4 stars for this strong YA read.

Frances Bean (yep, she’s named after Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s daughter, and, yes, I immediately knew that. They don’t just hand out honorary degrees in Us Magazine to anyone, people!) is a teenage goth girl on scholarship at a fancy high school (such a trope. You’re either on scholarship at the fancy private school and the book’s hero or your parents are paying full freight and you’re the villain. I get that being poor is noble and all, but, damn, if you have to shell out all that money shouldn’t you have a chance at being the MC? Anyone? No? OK, my bad.)

She gets paired up with beautiful Julia, daughter of Deena Patterson, founder of Deep, a famous wellness line. This is perfect as Bean has a crush on Julia and it turns out that Julia feels the same. Oh, young love!

Julia invites Bean to Femme, the teen offshoot of Deep and Bean loves it and loves the sense of being a part of something. But eventually things take a dark turn and Bean doesn’t know who she can trust.

This is some quality YA right here and I enjoyed it. I hope it finds a wide audience.

God, there really is something to the cult intrigue of it all.

Frances Bean has always been comfortable as an outsider, until a class project pairs her with Julia, her crush and the wealthy daughter of wellness guru Deena Patterson. Initially indifferent to the luxurious world of DEEP, Deena's wellness brand, Frances finds herself drawn to Julia and the empowering Femme program for young ambassadors. As she navigates this glamorous life and begins a romance with Julia, her outlook brightens. However, when a DEEP party takes a troubling turn, Frances begins to question whether her desire to fit in was a dangerous distraction from her true self.

The author really did a good job at pulling off this cult-set YA thriller. The slow unfolding of it all was done oh-so well, and I did love the meta commentary done on the wellness industry throughout. Extremely well executed in terms of scene setting, but I think the resolution after the climax fell a little short--still a spectacular read and I look forward to future novels from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I thought this was a good YA novel about wellness cults and how easily you can fall into them. I found some of the things they were saying impactful and I'm like dang... could this cult have gotten me? Maybe! I definitely did have to remind myself that this was YA as some of the writing styles and characters were bothering me. The ending also felt rushed in a sense and I kind of wish we would've gotten more closure? I would've loved to see more of that.

"You Belong to Me" by Hayley Krischer is a compelling exploration of obsession and the intricacies of teenage relationships. The author skillfully captures the intensity of youth, balancing moments of vulnerability with darker themes of control and identity. While the pacing occasionally lags and some characters feel underdeveloped, the gripping narrative keeps readers invested. Overall, it's a thought-provoking read that highlights the complexities of love and belonging, earning 4 stars for its emotional depth and engaging storyline.

Francis Bean takes pride in being on the fringes of her super-exclusive prep school, until her crush on Julia pulls her into the mainstream, popular crowd and their lifestyle cult.

Three stars because the book felt uneven to me, making it hard to keep my interest up. Some things - the school cliques, portrayal of luxury lifestyles, and the danger of letting emotion override common sense - felt predictable. There were good twists, though, and I think teens will see themselves in some of the characters.

Getting the opening chapters of a psychological thriller right is crucial. The author needs to set the tone and hook readers quickly, or they risk losing them. This is especially true when the novel is geared toward a young adult audience, as YA readers often have different expectations and shorter attention spans. With so many other books or activities to move on to, they’re quick to abandon a story that doesn’t engage them. It’s a challenging task, but when an author succeeds—like Hayley Krischer does in You Belong to Me—the book can have a powerful impact.

Right off the bat, Krischer intrigues readers. She opens the narrative with a shocking event, or at least one that feels shocking in the eyes of a teenager: geeky goth Frances Bean, or “Bean” to her friends, finds an invitation to an exclusive Deep party wedged into her locker door at school. She’s been invited by an elite group of girls—people who have previously mocked her and her friends—to a fancy soirée. It seems entirely out of the blue. Her goth friends are skeptical of the embossed invite, yet their curiosity is piqued. For Bean, however, the invitation stirs something entirely different—nervous excitement. Julia Patterson, her current crush, has invited her to an extravagant party at the home she shares with her mother, Deena Patterson, a wealthy and famous wellness/beauty guru. While Bean doesn’t fully understand why she’s been invited, she feels compelled to go, wanting to impress the girl who once called her the “coolest person she ever met.”

It’s clear that Krischer understands YA readers; she gives them flawed, complex characters they can identify with, ones that are accessible and relatable. Readers don’t have to stretch themselves to connect with Bean, Julia or their friends. Krischer immerses them in a high school drama filled with intense, fast-paced intrigue, recognizing YA readers need strong visuals and action-packed scenes. YA audiences don’t want lengthy exposition or slow-paced buildup; they don’t need time for things to marinate. Krischer paints a picture they “get” right away, demonstrating she has what it takes to craft a compelling YA novel.

Besides knowing how to draw YA readers into her story, Krischer also understands how to keep them engaged. She does this by developing a relevant and emotional character journey, filled with high stakes and tension. Readers see parts of themselves in Bean. Her motivations, fears, and feelings feel genuine and relatable, especially her emotions around Julia. As they watch Bean grapple with her sense of identity and belonging in Julia’s opulent, over-the-top world, readers resonate with aspects of Bean’s experience. Even if they can’t relate to wealth, they understand the desire to belong, to be accepted, and to be loved. This makes the storytelling compelling and strikes a real chord with readers. Krischer also delves into contemporary issues within Bean’s journey—social class, wealth, beauty standards, and authenticity—making the narrative not only entertaining but thought-provoking and meaningful.

Even though You Belong to Me includes themes of romance, it’s ultimately a psychological thriller, and readers never lose sight of that. There are ominous and unsettling events happening behind the scenes at Deep. Krischer uses short chapters and intense scenes with rapid shifts, keeping the energy high. She also makes Bean an unreliable narrator at points in this twisty, suspenseful tale—a commonly used device in thrillers, which adds complexity and keeps readers on edge. As Bean struggles to know whom to trust, the stakes get scarier with each unsettling discovery. Her vulnerability and doubt build suspense in a way that YA readers can handle, and the story thrives on this carefully timed tension, keeping them eager to read on.

Final Remarks…

Krischer has done an exceptional job with this YA psychological thriller, taking readers on a compelling journey. By the end, she resolves major plot points and delivers a suspenseful, emotional experience, but she also leaves readers with something to ponder. There’s room to re-examine Bean and Julia’s actions, and while some may not appreciate an open-ended resolution, it’s a hallmark of YA psychological thrillers. Young adult readers appreciate it because it allows them to interpret key parts of the story on their own, reflecting on themes of loyalty, friendship, identity, self-discovery, and love. This open ending makes You Belong to Me feel personal and heightens its emotional impact. Most importantly, it leaves room for a sequel—and I, for one, would love to see that.

Strengths….

Filled with twists and turns
Relatable, well defined characters
Reliable, immersive storyworld
Solid story development
Intense and page-turning

4.5 stars rounded up because this book deserves it! A super fun and unpredictable YA thriller that had me on the edge of my seat! I think this book could’ve benefitted from like 100 more pages and some more context, but I really did enjoy it.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC!

The story follows Bean, a teenager with a unique Goth persona and a solid group of friends who suddenly finds herself pulled into a wellness cult led by her new girlfriend, Julia. The relationship between Bean and Julia feels rushed, more like instant love than a slow build, which leaves their connection feeling shallow and underdeveloped. However, the relationship also felt realistic as teenagers often experience the falling too hard too fast dilemma, which is common in younger relationships. Despite this, the LGBTQ+ representation in the book is a positive aspect, and it's clear that Krischer aims to explore themes of identity and belonging through Bean's journey.
*You Belong To Me * -By Hayley Krischer is a thought-provoking YA novel that delves into the unsettling world of cults, manipulation, and the intense desire to belong. This book paints a vivid picture of how easily someone can be drawn into a dangerous group under the guise of love and acceptance. It offers a gripping concept and a realistic portrayal of cult dynamics while also showing the realistic desire to belong.

A slow burn for sure. I had no idea what to expect going in and mostly came from the sapphic relationship at the center. Expected a more sci-fi horror element with the beauty company but found myself digging the more male power and corruption over younger and impressionable females angle way more.

Some characters did feel kinda flat and the "Loving myself" theme was a little on the nose but kinda expected it considering this book relies so heavily on unnatural beauty standards and the faces of famous beauty brands being a little off.

This book played right into my grievances with the wellness industry and their often cult like behaviour. I was a bit annoyed with Bean in the beginning and I felt like the resolution was a bit rushed and not as satisfying and vindictive as I would have liked, but this is a YA novel so I'm not that mad about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! The writing was creative, the characters compelling, and the storyline exciting. This book takes your classic cult tropes and makes them engaging for a younger, more tech-savvy audience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. One of my favorite parts that really enhanced my involvement in the story was the present tense first-person POV narration. It allowed the reader to solve the mystery along with Bean, while looking between the lines for things that our narrator may have missed or presented differently to us. When writing from a first-person POV, we as readers often expect our narrator to share the truth as the world sees it, and I love that Krischer's writing exemplifies that the truth we read is Bean's, no one else's.

A perfect young adult thriller! I think it explores its topics very well and had me crawling out of my skin at times, it was great. It discusses cults, class status and manipulation which I think is very important for younger readers. Perfect mix of relatable (and LGBTQ+) main character, great writing style and plot, pick this up when it releases! Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A different twist to a common teenage feeling of finding a place to belong and how the influence of peers can change personalities in a blink. This was quite a page-turner once I got to understand all the characters involved. Several topics covered - LGBTQ+, class status, friendships, struggling with right and wrong, loyalty, dealing with adults, and the grooming that goes into becoming a cult member, to name a few. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC.

This story was so good! It hit so many notes of beauty, youth, groupthink, and hero worship. I adored Bean and thought the characters brought the whole story together. They were fully fleshed out without the descriptions being boring and overly done. This book just reeled me in and didn’t let go until the very last page! I’d love to catch up with Bean and see how she’s doing a year later. Sequel maybe? Great book, highly recommended!

I'm a bit unsure how I feel about this one. I enjoyed reading it, but sometimes I felt like messages were getting crossed or something of that nature. I think that could possibly be the intent of the book as it revolves around a secluded beauty group, so that really just shows my own personal tastes! Besides, it definitely wasn't bad as I did enjoy it.

4⭐️

First, thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC.

You Belong to Me by Hayley Krischer is a fast-paced YA psychological thriller.

It's the first book that I read by this author, but I'm looking forward to trying some of her other works.

I really liked the concept and the characters.
Honestly, I didn't feel any particular connection with the romance between Bean and Julia, but it didn't really ruin the read for me since it wasn't really the centre of the novel.

Anyway, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes psychological thrillers or is fond of books about cults.



Potential spoilers in the TW


TW: SA, Adult/minor relationship and Emotional abuse

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

“You Belong to Me” by Hayley Krischer is a thought-provoking YA novel that delves into the unsettling world of cults, manipulation, and the intense desire to belong. This book paints a vivid picture of how easily someone can be drawn into a dangerous group under the guise of love and acceptance. It offers a gripping concept and a realistic portrayal of cult dynamics while also showing the realistic desire to belong that a lot of teenagers experience.

The story follows Bean, a teenager with a unique Goth persona and a solid group of friends who suddenly finds herself pulled into a wellness cult led by her new girlfriend, Julia. The relationship between Bean and Julia feels rushed, more like instant love than a slow build, which leaves their connection feeling shallow and underdeveloped. However, the relationship also felt realistic as teenagers often experience the falling too hard too fast dilemma, which is common in younger relationships. Despite this, the LGBTQ+ representation in the book is a positive aspect, and it's clear that Krischer aims to explore themes of identity and belonging through Bean's journey.

One of the book's strongest elements is its realistic depiction of how someone can become entangled in a cult. The slow but steady grip of the cult's influence on Bean is hauntingly portrayed, capturing the way manipulation and gaslighting work to break down a person's sense of self. For readers who have experienced or are familiar with cult-like environments, this aspect of the story may hit particularly close to home. The way the cult subtly erodes Bean's critical thinking and pulls her away from her former life is both believable and chilling.

Bean's character is both relatable and frustrating. Her naivety and willingness to abandon her individuality for the cult's ideology can make you want to scream at her to wake up. The book's handling of Bean's inner conflict—her need to belong versus her gut feeling that something is wrong—is where it truly shines, even if it makes her decisions exasperating at times. The supporting characters, especially Bean's friends, are highlights of the story, adding warmth and a touch of realism as they try to stand by her despite her growing distance. Bean’s character (specifically her naivety and lack of critical thinking) annoyed me a lot throughout the book, like how she seemed to quickly lose her Goth persona, which made her so unique. If she had been able to enter the cult with feelings of doubt or criticism, I think I would have enjoyed her character more. The gaslighting throughout the book was quite frustrating as well.

The book's thriller elements fell a bit short. The slow burn at the beginning takes a while to gain momentum, with much of the first half dedicated to background building. While this setup is necessary to establish the characters and their relationships, it lacks the dramatic tension typical of a thriller. There’s little sense of danger for Bean, which makes the suspense less compelling than it could have been. Also, I would have expected more criticism and awareness on the cult since the wellness group is extremely well-known and popular, but it seemed like no one was really investigating the group or had any suspicions besides Bean’s friends.

Overall, “You Belong to Me” is an intriguing exploration of vulnerability, identity, and the lengths one will go to feel accepted. While it may not fully succeed as a thriller, its portrayal of cult dynamics and the psychological impact on its characters is compelling.

You Belong to Me follows the story of Bean, a young edgy queer kid, who has a crush on the daughter of a beauty mogul. She gets invited to a brand party and she gets more and more invested in the new life it is offering her, so different from her own.

I think this book is a great young adult thriller. It is a very age appropriate dive into cults and toxic friendships. It managed to make me physically uncomfortable at some points, even though it was just dialogue between characters. As an adult reading some parts made my skin crawl because I know what manipulation and gaslighting looks like so I'm really glad younger people can read this and learn to recognize it.

The only thing I didn't find to my liking are due to the fact that it is YA or that it is a short novel. I think some of the issues could have been explored in more details and some characters felt a bit cliché. But if you love YA or you are a teen, I think it is spot on.

I also think that the book ends on a great message for younger readers.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Find my reviews on Goodreads, The StoryGraph, and Fable

This book made me uncomfortable, in several moments, actually squeamish, but I think that was really the point of this book. My students will tell you that I’m obsessed with the concept of cults and of the people who join them and lead them. My mother would tell me that no cult would ever want me because I would ask too many questions and not be compliant enough. I think this book does a really good job of exploring what cults are to teenagers, which may not mean David Karesh and Waco, but the cult of beauty, of fitting in, of Instagram and the way that we depict the world we live in. It’s so easy for girls, especially teenage girls, to get sucked into so much of that as they try to find themselves, especially as they’re dealing with trauma in their lives. This was a powerful read, if an uncomfortable one. My only reason for giving 4 stars was how quickly and neatly it seemed to wrap up.

I thought this book had such a great premise, and I really enjoyed Hayley Krischer's latest, WHERE ARE YOU, ECHO BLUE?, so I was especially excited to read this one! Overall, I liked it a lot. It tackles a few interesting topics—the darker side of the wellness industry, how easily people might get sucked into things like cults, and what it means to be your own person, stay true to yourself, and "belong to" yourself first and foremost, not anyone else. I love the author's writing style, and liked how while this is definitely quite the twisty psychological thriller, it's more of a slow burn in terms of pacing. Ironically, the romance was kind of the opposite—I felt like the relationship between Frances and Julia was a little bit rushed, which made sense for the story, but I did wish it had been drawn out a little bit more. Highly recommend this one for fans of psychological thrillers with well-developed characters, that explore the downsides of beauty and wellness culture! Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin, and Putnam Books for Young Readers for the ARC.