First We Were IV

by Alexandra Sirowy Narrated by C.S.E. Cooney

Overview

Izzie loves nothing more than her three best friends, Viv, Graham, and Harry, and the bond the four of them share. And she's terrified of their friendship falling apart next year when they go off to college. To bind them together, she decides to create something that will belong only to them, a special thing that they'll always share between the four of them. And so they dream up the Order of IV, a secret society devoted to mischief that rights wrongs and pays back debts. At first, it works like a charm-but when the Order of IV's escapades get recognition beyond their wildest expectations, other people start wanting in. And soon, what started as a game of friendship is spiraling into something dangerous and beyond their control-and before it's over, they'll pay the ultimate sacrifice.

Editorial Reviews

Young Entertainment Mag

"Any fans of How to Get Away with Murder here? If so, this novel’s for you."

April Genevieve Tucholke

"A small town legend, a missing redhead, a monster in the forest...Sirowy'sThe Creeping is a haunting, modern day folktale, in the darkest sense of the word. Fantastic."

PeruseProject

"I freaking loved this book. This book was like everything I hoped and dreamed it would be, to put it simply."

Stacey Lee

"Alexandra Sirowy's latest thriller spills its secrets drop by drop, exposing the murkiest corners of the human psyche. Disturbingly compelling, and guaranteed to make you shiver this summer."

starred review BCCB

* "Hand this to readers who like their mysteries dark and deep, with strongly developed characters and stunningly good prose."

The Fandom

"Dark, edgy, and wholly unpredictable, Alexandra Sirowy’s First We Were IV is the wild summer read you need."

Booklist

"Sirowy is a master of suspense...Shocking, inventive, and woven through with dread, this is a satisfying mystery."

Romantic Times

"The concept alone makes First We Were IV stand out in the ever-expanding roster of small-town YA thrillers. But Sirowy’s phenomenal execution will have readers salivating to get to the end. Her fine-tuned writing style draws an intricate sketch of events as they unfold and there are no extraneous details that delay the plot. The characters are unique, well-developed and perfectly flawed."

on THE CREEPING Romantic Times

"Genuine and truly eerie. Readers will be up all night finishing Sirowy's debut."

on THE CREEPING BCCB

"[For] horror fans looking for a creepy thrill."

Bookpage

"Alexandra Sirowy uses creepy imagery to peel back the layers of a quaint, coastal town to reveal its seedy core and to bring this twisty ride to its inevitable yet shocking conclusion."

on THE TELLING BCCB

"Lana’s got a steely edge to her narration, even in her most vulnerable moments, and her confident determination that she’s going to figure out what is going on may inspire plenty of readers to follow her."

Teenreads

"FIRST WE WERE IV is one of those books that hooks readers from the first page."

on THE TELLING Booklist

Will leave readers stunned and satisfied.

From the Publisher

"A disturbing, morally gray, intense page-turner." ---Kirkus

Booklist

"Sirowy is a master of suspense...Shocking, inventive, and woven through with dread, this is a satisfying mystery."

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"A disturbing, morally gray, intense page-turner." —Kirkus

School Library Journal

07/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—A secret society born through shared slights and promises among four friends is the centerpiece of this YA novel about revenge, friendship, and small-town murder. Izzie Pendleton can't stop thinking about the murdered runaway girl whom she and her friends found when they were younger. Izzie, Viv, Graham, and Harry, now seniors, create the secret society, IV, whose mission is to wreak havoc on their community. "We start a group dedicated to clandestine activities. We'll have rituals. Ones that we swear to repeat." What starts out as empowerment turns into retribution as the members of IV take revenge in the name of the girl murdered as well as on their high school tormentors. Although the book is told through Izzie's perspective, the other characters' thoughts are interwoven throughout via transcripts of recorded videos. As their pranks escalate, so do the consequences each member faces, leading to a suspenseful climax. Izzie, Viv, Graham, and Harry are all well-developed characters with their own rationales for their destructive actions. VERDICT A strong choice for fans of E. Lockhart's We Were Liars and Lauren Oliver's Panic.—Michelle Foster, North Caroline High School, Ridgely, MD

Kirkus Reviews

2017-05-01
Four friends cement their bond with a secret society that gets beyond out of hand.Opening with the arrival of the police and the statement that "First we were four. Now we are three," the story then jumps back to relate how the four became friends, leaving the mystery of what happens to one of them (and to which one) to tantalize and pull readers through the story. The complicated bond among the four is born when they discover a dead body—it's a teenage girl, a written-off runaway, a murder never really investigated. Years later, now seniors in high school and wanting permanence for their friendship, the four invent a secret society, IV, to rebel against authority with meaningful pranks. Turned toward justice when they take down a pervy educator, they step things up by prodding at the long-buried murder. The destruction and cultlike mythos continue to escalate (brutally, for some animals), as popular kids—some their tormentors—want in on the action. The intoxicating power morphs justice to vengeance as the secrets unravel. Of the four, two are white and two are people of color; class tensions play the primary role in the conflicts, from the dead girl to school bullying. Sirowy's emphasis is on moral complexity, nailing the way good intentions can have catastrophic unintended consequences A disturbing, morally gray, intense page-turner. (Thriller. 16-adult)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171184759
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	07/25/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

First We Were IV
By the time the police arrived, there were three of us left. Three originals. Three best friends. Architects of what was once a secret society.

The difference between leaders and initiates was evident. We designed it that way, dictated that initiates wore the white of sacrificial lambs and us bloody red. No confusion over who appeared to be in charge.

There was a chaotic minute under the star-choked sky. Volleying accusations and bodily threats. I tried to kick out of the arms of an officer because I still hadn’t had my fill of revenge. Never would I. And you know, the dagger tipped in blood didn’t exactly help our case for looking faultless.

They herded the initiates into a line, ordered them to keep their mouths shut. Still, those kids, those snakes, whispered stories and secrets in the way the dying confess, anticipating forgiveness. Good little boys and girls, eyes innocent saucers, except they’d terrorized a whole town.

Our dagger lay a little outside the ring of fire. There was the truth serum, a few muddy, crimson sips they’d dredge up from the bottle to test. And the idol on a pile of rocks, her smile calling out from on top of her burial mound. No sense would be made of her origins.

Police circled the meteorite, probing the scene, coming up short in front of us three, searching faces for clues. Accident or murder.

They would ask the wrong questions later on, after the ambulance left without its sirens wailing, when the three architects and our six recruits were in the police station.

There was lots of hand-wringing and Make me understand. Parents arrived. Our initiates had been shaking their fists and snarling at authority just an hour before. The rebellion had drained out of them and they buckled with relief at the sight of their moms and dads. I didn’t acknowledge mine. All the adults needed help understanding how the night happened.

“October happened because September did.”

An officer warned me to stop being snarky.

“I’m not,” I whispered, voice all cried out.

“Then answer,” he demanded.

“Because August. Because July. Because June. I can keep going if you need me to.”

That was the only answer they’d get from me. Afterward, I stopped talking. For a few weeks. I sat in my room, on the top of my desk, watching the Pacific battle the shore. I sketched the four of us. Together. Hardly needing to watch the progress of my pencil. There was something unnerving in our eyes when the pictures were done. A glimmer of foreshadow that I hadn’t noticed was present before. Had it been? My best friends. The loves of my life. Strangers. Reeling. Ferocious.

I held my tongue and the lesson sunk in.

No matter how much you see, there are bottomless seas you don’t.

What I am certain of is the heart of it.

First we were four.

Now we are three.

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