#MurderTrending

Falsely convicted of murdering her stepsister, 17-year-old Dee Guerrera fights for her life on a prison island where serial killers execute inmates live on camera in Gretchen McNeil’s dystopian YA horror thriller, #MurderTrending (2018). Dee and four other wrongly imprisoned teens, Nyles, Griselda, Ethan, and Mara, struggle to prove their innocence and expose the conspiracy between the corrupt United States government and the Postman, the mysterious television mogul who runs the prison. McNeil explores themes of perseverance, justice, the dangers of privatizing the penal system, and the desensitizing effects of social media. #MurderTrending contains content that may be upsetting for some readers, but McNeil balances the bloodshed with campy dark humor. #MurderTrending was followed by the sequel, #MurderFunding (2019), and a prequel, #NoEscape (2020).

The pagination in this guide refers to the 2018 Freeform Books edition.

Content Warning: The source material includes descriptions of abduction, torture, murder, and graphic violence, as well as sexual references, objectification, and harassment.

Plot Summary

Dee wakes up after a sham trial and finds herself in a kill room on Alcatraz 2.0. Dee is dressed as Cinderella and knows that Prince Slycer will stab her live before millions of users on the Postman app.