Deadly Little Lessons

By Danielle Valentine

Squid Game meets boarding school in this electric young adult thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Two Sides to Every Murder and How to Survive Your Murder.

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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593860411
• ISBN13: 9780593860410
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher