4.5/5. I really like this author and found this to be one of her stronger YA novels. It was so deeply disturbing that I became uncomfortable watching the main character become involved in the cult. I think this is a very unique premise.

Hayley Krischer's young adult novel "You Belong To Me" delves into modern wellness culture's seductive yet unsettling world, contrasting its glossy Instagram facade with the darker realities lurking beneath.

The story follows Frances "Bean" Ellis, an outsider at her elite private school, whose gothic style and vulnerability make her an intriguing protagonist. At the heart of the novel are the mysterious Deep gatherings, which promise enlightenment but hide something more sinister. Krischer vividly brings these events to life, capturing their enchanting yet uneasy atmosphere. Through Bean's journey, the book critiques the exploitative side of the wellness industry, highlighting the dangers of chasing a perfect image.

While Bean's personal growth is compelling, the romance aspect of the story feels underdeveloped, weakening the emotional stakes. Despite occasional flaws in the prose, the novel's tense atmosphere and exploration of self-discovery make "You Belong To Me" an engaging read for those interested in stories about societal pressures and the cost of perfection.

This book was like sipping rose quartz-infused poison—You Belong to Me was glossy, twisted, and unsettling in that perfect “I can’t look away” kind of way. I loved the sapphic tension and Frances’ slow descent into the pastel nightmare of DEEP, but I also felt like it skimmed the surface of some of the deeper themes it hinted at. It gave me big cult-lite, MLM-meets-wellness-aesthetic energy, which was such a cool vibe, but I wanted just a bit more emotional punch by the end. Still, if you're into goth girls falling for manipulative golden girls, and you want your psychological thrillers dipped in glitter and dread, this one totally belongs on your TBR.

This is a great book for YA readers dipping their toes into thrillers and darker themes like cults, but a more experienced thriller reader may find this a bit lacking.

I enjoyed this book and seeing Bean’s descent into the cult of Deep, but I do wish she had gone a bit further down the rabbit hole before finally seeing the light. She had only been with Deep for about a month before she realized something bad was going on and was able to remove herself with little difficulty.

Bean’s lack of commitment to Deep and ease at removing herself undercut some of the tension in the story which was disappointing.

I also wish there was more time spent figuring out who Bean really is on her own. It felt like she just jumped from conforming to her friend group to conforming with a cult and I wish we got to see more of who Bean is without Ivy’s or Deep’s influence.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend it to YA readers who want to try out a dark thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

i wanted to love this and get sucked right in, but it needed a few more rounds of editing before getting sent out as advanced copies. i just couldn't waste the energy figuring out what was trying to be said or ignoring double sentences to care enough about where the plot was headed

I normally don’t go for YA thrillers, but when I saw the MCs name was Frances Bean (I’ve always loved Nirvana) I had to read it! I’m glad I did, this book was a quality YA thriller. This book also had some really good tropes. I would defy recommend, even if you’re like me and don’t normally go for YA books.

You Belong To Me by Hayley Criser, the book starts with Francis Bean Ellis (who is named after nirvana‘s lead singer Kurt Cobain‘s daughter,) receives an invitation to a Femme Party. she has a humongous crush on Julia Patterson the daughter of Dina Patterson, the owner of Deep who sponsors the parties full of girls and white that are fresh faced in nubile. Anyone who knows Francis knows she is the absolute antithesis of someone who would usually be invited but due to her newfound friendship with Julia she is. Francis’s core friend group consist of her best friend Ivy, Brooks and Nico which are also the opposite of what the Femme girls represent. she goes to the party and learns Julia likes her as much as she likes Julia and soon they’re spending lots of time together causing Francis to spend less time on the newspaper and her Goth friends. she couldn’t be happier and that first the parties are nothing like the rumors at school claim them to be but the deeper in she gets, the more they allow her to see. She even likes Kai who seems to be the spiritual guru who gives all the young girls private spiritual lessons and at first all his attention is focused on Francis who do to her own messed up relationship with her alcoholic dad, eats it all up. even when mail investors are invited to the all girl party he is there to stop one who tries to get two hanzy with Francis and she is grateful. however when one of the top Femme girls locks her in the bathroom at a party and is upset and tries to convince Francis of something that blows her mind she doesn’t know what to think but the next morning when her and Julia find the girl dead in the spa and they try to convince her it was a suicide Francis nose there’s something rotten in Deep, but who’s responsible and more importantly who can Francis trust? this book was so well written and I thought the author gave a great voice to teenage girls and their vanity and insecurity and equal measure. I thought the buildup to the story was done sub preferably it went by at a great pace and had me reading and turning the pages without stopping. I did not want to put this put down it was really good. I did think Ivy wanting to use with Francis told her as a desperate friend needing a friend in the newspaper article was so wrong and didn’t know how Ivy didn’t see that. I also want to give kudos to the author for the ending because I totally thought it was going one way and it seemed like the way it was written was more like real life and not using in a storybook so kudos to her. I definitely recommend this to those who like yeah mysteries and cult type stories they do discuss sexual assault but not in detail and only in a passing fashion so I don’t think it will cause triggers but everyone must decide for their self where that line is I totally recommend this book however it was so good! #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #HaleyKreischer,#youBelongToMe,

Hayley Krischer’s You Belong to Me is a gripping YA thriller set against the backdrop of a Goop-esque wellness company called ‘Deep.’ It follows protagonist Francis Bean as she is drawn deeper and deeper into Femme, Deep’s community of tween and teen girls. Around the 50% mark, a mysterious tragedy strikes Femme and forces Bean to reevaluate the community she has so quickly become ingrained in.

This subgenre of ‘wellness thriller’ is a particular favorite of mine, and I really appreciate how Krischer tackled the topic without introducing any fantastical elements. Instead, the focus is the all-too-realistic way people in power, particularly men, can wield that power to manipulate those around them. The mystery piece of this book ended up being more of a demonstration of that theme than a shocking (or, unfortunately, satisfying) twist.

This writing in this book is very straightforward, almost stilted — to the point that I had to double check it wasn’t being marketed as a hi-lo read. I felt a real disconnect between the maturity of the subject matter (please heed the CWs!) and how Bean communicated her feelings about that subject matter. Once I adjusted to this style, I found You Belong With Me a fast, propulsive read. 4*.

CWs: loss of a parent; addiction and alcoholism; underage alcohol use, both consensual and nonconsensual; underage drug use, both consensual and nonconsensual; consensual sexual contact between minors; sexual abuse of minors; discovery of a dead body

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for providing this e-arc.

Thank you net galley for this arc. This is a psychological ya thriller done right. I enjoyed this story, it had twists and turns I was at the edge of my seat thinking I knew what was going on, but I didnt. I enjoyed it very much.

I was given this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My first thought was: what if someone turned Gwenyth Paltrow’s trial/Goop-iverse into fiction? But maybe that would be more fair if this was in Deena’s POV. I was intrigued by and enjoyed the plot. What’s going on in this town? What’s up with that group of girls? This is far from the stereotypical high school clique story. It’s a cult documentary thrown into Gossip Girl. But it took waaaaay too long to get there. I felt like you were tossed into Julia’s mind without any context and without teasing the drama and the mystery. It took until halfway through the book to get to the point where the mystery started to unfurl and things began to get suspenseful but it was still too easy to put down. I almost wish the twists and intrigue that happened towards the middle and end were planted at the beginning and then the author would have to walk us back to how we got there. Instead, it was like, why am I wondering around and around in this field and then hours later, oh! There’s a body. How’d it get there? Still an interesting story and some interesting characters but I wasn’t invested in the characters much and this was too easy to keep putting down and walking away from. I wanted to be madly flipping through the pages and boycotting sleep. I think the potential was there for that though and I loved the queer aspect. This also shed very important light on human rights issues like human trafficking and underage grooming and targeting vulnerable populations to take advantage of them

The premise—health and beauty cult mixed with a little high-school romance. This book had a ton of potential, but it didn’t really live up to what I was hoping for. The whole cult/self-image idea could’ve been super interesting, but the dialogue felt a little forced and flat. Instead of feeling like natural conversations, it often came off as a bit too scripted. That made it harder to connect with the characters and their relationships. It definitely has that "Cultish" creepy-thriller-vibe that kept my attention, but there were moments when I wasn’t fully invested. On the plus side, the mystery of what’s going on behind the scenes at DEEP was intriguing, and I definitely kept reading to figure it out. There are a lot of twists and turns that kept me hooked, and the ending was actually pretty satisfying. If you’re in the mood for a quick, high-tension mystery, this could be a fun read.

*** I think it’s also important to remember that the characters are high schoolers, so their decisions and actions totally reflect that! While the concept had a lot of promise, I just wished the story and characters had more depth. Overall, it’s a decent read if you're looking for something suspenseful with a few surprises.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Frances Bean, named after, yes, that Frances Bean, is invited to join one of the most exclusive groups at her ultra wealthy high school, by none other than her crush, Julia, the founder of Deep, a wellness brand that is famous, not only for its products, but it’s lifestyle. But immediately there are, ahem, white flags. All of the employees seem a little too committed to the cause. And while Frances feels relaxed, and at home while at headquarters and at the events, the group seems to be pulling her away from her other friends. Things come to ahead eventually, and Frances Beanis forced to make some tough decisions before they are made for her.

I liked this book, it had all the elements of a “groupthink,” creepy thriller that kept my attention throughout, but I can’t say that I was completely drawn in at any point in time. Frances Bean was a great character, but Julia and Frances Bean‘s core friend group kind of rubbed me the wrong way at points. Maybe that’s what soured the book a little for me.

But the central plot of what exactly is going on behind the scenes at Deep is very intriguing so I definitely kept reading to try to unravel that. And it’s really a very good book just for that mystery which I did not guess. The ending was really satisfying and I would recommend that if you were looking for a good high-tension suspenseful mystery, this could be a quick fix for you. There’s lots of little twists and turns throughout which kept my attention throughout.

I think the key is to remember that most of the characters are high-school aged, and they definitely act like it, and make decisions based on that behavior.

But like I said, it’s a great mystery with an intriguing premise, as the description says definitely one that evoked “Nine Perfect Strangers” for me.

It had so much potential, especially with its intriguing premise—a health and beauty cult combined with a sapphic romance—but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations. The concept of exploring a cult’s influence in the world of beauty and self-image could have been fascinating, but the execution falls flat.

One of the major issues is the "show, don't tell" problem. The main character, Frances, is described as being completely opposite to the ideals of the Femme cult—goth, rebellious, and indifferent to her appearance—but this is told to us rather than demonstrated in a way that feels genuine or compelling. Instead of experiencing Frances’s struggle or seeing her rejection of the cult’s ideals, we’re just told about her opposition to it. So when she suddenly becomes drawn to the cult, it feels unearned and the emotional stakes fall flat.

The dialogue and narration also felt flat and forced. Rather than feeling like natural interactions between characters, everything came across as overly caricatured or overly scripted. It’s hard to get invested in a romance or any of the relationships when the dialogue isn’t giving the characters room to feel real. I think the concept itself could have been really interesting, especially if the cult’s dynamics were explored more deeply and the character development had more depth.

4/ 5 stars
What was put in this book. I started it thinking of I'll just read a few chapters. Nah this was straight crack. I couldn't put it down.

Frances Bean, is known to be a goth in her school. However when paired with her crush who is equally infatuated with her for an English project. She is thrusted into a world of White clothes, wellness parties that everyone is dying to be apart of.

This book definitely is on the darker side of YA and shows the vulnerability of younger people with how they can be taken advantage of in the makeup/health industry. I enjoyed the perspective of looking at it from an outsiders view before being thrown into the cult like beliefs. Not to mention the queer rep and it's a sapphic thriller.

The pacing of this book felt rather fast in spots and I wish we got to spend more time fleshing out some of the side characters.

TW: SA, Alcohol Addiction, Adult/Minor relationship, cult, drug use, emotional abuse.

wow, what a rollercoaster.

at times predictable, the story is still edge-of-your-seat suspenseful. it had me staying up late into the night to finish it - i was sucked in to the glitz and glamor and grit and grime of DEEP. truly, a wild ride.

I am not a cosmetics person, and the way this was headed seemed like I just would not enjoy it even though I usually love YA thrillers. The writing is good, and I love the idea of a girl getting involved in something because of a cute girl.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I really wanted to like this since I loved The Substance but I really couldn't get into it. I don't know if I've run my course with YA and just not into it as much as I used to be a few years ago. However, I can see a younger crowd (who it's actually aimed at) resonating and liking this.

This book wasn’t for me. Overall, it was fine but nothing spectacular that stood out to me. It was very evident that it was written from a YA audience and was slow to start and a bit predictable. I can see a younger audience enjoying this a bit more!

This book was a pleasant surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, as it was a quick read and a good time.

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