My Reaction in a Nutshell: 
 This was so much better than the first book. 
 The Long Version 
 First I should say that my technical rating for this book is 3.5/5. This book was wayyyyyy better than the first book in the series. No sophomore-slump here! This whole book is about loneliness, secrets, bullying, compassion, learning to forgive one's self, learning when to ask for help, and, well, arson. 
 I enjoyed the characters in this book and it was interesting to read about Gabriel and his guilt. He is a hothead, rude, and quick to throw the first punch. Layne is shy, a little naive, and bit socially awkward. Each character comes with their own baggage. I just wish that instead of Kemmerer only sticking to two POVs in each of her books that she would have gone the same route as Marissa Meyer in her series The Lunar Chronicles. Meyer uses POV from characters in previous books as well as POV from new characters. I really wanted to read Becca and Chris' POVs as well as POVs from Gabriel and Layne. It would've been really interesting to read about things from all four of their perspectives. 
 Although most of this book was a drastic improvement, Kemmerer still uses slut shaming. I have no idea why Kemmerer thinks that apparently all girls in low cut shirts are mean and vapid bullies. It was just as annoying to read as the first book. Modesty doesn't mean that a person is superior to someone wearing more revealing clothing. Plus, they way that Kemmerer describes these girls, they are breaking the dress code. So unless they all so unless they go to a liberal arts high school, I can't see how it's plausible that they would've gotten away with it. Also, I get the sense that Kemmerer has been out of high school for awhile. No one I know dresses like the "popular" girls she described (pleated skirts? jean skirts?). Plus unless a person is in second grade, kids text rather than pass notes. Or at least in the type of school she has described, they do. 
 (view spoiler)[Unfortunately, Kemmerer uses the SA plot device again in this book. Layne goes to a party. She and a guy start kissing. Gabriel is there too. He hears a commotion. Becca goes to investigate. The guy Layne was kissing is now SA-ing her while girls catch it on camera laughing. Gabriel fights the dick. It is all very similar to the previous book. It was a "in case you didn't think he was a horrible person for bullying a Deaf kid, now you know he is for sure" moment and for Gabriel it was a way for him to be a hero. And then Kemmerer didn't expand much on how it effected Layne after the initial emails. It was very textbook and felt like it was added solely for drama. (hide spoiler)] 
 There were plot twists in this book that I didn't see coming. Kremmerer actually managed to shock me. It's been awhile since I've read a book where I hadn't guessed the plot twists. In addition, I really liked the inclusion of a Deaf character. 
 But I have an honest question: Are jocks actually this mean? Because I feel like every book I read jocks are always the ones who are super rude, bullies (especially to those with special needs), and love to fight. Is that actually a thing? 
 ***TRIGGER WARNINGS: house fire, arson, bullying, cyberbullying, SA, death, murder