The Social Climber by Amanda Pellegrino (Review by Shantell Krystal)

Rating 3/5

This book had me intrigued immediately just from the description on the back of the book. The main character (Eliza) is preparing for her wedding and the week before; her secrets start being revealed -Intriguing, right? What I wasn’t expecting was the style of writing from the author, the novel starts off at the beginning of Eliza’s life, which was interesting and set up the reader to understand why Eliza seems to act sheltered but continued jumping back and forth from present to past. There were a few instances where I had to go back and start over after a couple of chapters because I thought I was reading a different book.

Eliza’s character is likeable and at times you feel for her and what she has gone through. Her need to experience everything that previously she was told was not “Christian” resonates with a lot of us, not only for the religious aspect, but our own experiences as a teenager. The friendship bond she forms with her roommate is something I think we all would have wanted at that age. A ride or die friend who supports you and is there for anything no matter what. When something happens to that friendship the secrets begin to start.

The author doesn’t allude to anything that is going on in the plot of the story until almost the end when the pieces of the puzzle are put together. It left me guessing and trying to figure out how the past and present were related and how they would come together.
This book is great for readers of mystery and suspense, but it is not a typical follow the steps to solve the mystery structured book. If you enjoy books that incorporate a flashback style to the writing while the story develops then you will enjoy this book.