Synopsis
"Last Christmas" reveals the secret of what really happened before "Private" begins—and the shocking truth will change everything for fans of Brian's bestselling series.
Children's Literature
Ariana Osgood has everything—the perfect boyfriend, good grades at the elite Easton Academy, and a spot in the exclusive Billings House. On the first night of winter break, she's supposed to be meeting her boyfriend in Vermont, but an unexpected blizzard strands her on campus with bad-boy Thomas Pearson instead. Almost too easily, she begins to fall for Thomas and quickly loses her virginity to him. Everything seems surreal, until she discovers they're being stalked—and secretly photographed. Ariana confronts the Latvian student, Sergei, who has been caught taking photos of her before; their meeting results in his "accidental" death. Just when Ariana thinks the situation is resolved, she finds the actual stalker, and she resolves to take the situation into her own hands. As the prequel to Brian's "Private" series, this novel offers short chapters that are packed with action, drama, and suspense, making it a fast read. But the location doesn't fit with the plot; the characters and events portray Easton Academy as an elite college—not a private high school—where everything is ideal and not at all realistic. It is disappointing how sex, infidelity, murder, and underage drinking are shown without any ultimately devastating consequences; though, in Brian's defense, there aren't highly graphic details of such events. By the book's conclusion, the reader has discovered the unstable and true person that Ariana really is. Because there is no change or remorse brought about in her during the course of the story, the reader will be unsatisfied. Reviewer: Ashleigh Vanada