Everything Glittered

Everything Glittered is a YA historical mystery by Robin Talley set in a female academy in prohibition era Washington. Released 24th Sept 2024 by Hachette on their Little, Brown, and company Young Readers imprint, it's 384 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a YA sapphic polyamorous romance wrapped around a murder mystery. The author does a good job writing believably about the constraints and prejudices of the day, including homophobia, racism, anti-semitism, "morality" policing, fraud, abuse, organized crime (especially in the prohibition context), and the limited choices open to women, even/especially upper class women, at the time. 

Although recommended for an audience of 14+, there are some graphic depictions of violence and high-stakes thriller elements (murder and targeted homophobic violence) which might be traumatizing for more sensitive readers in the younger end of the target audience. There is very light queer romance (kissing) and a polyamory aspect, but nothing too scandalous, especially given the background (an all-girls boarding school).  

Three stars. It would be a good choice for public library, possibly for secondary school library acquisition (with the understanding that there's a significant amount of the plot and character development concern same sex romance). 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.