Jennifer Lynn Barnes is essentially the gold standard for high-stakes YA thrillers right now. If your teenager spent the last year obsessed with The Inheritance Games, they are the target audience for this. The Ruling Class is actually a 2025 re-release and rebranding of her earlier book The Fixer, so check your home library before you buy it twice. For a new reader, though, this is a mandatory addition to the mystery shelf.
The "Scandal" for the TikTok generation
The setup is pure power fantasy for kids who feel like they’re smarter than the adults in the room. Tess Kendrick moves to D.C. to live with her sister, Ivy, who is essentially the city's premier cleanup crew for high-level political disasters. When Tess enrolls at Hardwicke—an elite school for the children of the powerful—she realizes the "mean girls" drama there has actual national security implications.
The book avoids the typical tropes of high school fiction. Instead of worrying about who is dating whom for the sake of popularity, these characters are trading favors that could influence a vote on Capitol Hill. It turns the school environment into a chessboard where the pieces actually matter.
Why it beats the "brain rot" alternatives
A lot of trending YA mystery is heavy on the romance and light on the actual logic. Barnes does the opposite. The "fixing" Tess does requires actual deduction and a deep understanding of how systems work. It’s an intelligent read that rewards kids for paying attention to the details. If you're trying to figure out if the elite scandals are too mature for your teen, the short answer is that it’s more about political cynicism than anything inappropriate.
The real heart of the story isn't the conspiracy, though. It’s the friction between Tess and Ivy. They are two sisters who don't really know how to be a family, and their mutual distrust is the engine that makes the plot move. It’s a great pick for a kid who wants "grown-up" stakes but isn't ready for the graphic nature of adult thrillers.
If they like it, there's more
One of the best things about finding a Jennifer Lynn Barnes book is that she is a prolific writer with a very specific "vibe." Once your kid finishes this, they can move directly into the sequel, Lessons in Power. If they haven't touched her other series yet, this is the perfect gateway drug to a long summer of reading.
It’s fast, the chapters are short enough to keep a "reluctant" reader engaged, and the ending actually delivers on the hype. In a sea of mid-tier mystery novels, this one stands out because it treats its audience like they're the smartest people in the room.
