Before We Were Innocent

A summer in Greece for three best friends ends in the unthinkable when only two return home....

Ten years ago, after a sun-soaked summer spent in Greece, best friends Bess and Joni were cleared of having any involvement in their friend Evangeline's death. But that didn't stop the media from ripping apart their teenage lives like vultures.

While the girls were never convicted, Joni, ever the opportunist, capitalized on her newfound infamy to become a motivational speaker. Bess, on the other hand, resolved to make her life as small and controlled as possible so she wouldn't risk losing everything all over again. And it almost worked....

Except now Joni needs a favor, and when she turns up at her old friend's doorstep asking for an alibi, Bess has no choice but to say yes. She still owes her. But as the two friends try desperately to shake off their past, they have to face reality.

Can you ever be an innocent woman when everyone wants you to be guilty?

1. Bess and Joni are vilified by the international media after Evangeline's death in 2008. Do you think the same thing would happen today?

2. After Bess's and Joni's reputations are ripped to shreds, they're expected to know how to navigate their new infamy. How successful are they each at coping with it? And what choices would you have made in their position?

3. What do Bess, Joni, and Evangeline see in one another when they meet as teenagers? What were you looking for in your own best friends at that age?

4. Bess still blames herself for what happened to Evangeline in Greece. Do you view her death as a senseless accident or an inevitable outcome of their collective frustration that summer?

5. Why do you think Bess agrees to help Joni when she comes back to her in 2018? Why does Bess find her old friend so hard to resist?

6. After Bess returns from Greece, her relationship with her family deteriorates. What could they have done differently to stop this from happening?

7. Bess still fantasizes about her stolen future with Theo. What do you think he represents for her? And what do you think the future would have held for them if Evangeline hadn't died that night?

8. Toward the end of the book, Joni attributes her manipulative behavior to her past trauma. Do you accept this as a justifiable defense for how she acts toward Bess? Should our present transgressions be forgiven because of our past?

9. At one point, Bess asserts that "trusting someone is a choice." Do you believe this is true? And why do you think Joni finds it so hard to tell Bess the truth about Willa from the start?

10. The book examines the thousands of choices we make every day-good and bad, infinitesimal and life-altering. Joni wants Bess to be fearless in her choices. Do you think Bess achieves this by the end of the book?

11. "Everyone always talks about things being taken out of context, but in our case, it felt like the exact opposite-every single thing we'd ever done or said was now viewed only through the prism of Evangeline's unt

"Two BFFs are accused of murder in this novel that feels like true crime." -Cosmopolitan

"Ella Berman reveals a teenage girl's heart of darkness in her absorbing new novel.... Written with the urgency and thrill of an illicit secret, Before We Were Innocent captures the pleasures and perils of American girlhood." -Jillian Medoff, bestselling author of When We Were Bright and Beautiful

"Berman's an expert at the small moment, the Austen-esque tragicomedy of unspoken human desire that compounds into something too big to name, too awful to ignore." -Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors

"It's a compulsive thriller, and you won't want to put down Berman's second book." -Shondaland

"Slices to the core of a fraught friendship on the brink of disaster." -PopSugar

"Brilliantly illustrates the vulnerability and cruelty of teenage girls-and how the judgments placed on them create the perfect environment for both to flourish. It brought me right back to my teenage years and cracked my heart open." -Rachel Kapelke-Dale, author of The Ballerinas

"Before We Were Innocent takes a scenario we've seen in news reports-young women abroad falsely accused of a horrific crime-and gives it all the nuance and empathy that the media never bothered with.... A haunting and dazzling page-turner." -Laura Hankin, author of A Special Place for Women

"Berman expertly weaves together the past and the present to create a suspenseful, spellbinding story about lies, betrayal, and what happens when the truth catches up with you." -Elissa R. Sloan, author of The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes

"With evocative and astute prose, Berman's sophomore effort is a...searing portrayal of the intoxicating power of privilege, youth, and female friendship." -Booklist

"This tale of how the emotional bonds forged in youth can define people's lives long afterward will resonate with many." -Publishers Weekly

"Captivating - a rich exploration of the complexity of female friendships with a compelling mystery at its heart." -T. Greenwood, author of Such a Pretty Girl "A page-turning thriller, with twists and turns, to keep you on the edge of your seat. This is a perfect spring novel for fans of this genre." -Red Carpet Crash