Book Review of The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom

The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom comes out today, and there are lots of reasons why you should buy it. Answering "yes" to any of these questions, for example. Do you always want to know where the kick ass protagonist of a story you otherwise enjoyed got the skill that saved her life, and feel like it is a cop-out if she just suddenly seems to have the right bit of information at the crucial moment? Do you like books that deal with complex problems of society in thoughtful and non-dismissive ways? Do you appreciate characters with more to them than meets the eye, and stories where you aren't sure who can be trusted? That said, I hate the two cover designs I've seen.

Anyhow, Gwendolyn Bloom is a complicated protagonist who comes by all of her skills and knowledge honestly, which I really appreciate. She and her story both have plenty of grit... much more than the publisher's publicity team seemed to think when they chose to market this title by including a "discover your own spy name" meme sheet with my ARC. Because, this isn't a "discover your own spy name" kind of story. This is an "if Gwendolyn Bloom can think nine steps ahead of all of the adult players in the very dicey international situation in which she becomes embroiled when her father suddenly disappears, then maybe she will get out alive" book, cutesy spy names nonwithstanding.

The most apt description I can come up with is: a YA version of Alias, but even that falls short, as the stakes feel so much higher, and Gwendolyn Bloom is much more of a solo agent than Syndey Bristow ever seemed. Ignore the bad cover design and the silly marketing plan, and look forward to meeting a polyglot protagonist who is as well-read as Hermione Granger and as snarky as Veronica Mars. The Cruelty comes out today.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.