I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Lia Michaels can pick any lock and break into most computer systems. But a life of delinquency has her bouncing between foster homes and juvie. So when she applies to Luminary Prep, a new experimental school created to challenge academic conventions, Lia is surprised by the acceptance letter that follows.

With state-of-the-art technology, fancy cafeteria food, and a campus that looks like a painting come to life, Luminary seems to be the break Lia needs. That is, if she can excel in class and be one of only five students who will be allowed to graduate.

But classes at Luminary are . . . odd. And dangerous. There is a death-trap obstacle course in Physics, a Chemistry exam with explosives, and guillotines in Political Science. As students keep vanishing, one by one, Lia starts to wonder if it's not that five students will graduate—but that only five will survive.

Short and Sweet Review

Lia Michaels has spent most of her life bouncing between foster homes and juvie, so when she’s given the chance to attend Luminary Prep, an experimental boarding school that promises a fresh start, she’s willing to give it a try. At first, the school seems almost too good to be true, with a beautiful campus, incredible technology, great food, and the chance for five students to earn scholarships to the college of their choice. Then Lia realizes the classes aren’t exactly normal. Physics has a deadly obstacle course, Chemistry involves explosives, and Political Science comes with guillotines. As students begin disappearing, Lia starts to realize that when Luminary says only five students will graduate, they might actually mean only five students will survive.

I really enjoyed this one! The premise was probably my favorite part because it takes the whole elite boarding school idea and turns it into something completely insane. Every time I thought the classes couldn’t possibly get more dangerous, Luminary found a way to prove me wrong. The school basically takes “hands on learning” to a terrifying extreme, and I loved the feeling of never knowing what kind of deadly challenge was coming next. It definitely has that Squid Game energy, just with a much more academic twist. Lia was also a great character to follow. I liked that she’s smart, resourceful, and naturally suspicious of authority because of everything she’s been through. Her ability to pick locks and break into computer systems actually feels useful throughout the story rather than just being a random character trait. I also really liked her relationship with Scarlett. Their relationship gave the story a lot of heart, especially because Lia has spent so much of her life without a stable family. Watching them become each other’s support system made the craziness happening at Luminary feel a little more grounded. I was also pleasantly surprised by the romance. The book introduces a character early on who feels like an obvious love interest, so I was fully expecting the story to go in that direction. Then it takes a pretty big turn, and I actually ended up liking the relationship that developed much more. The chemistry felt natural, and I liked watching the tension build between them while everything around them was basically falling apart. It never completely took over the story, which I appreciated. The pacing was another big strength for me. There is always something happening, whether it’s another dangerous class, a student disappearing, a new mystery, or Lia discovering another reason she shouldn’t trust the school. I flew through this because I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen next. I also liked that there was more going on beneath the survival-thriller aspect, especially with the themes surrounding foster care, troubled teen programs, authority, and the idea of what happens when vulnerable kids are put into systems that claim to know what’s best for them. My biggest complaint is that I sometimes wanted more. The story moves so quickly that there were moments where I wished we could slow down and spend more time developing certain characters or exploring some of the darker ideas behind Luminary. There were also a few questions I was left with by the end. I didn’t mind enough to lower the rating much because I was having so much fun with the story, but I do think a little more depth could have made this even stronger.

Overall, Deadly Little Lessons was a fast-paced and addictive YA thriller that had me completely invested in this absolutely unhinged school. I loved Lia, her relationship with Scarlett, the romance, and especially the ridiculous and dangerous classes. The story does leave a few things open, and I’m definitely interested in seeing where things could go next. If you enjoy dark academia, survival games, secretive boarding schools, deadly challenges, found family, and a protagonist who knows how to break into basically anything, definitely give this one a try.