Title: The Payback Girls
Author: Alex Travis
Publication: April 1, 2025
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Teens, YA Fiction, Suspense
Pages: 352

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SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)

Why get over your cheating ex when you can get even? John Tucker Must Die meets One of Us Is Lying in a gripping, page-turning debut thriller.

His first mistake was underestimating them.

Senior year is going to be perfect. Meghan won’t settle for anything less. She’s already crushing her classes and dating the star of the basketball team. Nate’s friends have been less than welcoming, but it’s never easy being one of the only Black kids at a mostly white prep school. Still, Meghan did not expect the scene at pep rally.

Robin and Bria dated Nate too. Correction: Are dating him. He never broke up with them, and Meghan is furious.

When Nate is found bloodied and unconscious in the locker room after the big game, suddenly the three teens are prime suspects―and a tenuous alliance may be the only way to clear their names. Except Meghan doesn’t remember everything that happened that night, and the more clues they uncover, the more Meghan, Bria, and Robin each look responsible…

REVIEW:

**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

When I read the synopsis for The Payback Girls by Alex Travis, and the description said it was like John Tucker Must Die and One of Us is Lying, I knew I had to read it. Also, it was fell under BIPOC, which I feel always gives the book a little umph and more context into a viewpoint I don’t get to see myself.

The story followed Meghan, as she was trying to push through her basically all white, except her and two other girls, prep school to make it to the Ivies. She’s got a hot basketball star boyfriend and all seems well. Until she finds out he’s actually dating all three of the girls and she’s mad. Then Nate is attacked and she is prime suspect, along with the other two. Means and motive are locked. So who did it? I was so locked in on this book. I needed to know who did it and I wasn’t sure who it was going to be. I wasn’t sure if the obvious answers were going to be obvious or not. The people I suspected, I felt was too easy. Travis did a great job of keeping me guessing because I did not guess the ending.

I think the only thing that kept me from giving it a five star is that there was a tiny bit of me that didn’t feel it was fully believable. I felt the adults were not prominent enough and these kids had way too much freedom to run amuck when there was an actual person at large who clearly attacked this kid. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and hope to pick up another by Alex Travis soon! If you love twisty, tales of teens getting themselves into trouble, then pick up The Payback Girls!