Let me start by saying this book is like that one messy friend you can't quit – frustrating but weirdly addictive. The first 50 pages had me side-eyeing my Kindle, wondering if I'd accidentally downloaded the wrong book. Bess and Joni's introduction felt like trying to break into a locked diary written in disappearing ink.

But then – BAM – around page 80, something clicked. Suddenly I'm reading past midnight, flashlight-under-the-covers style, even though my 30-year-old self pays the electric bill. The way Ella Berman captures that specific teenage girl alchemy of love, jealousy, and shared secrets? Chef's kiss. There were moments I actually gasped aloud (startling my cat) when certain revelations hit.

That said, the ending left me feeling like I'd sprinted to catch a train... only to watch it pull away without me. Several major threads just dangle there, taunting you with their lack of resolution. It's not so much an open ending as an abandoned one – like the author got tired and walked away mid-sentence.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely... with caveats. This isn't your typical Reese's Book Club feel-good pick. It's more like literary junk food that leaves you simultaneously satisfied and vaguely irritated. Perfect for book clubs who enjoy heated debates about ambiguous endings over too much wine.

Final verdict: 3.5 stars rounded up for those breathtaking middle chapters that captured female friendship in all its beautiful, destructive glory. Just don't expect neat bows or happy endings here – this story leaves stains.