Nervous about her new position, she is immediately struck by one specific student, Jensen Willard, a quiet and withdrawn girl who doesn't look like she belongs. Amidst the wealthy, polished and beautiful girls of Wallace, she seems out of place, which makes Vera want to reach out to her all the more. Jensen is quiet and resistant to interaction, that is, until Vera starts assigning journals for the girls to write after they have done their readings of Catcher in the Rye, the book they are studying. It is in these journals that Jensen begins to open up to Vera. She's troubled and quite the loner, but highly intelligent. She reveals things to Vera that are at once shocking, but also interesting, as Vera herself is a bit obsessed with true crime.
With the Dean's young niece having recently been murdered, there's a lot of talk about death and murder going on in Dorset, but then one of Vera's own students turns up dead and Vera gets a sense of deja vu. After all, when she was a teenager, a local murder in her hometown fostered the seedlings of her own obsession with serial killers. As she reads Jensen's journals, she knows the girl is reaching out, but to what end? At what point does Vera stop being Jensen's audience and get involved, if only for the girl's own safety?
What Has Become of You is an interesting yarn, but I felt a little let down by the ending. It wrapped up well enough, but I felt it lacked the punch I was expecting, almost as if another book is planned. It was a little predictable at times, but had enough twists and differences such that I didn't know exactly what was going on, which is a good thing. Watson is a competent writer and her characters were relatable, the book just didn't keep me on the edge of my seat much as I would have liked.
