First published 1999
Flannery Culp is on trial, accused of murder. But she insists the truth is more complex: a year of tyrants, perverts, and cruel jokes pushed her and her seven friends to the brink. As the so-called "Basic Eight" get dragged into a media circus, Flannery must set the record straight - even if it means admitting to being a "murderess" instead of a murderer. In this biting satire, Lemony Snicket weaves a darkly comedic tale of the stresses of high school and the desperate acts a girl might commit to survive.
Genres: fiction, satire, mystery, contemporary, young-adult
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: California, San Francisco
329 pages · Hardcover · Thomas Dunne Books
Content warnings: murder, violence