Deadly Little Lessons

Students’ survival skills are put to the test in this gripping YA thriller that reads like The Hunger Games set in a boarding school. From the New York Times bestselling author of How to Survive Your Murder!


"A heart-pounding thriller with shocking twists.” —Kirkus Reviews

Luminary is more than just a school. It is a test of moral fiber, strength of will, and human resilience.

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.

Danielle Valentine is the bestselling author of young adult thrillers Two Sides to Every Murder and How to Survive Your Murder. Valentine is a pseudonym for bestselling horror novelist Danielle Vega. Her other work includes the Merciless series, The Dead Husband Cookbook, and Delicate Condition, which was adapted into a season of the TV series American Horror Story. Danielle lives outside New York City with her husband, daughter, and two ornery cats.