I know you did it by Sue Wallman.
Trigger warning: murder, mentions of a death of a young child.
Age rating: 13+
Overall rating: 4.2 out of 5
Gernes: Contemporary, mystery, thriller.
A spoiler free summary
On Ruby Marshall’s first day of school, she gets a written message on her locker: I KNOW YOU DID IT.
Now she’s petrified someone knows about the death of young girl she caused many years ago and the incident she ran away from is following her.
When students start dying Ruby might be framed as the killer or she might be next.
A story that follows a high school student exploring the struggles of moving schools and even a murderer on the loose.
Review
The beginning of the novel was a little slow paced and felt dragged on. The main mystery plot of the story started to roll halfway through the novel. But the second half of the book was quite enjoyable. The characters involved were easy to decipher and it was clear what their personality traits and their role in the plot was. During the second half of the novel there were several unexpected plot points thrown in [they were small plot points but added flair to the story], especially in the last couple chapters. A number of plot points were predictable, but I would say there was a wonderful balance of predicable and unpredictable. The writing in the book wasn’t amazing, it was very simple and would be easy to understand for a younger audience. I liked how the author incorporated music into the book without making it the central plotline. The relationships between some of the characters were quite stereotypical but fortunately it was well done. The entire novel was written in first person from the perspective of Ruby Marshall. The adults were very present in the story which is quite unusual so that was nice. Overall, I enjoyed the book and liked many of the characters such as Georgia, Euan and Mara.
Quotes
“I went to bed, feeling as if our friendship was evaporating slowly, like the reed diffuser Mum was given last Christmas which started out strong, but after a few months nothing but a faint smell and dry sticks in an empty bottle.
Recommendation
If you want a book with easy-to-understand language this would be a good book. Although murder is the main plotline there’s a sprinkle of a sweet romance.
Pros: Loved the dedication at the beginning of the book which was: “For every student who missed their school library during the pandemic.”
Cons: There was no diversity at all, if there was it wasn’t clear to me.
Enna Mari 