The Most Dangerous Place on Earth-Reshelved Books

Hello fellow readers!

I hope everyone had a great February and is ready for March!  (If any of you live on the East Coast like we do, it's been unseasonably warm... Not that we're complaining! Hopefully March brings more of the warm weather).

This month I bring all of you a review of The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson.

I read about this book in People, it had been mentioned it in one of their January issues as a book recommendation (I believe it was one with Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds on the cover).  Having read books from People book recommendations in the past, I knew that this book had great potential to be a good read. (If you ever get the chance to check out their book recommendations, you really should.  People has a little more than just celebrity gossip!)

The story takes place in an affluent town (money, expensive cars, divorcees... those kinds of things) in California.  It follows a new teacher (Molly Nicoll) and shares the stories of several of her students.  Starting off during their eighth grade, when the loss of a fellow classmate occurs.  This is a pivotal turn as it molds the rest of the story.
Exposing the roles that each of Molly's students played in the untimely passing of Tristan. 

Each student has a different story that is narrated individually, in addition to a night at a party that is shared.  The progression of the novel makes sense; it starts with Cally/Calista and it ends with Cally/Calista.  Each chapter has a title like "The Dime" or "The Sleeping Lady" (these titles reminded me of the The Breakfast Club-- the Princess, the Brain, the Basket Case, the Athlete and the Criminal).  Each student having a moment of their life showcased. Some of these moments are intertwined and others seem like snippets. 

In some ways, this book reminded me of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher -- a high school student who has to deal with the suicide of a fellow classmate and carrying around the guilt that is associated with feeling responsible  for their death. (Just the adult version of that premise).

Out of the eight students that we learn about, I would have to say that Dave is favorite and that Andrew is the one who I liked the least. I found Abigail's story to be the most uncomfortable and I felt like Emma's story was a little out of left field.  What and who Abigail gets herself involved with is something of taboo -- student and teacher relationships are quite scandalous.  In fact, its a fine line that Molly finds herself dangerously close to crossing.  I wouldn't say that the issues Johnson gives her characters are those that are far-fetched, I feel like these are common troubles that teenagers frequently encounter.  

What was neat about this book was that Johnson not only tells the story of the student, but also the tale of their teacher. We get to see how Molly views her students and her fellow colleagues. We also get to see her section when she learns about the story of Tristan and how everything isn't always how it seems. 

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth was a page turner for sure! People did not let down or disappoint with this book recommendation either!  

This is another book that I highly recommend -- Four (4) coffee beans out of five (5) for this 
awesome read! (:

See you all in March!

~ Jillian