pleasant read

A pleasant read, despite the shallow characters (almost no background whatsoever on any of the characters). The story itself was well written and quite fast paced as all the enquiry-paths taken by detectives Bella and Mack (no doubt the duo met in the rest of the series) all yield results that advances their investigation.

In order to understand this book, one has to understand that the school and education system in the US is completely different than here in Belgium or Europe. It's not only competition for university-scholarships but even the richest kids have to compete with each other in order to win a place into 1 of the very best universities and colleges. Yes, of course there's shortcuts money can overcome, but there are more ultra-rich parents with the same amenities. So it is up to the children to get straight A's, perfect exam scores, extra-curriculum work, voluntary work efforts, ... And in order to juggle all those demands and pressures most kids have turned to Aderall (similar in working to Rilatine) a prescription drug that in itself is pure amphetamines