Death by Society was a hard book to read. Both because of the themes within it and the way it was written. Before I get into my review I want to warn everyone to read the trigger warning list! If you’re triggered by any of these, do not read this book because it’s a really intense and emotional roller-coaster.

Let me start of by saying that I admire the author for being so raw and real in this book. A lot of books skimp over the actual mental health issues and the thoughts and feelings that go with it. But not this one! This one was written with insight and someone who clearly knows what it’s like to go through these issues and/or did incredible research to portray it all in a realistic way. This made me bump it up a star.

The book tells us the story of Carter (a bully victim), and her group of bullies (Abby, Mei, Slater, and Kelsey). The story is told in dual POV (Carter and Abby) and sheds some light on why exactly Abby bullies Carter. Let me add to this that the story in no way condones bullying or talks good about it, it just shows what’s behind Abby’s action in this particular situation and how it can lead to her lashing out against another person. The plot itself was not very original and even read Wattpad like for me for a while, this also resulted in me not getting 100% into the book. I do have to admit that the way the events take place and the results are not what I’m used to reading, so that part felt original and intruiging. The story is truly heart-breaking and I sometimes wanted to hug and/or scream at characters.

In conclusion, the book is good but could be way better. If you like reading about heavy topics (mental health, bullying, depression, sexual assault) and like to learn more about the thoughts and feelings behind it, it might be an interesting book for you. Oh, and it’s sapphic! Loads of bisexual and pansexual characters!!

Thank you Victory Editing, Sierra Elmore, and NetGalley for gifting me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Death by Society sets out to capture a messy social world between high school girls, and while it does, it can sometimes do so at the expense of the narrative or reader. The plot and two main characters remain relatively easy to follow, and their relationship is.. an interesting one, but the larger complex group dynamics with the POPs is harder to understand. Who is okay with who switches a lot, who considers who a friend, who shows up and whose house, who is trying to sabotage the other... it's all realistic and messy, but for a book that features such a changing dynamic to work, the more of the book would need to be dedicated specifically to the shifts in the friend group. Carter and Abby instead have a lot of internal struggle and external relationship issues, which can be hard to sequence and stay immersed in. The suicide attempt that the blurb suggests is the inciting action happens about halfway through the book, and that representation varies in quality- the scene where Carter calls her therapist in a panic because she's NOT suicidal anymore is extremely real and interesting, and more in that vein would have been interesting, but otherwise Carter (and Abby) don't have the amount of personality that would make the reader loyal enough to follow through to the end.

Death by society is an amazing book about bullying and mental health.
I have experienced things that are similar to what Carter experienced. The book made me feel validated and showed me that I'm not alone.
I will definitely buy the book and reread it again.
I recommend this book a lot, but please check content warnings before reading it (some of the parts really made me feel things again and if that's not somethings you can handle (yet), maybe don't read the book).

Before I begin, please check the trigger warnings before reading.

This book was out of my comfort zone, but I really did enjoy every minute. The characters all felt so real and connected and I honestly felt every shred of emotion the characters felt.

If you want a dark and deep yet meaningful story then this book is for you

I'm sad to say but me and Death by Society didn't get along. The premise of the story seems good and I know that this will resonate with a lot of people but it just wasn't for me. I'm not sure if it is a cultural gap (British vs American) or if it is because I work with teenagers who are often marginalised and suffer with mental health problems but the way the story was told just didn't mesh with my lived experience. As I say this book will be for someone that person just isn't me.
Death by Society by Sierra Elmore is out now.

Thank you Elm Street Publishing, Sierra Elmore and NetGalley for granting me an arc of Death by Society.

This book is a hard-hitting, raw depiction of bullying and its consequences, filled with a diverse cast of characters that were unique in their own way.
However, the amount of characters were confusing, it was a bit difficult for me to remember who was who, of course as I progressed through the book it became easier. The writing style is very YA and the majority of it felt very over explained, whilst I prefer a much more 'show, don't tell' writing style.
The content of the book felt more mature than a YA novel, but the writing style felt like a YA novel, leaving me a bit confused as to who the target audience is supposed to be.
I'd recommend this book, but it wasn't anything revolutionary for me.

I first want to thank NetGalley and Elm Street Publishing for this arc!

This was one of those books where I did judge it by the cover. The minute I saw the cover, I knew I wanted to read the book. It lived up to its full potential, I ended up loving it.

The dual POVS of Carter and Abby really added to the story. I thought it was the perfect way to tell this story, especially for such complex characters. From the start of the story, Carter was a strong character. Her storyline was raw and dark, but it felt realistic. As for Abby, I didn't think that I would ever like or feel for her character. But once her inner thoughts became clear and her backstory was told, I ended up understanding who she was. There were a decent amount of characters, but they were all written very cleverly. I never felt confused with who was who or what side storylines were going on.

This book read like a TV show and kept me entertained. The dialogue was great -- it fit the characters and was reflective of how high schoolers are. The plot was strong and was interesting all the way through the book. The author handled very hard topics really well.

I totally recommend this book but suggest looking up trigger warnings before doing so.

Take notice to the trigger warnings located at the beginning of the book.

Death by Society is a raw and emotional YA.
Carter is trying survive life, school and the toxic bitches with the mean girl complex that patrol the halls.

For myself it was a hard read but I knew it would be going in, again see TW.
The dual POV’s are very well done. Giving readers insight to Carters emotional state, as well touching on Abby’s trauma. Not an excuse for Abby’s behaviour just a reminder that everyone has their own demons under their perfectly painted masks.

Carters thoughts leading up to her suicide attempt and during recovery were an eye opener. Her “I was so close” thoughts were painful to hear though it gave an accurate depiction of mental health struggles.

Without going into detail as not wanting to spoil anything, Kelsey needs major intervention, seriously who does that to another person.
Carters last chapter 💖!

Overall a solid debut novel by Sierra Elmore. A definite recommendation for anyone but especially for teens/YA
Death by Society will be released Sept 13/22

Looking forward to reading more by this author.
Thank you to Sierra Elmore, NetGalley and Elm Street Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4,5 stars
When I was this book on Netgalley, I was automatically drawn to it. The blurb got my attention immediately. I am a fervent advocate of Mental Health awareness, so it felt nice to be able to support a book with mental illness.

This was a very interesting read. It was not your standard book, brushing over mental health and focusing on romance or whatever else. This book depicted the harsh reality that is depression and the aftermath of trauma, all intertwined in a web of drama, insecurity and bullying that you can find at any High School. This is the kind of book that makes you really think, that makes you revisit your past, that makes you ponder on the relationships you maintain, the actions you take and how they could have impacted others.

The characters were beautifully written and developed, in all their complexity. I enjoyed the perspective of this book on bullying. Everything is not all black and white and I thought the FMCs here perfectly reflected that. And of course, a young black woman as a female lead!!!! So happy to see more and more people of color in the books that I read!

The author’s note at the beginning of the book, explaining the context of the book and how it came to be, was very much appreciated. I felt as if I truly had a better understanding of the story with all this in mind.

This book is hard and heavy, it’s not for everyone. I strongly suggest reading the TW before reading! I do think that if teens read this book, a discussion is much needed afterwards to circle back on everything they’ve just read.

This book was not bad, but I wasn't the right audience for it and some things bothered me.
I'll start with what I liked. It is full of queer and POC characters (the main character is Black and bisexual). Also, this book is raw and shows the impact of bullying in a serious way. It does not hide from real depictions of mental illness and trauma. There are resources at the end of the book for people struggling with the same challenges as the characters in the book.
What I didn't like was how quickly the dynamics between characters changed. It was hard to keep track of everyone's relationships and at times it felt like people were excusing very unexcusable things (which was frustrating but also did prove a point in the story). It was all bullying, all trauma, all horrible behavior with very little to break it up or carry an overall plot.
In general, I think this book does a good job with the purpose of illustrating the meaner side of teenagers, but I was pretty exhausted by the end.
There's a LOT of content warnings for this book: suicide, suicidal ideation, bullying, PTSD from sexual assault are the big ones.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

⭐️⭐️
Death by Society follows Abby and Carter as they navigate their high school years. Abby belongs to the typical ‘mean girls popular group’ and Carter, who is extremely smart and excels academically, doesn’t. We also meet Mei, Slater, and Kelsie (also grouped together with a very ‘mean girls’ vibe). Trigger warnings for suicide, sexual assault victims, and depression.

The characters felt jumbled to me (which friend was upset with whom, and why). But maybe that was done purposely; since in high school it seems like someone is always upset with another person, sometimes for no reason at all.

<i>death by society is</i> is mean girls for teenagers today if said film focused on mental health, recovery, and the repercussions of bullying.

there is a good book within this, but it is one i am not the target audience for. had i read this as a teenager, i would have both adored it and had my life changed by it, but as a twenty-something, i struggled to connect with it despite understanding our main character’s struggles and mental health issues. all i wanted to do was scream at the characters at different points throughout, wishing they would act differently, which is a benefit of growing and being on your path to recovery. teenage me would have felt a lot differently.

kudos to the author, sienna elmore, for writing something so raw and something so understanding of the mental health issues teenagers struggle with. it is not easy but several chapters in it becomes clear that the openness throughout this book will certainly help several people down the line with their struggles. despite my praise here, i want to stress that this is not going to be for everyone. the book is one you absolutely should not go into unless you know every single trigger warning as listed by the author - <i>”suicidal ideation, depression, self-harm, bullying, domestic violence, anxiety (social and generalized), racism, and rape trauma syndrome (no rape depiction).”</i> it is heavy, it is heartbreaking. do not read unless you know you will be able to cope with the contents touched on and described.

<i> thank you to netgalley and elm street publishing for the arc. the publication date is the 13th of september 2022.</i>

This book talks about some really important issues and it was amazing to see not only a Black main character with mental health issues, but also how being Black had an affect on the treatment she got.

My problem with this book was that none of the characters felt real. Carter was easy to sympathize with, but she (and the rest of the cast) seemed underdeveloped. Everyone's motivations were unclear - they wanted to do all these things, but it was hard to tell why. Loyalties changed back and forth almost instantly, and the redemption arcs felt very unearned, which made a lot of things feel unresolved. I think that taking more time to develop the characters, and some of the plots, would have resulted in a much more polished story.

There were also a lot of pop culture references (not just to media but also with name dropping brands, celebrities, books, etc.), and the writing was very tell-don't-show, which is really just me being picky with writing style.

Thanks to Sierra Elmore for the ARC and for taking on these serious topics.

i will not be completing this book. the writing style was grating and the plot tacky. the dialogue made me cringe.

It has to be said that the author has an intensity that shouldn't be taken lightly. This book is heavy, occasionally triggering (be warned) and so frustrating I had to stop reading more than a few times.
The frustration I felt almost made me walk away until I remembered that school and being a teenager in general, has to be the most frustrating, rage inducing period of my life. The complete injustice and occasional inaction from Carter made me die inside. But that's the point. Sierra has managed to convey just how utterly helpless being a teenager is.
It is enjoyable watching Carter take back some of the power but some parts of this were so unrealistic it ruined it a little bit for me.
Overall, would recommend for YA readers - this is one of the more intelligent reads of the genre.

What an amazing book!
The book is super exciting and would love to read more from the author!

Thankyou netgalley for the ARC

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Elm Street Publishing and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A dark, twisty, suspenseful thriller with glimpses of mean girl thrown about.

I rate this book a 5 stars

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this book.

The story follows Carter a teenager who faces constant bullying causing her severe depression and an attempted suicide. She then bonds with her previous bully over shared trauma. This book was absolutely amazing. The dual POV was done perfectly giving you an insight into who we believe the villain is. The characters were developed so realistically and the depiction of mental illness was extremely accurate. This story exposed the vulnerabilities and raw emotions of the characters. One of the most beautiful and emotional books I've read, I would recommend it to everyone. But please check the trigger warnings it does cover sensitive topics.

Death by Society is a unique and punchy read.

The protagonist is engaging, smart, honest and raw. The way she narrates keeps the pages turning and makes her a character that many readers will be able to relate to.

This title is easy to read, the simplistic writing style will give readers on the younger side of the YA range, time to process and understand before moving to the next scene.

Guilty of being drawn to this book because the cover and the synopsis had me intrigued. The plot reminded me of mean girls, just with more of a focus on mental health. The mental health rep was very realistic and well written. I found Carter to be a relatable character and enjoyed the POV’s of both the bullied and the bully.

This book is important for both teens and adults alike as it shows the potential consequences to bullying. Features mostly sapphic characters so it also has lgbtq+ rep. I feel like the struggle of finding the right therapist for you is also relatable.

Overall, a great book which I think would be important for both adults and teens to read. Entertaining but packed with hard topics and issues which need more attention in books.