No One Left but You by Tash McAdam
Publisher: Soho Teen
Special thanks to Soho Teen for sending a copy for review.
Summary:
BEFORE
Newly out trans guy Max is having a hard time in school. Things have been tough since his summer romance, Danny, turned into his bully. This year, his plan is to keep his head down and graduate. All that changes when new It-girl Gloss moves to town. No one understands why perfect, polished Gloss is so interested in an introverted skater kid, but Max blooms in the hothouse of her attention. Caught between romance and obsession, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her on his side.
AFTER
Haircuts, makeovers, drugs, parties. It’s all fun and games until someone gets killed at a rager gone terribly wrong. Max refuses to believe that Gloss did it. But if not Gloss, who? Desperate to figure out truth in the wake of tragedy, Max veers dangerously close to being implicated—and his own memories of that awful night are fuzzy.
Both sharp-edged thriller and moving coming-of-age, this gorgeously wrought novel is perfect for readers who want stories with trans characters front-and-center (Goodreads).
Thoughts:
No One Left But You by Tash McAdam is a compelling YA thriller about murder, gender identity, sexuality, and acceptance.
Told in dual events that alternate between the before and after that lead to the events of the murder of Danny, the story begins with seventeen-year-old Max, a transgender student, at the police station as a suspect in his ex-boyfriend, Danny’s death. Summer was a big blur for Max. He started attending parties, doing drugs and drinking alcohol. One night, a party goes wrong and Danny winds up dead. Did Max kill him or was it Gloss, the new girl Max was seeing?
Max is immediately driven by Gloss who is stunning and perfect in every way; however, her flirtatious actions give Max the wrong idea. While Max thinks there is a romantic connection between them, Gloss takes him under her wing and uses him for the thrill; for instance, she’d kiss him or allow him to sleep on her bed. Max’s attraction to Gloss highlights how much he craves attention and acceptance that he lacks from his parents who haven’t accepted his new identity. Although Gloss was one of the few people Max could open up to, I was skeptical of Gloss’ character from the very beginning. Gloss is a selfish rich kid who has the fakest smile that can get away with anything. As she liked the admiration and attention Max was giving her, she toyed with his feelings, and Max unfortunately didn’t realize it. Her flirtatious ways were questionable, which irritatingly brought more suspense to the novel.
Max had also just gotten out of a messy breakup, and it didn’t make sense for him to open his heart that quickly again. As a result, there was nothing I liked about their fling. They became obsessed with the idea of being with each other, and coincidentally, Gloss happened to be someone who could distract him from his past. Danny also wasn’t the best partner either, but he had the potential. They started off as a summer fling that led them to question their gender identities. While Max believed their relationship could work, Danny became his bully. Danny started verbally abusing Max and lashing out his frustrations at him. Though there were better ways for him to communicate his feelings, his vulnerability hints at his desire to be with Max, but the thought of being judged by others was stopping him. Danny’s worries are understandable when he comes from a family who has no respect towards people who are different. It’s important to point out that Danny’s behaviour is a result of his own father’s abuse towards him, but this reason is still not an excuse. Danny struggled to approach his situation with Max in a civil way, but it was very unfair for Max.
Ultimately, Max found out that he placed his trust in the wrong person. Danny had his shortcomings, but I had faith in his character development; unfortunately, his life was cut short. While Max was a potential suspect, I know he still had a place for Danny in his heart and wouldn’t have the guts to murder him. On the other hand, Gloss, who was obsessed with Max, may have seen Danny as “competition.” This made her a strong suspect. But what if Danny was fighting himself? He had no one left by his side. In the end, the culprit of Danny’s death was unexpected and turned out to be none of the characters I suspected. What pissed me off is that they called their crime an “accident” and claimed they never meant to kill Danny, but murder is never an accident. There is no way they didn’t have harmful intentions.
The only thing I wish the novel included was having multiple points of view to make the reading experience more exciting. For instance, I’d love to see the culprit’s point of view and their whole thought process as to what brought them to “accidentally” kill Danny because how do you kill someone unintentionally? However, I appreciated MacAdam adding both past and present chapters. They helped me understand Max’s difficult journey, and it created a suspenseful buildup to the reveal of the culprit.
No One Left But You is a spine-chilling murder mystery that sheds light on the LGBTQ+ community on how their gender identities impact their relationship with their friends and family. Through Max’s story, you see the negativity he receives from his unsupportive parents but he is able to strive through it.
Reviewed by Lyndsay E.