SuitabookMurder on a School Night
Kate Weston
- Reading
- Afterwards, compare the story’s humour with its treatment of fear, friendship and social status.
- Themes
- Friendship and teamwork: Kerry and Annie investigate together, know each other well and support one another while dealing with social pressures. The friendship is presented as an important strength within the mystery and teenage social world.
- Popularity and school culture: The friends are preoccupied with popularity, while the story depicts sixth-form cliques and a group called Les Populaires. The book presents competing or mixed signals about this.
- Gender and feminist perspective: The mystery centres girls’ friendships and is described as feminist, while its cast and social world are used for parody and commentary. A feminist perspective is identified, but the available details do not show precisely which values the narrative endorses or critiques.
- Worth knowing
- Consider whether the mixture of comedy and repeated murder feels right for the reader. Particular attention may be needed around the graphic menstrual-product imagery, bullying, cyberbullying, anxiety and romantic situations.