Reviewed by Phoebe N.
Grade 11
In Someone is Always Watching, by Kelley Armstrong;
Blythe, Gabrielle, Tanya and Tucker have always been in a tight-knitted friend
group, living an ordinary life. Things started getting disturbing and
unpleasant when flashbacks and nightmares started to appear more frequently. It
escalated rapidly when Gabrielle was found covered in blood next to their dead
principal, unable to recall what happened. Crevices full of secrets and
memories unravel between their friendships that eventually threatens their
trust, relationship, and lives. “How can Blythe and her friends trust each
other when they can’t even trust their own memories?”
The plot and storyline of this book are quite intriguing
although in some scenes, it does get tacky and a bit corny, especially the
characters’ thoughts. The prologue starts off with a memory of the first time Blythe
met Tucker, introducing the good girl and bad guy trope and highlighting a
sense of temptation even within those who are exceptionally fastidious and
always abide by rules.
Chapter one begins with Blythe noticing something was off
with Gabrielle; it wasn't until her big breakdowns around security cameras
that eventually became alarming to everyone else. Repeatedly, Gabrielle
would yell and scream at the school's security cameras while trying to
dismantle them with inevitable aggression. “They’re always watching,” she would
choke out. All the while, Blythe was receiving emails outside of the school’s
server under the alias Veritas, Latin for truth, detailing a case linked to an eight-year-old
boy committing a murder on his little sister’s tutor.
Slowly over the course of this book, many other
characters within the friend group start reliving their memories and
discovering the real truth about their school, and even themselves. Old and new
relationships are formed, filled with action and romance.
The book includes perspectives from different characters
involved, but mostly from Blythe’s point of view. From my experience, Blythe’s
chapters and POVs were much more enjoyable compared to others because they
seemed more rushed, whereas Blythe’s perspectives were more in depth.
TRIGGER WARNING: There are mentions of childhood traumas,
child neglect, abuse, sexual harassment, murder and suicide. Please be aware if
those topics trigger sensitivity or discomfort.
Some chapters end ominously, which could lead to
confusion considering the switch in perspective and having two different events
happening at once but at different locations. The pace of this book in the
first 150 pages is quite a slow burn but the last 150 pages were eventful and
full of surprises, picking up the pace.
Emotionally, this book was very descriptive, emphasizing
the importance of friendship which sometimes overpowered family relations. I
genuinely enjoyed it as a quick pick-me-up book for the summer. On the
contrary, the last few chapters were a bit disappointing because plot twists
and surprises were already revealed several chapters back. This leads to
repetition of revealed secrets, making it less exciting and more of an
annoyance.
Someone is Always Watching is an easy young adult fiction
novel, with not much physical violence but more emotional distress.
Kelley Armstrong did a good job regarding the prologue and being able to hook
the readers but some of the corny and tacky writing could minimize to appeal
more to an older audience. However, if you’re into mystery novels that are on the less violent
spectrum, this novel may be for you. There is a hint of romance that lingers
within most of the book but doesn’t get explored until towards the end. Those
who enjoy One of Us Is Lying and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
should give this one a try.
