The Marvelous - Claire Kann

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⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Rebecca)

Listened to this one on audiobook on the way back from vacation. It's a sort of puzzle mystery, with a group of young people who are part of a huge social media app (think Instagram) who have been chosen and invited to attend a weekend at the home of the young, rich creator to play a game for a huge prize.

Interestingly, all of the characters are black or brown or mixed--zero white characters. Which I really enjoyed! It wasn't a book about being a racial minority, but it came up from time to time, because it was an inextricable part of the characters.

Anyway, the puzzle aspect takes a while to get going, and similarly it took me a while to get hooked, but I ended up being eager to find out what happened. The main characters all had strong, varied personalities, and I loved the themes of friendship and sisterhood. I had a few qualms with side characters and backstories, and the resolution wasn't super exciting, but overall it was a fun time and I'm glad I finished it.

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