While I admit I struggled through the first 40% of this book, the second half really picked up steam and had me racing through its pages. That being said, I’m usually an avid fan of mystery teen fiction, and LGBTQ representative characters, but I’ll admit that Throwaway Girls fell a bit flat for me. One major issue I had was the unrealistic self destructive nature of the narrator and ultimately the lack of development of any of the additional characters, especially the missing girls. I found myself more invested in the unraveling of a mystery than in the safety or return of the missing girls which seemed the opposite of what the author was trying to suggest. Also, while I appreciated the author’s focus on class differences, particularly in reference to who falls between the cracks of our justice system, I thought it was a huge disservice to both herself and her readers to not address the issues of race in our justice system and to veer away from characters of color in general.

All that being said, if you found yourself drawn to Throwaway Girls, I definitely would still give it a chance! Ultimately this novel was not quite for me but still carries a great thriller plot that’ll have you wanting to read until the end to unravel what happened to these throwaway girls!

Thank you to Netgalley, Andrea Contos, and KPC Loft for the advanced read of Throwaway Girls!

I love mystery stories. All good stories are intrinsically mystery stories so actual mysteries are like a good book on drugs. Throwaway Girls is a unique, gripping, Q U E E R mystery that keeps you gripped until the end.

Told through the perspectives of MC Caroline and an unnamed mystery girl, Throwaway Girls analyzes self identity, the familial pressures, and the different ways girls are treated because of their social standing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

When Caroline’s best friend, Madison, goes missing Caroline is determined to find her. The writing by Contos was easy to read and kept me guessing up until the end. This book also addresses social and racial differences and how that plays into crimes and life. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a page-turner!

This is surprisingly intriguing, promising YA Debut thriller.

In the beginning it started a little slow and I had second thoughts if I should skip it or keep on reading. I’m happy to decide resuming my reading because the mystery part of the story hooked me. I kept guessing and changing my mind about whodunit.

We also have likable heroine Caroline trying to find herself in high school jungle, counting the days till the graduation ( only three months left to keep her head high and getting out of trouble) But graduating and earning her freedom got more complicated because her friends Madison is missing and she already owed her too much. She gotta find her which forces her to wear Nancy Drew’s shoes and conducting her own investigation. And her suspect list is growing bigger at each day including their teacher Mr. McCormack.

Things I liked: Caroline’s loyalty, determination to find her friend, even though she is not ideal heroine everybody adores; she has her own flaws, secrets and she keeps lying to protect herself. The mystery and the hinted romance parts were also quiet lovable qualities of the story.

But at some parts, writing was a little bumpy, sometimes I question whose narration I was reading but conclusion of the story is well-developed so I didn’t have a problem if a book ends without making me irritated and having more questions than I started my read. I got my answers and satisfied.

I’m rounding up 3.5 stars. It was great beginning for the debut author and I loved to read more of her works.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press /KCP Loft for sharing this ARC copy with me in exchange my honest review.

*I Received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
This was very disappointing for me. I had hoped for a more psychological type thriller but was sorely missing it in this book.

In the the vain of Ruth Ware, Throwaway Girls, deserves to get the attention that it so richly deserves. It is very beautifully written and the characters and plot are very original. If you are looking for a solid thriller with a brilliant well fleshed out main character and a great supporting cast then you should pick this series up and give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley, #BookJunkies, @Andrea_Contos, Kids Can Press and KCP Loft for the advance reader copy of Throwaway Girls by debut author, Andrea Contos, in exchange for an honest review. I could not put this YA mystery down! Caroline is a forthright yet conflicted narrator who steadfastly investigates when her best friend, Madison, suddenly disappears. Andrea Contos’ plot and characterizations will have teens guessing as this mystery deepens to involve more than one girl. Caroline is believable as she delves full force into finding out what happened to Madison. But she also gains problems that cause her to push away friends, Jake and Aubrey, who only want to help her. I understood yet I did not understand many of Caroline’s decisions. I was also confused many times with the appearance of characters, Livie and Willa. And the parents were also off the charts as unsupportive, tough, and mean spirited. As Caroline struggles with her reality, she constantly keeps her goal in mind, three months to graduate, and get out. But as the plot thickens, the thrill quickens. What will happen to Caroline, Madison, Willa and the others? This is a riveting book dealing with family problems, friendship, LGBT issues, and social classes. A must-read!

Please note this is a 3.5.

This was an absolute rollercoaster of a book. There's a lot of action all packed into a neat little package and the characters fit their circumstances and the situations they are thrown into really well. I really loved that this was a queer drama with the pivotal point of characters not that they were queer, but that that was just a part of them. PLEASE WRITE MORE CHARACTERS LIKE THIS. WE NEED THEM. The tension is heavy throughout the book, and the second half is a real page-turner, with some amazing elements and a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end. I reached a certain point where I could not stop reading because I got so involved in the action and finding out where this story would end up.

I do have a couple of issues with it, however, and they're not massive but they did spoil the experience a bit. I found the POV swapping difficult without better designations, I thought that the main character perhaps had a bit too much going on in her life and her past, and the first half I really struggled with because it kept giving too few breadcrumbs as to the mystery. There's a very fine line between a mystery and something so obscured from view it becomes frustrating, and sadly, this book veered into the territory of too much tantalisation, not enough gratification in the first half. It certainly picked this up in the second half and got so, so much better, but it's a long haul for the reward.

In summary, a really great read that will keep you turning pages long into the night just to find out what happens- and an important note as to who is considered worthy to try and find when they vanish on the basis of privilege. This is something that we need much more literature on, and so this makes a great start on a tough subject about the shameful bias we have toward victims of crime.

**Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc for an honest review**

I read this book in one sitting! Lots of twists and turns with a strong female protagonist who never stops at seeking the truth about the missing girls who everyone else has fogotten. An amazing debut!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a good amount of time to really get into this book, but once I did, I was hooked.

I'm a true crime junkie, and one of the things you read about way too often is the girls whose disappearances are not taken seriously because they aren't considered important enough to society to pursue. It is infuriating. This book highlighted that extremely well. It seems like we are just getting a story about a pretty, wealthy prep school girl going missing, but you suddenly realize that it goes far deeper than that, but it wasn't noticed until she went missing because the others were throwaway girls.

The action was slow to start, but it picked up quickly and left me staying up later than I planned to just get to the end of another riveting chapter. There were a few twists and turns in the book that took me by surprise. The book was very well written, with captivating scenes and the kind of characters that just suck you in.

I will definitely read more by this author!!

This book kept me guessing the whole time! I started to maybe figure out a couple things, but overall I had to wait until the reveal to get answers. From the very beginning, I was intrigued and needed to know more. Caroline is a complicated character, she lies a lot and keeps secrets from everyone. Her best friend goes missing and she throws herself into finding out what happened, totally disregarding her safety and what consequences this could have for her.

The more the story evolves, the more secrets we uncover and the more suspects there are. There's also little bits of someone else's point of view and I was obsessing over who it belonged to. The ending was crazy and I was a bit surprised how everything ended up. I wanted a bit more answers, but it wrapped up fairly well.

Exciting read that sucked me in and kept me guessing!

I received this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of Throwaway Girls by Andrea Contos. I have very mixed feelings on this book. I enjoyed the story line and the main character, Caroline, is a realistic flawed teen heroine. I admire her determination and tenacity in the face of numerous problems. I will always stan a strong lgbtq character. The supporting characters are fine, the parental figures are atrocious.

Over all book was a slow burn, it really took a while for things to get moving, and once they did I can’t honestly say I was all that invested. The alternating chapters were mildly confusing and then the ending just seemed a little too pat.

Throwaway Girls follows Caroline, a bi teen who is desperate to leave her town and get away from her parents who previously sent her to a conversion camp. Caroline’s best friend goes missing and due to Caroline’s previous experience with finding a body at the edge of the lake and the police failing to do much about it, she decided that it is up to her and her alone to find her missing best friend. This book was great! I REALLY liked it. It had everything for me; likeable mc, gripping mystery, unforeseeable plot twists, gay girls. It even had that unexplainable ~eerie-ness~ that every thriller/mystery should have, and the writing was beautiful. I think this book has a really important message surrounding the hierarchy of who society deem worthy of searching for when someone goes missing. I also love that this is a great mystery YA that just has casual LGBTQ rep thrown in. It’s amazing to read stories in this genre that also have rep. The only thing stopping me from giving a 5 star rating is the fact that I had to suspend my disbelief for some elements of the story. For most people I don’t think that will be a problem, and I still thoroughly enjoyed it overall. HThrowaway Girls is sure to keep you guessing until the very end. I definitely recommend anyone who likes a good YA thriller to check this out and I will be purchasing the book when it is released on September 1st!

The YA thriller 'Throwaway Girls' provides a fast-paced plot and interesting characters. I was intrigued by the main character, Caroline, as well as her friendships and relationships at her tony prep school, St. Francis. It's easy to become absorbed in the world in West Virginia Ms. Contos builds for her novel. Thanks to her strong writing, a wide range of settings come across vividly through the pages.
In my opinion, the beginning of this book was a little slow. Also, there were parts of the story that seemed to jump around rather suddenly, However, I'm glad I kept reading. In fact, by the end, I could barely turn the pages fast enough.
Overall, a very engaging novel. I would read titles from this author in the future.

While the writing is good and the plot fairly engaging in the first half, near the middle I began to just lose interest. I don't like Caroline as a narrator, and the "social commentary" seems to ring hollow to me, more performative than actually bringing attention to the issues serving as plot devices. Once again I'm really annoyed by the portrayal of LGBT people (both by some aspects of Caroline's bisexuality but by how, once again, we're tortured, not really given a chance to just exist without our presence in a narrative being flanked by pain and hurt). I'm just feeling really disappointed.

Throwaway Girls
Author: Andrea Contos
Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ /5
Reviewed: Maya

-Trigger warning within book-
I love a good mystery thriller, and this did not disappoint! Girls have been going missing for years and many are not searched for or found, but when this happens to Caroline’s close friend, Madison, she feels the need to find her friend, especially since Willa, her girlfriend dumped her. Told from Caroline’s POV, I really liked the way the readers could see her thoughts and memories. Although it could have been because of my Kindle’s formatting, I struggled to understand why chapters were interrupted and I found this to be confusing. The plot was amazing and I was always frantically reading, wanting to know what happens next. The only reason this was not a 5-star read was because I felt there were not enough of Caroline and Madison’s friendship and literally every single one of Caroline’s “flashbacks” and memories revolved around Willa. I did not get to know Madison’s character well at all, and that was really needed for the book. Apart from those issues, this debut book was really great and I will definitely be rereading it in the future. I highly recommend Throwaway Girls for all mystery and thriller fans, and especially YA fans.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Kids Can Press and of course Andrea Contos for this free eBook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be posted on Goodreads (thebibliophilebuddies) and Bookstagram (https://www.instagram.com/thebibliophilebuddies/) on or the day after the 18th of August (two weeks before publication).

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Throwaway Girls was good book, don't get me wrong. It just sucks that the first half of the book bore me to pieces. It just took way too long for things to get me interested which just disappoints me to no end. When I got the email that I was approved for this ARC I was so freaking excited.

First off, I love mysteries and it has been a while since I dove into a good one. Second, after meeting Caroline, I fell in love with her character. She was just a very realistic teenager in this book with every day real world problems. Well, other than the fact that's she kind of like Nancy Drew and solving the disappearance of her friend.

I loved getting to see the little glimpses of romance throughout this book. Especially when it came to Caroline's POV. However, I will admit that I was sometimes confuse as to who's pov I was reading. Caroline or Willa's. It took me a page, or two, to figure it out but it would've been a lot easier to let me know at the beginning of the chapter - ya know?

Other than that, the mystery kept me on my toes. I honestly had no idea who was behind it all and when it was all revealed.. my mind was blown. Long story short, Caroline might've been self-absorbed but she definitely deserves better friends. Stick with Aubrey kid.

I INHALED Throwaway Girls and am giving it my first 5-star review of 2020. Caroline is my favorite kind of protagonist. Her tenacity and dedication drive this novel and give it the perfect sense of urgency and mystery. I also loved the inclusion of the second POV. I seriously went back and forth multiple times on who I thought the second POV belonged to and my goodness my heart was just constantly aching for that girl. Contos does an excellent job exposing the idea of the "throwaway" girls whose cases often go un-investigated because these girls are deemed "high risk" because of their home environments, or for being POC or "white trash". This idea is juxtaposed against Madison's high profile missing person case in a way that feels authentic, while still sensitive.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a binge-able mystery that will absolutely tug on your heart. While the atrocities committed and investigated in Throwaway Girls are absolutely heinous, I do appreciate how Contos doesn't go into explicit details for shock factor. The reader is able to get that gut sinking emotion at the acts without having to actually read them in gory detail.

The mystery here kept me guessing and hoping until the very last page. The ending felt well earned and authentic, even if tragic and sad. Full of twists and turns, it was impossible to predict every reveal, yet each felt earned.

I cannot wait to have a physical copy of this book to read and re-read. Adding Andrea Contos to my list of authors on auto-buy.

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me a copy for my honest opinion*

Throwaway Girls is a first rate debut thriller! It's not fast paced, but the story flowed flawlessly. This story touches on a couple important issues, and that makes it heartbreaking at times. Overall, it was a good book, and I will definitely read more from Andrea Contos

**Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to review an E-ARC of this novel!**

Holy Moly! I sped through this book. Overall, it was very gripping, twisted, & mysterious...it kept me guessing all the way up to the reveal. I was SO EXCITED to have the opportunity to review this novel because I definitely put it on my TBR for its release date as soon as I discovered it on Goodreads. Please find my thoughts below...along with some spoilers (beware). :)
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Things I Liked:
-The advocacy! I love that this novel shines a light on the stories that are so often overlooked & calls out the people who use their status to manipulate & hurt others...as well as calling out the people who look the other way or allow it to happen.
-The connections between Caroline & her chosen family (Marcel, Aubrey, Jake [at least for most of the novel], Madison [prior to the issues & disappearance], & Willa). It shows that sometimes family isn't what you're born into, but rather what you make it & the people who are there to support & love you for who you are. Marcel is a great representation of how stereotypes are not always true & those we least expect can often times offer us the support & love we might be looking for. Go Marcel! And on that thought...so is the Mountain Man (he really came through when it mattered the most).
-The honesty with which the author handles the tough material & subject matter (LGBTQ+ discrimination, conversion attempts, kidnapping, death, betrayal, grief, etc.). I think this was vital when it comes to depicting how important it is to have the potentially uncomfortable & very difficult discussions necessary in order to change unjust policies & procedures that end up shielding the guilty & putting the innocent at even more risk.
-The way the reader jumps right into the story...hitting the ground running. I liked this aspect & the writing style because I felt like I was immersed into the story immediately & it helped hook me right from the start.

Things that Didn't Quite Sit Right With Me:
-At times the plot felt a little confusing...it was hard for me to keep all the stories straight with timeframe changes that weren't always clear to me & name changes that I didn't always know about (but this also added even more mystery as I was not always sure exactly who the different parts were referring to & kept me guessing about if the details I knew fit with certain characters...almost like I was doing my own investigative work).
-I wish we knew more about the status of Jake & Caroline's relationship after all the stuff with his dad went down.
-Caroline's parents were just horrible in my opinion...as well as Willa's mother...& Jake's dad...ugh. The parents in this story could definitely use some parenting classes.

Overall, I gave this read 4 stars. I think it would be a great fit for lovers of YA, mysteries, thrillers, & those who are interested in advocacy efforts for the LGBTQ+ community, missing children, or unrepresented populations in justice system.