Synopses & Reviews
Lizzie wasn’t the first student at Verity High School to kill herself this year. But the difference is, she didn’t go quietly.
First it was SLUT scribbled all over the school’s lockers. But one week after Lizzie Hart takes her own life, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it — in Lizzie’s own looping scrawl. Photocopies of her diary show up in the hands of her classmates. And her best friend, Angie, is enraged.
Angie had stopped talking to Lizzie on prom night, when she caught Lizzie in bed with her boyfriend. Too heartbroken to let Lizzie explain the hookup or to intervene when Lizzie gets branded Queen of the Sluts and is cruelly bullied by her classmates, Angie left her best friend to the mercy of the school, with tragic results.
But with this new slur, Angie’s guilt transforms into anger that someone is still targeting Lizzie even after her death. Using clues from Lizzie’s diary and aided by the magnetic, mysterious Jesse, Angie begins relentlessly investigating who, exactly, made Lizzie feel life was no longer worth living. And while she might claim she simply wants to punish Lizzie’s tormentors, her anguish over abandoning and then losing her best friend drives Angie deeper into the dark, twisted side of Verity High — and she might not be able to pull herself back out.
Debut author Chelsea Pitcher daringly depicts the harsh reality of modern high schools, where one bad decision can ruin a reputation, and one cruel word can ruin a life. Angie’s quest for the truth behind Lizzie’s suicide is addictive and thrilling, and her razor-sharp wit and fierce sleuthing skills makes her impossible not to root for — even when it becomes clear that both avenging Lizzie and avoiding self-destruction might not be possible.
Synopsis
Lizzie wasn't the first student at Verity High School to kill herself this year. But the difference is, she didn't go quietly.
Lizzie's reputation is destroyed when she's caught in bed with her best friend's boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie not speaking to her, she takes her own life. But someone isn't letting her go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie's diary plaster the school, Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she didn't deserve to keep living. And while she claims she simply wants to punish Lizzie's tormentors, Angie's own anguish over abandoning her best friend will drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High--and she might not be able to pull herself back out.
About the Author
Chelsea Pitcher is a native of Portland, Oregon, where she received her BA in English Literature. The S-Word is her first novel. Follow her on twitter at @Chelsea_Pitcher and visit her website at ChelseaPitcher.com.