A slow start led to a solid story with a bit of a “lessons learned” feel to it. Can people ever escape their pasts? The protagonist was not a likeable character so it was difficult to empathise when shameful aspects of her past came back to bite her.

This was a great book....I couldn’t put it down! It covers the important topic of bullying, but was an entertaining read as well!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* WOW what a wild book this is to read! the characters are scary af, the story is scary af like wow

Do all mean girls grow into mean women? Do bullies ever redeem themselves? Here they grow into mean monsters ready for revenge with deadly repercussions in a sort of YA thriller with every possible, yet often unpalatable situations. With unlikable characters we read of a harpies group out of control.

This was a delicious book to devour, it was different than many books I’ve read lately so I was thoroughly invested in this one.

The Harpies

I think they should have been called something else! Vicious little madams who tormented Grace. The quieter one of the pact.
Something terrible happened and years later events are unfolding.........
Suicides are happening....
But why?
And why are they “seeing” Grace? Grace is dead!


A very well written book with lots of readers to get their teeth into.

This was very good!
Twisted and unexpected, but most importantly, with a great message. You never mess with girls like that, unless you want something like that to happen.
One that I will not forget soon ;)

This book was fabulous! The twists and turns had me so intrigued. Middle school and high school are really hard times and the book went into an area that really does occur and parents have no idea. It was interesting to see how some of the girls changed as they matured. The ending was a surprise but totally realistic. This book will stay with me for a long time!

A good and interesting read!

I would recommend this to everyone who loves a good story with captivating characters! Definitely a good read!

So many hidden secrets and lies from the past. No one will get away with what they did in this book.

This book started out so well, but lost my attention halfway through. The situations were so unrealistic, and it was difficult for me to connect to any of the characters. I hated the protagonist, and I was expecting there to be a point in the story where Emily redeems herself, and I was disappointed when it didn’t happen. 

I enjoyed the beginning of the story and I was gripped, but the pacing became slow and I found it hard to concentrate on the story. However, I did find it handled the topics of bullying and mental illness well. It detailed the horror of bullying and the effects it can have even years later.

Girl Gone Mad was a mean girls with a twist. Emily Bennet works as a child therapist in Pennsylvania. Though at 14 years old she was a member of the Harpies. A group of mostly well off girls who bullied anyone and everyone. A new girl arrives Grace Farmer and Emily just can't shake what they did to her as members of the group start committing suicide. I loved how this flipped between present day and back to age 14. It was so well thought out I wouldn't have guessed the ending. I found myself staying up late to finish one more chapter.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read this. All opinions are my own.

Wow! What happens when a group of mean girls grow up?! Suicide, revenge, and karma! A middle school clique of mean girls bully Grace the new girl. 14 years later, 2 mean girls have committed suicide, and 4 are remaining. This book is dark and twisted and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A dark story full of twists and turns! I enjoyed this read and loved how it kept me on my toes. I found myself staying up late into the night to read more. Well written and well thought out. A different premise than other books I've read before and I very much enjoyed this!

The premise for this book was amazing. I was so excited once I read the blurb to read it. I enjoyed it. But I also think it could have been developed a bit more. I would give it 3.5 stars.

Imagine Mean Girls combined with Lord of the Flies. That's pretty much what you have with Girl Gone Mad. As a teenager, Emily Bennett was part of a gang called the Harpies, who's bullying of Grace Farmer took a shocking turn. Emily has been trying to live with what they did ever since, but now it looks like her past is coming back to haunt her...

This is one of those books that's impossible to describe - it's just so completely unique, and unlike anything I've ever read before. There's definitely tones of YA to it, but also very adult themes too, so it really will appeal to a wide audience. The writing is very assured for a debut, and the characterisation is impressive too. My only real complaint is the ending, where the 'twist' is explained through a character suddenly deciding to monologue every step of their dastardly plan, which is something I'm personally not a fan of - it just feels a bit cheap and lazy to me. But on the other hand, I did enjoy the book up until that point, so it is definitely worth a read.

All in all, a strong debut. The quality of the writing tailed off a bit towards the end, but we all know endings can be tricky, and it may also be personal preference that I found the ending a bit weaker, as sudden monologues are a plot tool I've never been a fan of. Overall, I did enjoy this book, and this is an author I would definitely read again.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in conjunction with NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

Girl Gone Mad is a sinister play on ‘Mean Girls.’

A group of wealthy girls do something unimaginably horrific to Grace, a new girl in town, and vow never to speak of it. Fast forward 14 years and one by one these girls, or women now, are dying in manors that look like suicide.

The writing is done well, and kept me on my toes. I will say there were several unrealistic scenarios at play throughout. The ending also didn’t do much for me. While it did tie up loose ends, it just left me wanting something more.

Emily makes a living today as a therapist helping young children but when Emily was 14 years old she was a member of The Harpies - a group of mean girls that took delight in tormenting others. Especially Grace Farmer. Quiet, shy, and weak Grace took punishment upon punishment at the hands of the Harpies which led to her suicide attempt.

Now, years later, and it seems the members of The Harpies are now taking their own lives and Emily fears that she'll be next unless she puts a stop to it first.

This book started out strong and I was enjoying it but at about 3/4 through I started to lose interest. Not enough to DNF or anything but reading about how awful these girls/women behaved was becoming tiresome. Emily is someone that I should have been rooting for but it was too difficult. Sure she talked about all the guilt she has held over the years which is why she became a therapist in the first place but she came across as cold and rude to every one she deals with whether it's her fiancé or her co-workers. I just didn't like her very much. In fact, it was only Courtney and her daughter Terry that I ever felt anything for. The rest of them are miserable psychos that I'm glad to not know in my real life.

I had a hard time wrapping my head around the ending. Let's just say that I did not like the final denouement at all. 3 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. There were a lot of plot twists that I didn't see coming. In the end, it was a little predictable, but I still really liked the story and the character development. This was a great dark psychological thriller! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

As I was reading this title, it immediately reminded me of HIS & HERS. Another thriller centered around mean girls in high school who bully someone and pay the price when they grow into adults. The wounded and vengeful woman is getting a bit old for me.
This book was a fun one to listen to. Definitely a fast paced story that keeps you guessing for all you thriller lovers. I use books like this as a buffer book. Something easy that can clear my head in between my more serious reads.
I especially have to be picky on what I listen to on audible because if its too serious or slow I start tuning out the book.
I think I didn't love this story as much because it was so similar to a book I just listened to (as I mentioned above.) Also, as I've seen many other Bookstagramers say--I'm a bit over the "crazy" woman as the central character to create a twisty thriller. But shame on me because the title on this one pretty much gives it away.
This was a twisty story and you really don't know the truth right until the very very end, but it does all come together with no unanswered questions.
It wasn't bad, but didn't stand out to me. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you'd read it!

I had a super hard time getting Into this and did put it down several times before finally getting into a groove and finishing it. I did end up enjoying it and I liked the ending, it was just a little struggle getting the beginning to hook me in.