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.

I loved the concept of this, but it fell a bit flat for me. It took way too long to really pick up—by over 35% in I noted nothing had really happened yet. I felt removed from the story a bit, never really getting enough backstory or knowledge of the characters and situations. It all felt kind of surface level.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam publishing for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Started reading October/2/2024
Finished reading October/4/2024

My rating 4.5/5

One note I would like to give is that I would have liked to have seen a content warning note in this book for some of the themes touched upon. I feel like there are some very heavy subjects in the content and even as an adult I felt it would have been nice to have a little warning about everything.

The book is a bit of a slow burn, I feel like leading up to the books half way point its a lot of background building in a way, I personally enjoyed it. The way all of the characters seem to go through such a variety of changing emotions and personalities throughout the book really adds to the intense feeling of story itself. The MC is a very sweet character, one that is simply out for love and friendship and belonging. The relationship between her and all of the characters at the beginning of the book feel so genuine and very picture perfect but as the book goes along you start to see just how easily it is for that to change.

I personally went back and forth a lot in loving and hating these characters. The notes I scribbled down about certain characters, while reading, would change sometimes within a single chapter. The way you look back at certain actions of characters, when you get to the end, makes you almost feel silly for having missed such red flags that now seem so obvious.

The story was really easy to follow and definitely did have you wanting to know what happened next. I found that the way it ended was very neatly tied up in a bow. You really didn't have any questions left unanswered, which after such an emotional read feels really nice.

I will definitely be recommending this book to all my book girlies and book men and book pals who love a good emotional thriller with an air of mystery and heavy cult themes. I also plan to keep it on my list of books that I would gladly re-read.

The premise was so intriguing a wellness cult I had never really heard of that and wanted to give it a shot. It did not quite work for me to be honest. I just did not get into it at all.

This was an interesting premise and reading it was an intriguing experience to say the least. I never really thought about wellness cults before this so I suppose my horizons are broadened now. Other than that it was fine. The romance could’ve been done slightly better to me but that’s not a huge deal. Decent.

WTH! This is quite disturbing!

Really dark and I had to read the book flipping page after page until the last page. I really love the author’s writing!

I have read one of the author’s books two years ago and I absolutely loved it. Quite disturbing too but a realistic one with issues on SA.

Trigger warnings for SA.

This is the story of a girl who wants a perfect relationship with her crush. The crush happens to be the daughter of one of the most influential wellness guru. With their flawless group/followers, they are almost unreachable perfection.

With her being consumed in the unexpected perfect relationship, things darker and more disturbing surfaces becoming a threat to their relationship.

Read this book for the thrill and the most darkest secrets influential famous people hide.

I wish the best friends were a better part towards the end as it was in the first half.

The ending is really satisfying! Perfect for spooky nights and weekends.

I love the sapphic romance. The chemistry is amazing!

Thank you, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, for the ARC.

This book is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, deception, and dark allure. The themes of class, authenticity, and the dark side of the wellness industry are handled so well here. It really makes you think about how far people will go to fit in, to feel like they're living their best life. The writing is sharp, immersive, and full of suspense. I found myself flipping pages frantically, desperate to figure out where this whirlwind romance and newfound lifestyle would lead Frances. And the ending sticks with you, leaving you questioning who’s really in control. This is a gripping, addictive psychological thriller that blends romance, friendship, and class exploration into a story that feels fresh and utterly captivating.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

This book gave me more than I was expecting. I went into it expecting more of a hard hitting story about cults and murder, but instead I got a story about self reflection. I think that this story is an important one especially for younger readers as it emphasizes the importance of trusting your own gut and staying true to yourself. It also reinforces the idea that meaning from life can come from many different places, That might sound cheesy but I appreciated the way this book tackled individualism without being too stereotypical.

I also thought it was important in how it showed how easily people can be trapped in things like cults. Things start off slow and seem perfect, and before you know it, you’re in too deep. I’m excited for this book to come out and hear thoughts from others. I think it is a contemporary book that isn’t a masterpiece but it worth being read,

This YA thriller has a lot of promising aspects, magic skin care products at the heart of a cult, a sapphic romance, and class exploration. The main character Bean gets invited to this exclusive club that feels like a secret society almost called Femme(kinda ironic) and starts dating Julia. Femme is like a gateway to a job at DEEP, they're given a bunch of free products that pretty much hook those young vulnerable girls in. I didn't really like the romance in this one, but I did like the friendships. I like how Bean's friends stayed there for her and didn't just turn their back when she started acting weird because it was clear she needed help.