This is W.A.R. by Lisa & Laura Roecker

(Soho Press, Inc.)

Willa Ames-Rowan is dead. After climbing into a boat with James Gregory, she is dead. Everyone knows he killed her but since the Gregory family, specifically James’s grandfather the Captain runs the town and the Hawthorne Lake Country Club, no one dares say so. The Gregory family is great at throwing money at their problems to make them go away. Willa’s best friends: Lina, Sloane, Rose & Madge now seek to destroy the Gregory family, not just James but his reckless brother Trip too. They start a war…

Feeling mixed on this book. I was hoping for some more suspense than you really get from it. A few chapters in you know who really killed Willa, it was just too clear. The most frustrating thing is when the girls got together to start their plans for revenge, never did they go over what happened that night to each of them. That would have saved them so much trouble and would have ultimately saved them from some really dumb plans to “destroy” the family. What is beyond dumb is that Madge knows who the real killer is but lets the girl keep thinking its James. Money is thrown around like nothing. The girls are supposed to front $25,000 to enter this war against the Gregory family. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that these teen girls can get a hold of $25,000 without parent permission or interference, insert eye roll here. The author gave the girls each part in the book to sort of dive into who they were. The most likeable characters, in my opinion, are Lina and Sloane. I think they embody and say things that are very relatable for teen girls, but they also grow to accept themselves which is always a good message. The best I can say about this book is that if you like soap operas, this is for you. You’ll get frustrated at characters for not doing the obvious thing and you have the made for TV drama of the scandals at the rich country club.

AB