Accomplice by Eireann Corrigan

Accomplice is a YA realistic fiction book about two teens who stage a kidnapping to get into college. The guidance counselor at Chloe and Finn's school told the students that colleges are bored of the same students, and kids must stand out in extreme ways. Chloe gets the idea for a publicity stunt to stage her own kidnapping. After a while of hiding Chloe in the basement of Finn's grandmother, Finn will "find" Chloe and all the colleges will want them due to their unique (and fake) college essays. However, the girls are way in over their heads, and things will have to get way worse before they can be better.

My biggest frustration with this book is how Finn and Chloe don't have moral compasses. Finn has more morality than Chloe, but they are both despicable. Chloe strikes me as a Barbie doll, a naive girl greatly concerned only with how she looks. She is blind to emotion and to the others around her and never stops to think about her actions. Finn shows remorse and moral values, but nowhere near enough for me to care about the characters.

Finn has a lot of internal and external conflict, and shows much more intelligence than Chloe, but sadly dug herself deeper and deeper in a hole until there was just no way out. There was no change, no huge revelation, no lesson learned. I had hoped for a transformation, but this story is just sad and disappointing with no meaning at all.

I strongly, strongly dislike the college counselor. That woman should be fired, and gave the students discouraging talks (in all capital letters) which paints a harsh, unrealistic, and anxiety-provoking picture about college. If you decide to read this, please, please do not do anything insane to prove that you are worth college or lie to make yourself look better.

I do not recommend this book.

Title: Accomplice
Author: Eireann Corrigan
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 304
Series: No
Rating: 1 Star
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