The Hand on the Wall

Finally, some answers! I really enjoyed the ending to this series.

This is some interesting YA. The characters are distinct and flawed (except Janelle, she is perfect), yet each have their appeal. The dialogue is realistic and genuinely funny. Alternating between the 1930s and 2010s makes it feel like both contemporary and historical fiction. The article clippings and interview transcripts give it an epistolary twist.

Stevie is an endearing and intriguing protagonist. She's proof that mental illness does not disqualify you from tense, high-stakes professions. She works through her anxiety, helped by both medication and therapy. She acts even when she's scared, despite swirling thoughts that she's not good enough, and despite certain characters who seem to agree. It's great representation of anxiety.

This is also good quarantine content. It's suspenseful and sometimes eerie. The students live in uncertainty, scrambling to keep hold of plans and aspirations as horrors unfold beyond their control (was that heavy-handed enough?). But having friends to talk to and lean on means you laugh even during weird, dark times (was THAT heavy-handed enough?).

Sometimes you need some escapism and some answers to problems. And with the Truly Devious trilogy, Johnson provides both. Even if she makes you wait for the latter.