We Are Villains
A Novel
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From bestselling and award-winning author Kacen Callendar comes a thrilling, dark academia YA about murder, blackmail, and the one person determined to discover the truth, no matter the cost
What happened to Arianna Reynolds?
Ari’s death was ruled an accident, but for her best friend Milo, it’s shrouded in mystery. Why was she in the woods on the night of the fire? Had she been alone? Figuring out what happened the night Ari died is the only reason Milo returns to Yates Academy, even knowing he’ll be in constant danger. . .
Liam is the King of Yates, a role he keeps hold of through his family’s old money—and the threat of violence. So when he begins receiving ominous letters from another student accusing him of murdering Ari, the suspect list is long.
Desperate to prove his innocence before the accusation ruins his reign, Liam enlists Milo’s help to find the blackmailer. But the more Milo helps Liam, the more he becomes certain that Liam has something to hide.
As Milo comes closer to the truth, he uncovers secrets that everyone wants to keep buried . . .
Featuring a cast of queer characters of color, We Are Villains is an electrifying mystery that will keep readers guessing.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this propulsive and shocking mystery from Callender (Infinity Alchemist), a boarding school's brutally enforced social hierarchy crumbles following a student's death. Returning to Yates Academy in Upstate New York after a brief absence, Black, transgender scholarship student Milo endeavors to probe the mystery behind the campus fire that killed his best friend, Ari, also a Black scholarship student. Meanwhile, Liam—the king of Yates and illegitimate half-Black and presumed half-white son of a magnate—has been receiving threatening messages relating to Ari's death. As the crowned king, Liam is able to mark other students as targets for intense, physical bullying without worry of school administrators interfering; he offers to call off Milo's mark if he can uncover the sender. Meanwhile, Liam's white friend Preston, who is in love with Liam's girlfriend, shows growing irritation with not being king himself. Then incriminating texts linking Liam to Ari's death go viral. Alternating chapters shift seamlessly between myriad confidently crafted characters, each contending with challenges surrounding class as well as sexual and gender identity. Hair-raising plot twists conjure a sinuous tale of harmful traditions and the institutions that uphold them. Ages 14–up.
