{3.5 stars}

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

This story takes place over one night when a group of teens goes camping in the woods. They are being interrogated by the police the next morning after one of them goes missing. In alternating snips of each person's interrogation, the truth of what happened is slowly revealed to us from the different points of view, not all of which are accurate... or sane... 

I liked the pace and because they are teens, the red herrings along the way are fantastical. But also, told in such a way that you think to yourself, well, maybe... There is definitely teen drama but I wasn't annoyed by it the way I some times am with YA stories. Here the characters were nuanced and all of their quirks and drama fed into the story. Definitely a fun read.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the early ARC!

This book is your typical - 5 friends go on a camping trip and one turns up missing - whodunit type of story.

I loved the layout of the book! It’s told from the POV from the 4 remaining friends in a police interrogation setting. Everybody’s got something to hide. Nobody can quite remember what happened. Everybody is blaming each other, but yet everyone is innocent.

This book kept me entertained enough to find out what happens at the end.

Pub date: 04/01/2024

This was a quick read and a decent mystery for a teen or YA fan. I love a twist on format, so the questions at the beginning of each chapter (and resulting one sided “dialog”) and multiple points of view was engaging for me. While I’m personally in my “Where are the parents?!” Era when it comes to YA reads, I could definitely see this being a hit with younger crowds and fans of the genre. Nothing too scary, some important social topics to discuss and just enough mystical red herrings to hit a variety of different readers.

Told in such a unique and clever way. A great young adult book. I loved the overlapping interviews and truly didn't see the five friends went into the woods and only four came out ending. It has never been told like this.

I've been reading a decent amount of YA thriller/mystery fiction lately, and this one is up there in terms of ratings - I was completely hooked from the start, and NEEDED to know what would happen. I did think there was a little bit of a slow burn to this, and maybe it could've been condensed down into something a little shorter, but I still enjoyed my time with it - I read it over the course of like 3 sittings, which isn't bad at all!

This book was good. But not something I would rave about to someone to have them read it, but I wouldn’t stop them from reading it. The police interviews scattered throughout was a nice touch and helped the story go along. The characters were basic and not too thrilling in my opinion. The end really took the hit for me with it being rushed and basically thrown together.

Teen readers will enjoy this one, but it was a little inconsistent for me. I liked the format- each chapter begins with a question that you presume is asked by police. Teens are giving info on a camping trip where one of the five campers has gone missing. It’s a mystery with some pretty stock characters and themes. I can see older middle schoolers and high schoolers enjoying this one,

Book kept my interest it was a fast read. Liked the overall concept of the book and the points the author was trying to make, it just felt rushed at the end. I think having the disappearance earlier would of helped.

I feel like this is an average YA thriller. I do really like the police interview media included; that gave it a little something different to read and think about. I would recommend this for YA readers.

This book had so much potential, but I feel like the format was pretty limiting. I liked the exploration of a bunch of unreliable narrators, but I feel like the payoff wasn't enough to warrant going through the whole book. The characters felt a little one-dimensional and the ending was a little anticlimactic. I thought it was well-written and pretty engaging, but it fell a little flat for me.

I loveddd the format of this book and found it so fun and exciting. The mystery kept me flying through the pages and the characters were so great! I really enjoyed this one and think it will be a huge hit!

1 - 2 star? I did not finish - as soon as Bigfoot was mentioned I knew this was not the book for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Let me just preface this review by saying, this wasn’t for me. I tried really hard to keep up with the format of the book. But I did struggle on trying to keep up with all the characters/information. I did find myself having to flip back every few pages to make sure I comprehended it. That being said, this wasn’t a bad read at all! I just don’t think I was the right fit for it. This book would be perfect for any teens/young adults who are interested in diving into thriller/mystery genre! The book was well paced, and the format was interesting. I would definitely still be open to reading more by this author in the future!

What I did enjoy:
- the format was unique! But I did struggle keeping up (that was probably just me though!)
- Fast paced read, I was able to finish it with in a day.
- Pretty twisty! A great book for someone just getting into the thriller genre.
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Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! 3 stars out or 5!

I was so excited to get this arc since I love YA murder mysteries and it did not disappoint! I couldn’t put this book down, it kept me engaged from beginning to end. I really loved the interview format and hope to see more books like this in the future. The reason I gave it 4 stars and not 5 is I wasn’t a fan of the end, but regardless still enjoyed this book a lot! I’m definitely going to be recommending this book to clients looking for a good and fast paced YA murder mystery!

I had originally not planned on giving feedback and not finishing the book, but after reading several other reviews I decided to give it another try. I’m going to be honest I was not a fan of the format and I personally had a really hard time keeping everything straight. That being said it just may be my brain not comprehending things! I think it would have been less confusing if there were less characters and definitely think this would be a great audiobook! I’ve read some similar books in the past and the suspenseful buildup was amazing, however I was a little disappointed by the time I got to the end! It wasn’t a bad book in anyway, but I just don’t think it was for me!

his book was definitely a fun, page turner YA thriller. It had me hooked from the start and questioning everything everyone said. I really enjoyed the writing style and felt like it really added to the story. I loved being able to see everyone’s story and little differences here and there instantly. This book is just over 400 pages and with the short chapters and writing style it doesn’t feel like it. Some of the twists and turns I wasn’t expecting and others were easily guessed, but overall, it was fun finding them all out.

Overall, I really enjoyed this YA thriller and the unique writing style that it had!

This was a decent YA mystery. I liked the unique format, as I don’t always enjoy interview style books, but this one was done well. I also appreciated the fast-paced plot. I didn’t really like any of the characters. The missing character, Maylee, was a terrible person. Nolan’s rambling and obsessions got old pretty quickly. Petra was super annoying. John and Abigail were just okay. I felt like there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for guessing, as the book is very direct. I would have liked for there to be a bit more suspense so I could have had some theories as to what had happened as I was reading.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🩸 TELL ME WHAT REALLY HAPPENED by Chelsea Sedoti 🩸

★★★★☆

📖 About: "Tell Me What Really Happened" by Chelsea Sedoti - where secrets, truths, and unexpected revelations take center stage. When their friend goes missing during a seemingly innocent camping trip, the remaining four friends find themselves under intense scrutiny, each with a unique version of the events that transpired that fateful night.

🍹 Drink Pairing: Tea!!! (Because literally this entire book is the characters spilling each others secrets…) But honestly, whatever your cozy camping beverage of choice would be! I grabbed my thermos and made some hot tea to sip on while reading…☕

🌟 Review: I really do love a good YA mystery, so I was so excited to receive a copy of Chelsea Sedoti’s "Tell Me What Really Happened." The best part of the whole story was the writing style - the use of first-person police interviews adds an incredible layer to the book, making the story feel so immersive and also making it go by so fast! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and literally read it in one sitting.

There was some crazy claims, and very intertwined versions of the night in question - so I found myself really trying to untangle the mess to figure out what really happened. It was a solid quick mystery read, if you like creepy camping stories and unreliable narrators then this one is for you🌲🔍📚

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a good mystery book. What I really enjoyed the most and thought was unique was the way the story was told - in police interview format. I think this helped with the pacing of the story. A group of five teens go camping for the weekend, but only four of them come out of the woods. We learn what really happened to Maylee through a series of police interviews of Petra, Nolan, Abigail, and John. The characters were mostly likeable although I didn't really care for Petra throughout the story. It was an entertaining YA mystery and one I've put on my list to purchase for my high school library.

This was a quick read!
I enjoyed it for the most part, but it took a bit for me to really get into it. It’s about a camping trip and then something goes wrong and they are in a police station. It was fun and quick. But nothing spectacular. Thank you