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Cover of Shattering Glass

Shattering Glass

215 pages

A dread-soaked psychological dissection of high school cruelty where the murder is announced on page one, but the chilling unraveling of the perpetrators is what keeps you hooked.

What it feels like

Reading this book feels like watching a car crash in slow motion. You know exactly how it ends from the very first sentence, yet you cannot look away. The narrative is steeped in a claustrophobic, dread-soaked atmosphere that perfectly captures the ruthless hierarchy of high school. The prose is sharp and unadorned, delivering a chillingly detached confessional that strips away the veneer of teenage innocence to expose the toxic underbelly of male friendship and the corrupting nature of power. It moves at a propulsive clip, pulling the reader down into a suffocating spiral of peer pressure and psychological manipulation. This is a dark, unforgiving read that will captivate fans of psychological thrillers who crave stories about the monstrous things ordinary people are capable of when pushed by the desperate need to belong.

Mood
  • dread-soaked
  • claustrophobic
  • tense
  • unforgiving
Tone
  • cynical
  • confessional
  • ominous
  • detached
  • chilling
Pace
propulsive
Themes
toxic masculinity · the corrupting nature of power · high school hierarchy · peer pressure · the illusion of control
The writing
Sharp, unadorned, and chillingly straightforward, delivering dark truths with a detached, journalistic edge.
The arc
Begins with morbid curiosity and accelerates into a suffocating spiral of tension, culminating in inevitable brutality.
Who it's for
Readers fascinated by dark psychological thrillers that dissect the ruthless cruelty of high school social dynamics.
Content notes
  • bullying
  • murder
  • physical violence
  • psychological manipulation
  • toxic friendships

About the book

"Simon Glass was easy to hate....I guess, really we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him." Fat, clumsy Simon Glass is a nerd, a loser who occupies the lowest rung on the high school social ladder. Everyone picks on him -- until Rob Haynes shows up. Rob, a transfer student with charisma to spare, immediately becomes the undisputed leader of the senior class. And he has plans for Simon.

Rob enlists the help of his crew -- wealthy, intellectual Young, ladies' man Bob, and sweet, athletic Coop -- in a mission: Turn sniveling Simon from total freak to would-be prom king.

But as Simon rises to the top of the social ranks, he shows a new confidence and a devious side that power-hungry Rob did not anticipate. And when Simon uncovers a dangerous secret, events darken. The result is disquieting, bone-chilling...and brutal.

Description from Open Library.

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