This book had me hooked from the first page. The book is definitely character driven, but this is totally fine. The characters were complex and everyone had their own problems. I liked each of them individually and I also loved their friendship and the way they act as a group. Also the idea of the secret society and the adventures and mysteries that came with it were great. The ending had me blown away and I loved how everything was tied and perfectly explained in the end. Sirowy's amazing writing style makes the book even more special, in my opinion.

In First We Were IV, written by Alexandra Sirowy, readers follow the destructive path of four friends who form an order to maintain their friendship beyond high school, and instead it ends up creating something much bigger than high school friendship. Full of high school drama, bullying and teenage angst, many young adult readers will likely find this book engrossing.

There is a mystery in this book which is established at the very beginning, but the first chapter is a bit convoluted and vague. In an attempt to be super mysterious, the first chapter will likely leave readers scratching their head, but everything will be explained in time if the reader forges ahead. The book picks up after the first few chapters, and the author has a lovely writing style, but there are few truly suspenseful parts and overall the focus is on teenage relationships.

Fans of high school drama, teenage angst and secret clubs will enjoy this book, while others may feel a bit let down. Recommended for ages 14 and up due to adult situations and topics.

There were four friends. First, there was one, then two joined, then three, then four. And they became the best of friends. It's their last year of school and Izzy feels they need something that is just theirs to cement them together for life. (a little creepy sounding) They decide to create the Order of IV. This order goes from playing pranks to trying to wake the town up and solve a murder that happened years ago. What happens is more than they bargained for. One dies and then there were III.

This book was on my radar from the moment I discovered it. It took me a while to get to it, but I knew I wanted to read it... secret society, death, mayhem, and pranks. Sign me up! I really thought this would be a win for me. It wasn't the slam dunk or home run I was hoping for. It didn't quite have the oomph I was looking for. I did enjoy it though. The book did hook me from the very beginning and kept me interested enough to keep reading it every chance I got. I didn't get bored and needed to know what the heck happened.

This book is really hard for me to review. It was a very strange read and the strangeness made it very interesting. There was so much wrong in this book but somehow it made me want to read it more. It was dark, twisty, and angsty. Usually, I don't like angsty but in this story, it just fit.

I usually care how realistic a book is but every now and then it just doesn't bother me. This book had a lot of unrealistic events play out. Some of it was okay I know that couldn't happen but I will bite.... others it was just too much. But for the most part, it was okay. I guess I went into this read knowing it would be unrealistic... so I dealt. But if you don't like this in your reads.... may not be the read for you. To me, this read just didn't need realism.

The story itself kept me reading and entertained. The mystery kept me going for sure. The mystery was good. In the beginning, we know there is now three. We know something happened to one of them. We don't know how or why or who. This story is just that..... a telling of how these teens got to this point where one of them is now dead. I needed to know. It was slow and sometimes maybe a bit too slow but it was worth the read to get to the end.

What I didn't particularly like ere the characters. If it wasn't for the mystery... I wouldn't have enjoyed this book. Simply because I didn't care for the characters. I don't mean they weren't developed. They were and I enjoyed their interactions with each other immensely. Their dynamics were great. What I didn't care for is they were all just wrong for me. None of them had any redeeming characters. Izzy felt to needy and too fickle. Viv seemed too whiny and kind of an attention whore. Graham was a perv and an idiot. Henry was a pushover. So I really didn't care for the characters unless it was a scene with them all interacting. Their conversations were very entertaining. I liked them as a group not individually. I also feel they didn't grow, didn't mature. I feel the only thing the regretted was that one of them is dead. All the other damage they did... well they believed those that suffered... deserved. They were trying to be judge jury and executioner.... just didn't feel it was their place.

Since I am a very character driven reader, this aspect of not liking the characters kept me from connecting which kept me from totally digesting the read and enjoying it to the max. I think if the characters had been likable or showed promise at the end... it would be a 4 heart read for me. But, since the story was so dark, strange, twisty, and suspenseful... I still enjoyed the read. Also, the author does write beautifully. I will say I loved the writing style.

In the end... If you are looking for dark and twisty and all kinds of wrong... this is the book for you.

This book had a few things going for it. A killer premise and a great few chapters as well as some great characters. But as you really get into the story you find one that is bogged down in the past. I understand that this was done to let us know about things. But, I wish that so much time wouldn't have been spent on it. Izzy felt very dual and I really just didn't like her as the narrator the rest of the characters felt slightly underdeveloped as well. This is one mystery/thriller that just fell short of the bar that I had set. I do think that some people will love this story but it just wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book! First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy involves a group of teenagers that make a secret society and a pact so they will always stay friends. Izzie, Graham, Viv and Harry create the Order of IV as their secret society and their reasoning for taking dares and beyond. The four teenagers want to right the wrongs in their community and make sure justice is received by victims and served by the perpetrators. Their relationships grow and change as they discover the guilty and find out who really caused the death of a Jane Doe that became known as Goldilocks and who caused Harry’s father’s accident. Tragedy takes away more than just a friend, it completely changes their lives. 4 stars for a twisting young adult story.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book for voluntary consideration.

First We Were IV starts with a strong premise full of desperation to stay together. With the end of their final year of high school approaching, Izzie, Graham, Harry, and Viv are looking for a way to remain close forever. Convinced that they will grow apart after graduation, Izzie floats the idea of starting a secret society.

Never lie. Never tell. Always love each other.

It starts simply enough and becomes their little secret. They may be insignificant and small as individuals, but as a group--as the Order--they have power beyond what they realized. When this power attracts other members, the four of them realize that they could do something really big with the power that the Order holds. Setting their sights on an unsolved and forgotten murder, they start looking for ways to bring her murderer to the light.

What they don't expect is the change they will go through.

I thought the initial premise was strong, but it became more about the politics of high school which caused the mystery to fall to the background a bit. I think the strongest part of the story was the mystery so I was disappointed that it wasn't the focus. First We Were IV will interest readers who like lighter mysteries, secret societies, and what you will do to protect your friendships.

Full review is found at [a cup of tea and an armful of books]!

4.5 stars

This was so much better than my expectations! I really love secret societies, they just always make everything seem so interesting and mysterious. It’s just fascinating and so I had high expectations for this book. It for sure didn’t let me down! This was the first book I read from the author, although I already wanted to read another of her books for quite some time, and for sure I will, because this is just the type of thrilling book I love!

The best part about this book for me was the characters. I absolutely love books focused on friendship and this one was amazing. I loved their friendship, and how connected they are. I just loved our four characters incredibly much. They felt so realistic! I was annoyed, happy, angry… I felt every single emotion with their actions!

I’ve read a lot of reviews about this book since I was a bit late to the party and to be honest I actually kinda empathized with their actions. I would have loved to have friends this close, even if they are quite crazy. They found a way to make themselves noticed, to do some justice… Of course, they are still teenagers and like everything, there’s always something we may not agree with. Also, depending on our age, some stuff might seem ridiculous to do. But I just felt so included in the group through the writing. It sucked me in and I just was up to do everything they were doing. The surge of power they were feeling made me feel it too. I wanted to participate. Even if after closing the book and proclaiming myself crazy, I just really wanted to!

The character development was so good that I really felt I knew them, know what I mean? I really loved this group. My favorites are Izzy and Harry. They are just precious!

This is an amazing thriller, full of twists. It was really different from any book I’ve read before. It was quite complex, and being a group of teenagers I was already expecting it to be quite easy to connect but I didn’t expect it to be so exciting. I can’t really say much more about it without giving things away but the end is SO freaking good. heartbreakingly good. And it made so much sense… It’ unreal!

It was gripping, dark and with a mystery that I definitely couldn’t solve. It was indeed thrilling, powerful and emotional. I am so going to get this book! I would for sure highly recommend it!

Hm, I was sort of disappointed by this one. I absolutely loved The Creeping, so I was really excited for this one, but it was just meh. First off, I thought this book was going to be about a girl gang when I read the synopsis, so I was already let down when there were two boys in the group, especially since these two boys end up being the heart of a mini love triangle – probably the dumbest one I’ve ever seen. It also had this weird feminist slant where they stand up to sexist dress codes and girls can masturbate, too, but we also have girl hate THE ENTIRE BOOK since our main characters are outcasts and the people they hate are popular, so what was the point? I also thought the whole IV thing was dumb. I am a teenager, so I highly doubt teenagers would get up to this. They’re cutting themselves to bleed on a statue, dancing around in their underwear, going out until the early morning to dump blood on people’s houses and throw rocks at their window, and I’m supposed to believe teenagers would do this why? All because of the murder of some girl they didn’t know that they found the dead body of as kids? And I’m not even going to bring up the lack of parenting that goes on as well. It just seemed really far-fetched and dumb. I will say, this was an addicting book and it was very dark, and that’s not seen much in YA, so I’ll give it that! But, overall, I was disappointed. Hopefully, The Telling is better.

Izzie and her three best friends, Vivian, Harry, and Graham, would do anything for one another and have always been on the outside of the social order but have had each other. When they were twelve Izzie, Viv and Graham had found the body of a young girl that had been murdered which drew Harry into the group when he came to investigate what the police and first responders were doing.

Now five years later the memory of that day and the girl Izzie had nicknamed Goldilocks still haunts the friends. The police hadn’t done a thing stating she was just another runaway asking for it and now the four friends have decided to do something about it. Forming their own secret society known as the Order of IV the begin to cause mayhem and bring attention to the murder long forgotten by the town.

First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy is a young adult mystery/thriller with a tad bit of romance and a whole lot of teen angst added into the story. The synopsis and idea behind this book is one that really should earn five stars from me when reading but unfortunately as with another of Sirowy’s books I have read this one fell short of that mark yet again.

First, I had the same problem when reading another by this author but the main character, Izzie, narrates most of the book and I just find her personality lacking. There’s just sort of a dullness or odd feel to the somewhat monotone narration but then it would pick up during the action and times with dialogue with the other characters.

Even with lacking a connection to Izzie I was finding the story quite interesting. There are several other things that this group of four have had in their lives that left them wanting answers and struggling with dealing with things to keep up interest as the Order is formed and begins their missions. But at some point during the middle I also felt it start to stall out not giving much progress to the things going on and perhaps dare I say getting a tad repetitive just giving the same details to these events.

Then I got to the end of this book….oh how I wanted this one to redeem itself with an awesome ending after being on the fence throughout the read. However, for this reader I found the ending quite unsatisfying. Some of the events leading to the end went a tad too far in my opinion so I’m not sure what I expected to pull this one out but it wasn’t what I found. The answers to the mystery side weren’t necessarily bad though, a bit unexpected but the overall just didn’t sit well with me. In the end I’d only give this one 2.5 stars, some great ideas but just not a fan of how it was all executed.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

**Live 7/21**

Wow, that book sure left me extremely conflicted.

My problem wasn’t that the book was bad. It wasn’t. The writing and prose as beautifully intricate. The author did a spectacular job of building individuality in the characters, which automatically raises my enjoyment of the book. Characterization, for me, is the most important quality in a story. It’s more important to me than the plot because it’s the characters who bring the emotion and that’s my favorite aspect of reading. It’s because of that I couldn’t possibly give First We Were IV less than 4 stars, regardless of what made me conflicted.

Even then, putting the characters aside, the plot was really good. I’ve never had a thing for stories about secret societies, but something about First We Were IV drew me in, even though I had no idea what I was getting into. This story had some wacked out shit, for sure. I legitimately liked this cast of characters, but the power definitely played with their dynamic and took the story to uncomfortable places. I feel like I’m pretty good at figuring out the mystery, but every time I had a theory all the clues were shaken up again. Between the actual story and the players, I really can’t complain about anything the author did.

It wasn’t anything the author did wrong that made me feel conflicted, it was more about the choices these teenagers made. I know that sounds odd, because the author wrote the teenagers and made their choices, but the problem wasn’t believeablity. The characters didn’t feel written, they felt honest, which is why I don’t think it was the author. Characters can have a mind on their own, and these were angry teenagers. I just think my adult brain can’t wrap my mind around how they could possibly have thought what they were doing would be helpful or right. The best villains are the ones who think they are doing right, and I think these characters could easy be seen as villains. I liked them in varying degrees, some far more than others, and I felt their passion. It was what their passion motivated that I struggled with.

I don’t want to say too much more, because going into this read it’s really important you don’t know much. As much as I want to discuss the ending, I’m going to refrain. I do have so many opinions though, so please read First We Were IV and come back and chat with me. I know I’ll be thinking about it for years to come. Sometimes its the conflicting ones you just can’t let go of.

**Thanks so much to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!**

what i liked
There were a shit ton of twists and turns in this book, and I honestly didn't see any of them coming. A lot of times, I end up hating a book because I see the plot twists coming, but this book was different.
The premise was extremely intriguing. It's not often that a premise is as awesome as this one.
The entire band of characters was great. Sometimes, books with a lot of characters can get pretty confusing, but each one was very distinct which allowed me to easily know who each character was.
Sirowy's writing style is breathtaking. This was my first read by her, and I know for sure I want to check out more by her in the future.

what i disliked
The book felt very slow moving at times, especially in the beginning. It took me quite a while to actually get into the book, but I kept pushing through.

My review link will go live on July 24.

This book is a MUST read for YA mystery & thriller fans! It has it all; tantalizing mystery, betrayal, love, off the charts creepy, and too realistic to sleep soundly afterwards. An excellent choice where readership is wild about realistic fiction w/ a HUGE helping of thrills; this book could snag even the most reluctant of readers!

I received this digital ARC from NetGalley, all opinions are my own!

Izzie and her three best friends have always been on the outside of the high school social scene. Sometimes they have been bullied, other times they have been ignored. Usually they rise above the name-calling but with college looming they decide they need to make their peers (and town) wake up and take notice. So the four form a secret society intent on wrecking havoc. At first the goal is to make those in authority and have covered up crimes pay for their transgressions. But then the thirst for revenge becomes more twisted and diabolical. Lizzie and her friends decide to include the bullies into the society with the thought of teaching them a lesson.

There are a few troubling aspects of this novel. The parents are virtually non-existent, the book is a bit too long, and it's hard to buy that everyone in authority would be so clueless to the identities of those causing all the mischief/vandalism. - (Only in novels are police really that out of touch.)

I received this ARC from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


I remember being intrigued with Alexandra Sirowy's debut The Creeping! I still need to read release from last year, but when I saw First We Were IV up on Netgalley I decided to throw my name in for a review copy! It was definitely an interesting kind of read and had me intrigued for a time, but I also couldn't help but feel like it started to move at a terribly slower pace than I expected. And then the ending just left me feeling a lost. It just wasn't the feel good ending you would hope for a standalone. It ends with resolution, one that is filled with shock and surprise, but still, there's a kind of loneliness to it as well.

Izzie, Graham, Viv, and Harry have all been best friends ever since Harry moved to their little town when they were twelve. Izzie is feeling a sense of dread as their senior year comes upon them. She knows that soon they will all drift apart as they go to college and she wants there to be something that binds them together. Bring them closer together. She starts their secret society group and they decide that they would right the wrongs they feel need written.

It starts off as harmless pranks, but then they decide to take things up a notch. They remember the time when they were twelve and they found the body of a dead girl in their secret spot. The police never really investigated the death to the full matter of the law and suddenly, Izzie decides she wants there to be justice for the lost girl she dubbed Goldilocks because of her blond, golden hair. Their pranks take a darker turn as they try to go at the people they feel are responsible for the lack of justice.

The beginning of this one was a bit hard to get into, for we start in the past and deal with a few chapters of these flashbacks that helped to shape the circle of friends we are about to meet and also to show us the tragic event that in a sense brought their circle of friends together. Really it was the added addition of Harry who was the newest kid in town at the time.

I think what also started to set things off for me was the involvement of animal abuse. I don't like when that happens in books and in this one, we had three instances, at least that I can remember off the top of my head. There may have been mentioning of one more instant but I can't say for sure. I mean, only one kind of went into detail but the rest were kind of glossed over but we still witness the aftermath. It's nothing against the author really, I just wished she could've left it out, but I can see how it fit into the story.

There's also a bit of a complicated love situation going on. Four friends; two girls, two boys. It's not as twisted as you might think, but it does get a little love triangle-y. But the romance was more just a side occurrence. It didn't overtake the story which was kinda nice, but it also wasn't all that swoony. I didn't really feel like I was meant to care about the romance. The friendships were a far grater bond and I liked that, but then obviously things evolve into chaos.

This was a sort of intense read but at times I couldn't help but want it to be over. I felt like the group's true mission was starting to be lost and just wanting to cause chaos and shock. Their group becomes a phenomenon of sorts and some copycats come out of the woodwork and that brings about a new set of chaos.

At it's heart, this is a book about friendship, for all Izzie wants is to be able to be closer to her friends in their last year of high school. But naturally, things get taken a little too far. While First We Were IV isn't one to make my favorites list I will still eagerly look for new books from Alexandra because her books still have that sense of creepiness to them that I always find entertaining!


Overall Rating 3/5 stars


First We Were IV releases July 25, 2017

I did not finish the book. It appealed to me at first because I am always looking for slightly edgy titles for my advanced readers and the upper end of the Maine Student Book Award audience. But once the f bombs started falling I was done.