The book begins with Blythe and Tucker meeting as kids. Today, however, she's in high school seeing a boy named Callum. Tucker is close with his sister, but she can't seem to keep her mind off of sacrificing animals. Blythe's sister doesn't want Callum to date her, creating tensions, but something weird is happening with her friend Gabrielle, and she's sketched out by the school's security cameras.

check out my full review here!

https://mutatedlibrary.wordpress.com/2024/11/26/book-review-someone-is-always-wa... ( )

This was an interesting story about family, home, and trust. Told from Blythe's perspective, there is a small band of friends who are just on the brink of being out of high school and moving on. Thinking about college and last days of homework, they are shocked when one of them starts acting odd. Gabrielle is in the classroom yelling about cameras and watching her. She's sent to the office and Blythe follows her. But this one action, being sent the the office and Blythe falling, is going to send them all spinning.

I liked guessing what was going on. I did guess quite a bit but never who the ringleader was. I liked dissecting the relationships and trying to understand what we knew and how we knew it. It was shocking at points and I liked that you weren't sure who to trust. I read with a friend and we liked kicking around ideas and breaking down theories. It was a pretty good read!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. ( )

The book has a Stepford Wives (Ira Levin, 1972) vibe to it. It also harkens back to some of Armstrong's early YA series, minus the paranormal aspect. ( )

The premise was intriguing with the scifi elements lending themselves well to suspense and high tension, but more could have been done with it. It ended up feeling a bit shallow to me.
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A standalone YA thriller by a powerhouse author. A great choice if you don't want to pick up a series but still want the mystery.