I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan is a young-adult suspense/mystery novel about four teenagers who did something last summer, and now are facing the consequences. While this book personally does not induce much fear, it does have great characters and a page-turning mystery to it that never seems to stop going.

The most successful part of this book is certainly the characters, as well as the internal conflicts that they each have. Obviously there is the main conflict of the story, but there are also individual conflicts that are unique to each character, who are all dynamic and round in their own unique ways. One example of these conflicts is with Ray Bronson, a nonathletic, non-popular guy who had big expectations in his life. He moved out of town after the incident, thinking he could get away from it, but it never escaped him and he returned grizzled yet determined to find a way to rid himself of the guilt. Another good example of a rounded character with internal conflicts is Julie James, the first protagonist we meet, who feels the most guilt about the incident, and also is the most impacted by it. She has a weak relationship with a new guy she met, went through a total change of personality after the incident, and has parent issues. All of the characters are very well designed and believable, even if they do fit into certain stereotypes, such as Barry being the Dumb Jock, or Helen being the Pretty Blond Girl. The book is able to make them seem believable and realistic too, not conforming too much into their typical characteristics too much. Overall, the book has great characterization, and every person that we meet feels real and alive. Even if the mystery may seem a bit slow at first, the characters and their own internal conflicts will be able to hook readers right from the beginning.