Review (46): The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher

The S-Word

by Chelsea Pitcher

Series: None

Other Reviewed Titles: None
Release Date: May 7, 2013

Publisher: Gallery Books

Pages: 320

Format: ebook

Source: NetGalley

Challenge: None

Author Website

Book Website

My Thoughts: 

Prom night was all it took to ruin a childhood friendship. When Lizzie is caught in bed with her best friends boyfriend during the dance, the school turns against her and brands her a ‘slut’. With everyone making her life hell, and with Angie still not speaking to her, Lizzie decides to end her own life. But someone doesn’t want people to forget. A week after her funeral, graffiti and photocopied pages of Lizzie’s diary start to show up at school. Angie starts investigating who, exactly, is spreading Lizzie’s personal thoughts as well as who made her best friend feel like she didn’t belong in the world anymore. The truth she uncovers as well as the anguish she feels for abandoning her best friend become too much to handle and Angie spirals out of controls. Love and friendship help pull her out of the dark.

The S-Word grabbed my attention from the very first sentence and did not let go until long after I had read the last word. This book is jam-packed with mystery, betrayal, and the very real harshness that is high school drama. Despite the heavy subjects present in the book, this still has it’s funny moments which really help balance everything out. Normally I have a good idea of what a book is going to be about, but holy crap this took a turn that I never saw coming. I don’t want to say much, but I will give you this: we are hit with not one, but three shocking secrets--one right after another--that never even crossed my mind.

I love, love, LOVE Angie. Everyone has this idea that she’s just a dumb, popular cheerleader, but she isn’t at all. She is not only dealing with a broken heart, but she is mourning the death of her best friend and carrying around this heart wrenching guilt over turning her back on Lizzie when everyone else was determined to destroy her. She is a great and very complex main character and I just love how she narrates the story. Unfortunately we do not get to see much of Lizzie, but her diary entries and the flashbacks of their friendship help us understand what kind of a person she was. She in no way deserved what was thrown at her and, frankly, neither does anyone else who is bullied on a daily basis. It is sickening the kind of torture teenagers can cause one another. 

I was expecting to like this, but not as much as I actually did. This is a fantastic debut and I can not wait to read whatever else Chelsea has in store for us! 

| Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Amazon |