Get a good book and a free hat.

Join now for $5.

We’ll make this quick.

First, enter your email. Then choose your move.

By pressing "Pick a book now" or "Pick a book later", you agree to Book of the Month’s Terms of use and Privacy policy.

Get a good book and a free hat.

Join now for $5.
undefined

You did it!

Your account is now up to date.

get the appget the app

Our app is where it’s at.

Unlock our Reading Challenge, earn prizes, and get notified of new books on our app.

Our app is where it’s at.

Unlock our Reading Challenge, earn prizes, and get notified of new books on our app.

Download on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Already have the app? Explore here.

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Young adult

You Will Know Me

by Megan Abbott

Excellent choice

Just enter your email to add this book to your box.

By pressing "Add to box", you agree to Book of the Month’s Terms of use and Privacy policy.

Volume 0
Volume 0

A free gift for you.

Yes, she’s embroidered.

No thanks, just checkout

Quick take

Perfectly ties together a fascination with the adolescent psyche, the hysteria of small-town cynicism, and the secrets that young people keep among themselves.

Why I love it

Nobody writes about teenagers better than Megan Abbott. The teens of You Will Know Me are elite gymnasts with dreams of making it to the Olympic squad. They sacrifice all of the things that 'œnormal teenagers' take for granted '” sleep, social lives, even food '“ all in the name of their immense ambitions. But a sudden tragedy sends the hopefuls'”and their coaches and parents'”into a panic, questioning whether becoming the next Mary Lou Retton or Simone Biles is worth dying for.

The novel perfectly ties together a fascination with the adolescent psyche, the hysteria of small-town cynicism, and the secrets that young people keep among themselves. (Think high-brow Pretty Little Liars.) And then there are the parents: Katie, the mother of the local gym’s most promising gymnast Devon, wrestles with whether she should nurture her daughter’s athletic aspirations or protect her from them. (Troublingly, her husband Eric is all in on Devon’s career.) Throw in Katie’s obsession with uncovering the truth behind a mysterious death, and you have a sense of how combustible the set-up is.

An anxious dread hangs over the whole novel, and there are even flirtations with the supernatural But even here, Abbott is incredibly restrained, particularly in her plotting, giving space for readers to create their own suspicions and theories about the characters. The novel never manipulates the readers'”it lets them manipulate themselves.

You might also find yourself loving You Will Know Me even if you’re not ordinarily a reader of crime novels. Abbott doesn’t shy away from the genre, but her writing is a cut above many of her contemporaries. She leans on language that is tense but patient, rather than trying to make you turn pages quickly.

Which is perfect because you’ll want to savor every page of this twisty piece of teenage noir.

Member ratings (2,204)

Young adult
The Wild Huntress
Ruthless Vows
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Dragonfruit
The Thirteenth Child
The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
Check & Mate
Divine Rivals
Foul Lady Fortune
Anna K Away
I Must Betray You
A Wilderness of Stars
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Bloodmarked
Instructions for Dancing
The Boy in the Red Dress
Color Me In
Not So Pure and Simple
Throw Like a Girl
Frankly in Love
Wayward Son
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them
Anna K
Patron Saints of Nothing
The Kingdom of Back
Yes No Maybe So
Permanent Record
Full Disclosure
Oasis
Where the World Ends
I Have No Secrets
When the Stars Lead to You
All the Bright Places
Saving Zoë
Symptoms of a Heartbreak
All of Us with Wings
The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World
Past Perfect Life
There's Something About Sweetie
Again, But Better
Sky Without Stars
How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom
Night Music
Shout
The Deceivers
Top Ten
A Million Junes
And We're Off
Salt to the Sea
Young adult
View all
The Wild Huntress
Ruthless Vows
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Dragonfruit
The Thirteenth Child
The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
Check & Mate
Divine Rivals
Foul Lady Fortune
Anna K Away
I Must Betray You
A Wilderness of Stars
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Bloodmarked
Instructions for Dancing
The Boy in the Red Dress
Color Me In
Not So Pure and Simple
Throw Like a Girl
Frankly in Love
Wayward Son
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them
Anna K
Patron Saints of Nothing
The Kingdom of Back
Yes No Maybe So
Permanent Record
Full Disclosure
Oasis
Where the World Ends
I Have No Secrets
When the Stars Lead to You
All the Bright Places
Saving Zoë
Symptoms of a Heartbreak
All of Us with Wings
The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World
Past Perfect Life
There's Something About Sweetie
Again, But Better
Sky Without Stars
How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom
Night Music
Shout
The Deceivers
Top Ten
A Million Junes
And We're Off
Salt to the Sea