is to get away. While Cora and their mom plan a vacation to Cabo, Amanda is returning to Colorado, home of her friends Mallory, Cole, and Vince, and the site of even more social media trauma as Vince's mom is arrested for the murder of billionaire Royden Das. The hotel where they all live is failing, so a reality TV investigation of Das' murder could save them all, but the host is insisting on outing Amanda as Until Proven, the handle she used as a true-crime TikToker when she turned Cora in. In this follow-up to Live Your Best Lie (2023), Weaver dives into another magnetic true-crime mystery. Chapters interspersed with social media posts and alternating POVs lend flair to the story.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--Four friends, two dead bodies, and one vengeful ghost await readers in this second installment of Weaver's "Like Me Block You" series. Amanda Pruitt is finally back in Colorado at her aunt's famously haunted mountaintop hotel for the summer after three years away. She's ready to turn her life around after getting her sister arrested for a crime she didn't commit, then secretly broadcasting the trial on TikTok. Her plan? Help friend (and potential flame) Vince Sanchez-Reyes exonerate his mother, who was found at the hotel holding a literal smoking gun by the body of local billionaire Royden Das. Amanda, Vince, and their friends Mallory and Cole will go to great lengths to discover the truth--including inviting a ghost hunter reality show to the hotel. The four, all of whom present white except for dark-haired, brown-skinned Vince, face a tangled web of lies and deceit that could sink or save the fortunes of the Summit Hotel as well as the Sanchez-Reyes family. When a second body is discovered on the grounds and Amanda becomes the main suspect, pressure mounts to get to the bottom of things once and for all. VERDICT For fans of Weaver's first novel, especially those who enjoy a complex mystery à la Knives Out with a hint of the paranormal.--Darla Salva Cruz
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A Los Angeles teen whose sister has just been found not guilty of murder becomes embroiled in another mystery in this follow-up to Live Your Best Lie (2023). Amanda's life has been a mess with all that's happened with her sister, not least because Amanda started posting anonymously on TikTok about it--and now that Cora's been exonerated, Amanda worries she'll find out she's behind the account. Amanda has struggled in Los Angeles, missing longtime friends Mallory, Cole, and Vince, who are in Colorado. Trying to escape the glare of media attention, Amanda flees to the Colorado mountains to stay with her aunt, who works at Mallory's family's hotel. But her friends have also had a rough few years. Vince's mother is in jail, charged with the murder of Lillia Das' grandfather. (Lillia's a peer on the fringe of their group, and someone with whom Amanda shares a secret bond.) Readers will easily sympathize with Amanda's earnest third-person voice. Many more secrets twist their way through this story involving several families in an insular tourist town, a true-crime documentary producer wanting to feature the Das case, and a ghost story connected to the hotel. Weaver packs a lot into this page-turner, interspersing flashbacks and online speculations about the various cases and leaving readers guessing throughout. Amanda, Mallory, and Cole are cued white; Vince is Latino, and Lillia is from Kolkata. An engrossing, sprawling whodunit. (Mystery. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
