A captivating debut novel for readers of Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You and Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep-The Most Dangerous Place on Earth unleashes an unforgettable cast of characters into a realm known for its cruelty and peril- the American high school.

In an idyllic community of wealthy California families, new teacher Molly Nicoll becomes intrigued by the hidden lives of her privileged students. Unknown to Molly, a middle school tragedy in which they were all complicit continues to reverberate for her kids- Nick, the brilliant scam artist; Emma, the gifted dancer and party girl; Dave, the B student who strives to meet his parents’ expectations; Calista, the hippie outcast who hides her intelligence for reasons of her own. Theirs is a world in which every action may become public-postable, shareable, indelible. With the rare talent that transforms teenage dramas into compelling and urgent fiction, Lindsey Lee Johnson makes vivid a modern adolescence lived in the gleam of the virtual, but rich with the sorrow, passion, and beauty of life in any time, and at any age.

Advance praise for The Most Dangerous Place on Earth

In sharp and assured prose, roving between characters, Lindsey Lee Johnson plumbs the terrifying depths of a half-dozen ultra-privileged California high school kids. I read it in two chilling gulps. It’s a phenomenal first book, a compassionate Less Than Zero for the digital age. -Anthony Doerr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Light We Cannot See

An astonishing debut novel, Lindsey Lee Johnson’s The Most Dangerous Place on Earth plunges the reader into the fraught power dynamics between (and among) high school teachers and students with both nuance and fearlessness. With a stunning constellation of characters’ voices and a fiercely compelling story, it’s impossible to put down, or to forget. -Megan Abbott, author of You Will Know Me and Dare Me

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth is a deftly composed mosaic of adolescence in the modern age, frightening and compelling in its honesty… . A terrific debut, and one that I didn’t want to put down. -Julia Pierpont, New York Times bestselling author of Among the Ten Thousand Things

In her superb first novel, The Most Dangerous Place on Earth, Lindsey Lee Johnson deftly illuminates a certain strain of privileged American adolescence and the existential minefield these kids are forced to navigate. Elegantly constructed and beautifully written, it reads like Jane Austen for this anxious era. -Seth Greenland, author of I Regret Everything and The Angry Buddhist

From the Hardcover edition.