I was so excited for this book. I really, really was. But once I started reading it, the only thing I could think of was “please stop”. It was tragic.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review is an honest, spoiler free review and all thoughts and feelings are my own.

Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed
Published: March 9, 2021
Publisher: Dial Books
Genre: YA Thriller
Pages: 336
Rating:
Goodreads

We Were Liars meets Speak in this haunting, mesmerizing psychological thriller–a gender-flipped YA Great Gatsby–that will linger long after the final line

On wealthy Commodore Island, Fern is watching and waiting–for summer, for college, for her childhood best friend to decide he loves her. Then Ivy Avila lands on the island like a falling star. When Ivy shines on her, Fern feels seen. When they’re together, Fern has purpose. She glimpses the secrets Ivy hides behind her fame, her fortune, the lavish parties she throws at her great glass house, and understands that Ivy hurts in ways Fern can’t fathom. And soon, it’s clear Ivy wants someone Fern can help her get. But as the two pull closer, Fern’s cozy life on Commodore unravels: drought descends, fires burn, and a reckless night spins out of control. Everything Fern thought she understood–about her home, herself, the boy she loved, about Ivy Avila–twists and bends into something new. And Fern won’t emerge the same person she was.

An enthralling, mind-altering fever dream, Tell Me My Name is about the cost of being a girl in a world that takes so much, and the enormity of what is regained when we take it back.

I was so excited for this book solely based off the tag line: a gender-flipped YA Great Gatsby.

Yeah, this was nothing like that. Now, I know taglines are used for a comparison and not indicative of what actually happens in the book, but this feels so off the mark.

I read to almost 50% of this book and I feel like the most I got out of it is that rich people are sad and not stable with any part of their life. Oh and drugs are bad. Our main character, Fern, has the personality of playdough, which means she’s great with molding into the person people want her to be, but she provides no other substance. Then we have Tami who is a stereotypical “bad bitch” rich girl who only cares about sex and drugs. Oh and Ivy, a TV star with a substance abuse problem looking to break free and get clean, but is also obsessed with a guy she barely knows and thinks its love.

This book is a disaster. I was waiting for the psychological thriller aspect of this book to start and nothing. At almost 50% through the book, it was basically a high schoolers fad dream: be rich, have sex, and do copious amounts of drugs at endless parties. The only sane characters were Fern’s dads who couldn’t decide between themselves whether they were comfortable with their only daughter partying into the night or not, and generally went with not.

The whole catalyst of this book is Ivy moving to their town, stirring up gossip and turning heads. Tami, who hated Fern and wanted nothing to do with her, suddenly becomes her friend after Ivy shows an interest towards Fern. Tami, who is genuinely a horrible person, is also dating Fern’s childhood best friend and secret love interest. How cliche.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what the plot of this book was. It didn’t seem to be going anywhere except trying to be edgy as everyone does what they hate then complains about it. This clearly wasn’t a good book for me.

If you’re looking for a good thriller, check out House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland, which releases today! You can check out my spoiler free review here.