Rose and Bel are twins, but no one would ever confuse them as identical. One is a plain jane, the other an exotic beauty. One is rebellious in style and spirit, the other studious and a rule-follower. Perhaps most striking, one is alive, the other is dead.

The recently orphaned twins are enrolled in a prominent New England boarding school by their grandmother. While a dream come true for Rose, this prestigious and pretentious establishment is everything Bel loathes. Odell Academy is the perfect setting for a murderous thriller – the facade of a perfectly balanced environment proves to be nothing more than a community of deeply flawed and even dangerous people.

Often in a book, the reader has more information than the characters. I really enjoyed how Campbell flipped the script. We get witness testimony describing the dead twin but are left guessing which twin died. I found this more intriguing than finding the killer, which some may feel obvious.

Overall, I felt this was a fast-moving high school drama centered on secrets, lies and the deplorable things teens do to fit in. This book may be too YA for many readers. It frankly wasn’t what I was expecting, but even as a 29 year old male, I can appreciate an absurd, overdramatic high school story. I may not frequent the CW, but Laguna Beach and the OC were the peak of my younger self’s trashy-TV binging. This novel is perfect for lovers of Gossip Girl, Younger, One Tree Hill…. You get where we’re going.

Buy She Was The Quiet One by Michele Campbell

Verdict: Read it! (3.5/5 Stars)
Length: 352 pages
When: When your favorite guilty pleasure TV show is on break
Quote: “Family. Can’t live with ’em, can’t kill ’em.”
Also Try: The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll (also Between2Cover’s favorite!!)