Doesn't a mystery and thriller book set in a prestigious prep school in LA sound awesome? The plot revolves around a car accident resulting in a death and the protagonist, Spencer, trying to regain her memories of that night. Throughout the book, multiple characters are suspected to be involved in the accident, but the final reveal is satisfying and realistic. If you enjoy mystery and thriller novels, you may enjoy this one. However, for me, it was a little bland and stereotypical. The authority figures are blown out of proportion, and the principal is a dirtbag. Although I don't know if a YA reader (the target audience) would feel this way about how it was written. So I added 1 star for them.

"The Headmaster's List" by Melissa de la Cruz
Releasing February 28, 2023
**

I swear Melissa de la Cruz has written a million books, & I’ve read probably a few dozen throughout my life & I’ve found most to be engaging & fun. Even when predictable or “beach read” vibes they’ve still been enjoyable. Unfortunately “The Headmaster’s List” did not scratch that itch for me. The blurb describes it as “Gossip Girl” meets “One of Us is Lying”, so I was intrigued. I admittedly had not read “One of Us is Lying” when I picked this up, but I am 10% in as of the time I’m writing this review and already having way more fun.

“The Headmaster’s List” is about Spencer, a girl who survives a car crash that killed one of her classmates. Spencer has a head injury & can’t remember what led up to the crash, but she’s not convinced the story adds up, despite her ex (the confessed driver) cooperating with police.

I predicted every twist in this book within the first several chapters, & they were all things I’ve read before. If they were done well it wouldn’t have been the end of the world, but I didn't feel invested in the lead-up to any of them. I was meh on the characters, they all did what I expected of them but I didn’t really connect with any.

There were editing errors that I could have overlooked if the book had been great, but just added to my struggle to finish since it wasn’t. There were missing/dropped quotation marks & inconsistent details (the victim was referred to as a sophomore in some chapters, a freshman in others). Also, the main character said all labradors are slobbery & this is 1. patently untrue 2. slander.

The idea of this book was interesting, but it read more like an outline waiting for the stuff that makes a book different & worth reading to be added. I probably would've liked it more had I read it as a teen & before the ones with similar plots that made these twists so obvious to me, but I don’t think it would’ve ever been a favorite. Sorry, Melissa. I’m still dying to read the new “Blue Bloods” book when it comes out, though, no one’s perfect all the time.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, & the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review of “The Headmaster’s List”.

2/5 stars. I've read other books by this author and really enjoyed them, so it was a letdown that this book just didn't measure up. The pacing was really slow and I didn't mind myself rooting for any of the characters.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This book was a fun ride, even though it felt a little predictable. I feel like the story was laid out really well with plenty of good misdirection!

Okay, this book requires quite a bit of willing suspension of disbelief. There are many moments of just unreal decision making, reactions, and access to information that would never even come close to plausible. That said, I really enjoyed this YA mystery for the wild ride that it was! If you can just go in to have fun, there are twists and surprises that keep you reading and guessing throughout. I liked the characters and I always love a good teen "detective" so I flew through this one pretty quickly. I know that it won't be for everyone, but if you like a quick fun YA mystery I would recommend trying this one out.

I don't even know where to start with this book--it was a mess. The setup for the story is that 4 teens were involved in a car crash where one of them dies. Ethan, the easy to hate rich kid is on trial and his ex-girlfriend, Spencer is trying to figure out the truth of what happened. One of the major twists is easy to guess very early on, the main character may or may not have a prescription drug problem, but either way it is not treated in a serious or thoughtful way. The timelines essentially never make sense and the end was borderline ridiculous. I do not like giving negative reviews, but this one just did not do it for me and I don't think my students would enjoy it either.

Spencer has survived a terrible accident that ended with the death of a fellow student. She has only spotty memories of the events before the accident and none of the accident itself. Her ex, Ethan, has been charged with the death of Chris, a passenger in the car. Spencer doesn’t believe Ethan is at fault. She doesn’t know why, so she starts to investigate what happened that night. Is it weird that everyone involved is on the Headmaster’s List? What truths will Spencer uncover? Will she ever get her memories back?

The Headmaster’s List is a stand-alone mystery that has standard narrative sections with podcast transcripts throughout. De la Cruz has taken a gander at a different genre and it is a success. I did have an inkling of the twist at the end, but I did not expect the second and third twists. This is not a very long read, so many readers will find themselves finished before they realize it. A fun mystery for fans of the genre.

It only takes a split second for everything to change. That’s all it takes for Ethan Amoroso to lose control of his vehicle, resulting in a crash that would forever change the lives of the four people inside it. One of them died, one of them was charged for manslaughter, one of them turned to their drugs, and one of them lost their memory.

Spencer Sandoval wakes up in the hospital with a broken shoulder, a scarred face, and no memories of the events that led her there. She remembers catching her boyfriend, Ethan, cheating on her and the subsequent break-up, but then why was she in the car with him when he crashed? So many things don’t make sense to Spencer, why were the four people in the car together, none of them were friends? Ethan would never intentionally put someone else in danger, so why would he be driving so recklessly? And the one memory Spencer does have of the crash feels off, there is something about it that doesn’t add up with the events as she’s been told they happened. So, Spencer decides to investigate the crash, determined to learn exactly what happened that night, and she just so happens to have the help of Jackson Chen, Ethan’s best friend, while she does.

The Headmaster’s List was an utter failure for me. The twist was painfully obvious; I had it figured out in chapter one, and no, that is unfortunately not an exaggeration. The pacing is all kinds of wacky, with a single day taking over multiple chapters, but then all of a sudden months have passed in the span of a sentence. Beyond that, so much time was spent on the early investigation where pretty much nothing happens, but then the climax of the story is forced in to the last few chapters. The conclusion happens way too quickly, and it is so jarring that most of the revelations don’t even make sense.

The characters are no improvement. They are all entirely one dimensional, not even Spencer has any development over the course of the novel. One of the characters is non-binary, but it felt more like the character was written as a female and the author (or editor) decided they needed more representation so they went through and changed all the pronouns from she/her to they/them and called it good, rather than truly creating a non-binary character. Worst of all was the complete 180 personality flip of a central character, which was required for that person to be responsible for the crash. But it wasn’t a slow reveal where little bits of the hidden personality starts to show through, it was like a light switch flipped and suddenly they go from lovable friend to absolute villain, and it did not make any sense in the story that was told until that point.

I typically like to end on a positive note, but there is nothing positive to say here. I can not think of a single redeeming quality in the entire novel. Just skip this one. If you’re interested in the car crash mystery give A Year to the Day by Robin Benway a try; if you want a book featuring the scandalous lives of rich folk read literally any other book set at a private or boarding school.

This book kept me guessing until the end! I loved the characters--they were all well developed and believable. I loved the portrayal of the therapy dog in the story. The book was fast-paced and I could not wait to finish it. As a Midwesterner, the glitz and glam of Hollywood and LA is not as familiar to me. The book does a good job making that life feel accessible and believable. This is a good read for those who liked "Good Girl's Guide to Murder" and "The Inheritance Games."

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Roaring Book Press for supplying me with an eARC of this title to read and give an honest review.
I'm loving mysteries these days. And a good murder mystery at a snooty private school sounded great to me! Who done it?
This is my first title by Melissa de la Cruz. I enjoyed her writing, it flowed well. The short chapters were very helpful in pushing the book along (I always appreciate a book with short chapters!).
I did guess who done it early on, but it didn't keep me from wanting to continue reading and find out how the main character figured it out.
I was annoyed with the police aspect. They were totally clueless and I feel like there was no real effort on their part to investigate who done it. I almost felt like they were going to be involved somehow beaus why else would they blow off investigating further. Also, the investigation they did do was fairly unrealistic for me, too many things missed. This was an area with plot holes I didn't love.
Overall it was fun. I'd pick up a title from this author again.

I'm usually not a fan of books that I can guess the outcome from the very start. But, in this case I throughly enjoyed it. I love the character development of Spencer and how she like any other person who deals with a very traumatic incident will have battles to overcome. Melissa de la Cruz is am exceptional storyteller.

Sorry to say this was DNF for me. I got 25% in and just gave up. The whole service dog thing really threw me and I just did not like the characters and overall plot.

Anyone who's a fan of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson novels will be super into this book. In a middle school setting I often ask my students, well what do you like to watch on TV, when I try to help them find a book. This would be an easy hook for any kid who told me they liked to watch Pretty Little Liars. It was thrilling, and just predictable enough to guess what was happening but not figure the whole story out.

A good clean YA intro to the mystery genre! I figured it out quickly, but I think that teens will enjoy it. I think this will make a good audio book

This book kept me on the edge of my seat, the only book that I can remember that made me want to keep on reading on my phone was Blood Scion. This book reminded me of one of us is lying in many ways and the many twisty and turns were well done as well as the MC's life after the crash. I suspected everyone except the actual suspect which blew my mind. I can't wait for everyone else to read it.

I enjoyed that a whole lot. I didn't see the need for the prescription drug abuse if it wasn't leading to somewhere besides the option for Jackson to tell her to take them all. However, overall, it was a good story. The only thing that gave it away is that Spencer mentions to Jackson that the person who did this might have wanted a spot on the Headmaster's list. The next chapter we have the interview with Peyton and she mentions that Jackson just got on the headmaster's list. It seemed too convenient.

Let's start this out with the obvious - Ripley is the goodest girl. And while several of the twists were predictable from the start, I didn't quite see the last few coming. Also can we talk about how great of a podcast name Get Salty is? I feel like we probably could've done with a few less pages and more insight into the implications of the Headmaster's List, but it's an enjoyable YA thriller.

*Thank you to Roaring Book Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital arc of this title for review.

Prestigious prep school. Car accident. Death. Secrets. Teens behaving badly. All this adds up to me adding this title to my library's collection. Many students are fans of Karen McManus books, and I think this book will also appeal to them.

Elements I liked!
A narrator with retrograde amnesia means that a participant in the car accident in trying desperately to get her memories back. She's also quite the overachiever so her investigation is thorough. However, her blind spot is such that she takes quite a bit to get to the answer.

An emotional service dog named Ripley from the character from Alien. What's not to love.

A prep school that is just terrible for the soul, but everyone plays along because it helps them in the end.....

Elements I didn't like as much
I figured out a lot of what happened very, very early.

I think teens will like this quite a bit!

The Headmaster's List
by Melissa de la Cruz
Pub Date: 28 Feb 2023
Spencer is a straight A, homework loving, top student at one of the most prestigious high schools in L.A. Her boyfriend Ethan is handsome and rich (and a bit of a bad boy). Her life is perfectly on track until she wakes up in the hospital with no memory of what put her there besides a quick flash of a light, a scream, and a tree. One of her classmates is dead and the world is screaming for justice. Her super popular privileged boyfriend is the target of their anger. He was driving recklessly; he doesn't care about anyone but himself; he's a spoiled monster. As Spenser slowly starts to remember details of that night, she is sure there's more to the story.
Good read. My high school students will love it.
#theheadmasterslist
#netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of The Headmaster's List. I was excited by the premise of this title, but I was underwhelmed by the execution. I knew from the first mention of where her injuries were what the twist would be, and that removed a lot of the suspense for me. I do, however, know some of my students will be drawn to and enjoy this title, and for that reason, I will most likely still purchase it for my library. It just didn't connect with me.