Title: The Reunion
Author: Kit Frick
Genre: YA, Thriller, Mystery
Published On: August 29, 2023
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: digital (Netgalley)
Pages: 352
Synopsis:
From the author of I Killed Zoe Spanos comes a YA thriller in the vein of The White Lotus and Karen M. McManus’s The Cousins following a doomed family reunion at a posh Caribbean resort, where old grudges and dangerous secrets culminate in murder.
Eleven Mayweathers went on vacation. Ten came home.
It’s been years since the fragmented Mayweather clan was all in one place, but the engagement of Addison and Mason’s mom to the dad of their future stepbrother, Theo, brings the whole family to sunny Cancún, Mexico, for winter break. Add cousin Natalia to the mix, and it doesn’t take long for tempers to fray and tensions to rise. A week of forced family “fun” reveals that everyone has something to hide, and as secrets bubble to the surface, no one is safe from the fallout. By the end of the week, one member of the reunion party will be dead—and everyone’s a suspect:
The peacekeeper: Addison needs a better hiding place.
The outsider: Theo just wants to mend fences.
The romantic: Natalia doesn’t want to talk about the past.
The hothead: Mason needs to keep his temper under control.
It started as a week in paradise meant to bring them together. But the Mayweathers are about to learn the hard way that family bonding can be deadly.
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
The Reunion is my third book by Kit Frick, and her mysteries always give me plenty to think about. If you’re a fan of the White Lotus style, you might enjoy this young adult interpretation. With a beach setting in sunny Cancún, Mexico, it’s a great choice for a pool or beach read!
“People love to glorify the truth above everything else, as if its very existence blots out all the other factors to consider, but sometimes the truth only causes pain. Sometimes, secrets are meant to stay buried.”
Kit Frick, The Reunion
I always prefer to write my reviews immediately after finishing a book, while the material is fresh on my brain. Unfortunately, I came down sick before I could do that with The Reunion. So you’re getting a review several days after I finished it. I did manage to jot down a pros and cons list, so that seems like the best way to go.
Let’s start with what I enjoyed about the book:
The beach setting in Cancún the week before New Year’s Day is fun!
Frick is great at setting up an intriguing plot with interesting characters, and I was sold on this premise: a family reunion trip with secrets, lies, and a death!
I never found myself bored while reading. It was always easy for me to pick the book back up and dive in.
The ending actually surprised me, but I’m not sure if it was exactly believable or organic to the story.
Here’s what I didn’t love about the story, or what gave me pause:
While the characters are interesting, their voices are all very similar. It was hard at times to know which narrator was speaking unless I went back to the chapter heading. And there are four narrators!
Several of our characters have anger issues, and I felt like it was overused. I’m sure it’s just to throw us off and make us suspect several people, but I wanted something new.
I’ve read several books lately where there is a lack of communication between characters, and maybe this was just one too many. Just talk to each other, already!
While I liked the idea of this mystery, the similarity of the voices from the narrators distracted me a bit. I still really enjoyed the story, reading it fairly quickly over a few days. Overall, I had fun with The Reunion!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating:
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About the Author
Kit Frick
Kit Frick is the author of B&N YA Book Club pick and Thriller Award finalist I Killed Zoe Spanos as well as the young adult thrillers See All the Stars, All Eyes on Us, and Very Bad People, and the poetry collection A Small Rising Up in the Lungs.
A Song For A Book
I’ve chosen to highlight “Get Free” by Lana Del Rey. Not only did the author mention the artist in the book, I thought Del Rey had the right feel for this mystery set at the beach.
Finally, I’m crossing the threshold
From the ordinary world to the reveal of my heart
Undoubtedly, that will for certain
Take the dead out of the sea and the darkness from the arts
This is my commitment, my modern manifesto
I’m doing it for all of us who never got the chance
For, and for (shut up, shut up)
And all my birds of paradise (shut up, shut up)
Who never got to fly at night (shut up, shut up)
‘Cause they were caught up in the dance
Sometimes it feels like I’ve got a war in my mind
I wanna get off, but I keep riding the ride
I never really noticed that I had to decide
To play someone’s game, or live my own life
And now I do
I wanna move
Out of the black (out of the black)
Into the blue (into the blue)…
Have you read The Reunion? Did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
This sounds like it could be interesting, but it also sounds like there’s too much drama / angst in the book for my tastes. I hope you’re feeling better!
It really wasn’t too much drama or angst, which is surprising for a YA book, but I just wish the characters had more unique voices. I’m feeling much better, thank you!