What Happened That Night by Deanna Cameron

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Wattpad Books in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb of this book makes it sound like a YA thriller along the lines of Pretty Little Liars or something similar. Honestly this reads more like a YA contemporary, though admittedly the lines are a little sketchy. What Happened That Night is the story of Clara, whose sister Emily has just been arrested for murdering the golden boy of the school. You soon learn that said golden boy raped and brutalised Clara earlier in the year and she believes this is why her sister killed him. Most of the book is focused around Clara coming to terms with being assaulted and the fact that she hasn't told anyone besides her sister. She is also struggling with having romantic feelings for someone new. There are a few other elements but I can't really discuss them without spoilers.

This book had a very different tone than I was expecting and I was pleasantly surprised. As a Wattpad book, I wasn't expecting stellar writing but actually the writing is fantastic. It flows well, is paced brilliantly and you get a good sense of the characters in a short amount of time. I wouldn't class this as a thriller but there are some twists in the plot and factors that will keep you guessing. It handles the topics of rape and abuse mostly sensitively, bar one exception which I will discuss in a spoiler section (highlight for spoilers) So at the end of the book, it's revealed that Emily lied about being abused and she was actually abusing her boyfriend all along. This is an interesting twist and I liked how the author showed abuse can happen regardless of the genders involved. However, having Emily lie about the abuse is a little iffy to me as abuse victims are rarely believed in the first place. It wasn't enough to put me off but it was perhaps not handled as sensitively as it could have been and it muddles the theme.

Overall, this book manages to be a breath of fresh air in a rather saturated market. So long as you don't go in expecting breakneck twists and constant action, What Happened That Night is a brilliant example of a darker contemporary book handled some tough topics well. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this author and I'm happy that Wattpad can result in quality like this.

Overall Rating:

.5