Watch Your Back by Sue Wallman

Kara and Eden are no longer friends now that she’s going out with Will.

Starting a new school year without your bestie is hard, especially when they’re in most of your classes and can’t hide their disdain at ever knowing you in the first place.

Kara is heartbroken and struggles to find her way through each day. She finds herself shunned at every corner and life as she knew it is not the same. Her grades begin to suffer and her paranoia about the ‘popular crew’ and the snidey comments from her ex best friend, make her life a misery.

Romilly, an elusive girl in her year she’s never spoken to before, befriends her. Kara is glad of the friendship but it’s not long before her family begins to have a run of bad luck with all suspicions at Romilly’s door.

When Kara’s little brothers skateboard is compromised, her dad has an accident and her mum’s shop starts to get one star reviews, sending much needed custom away, Kara and her friend Rhys, receive anonymous threatening letters that tip her over the edge.

Not knowing who to trust, Kara’s world spirals out of control when she’s wrongly accused of assault. Rhys and her family  scramble to get the evidence they need to prove her innocence. With a court case looming, incredible lies about her becoming more and more obscure, and her family unsure of where the truth lies, Kara is running out of time. Is Romilly responsible for it all or is there someone else out there desperate to derail Kara’s life?

Sue Wallman does it again with her latest YA, the incredible ‘Watch Your Back’.

A sinister delve into jealous, toxic friendships and coercive control within a high school set in a small community.

With a brilliant ‘left field’ conclusion, this is one novel to be devoured in one go.

A realistic depiction of the ups and downs of teenage friendships and the expectations on young people in coercive relationships. It also shows how social media can affect families and those you love. A must-read for all!

Fantastic cover from the design team at Scholastic, it’s out now.

Thank you to Scholastic for the review copy.

 

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