We’re just machines, aren’t we? I was dead for 13 minutes. Told through multiple POVs, newspaper articles, diary entries, police reports, and text messages, this twisted thriller provides a chaotic yet cohesive look into the night Queen Bee Natasha Howland went into the river - and died. Instead, we’re introduced to the “Barbies” - a trio of blonde BFFS - that take maintaining the high school hierarchy to a drastic new level. Long gone are the days of secret carbo loading and trying to make “fetch” happen. Pitched as “ Mean Girls for the Instagram age,” 13 Minutes centers on a group of truly heinous British teens that are simply too vindictive to function. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t try to kill me. They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but when you’re a teenage girl, it’s hard to tell them apart. I don’t remember how I ended up in the icy water but I do know this – it wasn’t an accident and I wasn’t suicidal. Ages 17 up.Goodreads/ Amazon 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough Title & Author: 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller Release Date: OctoPublisher: Flatiron Books Series Details: Standalone Page Count: 412 Pages Description: “I was dead for 13 minutes. But at its most basic level, this is a story of petty high school betrayals, popularity contests with toxic frenemies, and vividly depicted peer pressure, all of which combine to create a painfully real novel. British author Pinborough's thrilling murder mystery is filled with twists and turns, including a surprising second death one that sticks that sends the novel careening into fresh and emotionally raw territory of loss, forgiveness, and guilt in its final act. Text message exchanges, news reports, and interviews between Becca and her therapist further flesh out a multilayered narrative, filling in the gaps in Natasha's memory. Third-person chapters focus on Becca, and readers' see Natasha's thoughts, reactions, and nagging suspicions through excerpts from a journal. As the police try to piece together what happened, Natasha, harboring suspicions about her closest friends, launches her own investigation with the help of former friend Becca, who she abandoned during an ascent into popularity. After drowning, Natasha Howland was dead for 13 minutes before being revived.