Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham

This is a story about college students in the United States, how they have their unchosen leaders, the sense of belonging, forming friendships, testing and discovering each other. Oh, and of course, doing regretful bad things brought on by too much drinking, drugs, sex and partying.

The tale is from the perspective of one girl who has moved far away from her hometown to have a fresh start following the death of her best friend. She is immediately taken in by another enigmatic girl who reminds her of her late friend, and that comparison goes throughout the whole book. However, where the story starts she is missing and the police are investigating her disappearance. They inform the group that they recently questioned their  leader over the death of a boy from the frat house next door.

A rather slow and uneventful book with dull and unpleasant characters, with repeated mundane details appearing too frequently. Cleverly, these details become significant at the end, even if sometimes credulality is stretched a little. One of the dark secrets is a tad predictable but there are other revelations that save this over long book. At around four hundred pages long, a hundred could be cut without damaging the story. Themes include friendships dynamics, loyalty, betrayal and accountability.

A change from Willingham's previous books, but a  great read for the young adult market, particularly in America.

Also by Stacy Willingham: A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things

Published by HarperCollins UK on 1 February 2024.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.