Thank you HarperCollins Children’s Books for the opportunity to read this arc!

If you’re a school librarian wondering how to genrefy this book into your collection, I would suggest Suspense/Thriller. I didn’t find this as intense as Allegedly or The Weight of Blood content wise. The ending didn’t quite stick the landing for me personally, but I think this will be received well by my students.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5 STARS
WOW! this was a really good read, one i could not put down. it took a turn at the end that i did not expect! a crazy, wild ride for sure! the writing was well done, and the story was captivating. even though it really frustrated me at times, i was at the edge of my seat to know what would happen next.

it's been some time since i was in college, but i do remember being young and impressionable. it's the thing that made us naive and susceptible to different types of predators. this covered book covered that naivety well, i just wish the main character didn't seem so... fallible in every way. but at the same time, i get it. leaving the readers out in the dark was also a stroke of genius on the author's part, making the end all the more jaw-dropping.

the main character's, Jordyn's, grief is covered in a way that's almost all-consuming. the subject of love, loss, and family really pulled at the heart strings. her transition into becoming her own person towards the end was nice to see. for her to find common ground with someone who, on the surface level, goes against everything she's been trying to stray from was a nice touch, i think. it's the acceptance and love she deserved from the kind of people she felt held her back.

in the end, i did feel like i had more questions though--like about Kammy and Legacy. how did the university not know? did 'his' presence really not raise any questions? and how the heck did 'the scammer' get into Frazier!? don't prestigious schools thoroughly look into applicants? those are just some of the questions that had me scratching my head.

nonetheless, this was a very good read and i highly recommend it. be warned... it will break your heart and piss you if in the same chapter. but you'll love every moment of it! if you've read previous works by this author, then you know you're in for a good book.

thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books & Quill Tree Books for allowing me the opportunity to read this as an ARC via NetGalley. i leave this review voluntarily. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The author drawing in pieces of information from the real Sarah Lawrence case made this story that much more real for me. It’s YA even though the MC is a college student. I feel like anyone of any age can enjoy this book and get a lot out from it.

Truly AMAZING AND WONDERFUL STORY!!!!!!!!!! Our main characters have such unique and relatable qualities! As a mom in my 30s and with the world in such a state it was a welcome escape!!!! The plots were plotting and the twists were twisting! I felt so many things from the moment Devonte opened his mouth I had an almost instant dislike for him! I do feel that that was done purposely and I am very understanding of the way he was introduced to us. One of our main chracters Jordyn was so beuatifully written and even when she was beijg naive and manipulated I had a strong feeling her fight or flight instincts would kick in eventaully. Even the not so strong characters all served a universal purpose and the story just played out SO WELL!!!!!!!Absolutely engrossed from start to finish with the pacing and elements in the story that I usually do not gravitate to as the chracters are younger, but I appreciate the perspective! I am now telling all my fried s this is a MUST READ AND A NEW ALL TIME FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, what a wild ride! What really won me over was the ending and it pulled everything together so well that I had to bump up my rating. I’d been leaning toward 4 stars for most of the book, mainly because Jordyn, the main character, got on my nerves here and there. But she really came through in the final chapters. Overall, it was a suspenseful, engaging read that kept me hooked from start to finish. I didn’t want to put it down.

One thing about me is I will always drop whatever I'm doing when a new TDJ book pops up on NetGalley & read it immediately. I loved this!!! Something that I love about TDJ is that her books are often inspired by real events, but she puts her own spin on them and with her unique perspective and voice they are made into entirely fresh & engrossing stories. This one was frustrating (in a good way) because the main character is almost never doing what you want her to do, but I think that is a very accurate, real-life take when you're under the influence of someone who is giving cult leader. I VERY much enjoyed & was fully shocked by the reveals at the end. Super satisfying!!! 4.5 stars.

Tiffany D. Jackson once again dominates the YA scene with her based-on-a-true-story thriller about a grown man infiltrating a college campus.

Jordyn has pissed off pretty much everyone in her life by deciding to enroll at HBCU Frazier instead of Ivy League Yale for her pre-law degree. Jordyn knows why she's here though - one last chance to connect with her lost brother - and arrives on campus ready to make the year great. With good roommates and supportive professors, things seem to be going great until her roommate's brother leaves prison and begins living in their dorm. Devonte is smooth and charming, but some of his "teachings" leave Jordyn with a bad taste in her mouth. Does Devonte really want what's best for them? Or just what's best for himself?

I'm going to begin this review with a disclaimer: I would walk through fire if Tiffany D. Jackson told me to. Any book of hers that I review is going to be glowing from now until forever. Call me biased, I don't care. It isn't every day you get a chance to rub elbows with this kind of talent - even peripherally, through their work.

The Scammer is a fantastic take on the 2010 Sarah Lawrence College Cult case. In the author's note, Jackson talks about the time she spent looking into the case and how it completely captivated her. In her research, she says that she kept arriving at the same question - where were the adults that were supposed to be taking care of these fledging college students? In the book, Jackson attempts to provide details to fill in gaps in that story and explain how something so insidious could have happened right under the noses of college professors, security, and admin.

The characters in this book really captured me from the start. Jordyn is your typical college freshman - new to the world of adulthood, trying to find her path in life. Complicating this is the semi-recent loss of her older brother, who she was extremely close with. Jordyn's journey at Frazier was enjoyable to read because it wasn't perfectly linear and, even when good things were happening to her, she often thought about the ways that she might screw it all up. That felt very relatable as someone with social anxiety. I think we can all relate to going home after a gathering and overthinking the conversations we had, worried we offended someone or made a weird joke that others are going to hold against us. Jordyn has all of these worries, which are further exacerbated by her lack of support system.

Other characters in the book are just as well-written. Each girl had her own personality and it wasn't hard telling them apart (something that can happen sometimes with a large cast). Devonte gets his own special mention for the slow and insidious way that he infiltrates the girls' lives. It's so slow and diabolical and deliciously plotted - absolute A+ for this man making me squirm.

One thing I found particularly stand-out for this book is the way that the author reminds us that these are literal children that she is writing about. Yes, many of them are 18 or 19 and therefore legal adults, but mentally, these are all still kids who have had very little experience with the wider world until now. It's easy to ask yourself as a nearly-30-year-old how people could fall for Devonte's schemes, but I remember what it was like when I was 18 and freshly in college. I wanted to prove that I was old enough, mature enough to take care of myself. Someone just a little older than me coming along and proving me right? Telling me I was special, like all of us so dearly want to believe? I would have accepted this man's lies hook, line, and sinker. Throw in peer pressure and physical intimidation and you have the makings of a perfect storm.

I would like to let people know that if they are looking for a missing person's case, this is not the book for you. Though a missing roommate is mentioned in the book's summary, this disappearance doesn't actually happen until over halfway through the book and is not a prominent plot point. I personally had no issue with this, but I think that people going in with the intention of reading about a missing girl will find that to be false advertising. It would really be better if that was left out of the summary altogether, in my opinion. The story can hold its own without it.

As I said before, you won't hear a negative word here about Tiffany D. Jackson's writing. This book will resonate especially with people who liked her previous book, Grown, as it has a lot of the same themes involved. Whether you've read her work before or this is your first foray into Jackson's writing, you're sure to come out wanting more.

Wow! First, let me say that Tiffany Jackson did a great job of putting her own spin on the true events of those college students and used this book to be informative for anyone who reads it as signs to look out for. She approached the brainwashing and cult elements respectfully while also demonstrating how they're both dangerous and easily achieved. The Scammer was a rollercoaster ride of emotions and thoughts. I think Jackson did a great job of establishing a parallel between the scamming and abuse of power and the killing of unarmed Black people who have been failed by law enforcement and the justice system. There were plenty of times when I felt frustrated by Jordyn and her decisions weren't making sense at the time, but I also understand that was meant to be an example of the brainwashing as well as for the plot twist. Essentially, this book had multiple scams happening simultaneously. Overall, it was a good read and I'd recommend it to others.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest reciew.

I did not want to stop reading this one! It was suspenseful and compelling. I will admit that I would’ve given it a 4 star until the ending because the main character, Jordyn, kind of got on my nerves. She absolutely redeemed herself in the last few chapters!

If I could give it a 6 out of 5 I would definitely.

This had everything you needed with the title being Scammer. Although the cover was misleading. I had a feeling that the girls were scamming people but, it was someone else entirely. The character building relationships were spot on and more realistic so, it was easy to get lost in the dialogue.

I was surprised the turn of events at the end because turns out it was a revenge plot, she played like she didn’t know too much for so long and saying everything was fine and she was okay because she had the bigger plan in the end. Man…it’s so many points that society has on this story line. This was darn good. I’ll be rereading once it drops again. I just wanna annotate so bad now.

Thank you for the ARC, #Netgalley

Thanks, NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC. Glad that it was inspired by a real case or I would have thought that it was too crazy to believe. I did start to really enjoy the book about middle way through but gave 4 stars because I wish that it would have had more story about the HBCU school itself like how it is different or maybe it isn't different than a non-HBCU school Instead of what was going on in the dorms and on campus. I wasn't that thrilled with the twist at the end. Mainly because I just would have liked more of an explanation. Love white boy Nick I wish he would have been in it a lot more than he was.

I really enjoyed this book up until the final twist. I sort of saw it coming but dismissed it because it required too much suspension of belief. How were these scammers getting into and paying for so many schools? That’s such an expensive way to con people.

That said, it was a fun book and reimagining of the Sarah Lawerence scammer/cult story. I appreciated that she refuted the wild claims in the book.

As a HBCU graduate I love every piece of this story. In classic Tiffany writing the angst, the buildup and unknown made for the perfect YA story.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Collins for the arc for my honest review
1st pov/4 out of 5 stars
The Scammer is a story of finding who you are, dealing with grief, and becoming an adult.
Jordyn has enrolled at Frazier University, a historically black college that she picked over Yale for reasons close to her heart. She loads up her suitcases and heads to Washington, D.C. There's been a complete breakdown in communication between her and her parents because they don’t understand her decision. She has three roommates, Loren, Vanessa, and Kammy. Following his prison release, Devonte, Vanessa's brother, comes to see her. But a visit turns into him staying with them in their dorm room.
Devonte seems great at first as he opens their eyes to a lot of truths. However, it twists into something very cult like. Becoming more sinister as time passes. Jordyn tries to get out of the situation, realizing that she might have to leave her friends behind to do so.
I wish the book had included more twists sooner. But it’s still an enjoyable read.

I have strong reactions to every Tiffany D Jackson book I read. She gets me so invested in the characters and always has a surprise in store for reads. This particular book I would place more in the emerging adult rather than high school category since it features young adults at college.

Whew-this one hurts me to post because I am a super fan of Tiffany D. Jackson… but this one didn’t hit like her other books have (for me).

Things I really liked:
Set on a fictional HBCU campus
The topics and themes around becoming your own person, systematic racism and how that has hurt so many marginalized people, Black history etc.
The love island references were making me giggle.

Things that didn’t work:
We are following Jordyn who is a new freshman in college. She goes to a school her parents don’t want her to go to, but she comes from an all white town and she wants to be around other Black students(love all of this right)… but we are quite literally thrown into a story that I felt was missing some key connections. One of Jordyn’s roommates Vanessa asks if her brother who just got out of prison could stay for them for awhile and all the girls say yes and he quickly has them all under his thumb(this book is inspired by a cult, which I love), but it just seemed so unbelievable bc it seemed like we had a few convos and boom all these girls are following him around and doing everything he says.. so I think my issue was that it was a lot of telling and not showing and I wish we could have seen these girls really fall into this cult like mindset.

I wish we could have sat with Jordyn more in the story because I really liked her character, but it all felt very surface level.

The twist? Well wasn’t that twisty IMO.

The pacing felt off the entire book and I’m just so sad about it 😩

But I will still purchase the book because I love this author and need to have all of her books. 😏

Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC. I thought this premise sounded interesting- even more so when I read it was inspired by something that really happened. For a while I was a bit bored near the middle-ish but I’m glad I finished it. The end was not what I was expecting at all.

I was really looking forward to this and it was compulsively readable, but ultimately, wasn't my favorite of Tiffany's books.

It was...fine. A page turner for sure, but fell flat and I wonder if it's because it needed some more room to breathe, just some more pages for the plot to be drawn out just a bit more. The ending left me annoyed, too, as the twist just wasn't effective (for me). All it did was bother me because I felt like I was being fooled (and sometimes this works! it didn't for me, here) but there were never any clues to lead me in that direction wile I was reading. Normally with a big twist, there's clues and hints to lead you in that direction even if you don't pick up on them. This twist came out of nowhere and to me, throws the reader for a loop that just...didn't work.

I really loved the concept and the discussions of HBCUs and the fact that this was based on a real life event, but I do believe it could've been better.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc!

e-arc provided by Netgalley

Wow, this is a lot to take in in a shortish book. This really explores the insidiousness of cults and how easy it is to be manipulated even if you are a strong minded person. I was fully invested the entire time I read this and while I didn't love love the twist it was still a good one

Thoughts

Available 10/7/2025

We learn in the Author's note at the beginning that this book was inspired by Jackson learning about the Sarah Lawrence cult. And I think this book continues to show that she is so good at taking a news story or a fictional tale and spinning it so it seems original while the reader still knows exactly where the idea came from.

Given I know quite a bit about the Sarah Lawrence cult as I have read Slonim Woods 9, watched multiple documentaries, and also read another book inspired by it, The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead. So maybe that is why I felt it was so familiar.

But here Jackson places it on an HBCU campus and gives it twists that only she can. And the way she does it had me questioning if the man was wrong or not myself! But as with all cult leaders you start to see the slow unraveling and wonder how it got that far.

This one may have creeped me out more than any of hers so far. It isn't scary but knowing this stuff does happen. That there are people out here preying on kids and young adults when they are at their most vulnerable is just a terrifying thing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quill Tree Books for the eARC!