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Haley Harrigan delivers a twisty mystery southern debut SECRETS OF SOUTHERN GIRLS – a grown woman and mother, with demons from her past which surface. . . part young adult, and coming-of-age; haunting secrets that shape lives.

Julie Portland has a secret. Years ago she escaped this small southern town; however, she has never forgotten the trauma. Now she is in New York, and the ghosts of the past stare her in the face.

Ten years earlier, Julie’s best friend Reba died after falling off a bridge in Lawrence Mill, Mississippi. Julie feels responsible. They had an argument. She killed her friend. She swore she would never return to this awful place.

Now, August Elliot shows up (Reba’s first love). A walking, talking, tangible reminder of the past.

August is African American and Reba’s dad would not have accepted a relationship. They began dating in secret.

In New York, her young daughter Beck wants to know, “who is Reba?" Julie dreams of Reba. She has tortured herself. She knows she will have to forgive herself in order to move on with her future.

She now comes face to face with August (Reba’s love).

He wants her to return to Lawrence Mill with him. He wants the diary. She does not know about a diary. She thinks of how dangerous a journal of Reba’s could be in the wrong hands.

Who has the diary? Someone will learn the secrets of her shameful past. Would her friend be so careless as to document the things that happened that year? August thought Julie (Jules) had it. Now if she doesn’t, who does?

Nell must have the diary. With Reba’s diary entries sprinkled throughout, the ghosts of the past are unraveled. What really happened?

Told from two time periods 1997/2008. Two best friends Julie had lost per parents in an accident and turned a little wild. Reba works at Nell’s Flower Shop. Reba appears to have the perfect home life. However, her dad is a racist and Reba has her own secrets.

August never found closure after Reba died and he is convinced that someone has the old diary Reba once told him he should read.

Does anyone know the real Reba? What is the real truth behind August? Then and now?

Both Julie and August are shocked to learn the truth about Reba. Will they be able to come to terms with her death and the ghosts of the past? Things are not always as they appear.

A slow-burning suspense. I was not really connected to any of the characters and feel it would have flowed a bit easier if the chapters had been broken down the characters, for a little more organization.

However, for a debut the author clearly is a talented writer and for readers who enjoy young adult fiction, Southern Gothic, and coming-of-age mysteries.

A journey of healing and redemption. Looking forward to seeing what’s next for this newfound author.

A special thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for an early reading copy in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 Stars

JDCMustReadBooks

I loved this book and one of the best I have read so far this year! I was surprised by the average rating because although it has a bit of a slow start it builds drama to the point that I couldn't stop reading it. The title through me off because I expected your typical southern story. This did have some southerness to it but mostly some very mature teenage angst and tragedy themes. I was pleasantly surprised to learn this was a debut novel from this author. I would definitely like to read more from her in the future. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed the story of Reba, Jules, August, and Toby. Complex rich characters and each has a story to tell.

I'm surprised this book doesn't have a higher average rating. That may change when it's actually released. I think it's actually quite fantastic for a debut novel. It isn't without it's faults, for sure. It's a slow burn, and some of the dialogue did come across as a bit stilted. But it's a tragically beautiful story that is done well. I'm not sure what this author will come up with next, but count me in. Some of the characters are unlikable at times, but I think that's one of the hallmarks of a good author: keeping you involved in the story even when you're not in love with the characters the whole time.

This story takes place during two different time periods: the late 90s, and today. Julie and Reba were best friends back then, opposites who clung to each other. Julie is wild and promiscuous, searching for affection from anyone who will give it to her. She lost her parents as a child, and she doesn't get much attention at all from the aunt or surly older cousin that she lives with. Reba seems to have a perfect home life at first glance, but it certainly isn't. Her father is angry, bitter, and racist, and her mother doesn't stand up to him. Yet Reba is innocent and pure, and Jules loves her for it: the perfect counterpart to her own rebellious nature.

Reba dies tragically young, but not before getting some life and love experience, shattering the illusion Jules has of her. Jules blames herself for her death, and it continues to haunt her as an adult with a child living in New York. Reba's former flame August appears one day, asking Jules to go back down south with him and find a diary that Reba left behind. He never found closure after his first and only love died, and he's convinced that someone had the old diary Reba once told him he should read.

The diary of the girl who will remain forever seventeen is filled with secrets, and it'll change everything. Reba was keeping many things hidden from those closest to her. She wasn't the girl that they knew... or the girl that they both convinced themselves they knew.

I received an ARC of this novel from Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

Secrets of Southern Girls by Haley Harrigan started out strong but the ending left me feeling a little deflated. Julie Portland moved to New York City right out of high school, leaving memories of her past behind her. Unfortunately, hiding from her memories was much harder than she thought.
Julie’s husband left her before their child was even born because she couldn’t get over the events of her life in her small hometown in Mississippi. Five years later, with the support of her good friend Brighton, multiple jobs to pay the bills, and her daughter Beck, she begins to get a handle on life. Enter, August.
August is from Julie’s past, so when he contacts her she avoids him. But, when he knocks at her door, she knows she can no longer hide. August wants to go back to Mississippi to get answers, and he wants Julie to go back with him. She refuses at first until she learns about the diary. Reba, the only person who ties August and Julie together had a diary and intended to give it to August the night she died.
The story is told through the perspectives of Julie, August and Reba and transitions between the present and past. I liked the story telling but was disappointed that it was wrapped up so quickly with explanation verses description (I wanted to see the ending, instead, I was told the ending).
3/5 stars

Adolescence is a fascinating time for young people. Emotions are intensified, logic only occasionally applies to life and everything feels both crucial and pointless at the same time. In the last few years there has been an enormous increase in novels about teenagers, or more specifically, about teenage girls. I have loved many of those whole also despairing at a fair few. So when I saw Secrets of Southern Girls I knew I had to give it a try. And boy did I have a great time with this novel! Thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

I both adore and suspect novels that have the word ‘girl’ in their title. On the one hand they thrill me, as they explore the underbelly of female friendships, dig into the budding sexuality of teenage girls and cast a light on the pressures of growing up female. On the other hand, I fear how they play into damaging stereotypes. Most female friendships aren’t toxic or abusive, high school isn’t always hell and parents aren’t always out of touch. Perhaps I also dislike the use of ‘girl’ because the girls described in the novels often aren’t allowed to be young or innocent for very long. (Also, actress Mayim Balik excellently summed up what else is wrong with the consistent use of ‘girl’ for grown women.) Yet this latter is again also a reason for why I love ‘girl’ novels. Because teenage girls are hardly ever children for very long and these novels shine a light on the many external pressures that harden and form these “girls”. With all these conflicting feelings coming together, starting a novel such as Girls on Fire, The Girls or Secrets of Southern Girls is always a little bit nerve-wracking. Thankfully, in the case of each of these three books, my bravery was rewarded.

Secrets of Southern Girls might sound like a rather straightforward novel but it isn’t. Harrigan combines the narration of several different characters in two different time lines. Julie lives in New York, often on edge and craving intimacy that she cannot allow herself to deserve. When she is found by someone from her past, she is presented with the chance to return to the town where she grew up and confront the events that have haunted her for years. By combining the story of the teenage girl and the grown woman, Harrigan is able to both allow for the perhaps over-the-top intensity of teenage emotions, while also relativizing it through the gaze of the adult. Julie’s story is informed by the diary of Reba, which tells a story perhaps no one wants to hear. The interplay between their two stories, how they reveal almost more by what they don’t say, makes for a thrilling read where each chapter reveals something new.

What is fascinating about Secrets of Southern Girls is its attention to the lies we tell to ourselves and to others. Both Julie and Reba, as well as many of the side characters, often don’t even realize how much they perform their own identify until they are truly all alone with themselves. It is what makes novels about ‘girls’ so interesting, that they explore the inadvertent duplicity at the heart of teenagers, the accidental performance that is their behaviour. This counts for both girls and boys and, despite the title, the latter definitionly have a role to play in Secrets of Southern Girls. Each character in Harrigan’s novel has something to hide, some things more scandalous than others, and these secrets leave their lifelong marks almost casually. I know woefully little about the American South, and I must admit that it’s an area I feel occasionally suspicious about. It makes a perfect backdrop for Harrigan’s girls, however. She brings in a whole variety of external pressures; class, race, religion, and gender all pop up and help form these girls and boys. The smallest thing becomes something worth treasuring and hiding, being infinitely more valuable by being secret.

Harrigan’s writing is very engaging, both direct and lyrical at the same time. She nails both the teenage and the adult voices of her characters, which is no easy task. At times Secrets of Southern Girls does slip into certain YA clichés, but often Harrigan finds an interesting way out of them. Although it took me a chapter or two to truly catch onto the feel of the novel, I was completely engaged once I did. Harrigan makes you care for her characters and you want to see them happy and whole, even while you fear there is no such thing for most people. The whodunit aspect of the plot is interesting, but since, at least for me, it is not what lies at the heart of the novel, it is not as intriguing as it could be. As said above, the reveals about the characters’ perceptions of themselves and others are much more interesting and are the “true secrets” of Harrigan’s Southern girls.

Once Secrets of Southern Girls caught me it didn’t let me go. I had to keep going back to it until I was finished, and then I was left with questions. But it also left me with an appreciation for how we change, as people, how we both learn from our past and don’t unless we actively address it. I’d recommend this novel to fans of YA and suspense novels.

I received this book through netgalley for an honest review. I think this novel was really interesting. I am a sucker for anything that has to deal with "Did she do it?" kind of plot lines. I originally went into this novel with the expectation that the main character was still pretty young. She's actually older with a child which was a nice surprise. The beginning of the story gives you a glimpse into what her every day life is like. She takes an acting class, works as a tour guide for those buses in New York, and doesn't really commit to any romantic relationships. You slowly start to see glimpses into the life she had when she was younger with her best friend.

My biggest complaint with the novel would have to be the pacing. It's a bit of a roller coaster of slow and fast. The beginning of the story was slow until Jules made her way back to Mississippi. Things were picking up, and then they got slow again. I think the pacing was a bit off considering the type of plot line it was. The different point of views kind of threw me off a little bit. One moment I was reading from Jules point of view and the next I was reading from someone else's point of view. I do appreciate that we get a glimpse of what Reba was like through her diary entries.

I felt like Julie was a bit of a relatable character. I mean we all have those moments where we felt guilty about something. She was very real about her guilt. There was a few of her character traits that I wasn't really fond of. She didn't seem to be all that active in her kid's life. She obviously has her moments with her child, but I feel like she spends more time away from her daughter. I also didn't like August too much because he had stalker-ish tendencies (which do get explained throughout the book). I can say that it was interesting how they tied everyone together. Everyone had a bit of guilt around Reba's death.

Overall, this book is definitely for the young woman or man that is interested in books that featured a lot of twists and turns. It honestly leaves you wondering what will happen next. I enjoyed the book, but I did have a few issues with the characters personalities that made me a bit iffy. I am glad that I have gotten the honor to read this book.

Not highly original, but I kept reading even when I hit the clichés of the novel. Reba, the dead girl, did nothing for me. I read her diary entries with curiosity, as I did the rest of the novel. I don't know if I will remember this book forever, but I was interested to learn what really happened. Probably the secret is to read it in big chunks at a time, to give yourself the chance to be drawn in.

Julie, the best friend, did not impress me. A character that after ten years cannot move on never impresses me. Most of the times it felt like she was moping around and being over-dramatic.
August was OK; he existed as a collateral victim, another mopey of the novel.
I agree with who said Toby, the cousin, was the best constructed character. I was fooled into not liking him in the beginning, but that changed when he became more substantial as the novel progressed. Despite his mopey-ness, I enjoyed reading the parts he was present it.

It's a nice read, although the plot doesn't seem original. Bits and pieces read in other novels in various forms. The author can write, that is certain. There were some parts I didn't expect, and all in all I enjoyed this book.

This is really difficult to review. It's not terrible but there are some big gaps... particularly around characterisation and development of the story. It was all a little far fetched and not meaty enough. The diary entries could have been more rounded and didn't sound like a teenager pouring her heart into the diary. For a teenager as conflicted as Reba, these could have been the star of the book.

I didn't particularly warm to Jules - the opening chapters were slow and didn't really help to round out her character. I did like her daughter but she wasn't really relevant to the story.

My previous read also featured a teenager who died in somewhat ambiguous circumstances -so perhaps this book didn't fare well by comparison. An easy read but needs some beefing up and editing to make it really sing!

3* from me

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance review copy

Secrets of Southern Girls..
The secrets, the lies, the ending!!!

Not a bad book I recommend it
My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's just... a tragedy. The story of Reba is tragic from beginning to end. The book starts slow, full of lots of imagery, but soon I was pulled into the story of Reba and how her life and death had affected her best friend Jules. What I liked about this book was that half way through I thought I could see the way it was all going to come together. And then it didn't. It twisted just like the river that serves as a focal point in the book and I followed it right though those twists. But it's not one of those books where you walk away satisfied. It's the sadness of a tragedy. Well written over all, a bit dark and gloomy, and you'll need to stick with it through the beginning until the action really gets going, but a book I'm glad I've read.

A 3* review for Secrets of Southern Girls by Haley Harrigan. I was allowed to read and review this via Netgalley and i am so glad i did. It is a mystery thriller and although it is slow to get going, once you are into it, the story keeps you guessing and wondering right to the end.

Julie thinks she accidentally killed her best friend, Reba 10 years ago. Consumed by guilt, she left the small town in Mississippi and swore nothing would ever drag her back. Now, raising her daughter in Manhattan, Julie still can't forget the ghost of her dead friend and her own dangerous secret. When August, Reba's first love, begs Julie to come home to find the diary that Reba kept all those years ago, Julie's can't resist going back to lay the ghosts to rest and find out the truth. That diary could expose the secret Julie has been running from, but it could also unearth the hidden truths that Reba left buried…and reveal that Julie isn't the only one who feels responsible for Reba's death. Someone back then has kept the diary secret all these years and so knows exactly what happened that night all those years ago.

The book moves at a fast pace but is easy to follow and the characters draw you in and you too become invested in wanting to know what happened to Reba, was it suicide as reported or was it murder? The diary entries interspersed in the book help you understand Reba, however, she is not a character that it is easy to like and in fact, she irritated me. However, i too wanted to know the truth and raced to finish the book.

How would you feel if everything you had believed for 10 years that had affected your entire life was a lie? Julie and Reba lived beside each other and were best friends all through school until the night senior year that Reba died. What really happened that night? Julie thought she knew. After all, best friends share everything, don’t they? She ran away from little Lawrence Mill, Missouri to put the past behind her and make it big in New York. Ten years later, divorced with a young daughter, Julie still hasn’t hit the big time. August was Reba’s boyfriend. He always thought her death was his fault and is still mourning her. He seeks out Julie and convinces her to return to Lawrence Mill with him to try to find Reba’s diary and get some closure. They find the mill gone and everything changed. They also find Reba’s diary. Separately, they read it and find the stunning truth that nothing was as they had thought. And the truth indeed sets them free. I thoroughly enjoyed the part of the book set in Lawrence Mill describing the girls’ childhood and coming of age. It was set in 1997 but it felt very much like the idyllic 1950’s to me. The secrets in Reba’s diary were rather convoluted and kept me guessing. This wasn’t so much a deep mystery as a coming of age story about a time when life was simpler. Or was it?

The story just failed to convince somehow. The diary entries could never have been written by a teenager and the whole book just left me wanting to get to the end.

This was a very powerful story that captivates you with every page you turn.

Ten years ago Julie accidentally kills her best friend. There was no punishment by law for her, she's punished herself.

She left her hometown determined that nothing and no one would bring her back.

She was wrong.

Her marriage falls apart, she just surviving with her daughter Beck.
Reb is always breaking through the surface of her mind although at times she's been busy and distracted but things have a way of surfacing. Resurfacing. And people.

August who was Rebs fella came to seek Julie out as he believes she has a diary left from Reb.
She doesn't.

Of course now she wonders what's in this diary and what will be revealed.

Augusts words play on Julie's mind.

"if you don't have it, who in the hell does"

I was really eager by that time to find out myself!!

So carrying on reading I was hastily turning pages.

This is a knockout of a read. I so thoroughly enjoyed it.

My thanks to SOURCEBOOKS landmark via Net Galley for my copy (less)

I have to admit I had a hard time getting into this book because it started off fairly slow. This often is the case with books and then they seem to pick up about 1/4 of the way in, but this one just didn't really pick up until much farther into the book. I also really never connected with the main character Julie and when I don't really get invested in the main character, I tend to lose interest in the story itself. Julie's best friend Reba, died in high school and Reba's then boyfriend, finds Julie 10 years later asking her to come back to Lawrence Mill to help locate Reba's missing diary. Throughout the book, there are parts of Reba's diary between chapters and I really didn't find it to be very realistic of a girl in her teenage years, but hey that's just my opinion. I do like the author's writing and it is actually quite beautiful throughout the book, but overall this just was not my favorite. I never really got invested in any of the main characters and found the plot to be fairly slow and not at all exciting or suspenseful. However, to each his own and definitely check this one out in a few weeks if you are a fan of mysteries! Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks, for sending me an ARC.

"Secrets of Southern Girls"
this book isn't a who done it or a book about finding a killer its about two People's journey about finding out what happened to a girl that they loved and cared for the death of Reba that's been haunting them both for 10 years! Julie Portland now lives in new york she has a young daughter and has an ex husband but she gets a shock when she bumps into someone from her past someone she didn't expect to see again someone that wants to take her back to a place she doesn't want to go, her home town Lawrence Mill, Mississippi..

When August, Reba's first love, begs Julie to come home to find the diary that Reba kept all those years ago a diary that August says that Reba promised to give him the night she died, shes unsure if she wants go to back there but knowing that she must that she needs to know whats in that diary she decides to go back with August,

even though this book is told in the narratives of Julie and August you get to find out about Reba from her point of few in her Diary, we also meet julies cousin Toby who himself has a past with Reba... i really liked this book i like how the story was told i liked the characters, i found myself wanting to keep reading because i wanted to find out what happened, In this powerful, affecting debut Haley Harrigan takes you on a journey that will have you thinking about this story long after you finished reading!! thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for my copy! i loved it

I had trouble staying with this book. I am not sure why though. The characters were interesting and the subject intriguing. But it never really clicked for me. It didn't ring "southern" enough for me for a book that has southern in the title. And I live in the south.

This was a slow moving read that told the story of Reba and her death while still a teenager. Julie, her best friend, and August, her boyfriend at the time, find each other and set out on a mission to find the truth of what really happened to Reba.

Both of these characters think that they have something to do with the demise of Reba, a girl they both loved very much.

When the final moments of Reba's life are brought to light, the results will both shock you and disgust you.

As I said, a slow moving read, but, for me, was still entertaining.

Huge thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Net Galley for the free e-galley for me to give my honest, unbiased opinion.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Haley Harrigan, and Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all, for sharing your hard work with me.

This is a quick read, taking us all back to simpler days, to the angst of first love and small southern Mississippi town 'normal'. Julie and Reba, however, didn't do anything either simple or normal, and that is what gives this tale it's juice.

Julie Portland was raised by her aunt after losing her parents when she was young. When she met her new next door neighbor, Reba it was as if they we destined to be best friends. They were extremely close. But it's almost like tragedy follows, Julie. When they are teenagers, Reba dies. Her death is ruled an accident but Julie feels that it's her fault, that she's the one responsible. She leaves Mississippi not long after.

Ten years later, after a failed marriage, Julie is living in Manhattan with her five-year old daughter Rebecca (Beck). In many ways she feels like she's just barely surviving. Julie has found ways to deal with her pain, well at least to distract her for a little while. During those times she doesn't have to think about a bridge or a field....or a dead girl.

The memories are everywhere, they refuse to let her be. She thinks she can push them away, but no matter how she tries to bury them, they always resurface.

Then out of the blue, Reba's former boyfriend, August shows up. He claims Reba left a diary behind and he thinks that Julie has it. She assures him she doesn't but she's curious as to what could be written in it.

Now, August wants Julie to return to Lawrence Mill with him to find the diary. Back to the place Julie couldn't wait to leave. But if someone else does have the diary ....then it means they may have been there that night and know what really happened. Who else is keeping secrets? August and Julie may find out things they aren't prepared for and that maybe they didn't know Reba as well as they thought they did.

I generally enjoy stories told from multiple points of view. I liked hearing from Julie, August and other characters. However, the chapters weren't labelled and occasionally I would get confused whose perspective it was and had to go back to re-read. There seemed to be a lot of extra information that wasn't really necessary in my opinion and it felt like things were a bit out of order at times. I understand the author was trying to build suspense, but in some ways it was distracting. I did like the inclusion of Reba's diary entries. I enjoyed hearing the story from her point of view, though I did find that sometimes her voice sounded like it might be from someone older and more mature than she was.

I had a difficult time figuring out how to rate this book. It started out quite slow which sometimes works out, but in this case it made it harder for me to get into the story. But I kept with it and it did eventually pick up. I was very interested in finding out what was in the diary and what really happened to Reba. So while I did have some issues with this book, I still thought it was an interesting read. I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for providing an advanced copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.