The Hardest Ones to Fool: A GMA Book Club YA Pick

I've finally learned that YA thrillers can surprise me in just about every way. The Hardest Ones to Fool is packed with all the twists, drama, complications, and outrageous scenarios that only a YA thriller can deliver, and honestly, I had so much fun reading it. I don't go into books like this expecting realistic situations. Instead, I enjoy all the unexpected and unbelievable things that can happen along the way.I really liked the premise of The Hardest Ones to Fool, especially having a protagonist who plays so many different roles and all the drama that unfolds when things start to go wrong. But this story has a lot of layers, and there are plenty of mysteries to unravel, along with even more twists and plot turns.It's an engaging, fast-paced, and easy-to-read thriller that I think a lot of young adult readers will love 📚

This is the first book that I have read by this author. This is more of a YA read but I found it to be entertaining.Amelia is an person that thrives on opportunities, she has three different boyfriends, from three different schools, and she is different people to each of them, she makes each of them fall for her, and she benefits from what she gets out of all of them. The problem is, at some point all those schemes are going to come with a downfall, you know its coming. Trying to juggle three boyfriends without them finding out about each other would be extremely messy and chaotic, at any moment she could be exposed. Amelia and her friend Ingrid were in this catfish scheme together and when Ingrid dies from a fall from a cliff, is it an accident or is it murder? Amelia doesn't believe its an accident and she teams up with Jackie to see if they can find out what really happened to Ingrid. It did have some twists and turns and some of the ending was a little disappointing, but don't want to say as to not spoil the ending for someone else, but overall I still thought it was pretty entertaining and a solid read.Thank you Netgalley and Penguin for the complimentary copy of the story. I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I received an ARC of The Hardest Ones to Fool thanks to the publisher through NetGalley and leave this review voluntarily.The twists in this book are fantastic. They keep coming up until the last sentence. Most of them were also not expected, which was a wonderful surprise. I hate the characters, but in the best way. The morally grey-ness of all of the characters hooked me from the start. I was rooting for the relationships, both to work out and to fail. The book was such a trip I cannot recommend it enough.

Reading this book kept mind whirling as much as Amelia’s must have, trying to keep all of her stories straight. Plenty of reality to suspend, and I do wish some bits were more fleshed out (how successful is she at returning designer clothes? Why, exactly, does she find Jackie so annoying?), BUT I still enjoyed this fast-paced read with a mysteriously satisfying ending.I received a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions my own.

I was stunned by lead character Amelia Wu when I first started this book. Is this over achieving high school senior out of her mind? Under three different names and identities, she got three different boys from three different schools to fall in love with her? And while she's carrying on these triple romances with three sons of wealthy families, she runs the risk of encountering somebody who either knows her as Amelia or the other two fake personas she's performing.........which, we all know is bound to happen.....maybe more than once.These monumental deceptions, co-conspired by Amelia and her best friend Ingrid, also involve Amelia scamming the boys' families out of thousands of dollars which leads us to ask that burning question. If there some deeper motive involved here than just a lower middle class girl fleecing the rich, powerful and entitled one-percenters?Indeed there is, and Ingrid's mysterious "accidental" death after an all night party sets Amelia to investigating a host of suspects including her three so-called boyfriends. This throws her into an unlikely alliance with Jackie, her equally overachieving senior class frenemy and rival for Valedictorian. Together, they're a formidable duo.......and maybe something more that neither of them counted on.Author Christina LI keeps this incredible plot at a constant boil with more and more layers of duplicity and fraud to peel off as the story barrels on to its apparent conclusion. And I do mean apparent ,before the book finally detonates its massive Third Act reveal with a stinger on top.........guaranteed to leave you staggered by its sheer audacity. .Great twisty fun to had here. All dedicated fans of YA mysteries shouldn't let his one escape their 'read right away' list.