Written by Cambria Brockman
Review written by Diana Iozzia / Bookworm Banter
“Tell Me Everything” was not the book that I expected it to be, which was disappointing. Now, according to the description, we have the main character, Malin, who quickly becomes a part of a strange friend group at a prestigious. Also, we read in the events and secrets that occur in this story will build up to a murder. Then, Malin will fight for the truth to stay hidden. So, I was wrong thinking this book to be a part of the “dark academia” genre, similar to “The Secret History”, “If We Were Villains”, “Black Chalk”, and more. Unfortunately, the entire book is all about the trials and lies each character in the friend group goes through, until the murder occurs at a point that I felt to be too late in the book. The resolution fell very flat for me.
So, after realizing about halfway through that I completely misread the story, I was determined to still enjoy the book. I think I did for the most part, but this book completely let down any expectation I had. For deep details of various college parties, awkward and sinister sexual encounters, and friendship betrayal, look no further.
The novel is told in three parts: as Malin is a child, suffering through the abuse and violence of her older brother Levi, the freshmen year of college, and the last year of college. We see how Malin’s horrific childhood allows her to develop into a secretive and vengeful character. The juxtaposition between the two different years of college also shows hints of positive and negative character development through for each character. However, I think having points of time in each year would have broadened the scope and provided a much richer and suspenseful story.
One of my main problems with the story is the branding and expectations. When we are told in the book’s description that the events build to a murder, readers either hope for a slow burn or a quick murder and deceitful coverup. Hoping this book was similar to other stories, I expected the murder to occur quickly with a suspenseful chain of events. Unfortunately, the chain of events occurred slowly and painstakingly. To be honest, none of the actions occurring in this story justified the murder. When I read a book for a suspenseful, chilling murder, I want it to be justified. I want to be satisfied that the character received its just desserts. I believe this book broke every expectation, as if it was a parody or satire of books like it. Sadly, this disappointed me, rather than excitingly surprising me. Also, the description describes Malin as a seductive protagonist. I’d describe her as a needy antagonist. She is only out for her own good. She self-describes herself as selfish. I often enjoy an unlikeable main character. One of those characters in which we love to hate them. Nope, I flat out just hated her. I did not really enjoy any of these characters in any circumstance.
To continue, I think the archetypal “tight-knit circle” of friends was not fleshed out enough. I think the exciting aspect of creating a seductive, secretive circle is ambitious, but not many of the characters felt like real people. When I read, I hope that the characters feel real. We bond with them or relate to them. Even if we do not like them, we understand their motives and morals. They feel all too stereotypical, but in the sense that there is no substance behind most of the characters.
Malin, Ruby, and John are the most fleshed out characters. Ruby is the most likeable out of the group, but she is still ridiculously unrealistic. Her diary entries describe every secret she is hiding, which surely would have been well-hidden if she was meaning to hide the secrets. John is the bullying, cheating boyfriend. We have Max, who is the pining, aloof, shy guy, who is a perfectly nice character, but we know nothing about the poor guy. I would have loved to have him be more of a focus. Gemma is the ‘slutty’ character, who had not a single, original thought. So many characters who fall into her archetype are written in much more depth by other authors. Last but not least, Khaled is hardly in the story at all. He’s a prince. He does drugs. That’s it. He flirts with every character.
Now, let’s move on to the things I do like about this story.
I will say that I like that Malin breaks the mold of her character’s archetype. She is described as the shy, less attractive friend who stays in the shadows of the more glamorous friends. She obsesses over the other characters in the group. She ‘doesn’t belong’. However, Malin stands out and becomes her own foil. I like that.
Also, I love the setting. I love the way the buildings, the landscape, the soccer stadium, the dining halls, and more are described. There is a very realistic way that the author describes this college. It brought me back to the semester I spent at an in-person college, where I lived in a dorm. It also brought me back to the horrors of college and some of the reasons I left and continued my degree online. Cambria Brockman described the lovely, rose-tinted view of a prestigious New England university, but she also examined the dark, evil sides of young adults away for the first time. I haven’t felt so uncomfortable reading about college for a long time. Additionally, I also felt that her characters were very realistic in their dialogue and actions. Although I did not feel each character was developed enough, the descriptions of them felt plausible.
I also really liked that Brockman included a power balance dynamic. Malin and her professor’s TA engage in an illicit relationship. I felt this was portrayed very well and responsibly. The negatives were examined as well as the positives were. I do not always feel that way about these dynamics.
An aspect of the book that I feel a bit mixed about is the red herring style. On a case by case basis, I enjoy red herrings. If they’re done in a certain way. However, I think they should be minimal at best. This book breaks many molds, as I’ve mentioned before. There are constant red herrings, leading us to believe one thing will occur, but the book subverts our assumptions at every turn.
If you enjoy slow burn suspense novels, I’m sure you’d love this. I believe that most of my disappointment of this book was just misplaced expectations and a poor book description. I would really like to read more by this author. I still do recommend this book, but I think I would recommend going into it without any presumptions. I think this was a very ambitious book for a debut author, and I cannot wait to see where she goes from here.
I received a complimentary reader’s edition from the publisher in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to Ballentine Books at Random House.
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