CL Montblanc’s Pride or Die is a sharp, snarky debut that blends dark comedy, mystery, and the messy magic of queer teenhood into one irresistible ride. It’s part Knives Out, part Booksmart, and fully original in its voice and energy.

Eleanora Finkel is the anxiety-ridden, painfully relatable heroine we never knew we needed. All she wants is to escape her conservative Texas town in one piece—but when the head cheerleader is attacked during her LGBTQ+ club meeting, suddenly she and her friends are prime suspects in an attempted murder. And just like that, her senior year becomes a murder mystery with real stakes, twisted suspects, and a suspiciously cute victim.

The story shines brightest in its characters: a wonderfully chaotic cast of queer teens who are messy, loyal, and hilariously unqualified to solve a crime, but determined to do it anyway. The banter is on point, the emotional beats sneak up on you, and Montblanc never loses sight of the very real challenges queer teens face—even as the plot keeps things fast-paced and fun.

A few plot conveniences keep this from being a full five stars (some reveals feel a tad rushed or too neat), but the heart, humor, and representation make Pride or Die an unforgettable debut.

If you like your mysteries served with sarcasm, sapphic tension, and a side of social justice, don’t miss this one. It’s funny, fearless, and exactly the kind of story today’s YA needs.

This young adult (YA) novel follows four teens who create and lead an LGBTQ+ club at their high school. Despite not always being taken seriously, they remain determined to provide a safe and affirming space for those in the community. When a crime occurs just outside their meeting room and they’re implicated, the teens must band together to clear their names. As they work to solve the mystery, they also face stigma, stereotypes, and real attacks on their identities.

What stood out to me most was the writing — it was engaging and enlightening, with a twist of mystery, which is my favorite genre. The author strikes a great balance between serious themes and humor, making the story both meaningful and enjoyable. This book feels especially timely and relevant for young readers today. It encourages empathy and understanding, and it’s a reminder of how important it is to center the voices and experiences of marginalized communities — not just in literature, but in real life, too.

This is campy. People should not go into this expecting it not to be campy, because its honestly what makes it so fun.
This wasn't anything revolutionary, but it was a lot of fun. There are a lot of kind of campy ridiculous murder mysteries in the YA genre (and i should know, I've read most of them), and they are always centring straight white characters. This is a great example of adding representation to a genre without having to make the book just about the struggle of being a minority. Its fun, its ridiculous, and its gay.
Also- to all the reviewers saying it's unrealistic that police keep interviewing these minors without their guardians present: i hate to be the one to tell y'all this, but in many states anyone over 16 is not legally required to have a guardian present when talking to police. It's not the book being unrealistic, it's the justice system being bad.

The quick cut: Members of a high school LGBTQ+ club have to play detective when framed for the attempted murder of a classmate.

A real review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the arc for an honest review.

It's hard to fathom why discrimination and hatred are still such strong forces in this world. What is there to gain from being mean to those who live differently from you? For Eleanora and the LGBTQ+ club, this is a very pertinent question.

Eleanora is far too used to being discriminated against. Living in a small town, she's seen how the LGBTQ community is held to a different standard than others. When a cheerleader at their school gets attacked and the police investigate the crime, everyone is more than happy to blame the LGBTQ+ club who was meeting nearby. The principal and police are more than happy to get on board for that easy targeting too. Unless they're willing to have their futures derailed, they'll need to find the attacker themselves.

I wanted to like this story on so many levels because of the premise and opportunity for more diverse representation. In this author's YA debut though, they tried to do too much and it all fell flat for me. If you're going to tackle a very real issue of discrimination, it's way too tough to do that well while keeping a joking tone. In the end, it comes off as disingenuous at best.

I wish that was my only issue too, but the characters were bothering me as well. The core teens were not very well developed and I kept hoping for more depth in their development.

The adults were written in such a way that they acted like children. I know these things happen, but to this level? It almost feels like this book was written for inappropriate middle schoolers rather than the young adult crowd.

A mystery story that would have been better served with a serious tone.

My rating: 2.5 out of 5

While I understand that YA is meant for younger readers, that doesn't necessarily mean that books in the genre should feel juvenile. I don't know any teens (and I work with 18-year-olds) who need to be talked down to or feel like they're reading something written for a child; that's a great way to get teens disinterested in reading.

And unfortunately, this book felt like it was talking down to its YA audience. It felt more middle-grade in a lot of ways, from the often groan-worthy humor to its lack of logic (including several instances of police officers questioning minors without informing, let alone including, their guardians). The mystery never feels all that urgent, and the perpetrator is referred to as a "killer" throughout, even though no one is killed.

It's all very frustrating for me, and I can't imagine younger readers connecting well with this, at least not the reluctant ones I'm constantly trying to reach.

This was a fun read! I loved following along with the main characters as they investigated the mystery. I really enjoyed the writing, it had me cracking up in several parts. I loved the LGBTQ+ rep.

I think teens will really enjoy this one, especially teens who love dark comedies and mysteries.

I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

3.5⭐️

5 Stars for Eleanora Finkel creating a school club in efforts to allow others a safe space!

Furthermore, I did enjoy the journey of seeing Eleanora Finkel and her friends/fellow club members work towards revealing who has it out for their school's head cheerleader. I feel like I should have known right away, but I did like the reveal!! Also, I will say that with the romance that occurred within this story at first I did not believe in it, but by the end of the story I appreciated the dialogue that was provided in regards to the romance.

I really enjoyed this book! Honestly I was hooked based on the very first sentence. This book is very funny in a dark comedic way (which is my kind of humor!) The author does an excellent job mixing humor and a murder mystery with very real and relevant topics.

I really liked the different characters and loved how they were trying to create this safe space not just for themselves, but all the students coming after them.

I love a good jaw dropping moment and I admit I did not see the twist coming!! If you love murder mysteries and dark comedy, I would definitely give this a read!

✨What To Expect:
🏡Small Town
⁉️YA Thriller-ish
💋Sapphic Romance
🔪Murder Mystery
🏳️‍🌈LGBTQ+ Club
🖤Dark Comedy
😂Witty Banter
🌪️Twists & Turns

A dark comedy TO DIE FOR. I fell hard for CL Montblanc's writing style--fast paced and filled with witty banter. I love a story with a mystery and this one was perfection. Loved all of the plot twists. What a fun read.

Great representation and I enjoyed the dark humor. The pacing was a little slower than what I like in a mystery but overall it was a good read with characters I really enjoyed!

What an odd and entertaining little book this was. CL Montblanc's debut novel, Pride or Die, was less serious than I expected, though I think it perfectly captures a tone that will appeal to teen readers. Going in I was expecting more of a Karen McManus, One of Us is Lying, type of story. There is a mystery element that carries through the entire book, but this is far more comedic and goofier than McManus.

Eleanora "Fink" Finkel is the president of her High School's LGBTQIA+ club, which is often targeted by bigoted students and the Ed Rooney/Richard Vernon style principal. As if it weren't difficult enough to be a queer teen growing up in Texas, the small group finds themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time when a popular cheerleader is attacked, and the club immediately become the prime suspects. As she and her group attempt to clear their names through several poorly devised schemes, they find themselves getting deeper into trouble.

I sped through this, enjoying the antics and juvenile interactions between the characters. I think this is really more geared for a younger audience. I think some adult readers might struggle to appreciate the way Montblanc characterizes the teens (even if it is pretty accurate). I can see a lot of my students really enjoying the light, fast-paced story. Montblanc does well with addressing important topics but not getting too bogged down or shifting the tone too dramatically. Overall, this was a strong debut and I look forward to seeing what comes next from CL Montblanc.

C. L. Montblanc’s debut novel is a young adult mystery featuring several members of the senior class at Hillview High School in fictional Cabotsville, Texas. Eleanora just wants to finish her senior year and get out of Texas. However, when her club meeting coincides with an attack on the school’s head cheerleader, she and her friends find themselves the prime suspects in an attempted murder.

Unable to rely upon the principal, teachers, or the police, Eleanora, Tyler, Noah, and Salim decide to clear their names and ensure the survival of their club for future teens. They’re not detectives, but they decide their only choice is to become sleuths and solve the mystery. The club is for those who identify differently or are unsure of their orientation or those who need a safe haven among friends.

The four main characters are reasonably well developed. The story is from Eleanora’s point of view and she has the most depth. She is headstrong, tends to go full speed ahead, and cares about having a safe haven for future students. She also tends to make everything her burden to carry. Readers get a good feel for several of the supporting characters, including Kenley, the cheerleader and her boyfriend.

The novel starts with the attempted murder in the first chapter and a lot of the story is about solving the mystery and finding who actually is responsible for the attack. However, the book is about much more than that. It has threads woven throughout the novel about bullying, secrets, gossip, lies, teenagers trying to get into colleges, reputations being ruined, and irresponsible adults trying to blame the action on a group for expediency rather than fully investigating the crime.

The premise of the novel is great. However, I felt that several of the adults were somewhat exaggerated, especially the police reliance on Principal Ballard’s word versus evidence. Additionally, the minors were questioned without a parent or guardian. While there is some humor sprinkled throughout the book, the topics it explores are serious and these are what kept me invested in the story. The actual culprit was a little too easily discerned, but there are a couple of other surprises in the somewhat over-the-top ending.

Overall, this is an engaging debut young adult mystery novel full of teen angst that also has some plot twists along with social commentary. It has a great message without excessive and unnecessary oversimplification.

St. Martin’s Press – Wednesday Books and Lindy Ryan provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for April 15, 2025. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

This is the case of whodunit, and I was here for it. But then it ended up being a slow burn which I do not like, because of course I was highly disappointed, the ending wasn’t what I expected. I know I was not the only one who was annoyed at these characters but then again these are teens. I found myself finding this book to be a little TOO much to be a YA, but then again the times are different now.

This was a fun suspenseful novel with many false clues thrown in.
The story moved along with funny circumstances, unique characters, and lots of wrong assumptions.
As a mystery, it hit it's mark. You will read it till the end and then be surprised. It's more convoluted than you thought!
Enjoy!

Content Warning: violence, cursing

+ Students in an LGBT+ club are witnesses to an attack on a cheerleader, but because they were seen at the scene of the crime, people are suspicious that they were the ones who attacked her. So to prove their innocence, they decide to investigate to find who the real attacker is.

+ Eleanora and her friends in the club are funny! There is cursing but I thought it was fine. They are quite a cast of characters and they found themselves in a lot of chaos and drama. Plus I love the diversity that is being represented in the story.

~ I didn’t feel invested in the story. I was thinking it was going to be a serious mystery but it wasn’t but that’s part of it’s appeal. I eventually did enjoy the dark comedy vibes but I also felt like maybe a younger audience will definitely enjoy this book more than I did.


Final Thoughts:

I love the representation in this one! It’s got queer kids trying to solve a crime with lots of chaos and drama. Eleanora and her friends are a fun group! I think this one will appeal to young adults and teen readers.

Eleanora Finkel wants to finish her senior year and get out of Texas. When the head cheerleader is attacked at the same time her club is meeting, they're blamed for it. To clear their names and keep their club for future queer teens, they’ll have to track down the real culprit. Eleanora isn't a detective and is anxious. She is also attracted to said cheerleader. Can they solve this mystery before one of them is next?

The LGBT club at school is small but a safe place for the four openly queer kids at school. The principal is against them from the start, the cheerleader made a comment a year ago that got most of the popular kids bullying them, and being accused of attempted murder will ruin future college admissions. It's easier for the principal and police to blame them than to really look for the culprit; as they investigate, they realize how much corruption really exists within the school. This takes on more comedic elements at times, but there are serious consequences as the team tries to gather clues and find the real attacker. The investigation intensifies when one of the friends is arrested and threats are painted on their lockers. We get the crimes all solved by homecoming, in the most spectacular and romcom-style admissions, which had me laughing. Overall, this was a very fun read, incorporating a very serious topic.

I appreciate how the subject matter of this book toes the line of right and wrong because life is not just black and white. When a group of teens are the prime suspects in a murder case, they must prove their innocence by solving the murder case on their own. It is very modern "Scooby-doo" like, filled with modern meddling kids.

When the head cheerleader at school is attacked, the blame is immediately placed on the LGBTQ+ club who was holding a meeting just down the hall at the same time. In addition to already fighting a town and school of bigots, they now see themselves having to fight crime to save the one queer haven at their school.

PRIDE OR DIE by CL Montblanc was such a fun dark comedy centered on friendship and acceptance and crime-solving mayhem!

Our main cast of characters was so fun and each had their own distinct personalities. The hijinks was top-tier and the sleuthing was both clever and creative!

Overall, this was a great YA mystery with amazing rep!

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: April 15

3.25 ⭐️

This was such a fun read!
I really enjoyed the writing style and all of the quirky characters in this book. The whole plot was so deeply unserious, but I think that’s part of its charm! I do, however, wish it was a bit more developed as it felt like a really short read to me! But it was such a silly, chaotic little treat!

Also thank you to NetGalley for access to this arc!

I loved this suspenseful, fun read that was full of heart! The shocking twists were masterfully executed. This is one book that can't be missed!