The story is quite engaging and makes you want to keep on reading until you find out what the heck is going on...but you don't find out what the heck is going on!!! Argh, there are so many questions left unanswered from the last book and instead of getting answers, you only get more questions to pile on top of those. There is a whole year gap from the last book to this book full of drama, death, mysteries, and murders that aren't explained. We don't get any straight answers or explanations, just a thought here and there in passing. If we get lucky we get a diary entry from Betty explaining a little of what happened. Handing out bits and pieces of information is great for the author, because it ensures that your readers stick with you to the end just to know what's going on. But it sure is frustrating and angering to a reader who wants to know. At the end of this book we don't even know what happens Archie and his friends. Now I have to go look for the third book in the series, I don't even know if it's out yet. Oh well, I'm done ranting. ( )

Literary Merit: Poor
Characterization: Poor
Recommended: No
Level: High School

When I began reading this title, I knew that it was possible that some aspects of this story might not be familiar because I have not watched the TV series. I also did not know that this was the second book in the series until after I finished reading. While those things did not work in my favor, the merit of this work alone is lackluster at best.

Every chapter was told from a different perspective, with varying fonts and stylistic qualities that offered diversification of the text. The varying perspective was fine; the voices were unique and distinguishable. However, the tone was weird. There was a lot of what felt like talking and describing to the reader rather than allowing the story to play out and the reader being a spectator of the action and dialogue. On the whole, this piece did not feel authentic.

The real elephant in the room, though, is the poor management of the closing of the book. In the last 50 pages a few different things happen in quick succession, making the closure of the story feel rushed. There appeared to also be errors in the text. For example, in one scene Veronica's leg is grabbed in the dark by an unknown intruder. The next chapter picks up with a different character and when we return to Veronica, there is no mention of getting grabbed.

The whole point of the book was to find evidence to exonerate Archie. In the last few pages of the book evidence is found but the discovery is depicted as almost an afterthought. While Veronica may or may not have been getting grabbed she just so happens to find a briefcase that had one missing thumb drive that Jughead miraculously found. But none of that matters because all of it goes up in an explosion 3 pages later.

Also troubling is the cavalier attitude towards underage drinking.

I'm sorely disappointed in this book and do not recommend it. ( )