Review: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth, set in quiet Mill Valley, California, was a book I wanted to hate but ended up liking... kind of. The book skips between characters giving you a small window in the lives of both high school students and their teachers. The story of these spoiled teenagers jumps from a tragedy in 8th grade to 11th grade as the students are preparing to take the SATs and apply to colleges.

Perhaps, some of the best books have little to no plot development and are essentially about nothing more than the characters themselves. This was a book that tried to be one of those best books but fell a little short. The opening of the book made one think that the entirety of the novel would focus around Calista and her feelings on the fall out from a classmates cyberbullying and subsequent suicide. Fast forward from 8th to 11th grade, Calista is barely mentioned again, the reader only getting one more chapter from her point of view to close out the novel. The only character you get multiple chapters out of was their young teacher. As a young professional myself, I should have been able to relate to her, but she was ill-informed and inappropriate with her students to the point where I was cringing through her bits. The plot may have even been better without her.

Otherwise, this is just a snapshot of the struggles of teenagers that really don't care about anyone or anything and their teachers; Or maybe, care just a little too much about the wrong things. I definitely identified with a few of the students but wanted something a little more out of The Most Dangerous Place on Earth. Johnson kept building up action as if something was about to happen and then nothing really did. A lackluster event did cause mild ruckus at the end but it did nothing to change any of the characters besides one that you did not even know until that chapter.

I didn't really enjoy the book while reading it, but once I put it down at the end I realized I did like it a little. It kept me engaged enough to keep reading hoping something would happen at the end. The characters were very real, which I do appreciate.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy to review!

View all my reviews