I had such high expectations for this book. I was disappointed but at the same time I figured it wasn't going to be very hard hitting.
This story definitely dealt with a few lesbian characters, but it mostly dealt with the "thriller" aspect of the story. Honestly, I had it pretty much figured out before the ending. I don't want to spoil anything so I'm not going to talk about what exactly happens. All I will say is that it was unfortunate.
The only character I somewhat enjoyed was Jessica. I didn't find her as annoying and frustrating as Angie, Margot or Ryan. With that said all the characters fell a little flat.
I gave this a 2.5-3 stars because it was enjoyable for what it was. It was very short and very fast to read. Nothing really that thrilling about it but I respected the representation in the book. It's always nice to read about. The prologue was also really well written in my opinion. It caught my attention enough to continue reading. I also enjoyed the different forms of media that were involved such as text messages, the interrogations were in a different print, and the letters that were involved (I don't want to say what the letters were for).
Would I buy this book for myself? No.
Would I buy it for a friend? Maybe, if they're into thrillers that aren't as intense.

I was able to read/review this book on netgalley. Thank you Dutton Books for Young Readers.

Twisting, dark and disturbing, A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo is a diverse read that explores the depths of friendship, identifying and accepting one’s sexuality, love obsession and murder.

What I liked:
• Dark atmosphere and eerie vibe from the very beginning.
• We were welcomed by an intriguing prologue but the story started 14 weeks ahead of the time when the prologue occurred. It took us back from the very beginning of it all. We followed every step the characters took till they reached that scene on the prologue and it helped a lot on giving us a sense of direction on the story.
• It wasn’t about “goody-goody” type of teenagers. Jess, Angie, Margot and Ryan, all of them have their own secrets and flaws – they carry this certain darkness in their characters – which contributed a lot on making this book felt more dark and mysterious.
• It didn’t focus on f/f romance which was a bit surprising given how the characters and their relationships and feelings toward each other were introduced. In fact, the main character wasn’t involved in any romance at all. It focused more on friendship, loyalty, sexuality and even obsession.
• The narration from Jess’ perspective. This left me not entirely knowing what was happening since I can only see things from her perspective.
• Lo created another world inside this world through Jess’ comics. It kind of gave us a glimpse of what was going on Jess’ mind. Because despite we are following the story through her perspective, Lo managed to make me feel like there were still a lot of things about Jess that I wasn’t seeing.
• The insane ending. I thought I got things figured out. I thought I can already safely rate and draft my review. I thought since I was on the last chapter, I already reached the end of it all. MAN, I WAS SO WRONG. I literally cursed while reading the epilogue.
• After reading this I felt like a huge idiot for underestimating this book. All the thoughts I had, the rating I was so sure of giving, all of those, I began to question. It suddenly left me not knowing what to believe anymore.

Have I mentioned that this also diverse? It has Asian characters and Jess, Angie and Margo are queer as well.

What I didn’t like and actually prevented me from really enjoying this:
• The writing. The writing was not really good but not that bad either. It was just okay.
• It was boring for most of the first part.
• It neither gripping nor intriguing. I started to be really intrigued when a murder case finally came into the picture which was almost halfway through the book already.
• It is a thriller but it is not thrilling at all.

If you are finding a really good YA mystery or thriller book, this is actually not the book I would immediately recommend but if you are just into a dark read with Asian and queer characters that explores friendship and obsession, you might want to check this out.

"And then there’s me, an extra in their drama…"

A Line in the Dark was intense! Holy crap, I was so not expecting this book to hit me the way it did. Now, I won’t be able to say much about the actual plot, because I am in no way spoiling this book for anyone! So instead you will get my opinions, all of them. First and foremost, the characters are so well presented and they all felt normal, yet something is off with them. I absolutely loved the lesbian representation in this book. It felt to so real to me, for once! As a queer reader, sometimes the representation feels forced and flat. This was not the case, it resonated with me, and then also creeped me out because I have nothing in common with any of these characters. Also, why are girls so damn mean?! Ugh. Yes, that felt 100% real to me too. I may not have been a teenager recently, but this contemporary story still hit me right in the feels.

We first get to know the narrator, Jess Wong, who is a chubby, Chinese-American girl in her senior year of high school. She’s a comic artist who is deeply in love with her best friend Angie. However, this seems to be a secret, even though I am pretty sure Angie is out to her friend group, but Jess definitely isn’t. Jess tells her side as the quiet sidekick to her beautiful best friend. Jess feels like she is less, even among her friend group, which she soon realizes are actually Angie’s friends, and she’s the tag along.

Everything is normal until Angie starts dating Margot, a girl from the Pearson Brooke Academy, a boarding school that is in the bordering town. Unrequited love can be exhausting and world shattering. Jess and Angie don’t speak for a while. Meanwhile, Jess gets to know some of the boarding school kids since she is attending the Pearson Brooke Academy arts exchange program. She is assigned a buddy from the school, Emily. Emily has her own story. She recently moved here and last year she was hurt and bullied by none other than Margot, the girl Angie is dating, and Margot’s best friend Ryan. Which is why Jess has absolutely no interest in getting to know Angie’s girlfriend, and continues to distance herself from Angie.

I think this book also really highlighted the classism between public school kids and private boarding school kids really well. From the first moment we are introduced to the characters, it is clear there is a major divide in these two bordering towns, between class and schools. Plus we have the woods that make up a very real physical divide as well, where it borders the two towns and the kids are often finding themselves within those creepy trees.

I trusted no one in this story. A little over half way through the book there is a POV shift. It goes from Jess’s first person POV to omniscient third person. This is when we are learning about the events of mystery, mostly told through police investigation transcripts. No reliable narrator and yet we get glimpses of the truth of what happened the night in question. I was completely shocked at the truth of the mystery. I never saw that coming! I was completely snowed.

The characters are truly the highlight of A Line in the Dark. It has that weirdly relatable yet strange feelings to it. Plus Jess’s comics carry more truth than fiction. The story is a slow burn, but the ending was nothing I was expecting.