Social Creature was a spur-of-the-moment library grab, because I remembered Sarah's strong reaction to the book last year. It stuck in my mind as one I had to check out. And everything Sarah said was right: I almost put this down several times, but it took turns that kept me reading and was truly a messed up story.

It reminded me of a recent story in The Cut that I vaguely followed and that caused a bit of an online buzz: read I Was Caroline Calloway and you'll get the idea (even if you have no idea who Caroline Calloway is, because I certainly didn't). Briefly: a meek, plain girl meets a charismatic socialite who takes her under her wing. Plain girl becomes sidekick and hanger-on, and both exploit one another in their own ways. Social Creature draws on archetypes that are apparently common in this weird socialite world, but it takes a truly dark turn and follows a twisted path toward its conclusion.

Super dark, messed up books like this aren't always my thing--I usually feel kind of icky after reading them, and this was no exception (which makes it hard to rate, because the execution was pretty brilliant, if a bit implausible). But sometimes I just can't resist the premise or strong reactions of other readers. For now I'll be taking a break from "dark and twisted" until another comes along that I just can't resist.