At the time I requested this book I was very interested in it. Obviously, it has been a few years since I requested this and I am no longer interested in it now. It doesn't match my current reading tastes and I apologize that I didn't enjoy it and thank you for the kindness you showed offering it to me.

Several years after five high school cheerleaders died, the sister of one of the girls stumbles on evidence that suggests perhaps there was more foul play involved in the deaths, and she begins to investigate.

I think that as an adult in my thirties I assumed they were college cheerleaders and that's on me. they are in high school so it was good but I just felt too old.

THE CHEERLEADERS is a very twisty, YA psychological thriller appealing to fans of Megan Miranda's and Shari Lapena's adult thrillers. The protagonist, a high school junior and dance team member, undertakes to investigate the deaths of five cheerleaders five years earlier, including her sister. Of course as she turns over rocks a lot of ugliness comes to light. I consider THE CHEERLEADERS on the edgy side for YA, as it covers serious emotional, social, and physical issues. So, a note of caution, as some events and situations may be triggering for sensitive readers.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

This was a fantastic thriller. The ending is unexpected, but I feel like the message is an essential one, both for parents and teens. The main character's tenacity and dedication for her family is sweet and definitely plays into the gravity of the situation.

The Cheerleaders is an intriguing mystery, and I didn't see the plot twist coming at all! It's more character-driven than action-driven, which I'm not used to, but I liked it! Things dragged a bit in the middle, but I can't complain too much because I was invested.

Goodreads Blurb:
There 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.


Things I Liked:

1) The writing of this book was so addicting! I was thinking about the book even when I wasn't reading it because I wanted to know what was happening.

2) Monica-When I first started reading this book I honestly thought she would be my least favorite character but she ended up being my favorite. She is such a smart girl and not at all the stereotypical main character that I see a lot.

3) The Flashbacks: I'm always I fan of these in books. Sometimes I feel like they are unnecessary but in this one I feel like they are crucial to the story.

4) The family dynamics: There are a lot in this book and honestly most of them were amazing!

Things I Was Not Fond Of:

1) The only thing about this book that I was not a fan of was the ending. If I'm being completely honest I feel like that with a lot of books I read. In this ending I didn't feel like it was summed up at great. It left a lot to the imagination.


Overall I enjoyed this book and was so glad that I received it.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥

*I received this book from NetGalley for free on a read and review basis*

The Cheerleaders was delightfully unsettling. I loved the way Kara Thomas took suburbia and scraped it raw open with her protagonist, Monica. From the very beginning you are unnerved and anxious about what has and is going to happen. Monica isn’t a perfect person and neither is anyone in her life. You may not like some of the people in this book but you will enjoy going along with them for the ride. A great entry to YA thriller canon.

Kara is a MASTER at inter weaving plots and characters all while keeping your attention. Though the cast is larger here and there are many meandering paths to follow, she doesn’t let you down.

High school girls are going to love this book! While listed as a "thriller" it wasn't too thrilling for me. All loose ends are neatly tied up.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is the first book I have read of Kara's and I thoroughly enjoyed it!! I loved the two POVs and the two timelines. I thought she did them perfectly. She kept the pace moving fast and I thought the short chapters served this book well. I fell in love with the main character Monica and every twist and turn she learned about her sister's supposed suicide made me turning pages faster and fast. Great ending!!

The Cheerleaders is a YA thriller that is about more than just the mystery. It explores trauma, mental heath, and a variety of other tough issues faced by teens today. This is not a light thriller read, but still worth your time.

It was well written but for some reason, I wasn't connecting with the MC. I'm also not a fan of having more than one timeline (Monica's in the present and her sister's five years ago), two sets of characters. Overall it was an ok YA mystery.

Five cheerleaders die within weeks of one another. One of them was Monica's older sister, She committed suicide. Now, people want to have a memorial. Monica is not in the mood. She just had an affair with a teacher.
And, somehow, she just can 't believe the person accused of murdering two of the five really did it. He was killed by her stepfather, a policeman.

Monica and a friend decide to get to the bottom of it all. There are some good twists and turns but also some pieces left unexplained.

New book from Kara Thomas and it didn't disappoint me as a reader. I love how she wrote the book and the twists of the book are really good. I think, she's one of my default buy author.

After the deaths of five high school cheerleaders, including Monica's sister Jen, the cheerleading squad was disbanded. Five years after the cheerleaders' deaths, Monica found letters and Jen's old cell phone in her stepfather's desk, which increased her own interest in the case. She was determined to learn what the truth about the cheerleaders' deaths.

I thought the book was decent, but was fairly forgettable. I kept getting the plot of this book confused with that of another YA mystery I read this year. I thought the book was a bit slow. There was not a lot of action in the book. I did like how the book did not shy away from discussing controversial topics. For example, the book begins with Monica discussing the end of the relationship she had with an older man (statutory rape) and her subsequent abortion. Overall, I am giving this book 3 stars.

3.5 stars but rounded up because it genuinely surprised me. This was an interesting and engaging story. What might have been a thriller turns out to be more of a murder mystery with many twists and turns.

5 years ago 5 cheerleaders all passed away under weird circumstances. 2 died in a car crash, 2 were murdered and one took their own life. As the anniversary of all the deaths comes up the sister of one of the cheerleaders starts to question all the deaths. As she digs deeper more and more secrets come to light and the real truth is finally revealed.

I devoured The Cheerleaders in just a few sittings. It was addicting and I couldn't stop myself from pushing through to the end to reach the book's conclusion. It was an enjoyable YA thriller (though I'm not sure there were many truly "thrilling" aspects), far from my favorite ever, and I'm sure in a year I'll be really fuzzy on the details, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I was not shocked by the ending, unfortunately.

One thing I was impressed by was the raw and openness of the topics covered like suicide and Monica's abortion. Honestly, before I had started to read it, I thought The Cheerleaders would be a bit more campy-type horror. I don't know if it was the description or that blood-splattered cheerleading skirt on the cover image that gave me that impression, but this book got dark and never looked back.

So, I enjoyed and was impressed by The Cheerleaders, but it just didn't surpass that 'WOW, this book is amazing' level for me, if that makes any sense. In a world filled with murder mysteries and thrillers, I would be hesitant to pick up Kara Thomas again, unless I really understood what kind of read I was getting into.

A good thriller. Not something that will keep you flying of your couch every second. But nevertheless a fine read.