Riverdale: The Day Before (Riverdale #1)
Author: Micol Ostow
Published: 2018
On Goodreads
My Rating: 
Rated S for secrets, the kind that ripples with grand cause and effect, leaving behind carnage in its wake. This is only the beginning.
We were separate but intertwined in ways we’d never see coming. Small, stupid butterflies, blindly flapping our wings. (p. 5)
Archie Andrews has been disappearing to who-knows-where, causing a growing distance between him and his best friend, Jughead. Jughead Jones is struggling after his mom leaves with his little sister, leaving him behind with his drunken father.
Betty Cooper is thriving at her internship at Hello, Giggles in LA. Her possible big break is an interview with the prestigious and royal Veronica Lodge, but it’ll take a lot of elbow grease to get a comment from the heiress. Veronica’s life couldn’t be more perfect, but perfection is fragile and life as she knows it is about to shatter.
This is a prequel novel based on the hit CW show, Riverdale. It’s a fun and quick read to feed your need for the core four: Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica. Before Jason Blossom’s body was found in Sweetwater River there was already turmoil brewing in Riverdale and outside of it. Secrets had gripped the town and these four tight in its fingers.
I enjoyed this more than I thought, but not to the extent that I’m losing my mind over it. It was quirky and read exactly as if I was watching a mini-series of the show. The tone was just dead on and I could visualize everything perfectly. I’ve also read Betty’s story in here in one of the short comics, but the comparison of the written versus the comic is intriguing. Nearly on the dot, but subtly different. The transitions between each character were pretty cut and dry, but not in the sense of stale bread. LOL. It was just succinct and neat. Like scene cuts. Not noticeable. Very nice.
Side Note: I still think Jason Blossom is alive. I don’t know how he would be, but I don’t for a second think he’s actually dead.
One of my utmost favorite things about this is that I got to get into the core four’s heads! You don’t really get that with the TV show. You get the surface tension and emotions. In the book, it’s so much deeper, and from each of their POVs no less. And yes, Archie really was that dumbstruck by Ms. Grundy. And yes, I meant dumbstruck, not love-struck. Poor ginger. Still, love him (and that fiery hair) though. It’s just one aspect that really drew me in. That and at the end of every chapter there was a snippet and/or clip previewing what’s to come on the show.
Overall
Not a half bad read. Really. If you love Riverdale then go ahead and read this. Sure, you’re not missing out on much, but it is fun and nifty to see what it was like the day before Riverdale was shaken to its core. Also, the cover art is phenomenal! Completely striking with Archie’s profile and creepy with the never-ending trees where one could get lost and never be found. Just chilling.
Quotables:
“Son, when you’re my age, dead is kind of the default. You learn to push through it. Try it.” (Mr. Andrews to Archie, p. 43)
“I’m not an idiot. I know that everything that happened to my dad, happened because of him. Because of his choices and his behavior. He wasn’t some innocent victim. No, he wasn’t innocent. But he was my father, and despite all the BS, I still loved him.” (Jughead, p. 233)
More to come soon…
-K.
P.S. Song today? Airplanes Pt. 2 by B. O. B. feat Hayley Williams and Eminem.
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The Scarlet Reader 
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