We Are Villains

Gr 9 Up–Milo Pace has returned to the Yates boarding school for his senior year after leaving abruptly due to the death of his best friend Arianna in a tragic fire. Milo is one of the few scholarship kids on campus, meaning that he is the target of ire and harassment from his wealthy classmates. His primary nemesis is Liam, the self-styled “King of Yates.” Liam rules the school with his girlfriend Sadie and his best friend Preston. When Liam himself becomes the target of mysterious and anonymous notes claiming that he murdered Ari, he hires Milo to help find out who is sending the messages and why. This also exacerbates underlying tension with Sadie, Preston, and himself, further complicating the physically intimate relationship they maintained among the three of them. As Liam begins to look more and more guilty, Milo grows closer to the truth about what happened to Ari. This thrilling novel shifts perspectives of most of the main characters, including flashbacks to earlier time frames from Ari’s perspective. The story is clever at addressing the historic and resigned acceptance of bullying in schools. The characters are believable and relatable, but few are as compelling as the asexual, transgender Milo whose difficulties with verbal communication and making friends will likely connect with readers. The mystery of what happened to Ari is compelling and difficult to predict, so most mystery lovers will be engaged and ultimately satisfied with the resolution once Milo solves the case.