Overturned by Lamar Giles

Overturned by Lamar Giles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book has been highly recommended on the blogs I read and the YA reading publications I follow and Nikki Tate did not disappoint! She is one tough, resilient teen living in Vegas, dad in jail, mom and Nikki running his casino when his conviction is overturned- new evidence. Nikki has a close set of friends in Molly and Gavin- they play together (sports) and run an illegal card game (they all want to go to college together) but things conspire to upend Nikki's secret (she thinks) plans to escape Vegas with her friends. Nikki has also been crushing on new kid, Davis, who happens to be the son of the biggest casino owner in Vegas (forbidden fruit) and when she stops bullies from beating him to a pulp, he becomes friend and more. The dark underbelly of Vegas drew me in, I loved Nikki's descriptions, snarky comments and take no prisoners attitude. But when her Dad comes home from jail, he is not the same person and the life with her mom from the past 5 years gets tossed too. Lamar Giles really knows how to write mystery, spine tingling fast-paced novels with in your face teens, varied & great adult characters, and many plot complications that thrill. Another thrilling mystery from founding member of We Need Diverse Books!

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