Harmless by Dana Reinhardt book review (Audiobook Version)

Harmless is told from the point of view of the three main characters: Anna, Emma and Mariah. Alternating chapters from the point of view of each character, the three best friends find themselves enveloped in a lie they have created to escape punishment from their parents after lying about their whereabouts on a Friday evening. After telling their parents they are going to a movie, but actually going to Mariah's boyfriend's house, they are caught in this lie when Emma's parents decide to go to the movie that the three girls are supposed to be at. In a panic, they develop a lie, saying they were down by the river and Emma was attacked by a homeless man. The girls' parents want them to go to the police and the lie gets out of hand and grows until a suspect is arrested. In the audiobook version, the three characters are narrated by three separate people. The audiobook includes an interview with the author in which she talks about how she decided on the topic of the story, how she became a reader and whether young adults are still reading today. The title fits the book well: how something that seems harmless at the time, may not be so in the long run. Recommended for teen readers 15 years and up.