Pride or Die
CL Montblanc
Wednesday Books
Published April 15, 2025
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About Pride or Die
In this delightful dark comedy debut, when the members of an LGBTQ+ club find themselves accidentally framed for attempted murder, it’s up to them to clear their names before it’s too late.
It’s kind of hard to graduate high school when you’re the prime suspect in an attempted murder.
Seventeen-year-old Eleanora Finkel just wants to finish her senior year and get the hell out of Texas. But when her club meeting inconveniently coincides with an attack on the school’s head cheerleader, she and her friends find themselves in the hot seat.
In order to clear their names and ensure the survival of their club for future queer teens, they’ll have to track down the real culprit themselves. But Eleanora is far from a professional detective; she’s riddled with anxiety, annoyingly attracted to the case’s cute victim, and her trusty crochet hook feels insufficient for fighting off a murderer. Can this ragtag group of unlikely sleuths find their way out of an entire freaking murder mystery before one of them is next?
My Review
The energy in this novel is absolutely fabulous. Eleanor and her upbeat crew chase down leads with breaks for brainstorming sessions and pancakes at a local diner, determined to discover who hurt Kenley before they have a chance to strike again. The banter is nonstop, and the tentative connection between Kenley and Eleanora is super sweet.
The principal’s character might be a little flat, as he mainly exists to remind Eleanora and her friends what’s at stake if they fail to identify the real culprit before the end of the homecoming dance. There are a few moments when we see things about him that humanize him a little bit. They show there’s more to him than his commitment to shut down the LGBT Club, which he continually refers to as the BLT club.
Reading this one was a lot of fun. If you like upbeat mysteries with a lot of goofy banter, you’ll want to put this one at the top of your reading list.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Eleanora walks in on a couple engaged in romantic contact. (The text implies they’re having sex, but doesn’t specifically say so.)
Spiritual Content
None.
Violent Content
Eleanora discovers a girl who has collapsed on the floor with a head wound. Threatening messages indicate violence planned against others. Instances of homophobic slurs and bullying.
Drug Content
Characters attend a party where teens drink alcohol. Eleanora does not drink any.
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