Everything You Want Me to Be by Mindy Mejia

Everything You Want Me to Be is the tale of the murder of high school senior Hattie Huffman. The story is told from three points’ of view, Hattie’s, Del’s (the local sheriff and family friend) and Peter’s (Hattie’s high school English teacher).  There are a few twists in the story but the real zinger is saved for the end. There were some things that I found very predictable about the story and that is the reason I could not give this one a five star rating (my rating is 4.5 stars). Ultimately Hattie’s character is what made the story for me.  She is such a typical teenager and this added an extra level of believability.

Hattie is typical in that she is so naive. She thinks she understands the world and that she plays her parts in life just as well as she plays her role as Macbeth in the school play. How can one be so dumb at 50ish yet so brilliant at 17/18? So like a teenager!

Hattie wants to be accepted so badly that she is willing to throw her own identify away in order to please those around her. Now that Hattie is reaching maturity she is struggling with finding herself. Despite this identity crisis of sorts, Hattie is an outstanding student and a budding actress. On the surface all seems well in Hattie’s world…. until her murder that is.

Now Del must find the murderer and fast. He has promised. As he digs deeper, he discovers that Hattie may not be the person everyone thought she was.

Despite the predictability, it is still a very good story. Reads of YA and thrillers alike will enjoy.  I suspect most will gasp with surprise at the ending.

I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in return for my honest review.