BAD LIKE US

A trip to a private resort sounds like a great spring break—until someone dies.

At an Oregon beach resort, nine high school seniors from Seattle come together for an exclusive vacation. Eva and her friend Alice aren’t so sure about hanging out with popular girls Piper and Karly. But their friend Danny, Piper’s ex-boyfriend, seems to be in good spirits. Danny has invited Colton, his twin brother, and his friend Miles. Two of Colton’s friends are there, too—Noah and Javier, who’s also Piper’s current boyfriend. Tensions flare among the web of friends as they settle into the secluded beach lodge. As the group are drinking by the firepit one night, Eva goes for a walk on the beach and hears a “bloodcurdling sound.” The next morning, one of the friends is found dead—and the police think it was murder. Each of the eight surviving teens has something to hide, and if tensions were flaring before, they’re blazing now. Unfortunately, the characters are flat and feel reduced to their respective secrets; Piper and Karly are caricatures of vapid cliquishness, and the other characters’ interests are only briefly mentioned. Eva and Colton, who share the first-person narration, are the most fleshed out. Their alternating chapters are broken up by texts from various group chats, transcripts of Piper’s vlogs, and interviews with the police. Most characters are implied white; brown-skinned Javier is cued Latine, and Alice reads Black.

A fun but ultimately forgettable vacation thriller.