Publishers Weekly
★ 01/02/2023
After a hit-and-run involving her father decimates the family’s finances and plummets her social standing, pragmatic 17-year-old Chinese and white Hana Yang Lerner becomes her prestigious private Washington, D.C. high school’s fixer: “I restored reputations, I suffocated rumors. I kept secrets from spilling, and if they’d already spilled, I cleaned them up.” While she spends her days sweeping up her classmates’ messes, she’s haunted by a secret of her own: the hit-and-run accident for which her father took the blame, leading to his resignation from his position as Virginia’s Democratic senator, was actually her fault. She’s soon hired by an anonymous entity to uncover a scandal regarding her former best friend, Cuban American Luce Herrera. As she investigates Luce’s suspicious activity surrounding an education nonprofit, the truth about the crash threatens to unravel any sense of stability that Hana has gained. Things get even more convoluted when her job intersects with another former best friend, Chinese American James Li, and his own investigation, prompting them to team up. Woon (If You, Then Me) crafts a meticulously plotted mystery entrenched in high-society scandal and high school drama and peopled by complex, ever-evolving protagonists. It’s a blistering commentary on privilege and wealth. Ages 13–up. Agent: Ted Malawer, Upstart Crow Literary. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"This gripping mystery is deepened and complicated by explorations of Hana’s trauma and relationships. The slow burn allows room for character development that elevates the novel. Thought-provoking high school drama with dark, serious undertones." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Woon (If You, Then Me) crafts a meticulously plotted mystery entrenched in high-society scandal and high school drama and peopled by complex, ever-evolving protagonists. It’s a blistering commentary on privilege and wealth." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Woon's novel is compelling from start to finish, helped along by Hana’s strong narrative voice, magnetic personality, and sharp mind. The mystery is deliciously twisty and unexpected. Themes of interconnectivity and a haunted past, combined with the nuances of each character and the mystery itself, all move this thriller past familiar tropes and will certainly challenge the teen who thinks they can predict the ending a mile away." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
"Woon fuses a well-told story depicting the secret lives of elite high-school teenagers with a hardboiled detective tale. The result is a hugely refreshing read. Full of twists and double-crosses, the story never settles into predictability. Even better is the strong voice of Hana, an unreliable narrator hiding the pain of her father’s crime under a cool mercenary verve. This book has everything a fan of YA mystery could want." — Booklist
PRAISE FOR IF YOU, THEN ME: "This page-turner offers a peek into the dark side of Silicon Valley and sheds light on issues hidden beneath the glitz of startup culture, including old-boy networks, unsustainable lifestyles, and the lure of promises that are too good to be true. A riveting cautionary tale." — Kirkus Reviews
“[. . . ] Woon (the Dead Beautiful series) aptly explores real obstacles that women of color face in tech through Xia’s voice, detailing Silicon Valley as fast-paced, chaotic, and sometimes shallow." — Publishers Weekly
"Really, this story has it all—secrets, schemes, plot twists, a mystery aspect as we try to clue together who Xia’s anonymous online friend is, as well as a sweet romance that made my heart soar . . . An original and fast-paced story of loneliness and found family, exploitation of young minds and the power of such individuals, perfect for any reader who wants to see more women in tech!" — The Nerd Daily
School Library Journal
02/01/2023
Gr 7 Up—Hana Yang Lerner is the go-to fixer at her prestigious Washington, DC, private school, where her wealthy classmates routinely hire her to dispatch their problems. Hana was once a member of the in-crowd, but two years ago her senator father was involved in a car accident that left a woman severely injured, and now Hana is an outsider looking in on their wealthy and powerful world. When an anonymous client asks Hana to follow her ex-best friend Luce Herrera, Hana seizes on the opportunity to engage with her old life. Reluctantly partnering with her childhood friend James Li, now editor of the school newspaper, Hana finds deep corruption at the heart of her former friend group and comes face to face with her own past. Hana is a compelling narrator, but the novel's pacing feels uneven, with a slow start that may deter reluctant readers. Still, those who push past the opening will be rewarded with a climactic twist. Woon creates a diverse cast of characters—Hana is biracial (her mom is Chinese American and her dad is cued white), Luce is Cuban American, and James is Chinese American—and the characters' discussions often dig into weighty ethics questions about privilege and responsibility. VERDICT A fresh thriller that will appeal to fans of E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, Dana Mele's People Like Us, and Alexa Donne's The Ivies.—Dana West
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-10-26
A 17-year-old works as her high school’s undercover fixer, solving her classmates’ problems, although she can’t solve her own.
Two years ago, Hana Yang Lerner’s life fell apart when her father was forced by a scandal to resign from his position as a Democratic senator from Virginia. Though Hana, who has a Chinese American mom and White dad, still attends the same prestigious Washington, D.C., school, she no longer speaks to her best friend, Cuban American Luce Herrera. Her other friends no longer speak to her either—at least not in the open. Behind the scenes, Hana’s classmates hire her to make sensitive problems go away. Now, an anonymous person going by Three has hired her to fix something for Luce. But the job turns out to be about much more than Luce; it involves Luce’s jock boyfriend, Hana’s one-time friend group, and interconnected secrets that spiral out and back around again. And Hana isn’t the only one on the case: James Li, her Chinese American former childhood friend, is also investigating for their school newspaper. As the two work together, unspoken truths threaten to push them apart once again. Hana is determined to complete Three’s job, but to do so, she may have to confront mistakes she’s made and her own stalled life. This gripping mystery is deepened and complicated by explorations of Hana’s trauma and relationships. The slow burn allows room for character development that elevates the novel.
Thought-provoking high school drama with dark, serious undertones. (Mystery. 13-18)
