Teen Volunteer Review: Killing November by Adriana Mather

Killing November by Adriana Mather

As part of Boston Public Library's Teen Volunteer Program, teens share their thoughts on books, movies, and more on our blog. This week, Fiona, a teen volunteer, is sharing her review of Killing November by Adriana Mather:

Killing November is the first book in the Killing November duology. It follows seventeen-year-old November who gets thrown into Academy Absconditi. This academy is not like her school back home. Here, she takes classes from knife throwing to poisons. She also learns about her family and the secret society this academy is a part of. When a student is murdered she must figure out who did it before she becomes the next victim.

I am surprised this book isn’t as popular as other young adult mysteries such as The Inheritance Games or Truly Devious when it is just as good! The setting has to be one of the best parts of this story. I loved how Mather made the castle eerie so it was perfect for a murder mystery. Also, November was a great main character. She perfectly depicted someone thrown into an environment without any background information. The one thing I disliked was that there were so many characters in this book. There were these three boys whom I especially could not tell apart. Otherwise, I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed the previously mentioned books or someone who likes to read about secret societies, castles, and secrets.