Fine Young People is a smart, introspective mystery set against the polished backdrop of a Catholic prep school—where secrets fester just beneath the surface. We follow Frankie, a high-achieving high school senior navigating her final semester at an elite Pittsburgh institution. On paper, she’s doing everything right: she’s a loyal friend, a model student, and just got into her dream college. But when a current student dies by suicide, leaving behind a cryptic message linked to Woolf Whiting—a former hockey star whose own death years earlier was quietly labeled a suicide—Frankie and her best friend Shiv start digging into the past. What begins as a class project slowly unravels into something much bigger, and much darker.

Frankie is a great narrator—sharp, observant, and quietly rebellious in her own way. Her voice brings a contemporary bite to the campus novel format, and her journey from comfortable insider to someone questioning everything she’s been taught feels believable and resonant. As she peels back layers of institutional gloss, she starts to see the elitism, silence, and complicity that have kept certain truths buried for years.

There’s a lot to admire in Anna Bruno’s writing. The dialogue is sharp, the setting is richly drawn, and the commentary on class, patriarchy, and academic pressure lands in a way that feels timely without being heavy-handed. That said, the pacing is a bit uneven. Some chapters fly by with cinematic momentum, while others lean a little too heavily on introspection, slowing the narrative just when you want it to kick into gear. The mystery at the heart of the story is intriguing, but the emotional payoff feels slightly diluted by the book’s slower stretches.

Still, if you’re into campus novels with a moody atmosphere, slow-burn mysteries, and flawed characters confronting big systems, Fine Young People is worth your time. It’s less about shocking twists and more about peeling back the layers of a well-oiled institution—and what it takes for someone to see the cracks for the first time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the advance reader’s copy!

I love books that take place on college campuses. This one was outstanding. The mystery and intrigue got me right away. The writing is so good, and the story is suspenseful. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.