Review: Kill the Boys

By Nadia Bruce-Rawlings

Kill the Boys follows eighteen-year-old Olivia Wyser-Pratt who has just moved from New York City to small town Aurora in her last year of high school. Olivia soon butts heads with football jock, James, and after a horrific incident, she and her friends decide to kill every boy that's ever wronged a girl.

 

I’m not sure if this is meant to be a young-adult book, or just a sort of twisted coming-of-age book. Either way, I really enjoyed it. It’s well written and well-paced, and it definitely holds one’s interest. The characters are likable (except those that shouldn’t be!) and realistic. The dialogue is well done. Overall, Ms. Alexandra has written an exciting, fun story of revenge.

 

There are some issues of course…the group of kids that Olivia gets together to kill the “bad boys” do such a good job that at a certain point they’ve killed more than thirty boys! This is a small town. The police are, of course, characterized as bumbling small town idiots, unable to solve the cases. But after 30 plus “disappearances,” the FBI would certainly be involved. So there’s a suspension of disbelief required, but that’s ok. I was willing to suspend! I really wanted to see what happened. 

 

There are also a few uncomfortable scenes - when James rapes Olivia, it’s definitely a hard read. However, Ms.Alexandra writes it very well - the thoughts of Olivia are realistic, the scene is disturbing but not overdone. The ending is very well handled also, though perhaps a bit quick. It’s a surprise ending for sure, but it works. I recommend KILL THE BOYS for a fun, quick read. It’s not fine literature, but it’s great fun!