The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson

I've been looking forward to today's read. Not only was it nominated for the Goodreads Choice awards last year, but the cover is amazingly pink! Add that I'm always ready for a grabbing thriller, and this one seems like a winner to me. While it is sold as a YA read...and I'm hitting it with that attitude...it takes place in college with a freshman. So, I'm going to be seeing if this hits the category okay or not.

So, let's dive in!

(Note: This one plays right on the YA border, not only due to the setting, but the themes are heavy as are the situations and problems the MC faces and has happening around her. It doesn't hold anything too over-board, but I'd definitely recommend it more for the mature end of the YA audience and slide it up to NA as well)

THE SCAMMER

by Tiffany D. Jackson

Quill Tree Books

YA Thriller

368 pages

A ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, following a freshman girl whose college life is turned upside down when her roommate’s ex-convict brother moves into their dorm and starts controlling their every move.

Out from under her overprotective parents, Jordyn is ready to kill it in prelaw at a prestigious, historically Black university in Washington DC. When her new roommate’s brother is released from prison, the last thing Jordyn expects is to come home and find the ex-convict on their dorm room sofa. But Devonte needs a place to stay while he gets back on his feet—and how could she say no to one of her new best friends?

Devonte is older, as charming as he is intelligent, pushing every student he meets to make better choices about their young lives. But Jordyn senses something sinister beneath his friendly advice and growing group of followers. When one of Jordyn’s roommates goes missing, she must enlist the help of the university’s lone white student to uncover the mystery—or become trapped at the center of a web of lies more tangled than she can imagine.

GOODREADS    /    AMAZON

MY TIDBITS

Tension mounts with every page as a dark web comes to light and danger sharpens.

Jordyn is nervous but feeling free as she heads to Washington DC to dive into her prelaw dreams. She's glad to put some space between her parents, has secretly turned down her Yale entrance for a Black university in DC, and is determined...despite inner uncertainty...to make her way forward. While the first shocks of meeting dorm friends, experiencing fraternity guys, and college expectations hit, a new challenge shows up in the form of her roommates brother, who needs to crash in their room since he has no place to go after being released from prison. Mix in an ideology she's suddenly determined to hold and the grip of a forming cult-like group, which drags her in deeper and deeper, and the hope of independence warps into a battle with something far more sinister.

Just some quick notes here: this is sold as a young adult read but definitely slides along that upper border with the theme, characters' problems, and other aspects. Also, this author embraces societal issues and other themes while weaving the thriller and crime aspects...so it packs more than the usual thriller. The themes in this novel are very timely and revolve around members of the Black community scheming and abusing others within the community. 

This is a thrilling novel, which keeps the pacing high, the surprises edgy, and the reader at the edge of their seat. From the moment Jordyn hits those college doors, her life shoots into new territory and throws her off-balance. Understandably. She begins with a rebellious attitude (lying to her parents in a huge way) and a bit of underlying depression because of it, and this mix creates a wonderful foundation for the rest of the plot as she's drawn into a dangerous and deadly situation. Her struggles hit with rawness, and its easy to fear for her and wonder if she'll make it through. The characters carry secrets, some more obvious while others remain in the grays, which adds thickness and depth to the moments. On the same hand, the quick-pacing gives a small sense of frustration as some believability is sacrificed in the details and gullible decisions seem off. The cult-like influence hits a bit quickly, and it's not always clear why Jordyn (or others) just accept or don't work against the obvious growing problem (even outsiders see and ignore). The ending holds surprises and leaves openings for food for thought...but this read does that anyway...as well as a few loose ends, which might leave some readers wondering. But all in all, it's a grabbing read, which weaves in more than danger, thrilling moments, and dark secrets at every turn.