ARC, 370 pages
Release Date: July 31, 2018Published by: Delacorte Press
Read from: July 14-17, 2018Stand-aloneSource: TLATW: Abortion and Statutory rape. (These things are NOT depicted in the story, but hints at them are there.)
For fans of: Thriller, Mystery, YAThere are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.
First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.
That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.
There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.
*MY THOUGHTS*
“I just have so many questions, still. I do too. […] But after awhile, searching for the answers felt like grasping around in the dark At some point, you have to choose to live in the light.“pg. 132
Five years ago, a black force settled on the cheerleaders of Sunnybrook High School. Five of them passed away, all in horrific ways: two in a car accident, two were murdered in a house, and one was rumored to have killed herself. The the cheer squad was disbanded. The students have moved on, but not forgotten about them. But Monica finds something that her parents have been hiding from her, and her world starts to unravel. Everything she thought she knew, she had no idea. Readers will be just as shocked as Monica was to learn all the new things about her family, friends, enemies, and even herself as this mystery keeps getting messier and messier!
“Grief makes people lose their shit.“pg. 184
Little Monsters was my favorite of hers for a LONGGGG time, but after finally reading and loving this one, I have been changed over! The reason being, I was really intrigued by the mystery in this one. It seemed so strange that all those teens girls had something happen to them back to back to back. But as the mystery is explained it makes more sense and its chillingly believable.
“Everyone goes through shit, and there’s always someone somewhere who has it worse. It doesn’t make what you’re feeling any less real or any less shitty.“pg. 261
Thomas’ writing style is also one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the way there is flashbacks that give information on what happened those years ago. It was an interesting and kind of creepy way to get some clues and help people make their “theory” on what happened. It helped me make mine, but I didn’t get the entire thing right. Just like a really small piece of it. And even that makes all the difference for me. I love being wrong when it comes to a mystery.
“If you look hard enough, you’ll find something that’ll make you wish you hadn’t.“pg. 228
What I didn’t like was something super small. As a huge fan of thrillers, I read them all the time, and my number one pet peeve is how easy it is to get their hands on evidence. I KNOW its to move the plot forward, but sometimes I just think its too unbelievable. And in this one, there is a small instance that’s not too unbelievable, but I just feel like a Diet Coke wouldn’t have made that big a distraction. But that’s just me and my opinion. I know it was heat of the moment, but as someone who was in a profession with something that’s that important, I don’t see that happening.
“Decency went out the window long ago.“pg. 243
As for the characters, I really fell for the characters. I had a soft spot for Monica and felt bad for all she went through. And then there was her mom who I also felt really bad for. For it to be a thriller, I spent alot of this book feeling sad for so many of them. You will understand why when you read it!
“I need to know what happened to my sister.“pg. 310
This thriller is not your average. It tugs on your heartstrings and the creepy parts you’d associate with thrillers are actually within the twists and turns that come up throughout the story. Its definitely my favorite of hers and that’s saying something when you have a thriller like her last! Well done Thomas, I already can’t wait for your next book!
I think "Kara Thomas has done it again" is a perfectly acceptable review. I loved her first book and recently bought her second, and am really excited about this one. So glad to hear it was a winner.
i am so pumped for this thriller! Your review made me bump it up on my TBR!! So glad you enjoyed it!
i am so excited to see a review on this one and that you loved it so very very much. I have this preordered and so excited to get it. I am anxiously awaiting the release.