From NetGalley
A little bit Twin Peaks, a little bit Black Mirror, Streetlight People is a story of growing up in—and out of—a small town with a huge secret.
For most, Streetlight is a dot on the map you pass on your way to somewhere else. But if you live there, you’re either a Have-Not, like Kady, or a Have-Lot like her boyfriend, Nik, who also happens to be a member of the exclusive social club, The IV Boys.
Known for their powerful families and the coveted ball they host for a selective guest list, The IV Boys have always refused to accept Kady regardless of how much Nik loves her. All the Boys except for Aaron, who didn’t grow up in Streetlight and is one of the few who knows that life—real life—exists outside of it. But his stepmom has the kind of wealth and power even IV Boys can’t resist.
With Nik at college, Aaron stands by Kady’s side. But all Kady really wants is Nik, and when a chance encounter on Halloween hands her the power to twist and hold time, she doesn’t hesitate. Now she can keep Nik close for as long as she wants.
While Kady tries to relive her best moments with Nik, the IV Boys have her in their sights. A rumor’s spreading that Kady and Aaron are much more than friends—and not even twisting time is enough to defend against the power that the Boys were born with.
The more Kady changes the clock, the more dizzying reality becomes, until she stumbles upon a truth darker than anything she could have imagined. Streetlight is filled with monsters—and maybe she’s always been one, too.
I almost have no words for you. This review almost didn't exist. Charlene Thomas has left all of my flabbers, gasted. Streetlight People is a masterpiece and it deserves all the accolades. For fans of stories that play with time and surreal settings, this book is a speculative journey with a twisty ending!
Thomas drops us into the perspective of Kady, a self-aware and witty high schooler walking home with the eerie sensation that she's being followed. The culprit turns out to be the college boyfriend, Nik, whom she's madly in love with. Everything seems fine until his roommate and childhood best friend, Hendricks pulls up in his sleek car to whisk him back to their apartment.
And Hendricks does not like Kady. He doesn't just hate her for taking his friend's attention from him. Hendricks looks down the length of his silver spoon at Kady. The same silver spoon that got him into private school at Iverson, and him and Nik into its exclusive boys club known as The IVs.
A club that is impossible for Kady to join.
Despite their economic differences, Nik and Kady have a bond that can't be severed by distance or different schedules. But tensions rise as a rumor begins to spread in Nik's absence, about his "blood brother" and Kady's friend, Aaron, and Kady getting a little too close. But Kady knows that isn't true! She would never betray Nik like that.
Right?
Then, why is Hendricks so certain that she did?
Kady really only cares about Nik, and her friends, and holding on to the moments she's cherished most. So when an opportunity manipulate time crosses her path, she takes it. She takes it over and over, and takes us on the ride with her.
As the rumor continues to spread like poison through the student body of Iverson, Aaron's current school. He has her back, he even hangs out her friends. Non-Iverson kids like Kady. Because Aaron wasn't born in Streetlight, his mind isn't warped by the separation of "have-lots and have-nots". Aaron isn't impressed by the power that the have-lots wield. For much of this book, it's Kady and Aaron and the IVs.
Things become more and more strained, and Kady changes the course of events as insults and slurs grow from whispers to shouts. Aaron and Kady both navigate the world of privilege, greed, and power they were never meant to have access to. And while time spins on, trying to right itself, it spins these characters with it. But the twists....the twists were twisting.
This book is a speculative triumph about time, who has more of if, what we do with it, and how far we're willing to go to hold on to what we love most. It's about privilige. It's about love. It's about the way society values time. But mostly, it's about a girl who just wanted to hold on for a little bit longer.
If you loved The Raven Cycle, or (deep cut) The Covenant, dark academia vibes, time travel, and all around enjoyable stories, you should pick up a copy of Streetlight People.
Thank you to Dutton Books, Penguin Teen, for an e-ARC. And thank you, Charlene, for a physical ARC!
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