"Very Bad People," by Kit Frick

Imagine a friend or family member came to you with a big secret. One that could possibly ruin your life and hurt so many others if it was revealed. What would you do? Our main character Calliope Bolan in Very Bad People had to figure this out. As secrets about her mothers car accident and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it slowly came to light, Calliope's life was flipped upside down. Kit Frick the author of Very Bad People is from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. For college she attended Sarah Lawrence University where she studied creative writing and then went on to receive an MFA from Syracuse University. Kit is best known for her thrilling mystery novels and poetry, some of these include: I Killed Zoe Spanos, All Eyes On Us, The Reunion, and Very Bad People. 

Very Bad People takes place at Tipton Academy which is a prestigious boarding school located in the small town of Alyson on Hudson. Calliope has just transferred to Tipton for a fresh start and the opportunity to finally escape the tragic memory of her mothers car accident. When Calliope was young, her, her two sisters (Lorelai and Serafina), and her mom all got into a car accident where they swerved off the road into a lake. Thankfully Calliope and her sisters managed to survive but her mom sadly died. After an investigation the police decided it was just “reckless driving” but when Calliope sees a mysterious man walking around Alyson and Hudson she swears he was in the car with them that day and more details about what really happened during the crash begin to resurface. In the meantime she joins a secret society called Haunt and Rail or “the ghosts” that her mother was once a part of whose purpose is to raise awareness about social justice issues on campus. So when Mr Ellis (a teacher at Tipton) is having inappropriate relationships with his students Calliope is more than willing to help the ghosts take him down. However, Calliope soon learns the ghosts will stop at nothing to accomplish their goals even if it means doing very bad things…Very Bad People takes us on Calliope's journey to figure out how the mystery man, Haunt and Rail, and her mother’s death are connected.

The conflict in the beginning of the book is that Calliope must figure out who this man she sees around town is and why he was in the car that day. Was he sent to kill my mother? Was he a ghost? How did he know her? She allows her curiosity to get the better of her and starts to research who the man could be and why she’s only now remembering him. However, towards the middle of the book she starts to get some answers. She begins writing the mystery man letters leaving them in the town square for him to take, he writes back and soon admits he knew Calliope’s mother. The mystery man won’t give her much more info and eventually tells her to stop writing and looking into the past. After asking her family about the mystery man they too urge her to stop looking and leave the painful details of the past alone. Calliope must now face the conflict of deciding whether to listen to what her family wants or following her curiosity. When Calliope finally can’t take it any more her dad calls a family meeting where they finally put the puzzle pieces of the past together and Calliope's sister Lorelai reveals who really killed her mom that day… At the end of the book Calliope must decide whether to forgive the person she knows caused the accident or allow it to destroy their relationship which is very important to her. 

At the beginning of the book Calliope is characterized as quiet and paranoid. Calliope is new to Tipton so she keeps to herself but she also has had a hard time developing who she is as a person because the accident has overshowed that part of her life. Being at her mothers alma mater doesn't help either as she sees signs from her everywhere. One example of this is when Calliope comes to her sister with a new theory about her mom and Lorelai says this: “But I think you're just searching your brain trying to connect the dots that aren’t there. Searching for a reason to let Momma off the hook” page 38. This quote tells us Calliope’s family is used to her paranoid behavior and is still trying to get her to move on from the accident. Towards the middle of the book Calliope tries to focus less on her moms life at Tipton and starts developing hers. Now she is characterized as more adventurous because she does something risky by joining a secret society on campus called “Haunt and Rail” who advocate for social justice issues. This secret society forces Calliope to come to terms with what she believes in and pushes her to think about how she’s going to make a change in the world. For example, at the end of a successful project the ghosts initiated about giving the kitchen staff a raise, Calliope says this: ‘’This is no longer a Haunt and Rail campaign; it’s a campus wide initiative. And I get it–I get how a small secret society has motivated decades of positive change on campus” pg 129. From this quote we can infer Calliope is finally finding her place amongst the ghosts and discovering a side of her that values justice. Lastly towards the end of the book Calliope is seen by other characters as independent and sure of herself. Being in the ghosts has helped her escape most of her old timid ways, turning her into a person who knows what their values are and isn’t afraid to fight for them. Her growth as a character is exemplified by her ability to finally stand up for herself outside of the ghosts and even go against them if she feels they have crossed a line. For example, after the ghosts commit a horrible crime that they force Calliope to cover up, she thinks this: “But what could she say that could make me feel like what happened on Sunday was justice and not a crime?” pg 368. This quote shows how Calliope has now fully matured and is comfortable doing what she thinks is right. 

The thing I like most about Very Bad People is Tipton academy the boarding school Calliope attends. The author gives us maps, descriptions of the architecture, traditions, fun facts, and even more special things about the school. These little details really help build the world the author is trying to create and immerse us in the story. The entire time I was reading I felt like I was a student at Tipton! Another thing I liked was how the author told us about the accident. She did this by showing us an article written about the accident, putting the reader in the perspective of an outsider looking in. It helped me to see why people viewed the accident as such a tragedy and how little the public really knew about why it happened. Overall I would give this book 5/5 stars. It contains mystery, betrayal, secrets, etc. that keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. If you like a good mystery like me this is the book for you. In conclusion Very Bad People teaches us that it’s important to let go of the past because hanging on to it can make us crazy. It also teaches us that it's important to step outside the box and try new, risky things because that is what life is about. Lastly, it teaches us the importance of always trusting what you believe in, even if everyone else thinks it’s wrong.