Review Detail

Vesper is unprepared for a so-called ten-day cruise vacation, but feels it's perfect for an escape from something she did. Only she finds out that the trip isn't a vacation, but rather karma for bullies. The ocean cruise is, in fact, a prison where fellow bullies are enrolled in No Evil, a program to reeducate them. The problem is that not all will survive the trip.

What worked: Unique twist on a floating teen prison for bullies. The idea of karma is literal. All the inmates have to face what someone did to someone else. Some don't survive the experience.

Vesper comes across as self-centered and in denial about what she did to a classmate. In her mind, she's more the victim. Her roommate, Gwen, is blind. Vesper doesn't get why she'd be on the ship. Their relationship grows slowly into a friendship. All of the inmates have their secrets, and some are more dangerous than others.

There are also hints of a romance with fellow inmate Jonah. His bully story is one all the inmates have to face. He's the Joker, but he does that to hide his own vulnerability.

Though I found the premise of a floating prison for bullies intriguing, I had a hard time believing that parents or guardians would be so quick to sign their teens over to the program. But saying that, there are stories of parents doing that same thing with troubled teens to wilderness programs in Utah, like the one Paris Hilton went to. Those programs were also harsh and punishing.

I was glued to Vesper's story and how she, in her own way, stood up to those who forced their physical and psychological trials on her. The reactions of fellow inmates were intense with each Karma trial, especially when one of them doesn't survive.

Fast-paced suspenseful story where bullies are held accountable for their actions.