This book centres around Caroline, a white teen attending a private school, who is grappling with a number of issues including estrangement from her parents, a breakup with her girlfriend & now the disappearance of her best friend. When Caroline discovers a clue relating to her friends disappearance, she takes it upon herself to investigate. As she probes deeper into the mystery, she quickly discovers that things are not quite as clear as they initially seemed, but more importantly that Madison isn't the only girl who has disappeared. Unfortunately, Madison is the only one that anyone seems to care about as she’s white & from a rich family whereas the others were from less privileged backgrounds - the “throwaway girls”. Despite a lack of firm evidence, Caroline knows that the missing girls must all be connected somehow so she starts to piece together what the police are ignoring. As she fits more pieces of the puzzle together, she realises that she is more intertwined with the mystery than she first realized, and every step forward comes with unwanted consequences & she finds that it’s all scarily close to home.
The story is written for a ‘young adult’ audience & I think it works well for them – the storyline is good & engaging, and explores some topics that are important to the age group including inequality, exploring sexuality & what friendships really are. However, there is a dark side too that makes it unsuitable for younger readers. This is a LGBT book but it’s not a book that is content to settle itself in that genre – it firmly sits in the mystery genre & the fact that the lead character is LGBT is just one of those things – it does add to the story but it’s not the story. (There is an amusing yet deep section where Jake asks Caroline what she likes about women & when she replies “probably the same things you like about women”)
Overall, this was an easy read with some surprising twists but it was confusing trying to keep track of all the characters, especially those who used 2 names (eg Livie/Caroline). . I did find the first half quite slow which may lose some readers and the ending doesn’t tie up loose ends – we never find out what the motive was or the full consequence & as such it loses another point for me.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher & author for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#ThrowawayGirls #NetGalley

An amazing mystery / thriller and very well written. I loved Caroline’s drive to find Madison. And also loved the hints of romance...

Rated 3.5 really.

First off...DISCLAIMER: this title was up for grabs on NetGalley (in the Read Now section). Thanks to Kids Can Press for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

TOGETHER WE STAND

I'm always on the lookout for a good YA thriller that doesn't employ the usual "all against all" or "you can't trust literally anybody" plot device, and even more than that, the old "mean girls" trope. For some reason, it seems that, in this genre, catty classmates and petty fights are a must - and of course, there's nothing wrong with them if you like that kind of narrative, but I don't enjoy it at all. Throwaway Girls sounded like the happy exception to the above rules, and I'm happy to report it delivered - though some late mistrust between friends ensued, and painful secrets were uncovered along the way...but without any of them, there would likely be no mystery at all 🤷‍♀️. It was refreshing how certain secondary and even minor characters were able to take on a real supporting role, though I'm not saying that none of them had ulterior motives. It was especially refreshing that girls were sticking for each other - at least some of them - and that, despite its focus being the disappearance of a privileged white girl, the story also brought to the forefront the "invisible ones" most people give up on (though, to be honest, at first they were mostly instrumental in finding Caroline's friend - but she ended up genuinely caring for them).

MYSTERY BOX

I have to admit I'm not the best judge of how successful thrillers/mysteries are in term of baffling the reader (despite my being a huge Agatha Christie fan). Anyhow, even if TG has got a limited number of suspects to offer, I wasn't able to point my finger at the culprit - maybe ALSO because, when revealed, their motives (at least for putting into motion the chain of events that would end with Madison's disappearance) sounded a bit far-fetched to me. But generically speaking, I can see why that person would become a girl abductor and serial killer. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed the secondary (often poignant) narrative involving a mystery character, and again, I wasn't able to understand who they were until the revelation came. On top of that, Contos was very good at differentiating the two leads' voices, and I ended up waiting for the chapters from the mystery character's POV with great anticipation, just because I liked being in their head even while not having a clue about their identity (though of course I had some theories that, as I said, were ultimately proven wrong).

RAINBOW STRIPES

TG is not only a mystery: it's an unapologetic queer book, with a bisexual protagonist, and even a section where her best (male) friend - and secret admirer - tries to have her explain what she likes in women, which results in a hilarious (but also deep) confrontation. It's a strong romance between two girls from different walks of life, and a friendship/loyalty examination. Also, it's a look (if brief) at conversion-camp culture and parents' warped expectations. Lastly - while this is less in-your-face - it's a story where non-white characters aren't only the ones from the wrong side of the tracks (though there's a higher number of them, but then again, it's because, being overlooked by the system, they're the easiest prey for the killer, and this is their story as much as Madison's).

LIKE IT'S EASY

And here it goes...the knotty point that made me decide not to round my rating up to 4 stars. Basically, after the final showdown, there's a startling lack of consequences. Something really dark ensues, and those who should be affected by it the most (the perpetrator and a collateral victim) get to walk away from it unscathed - in more than one way. Not only I expected a trial of sorts and it didn't happen (which pushed my suspension of disbelief to the limit), but also, it sounded like the experience didn't have a huge impact on the perpetrator...which made me feel disconnected from their character. Regardless, I did enjoy the story as a whole, and I can honestly recommend it to everyone who's looking for a teen thriller with a developing social conscience and a queer heart.

Note: writing-wise...I know we aren't supposed to talk about this when it comes to ARCs...but I was able to spot (besides a few innocent typos that will most certainly get corrected in the final version) at least three instances of "it's" for "its", which is something that never fails to set me on edge. But my final rating didn't take them into consideration.

Beautifully captivating writing style and promising start, but the mystery progressed too leisurely to keep me at the edge of my seat.

Throwaway Girls is a mystery thriller that follows Caroline, a 4.0 senior at a prestigious prep school, and her search for her missing best friend Madison. Caroline quickly discovers that Madison isn't the only girl who has disappeared, but no one is talking about these other victims. Their lower socioeconomic backgrounds force their stories into the shadows, but Caroline knows all these girls must be connected - even if the police refuse to put the pieces together.

Little by little Caroline uncovers the truth, chipping away at the gross facade of this picturesque town. But Caroline is even more intertwined with these disappearances than she first realized, and with every step forward she unearths secrets that will bring the carefully crafted balance of her life crashing down.

Throughout this novel we learn a lot about Caroline and the hardships she faces, from her parents not accepting her sexuality, to the woman she loves moving across the country without a trace. Caroline's journey is quite an emotional one, and her discoveries of this case run parallel to her own self discovery as she comes to terms with loss and her feelings of estrangement.

I enjoyed the premise of this novel, but felt the writing clashed with the intended result of a thriller. I wasn't met with the familiar feelings of anxiety and dread, and instead felt a bit dreamy reading this. As for the ending, I thought it was a bit disjointed, and couldn't really get a sense for exactly why certain characters did what they did. The reveal of the criminal was a bit underwhelming, and their motive wholey unclear. I think more prior development should have occurred to help make that reveal more impactful.

Overall I liked this story and thought the writing was lovely, but needs a boost in the thriller department. I appreciate this novel for pointing out the ever too real socioeconomic inequalities in our society, as well as the isolation teenagers often face when exploring their sexuality. Caroline was a realistically written character with admirable determination, and I enjoyed having her as the main character.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. After some technical issues with accessing the title on the Kindle, I was able to read it.

Caroline is a privileged white girl who happens to be bi, at a prestigious boarding school in Western Maryland. We meet her just as her friend Madison has gone missing and after she stumbles upon a clue that makes her believe she's connected to the reason she's disappeared, she makes it her mission to find her alive, despite being a 17 year old about to finish high school in a few months. Her parents don't accept her as she is- her mom sent her to conversion camp and her dad disapproves of pharma for anxiety and other conditions. Caroline is someone else with Willa, her girlfriend who isn't currently in the picture. As Caroline does some dangerous sleuthing with a classmate, she discovers the person behind the disappearances of other missing girls- throwaway girls who aren't like her and Madison- is scarily close to home. Hard book to put down. I wish there had been a more clear introduction to these characters, other than that I enjoyed the book.

3 Stars

Now I'm a HUGE fan of YA prep school stories and had extremely high hopes for this one, but I think it missed the mark a little.

It's extremely well written and has great perspective of a 17 year old affluent girl who hates what her parents want for her to become. I also loved the other characters : Jake, Aubrey, Willa, and Marcel. I just found the killer was easy to figure out and the motive behind his actions wasn't explained very well. Also, some parts were a bit slow and the good parts were a bit choppy.

Overall, I think this was an entertaining read and look forward to seeing what Andrea Contos comes out with next!

A special thank you to NetGalley, Kids Can Press, and Andrea Contos for providing me with an ARC.

This was an amazing thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed!
While it started off slow, it soon enough picked up enough to make me stick with it which I'm glad for since I turned out to love it!

Caroline is a great MC to read about since she is loyal and protective of her friends and also, has her own secrets that she is trying to protect!
The suspense was also very nice, with clues given that made you point in the right direction but also suspect everyone and everything at the same time!

I also enjoyed the romance, although maybe t could have been a bit better.

I actually quit this book because I wasn't in the right mood for it at the time.

I don't have any issues, but have no intentions to give it another try in the very near future!

No full review to come!

3.5 stars

Mmm I really thought this would be a 5 star read for me, because of the synopsis, but it didn’t turn out that way. The book is written really well, and the I like Caroline,Jake and Aubrey. But, it felt like nothing was happening sometimes, and at others it was just a rush. I also figured out the culprit, and there was no connection established(except in the later cases)to the MC.

I do look forward to reading the author’s other books.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eArc to read and review.

I love thrillers and was excited to check out this YA thriller. I think it was a pretty solid story, although I did figure stuff out before the end and there were no huge plot twists. It was good and I think young adult readers will enjoy it a lot.

I think Caroline the protagonist is a character students will be able to connect with while reading. I like the social issues and the discussion that this book addresses. I think it would be great for a book club with young adult readers and provide some really great discussions and commentaries.

I would definitely purchase this book for my class library.

likes
- lgbt+ rep in a mystery/thriller
- social commentary on who is considered a "throwaway girl"

dislikes
- pretty slow moving until the last bit
- no motive or reasoning is ever given for the killer
- everything just felt so messy and I was confused for most of this; I felt like I was plopped down into a story that had already started and wasn't given enough backstory/info to catch me up
- one of my least favorite twists/tropes -SPOILER [we're reading from two perspectives & don't know who the second is and the people in both perspectives are the same person but go by different names.. bleh

This was a really solid thriller and I enjoyed my time reading it. Young adult mysteries can be so hit or miss but this was a hit for sure!!

The mystery was compelling, the characters were interesting and I’m really glad that I read it! I can’t wait to read more of the authors work in the future!

✨REVIEW✨ Publication Date: 9/1/2020
🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Kids Can Press for the ARC.

Throwaway Girls was a 3 star mystery for me. The book is about Caroline, a wealthy teen attending a private school, who is grappling with the disappearance of her best friend and a heartbreaking breakup with her girlfriend. Caroline decides to take matters into her own hands and solve the mystery of what happened to her best friend. She soon discovers the “throwaway girls”, girls who have also disappeared, but have not received the same amount of media and police attention due to their low social and economic status.

Throwaway Girls has a good storyline and is darker than the usual YA thriller. It is definitely a slow burn mystery and I struggled at times to get into the story. However, it is a solidly written mystery that addresses many important topics. Fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson should check this book out when it releases on 9/1/2020.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, that was not a book for me. The ideas were there, but I found the execution to be very lacking. I didn't like the writing, it felt plain and a little confusing, which was ultimately the reason I couldn't finish reading.

This was... fine. The story is twisty and very convoluted at some points, detrimentally so. I wouldn't say you need to necessarily suspend your disbelief, but there are a few moments where it felt like the I-Guess.gif meme. The main character also goes through misery after misery, which can be realistic but also was tiring at some point. Even sections of her happiness were clouded with sadness. The twist was interesting, though towards the climax I was able to correctly guess how the book was going to end.

This book was solidly good, but not quite great. The writing felt disjointed, with a relatively slow first half & and a fast paced interesting second half. The characters were interested but I struggled to connect with them- that being said I felt deeply connected to the larger theme... that society does not equally value or support disenfranchised individuals.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 rounded to 4.

Promise you won’t forget us. Don’t forget to let the light in. Love is forever.

I would describe this novel as beautiful prose. The story is well written and captivates your attention with well descriptive metaphors. The story follows Caroline Waverly Lawson, a graduating high school student from St. Francis Preparatory Academy, gay and from a wealthy family. She’s a miracle child for her parents who believe that she will be straight when she attended a conversion camp. Caroline struggles connecting with her parents due to her being gay and decided that she will leave her parents once she turns eighteen, three days away after her graduation. Until her best friend, Madison was reported missing.

The Wayside Diner is Caroline’s second home when things are turning south at home. Caroline met Willa at the diner’s walkway and soon they had a relationship. Willa decided to leave for California to pursue her dream of going to college and Caroline was left heartbroken. Unbeknownst to Caroline, Willa lied about the real reason she left her.

The story explored the issues of class differences, social injustices, and LGBTQ phobia which highly mirrors some of the current issues in our society. I do have mixed feelings with the story though, thinking that if Caroline is not wealthy, she may have not involve herself in her best friend’s investigation. She may have just let the law officers do their jobs. But since she worries so much about her best friend and due to her reasons for not trusting the police, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Another question that comes to mind is, what is the killer’s motive of abducting underprivileged girls of the community?

The story is engaging with surprising twists at the end. I find this YA thriller enthralling and would surely check out the author’s future works.

I'm grateful to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review the eARC of this novel.

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

I was super intrigued by this story when I read the synopsis, but for some reason it didn’t totally grab me. I think it’s because there were quite a few characters and I had a bit of trouble keeping them all separate. Especially when two of them used different names. I had not guessed who the killer was. But I do want to know what his motive was, it never really said why. Also I want the victims perspective.
Overall it was decent.

Thank You NetGalley/Publisher & Author for this gifted e-ARC.

Summary:
Caroline Lawson is three months away from freedom, otherwise known as graduation day. That's when she'll finally escape her rigid prep school and the parents who thought they could convert her to being straight.

Until then, Caroline is keeping her head down, pretending to be the perfect student even though she is crushed by her family and heartbroken over the girlfriend who left for California.

But when her best friend Madison disappears, Caroline feels compelled to get involved in the investigation. She has her own reasons not to trust the police, and she owes Madison — big time.

Review:
Throwaway Girls was a very interesting YA thriller.
I like this novel. It was very easy to read. Very enjoyable. I liked it.
This book will really get you thinking a lot.
It was beautifully written, the plot, twist. I loved it

Rating: 4/5

OOOOP!

I am conflicted about this one. I liked it, I loved it and then I didn't. Would I recommend it? Probably yes, if you are new to the YA thriller genre, but if you are into the genre for a while, this will definitely not blow your mind.
The story had so much potential, like every YA thriller does where the MC is in search of her kidnapped/disappeared friend and to be honest, I was loving the thriller quite a lot till the middle, it definitely had SADIE-esque vibes but with lesser gloom (if you have read Sadie you will get what I mean by this) but then the characters just didn't woo me.

Caroline, for starters was quite likeable at the beginning and I was empathized with her but after some time, she got on my nerves. I, for instance thought the plot was heading to a strong climax for real but how the author (tried) to tie up the ends and the reasons behind the disappearnce of Madison just didn't sit well with me. SORRY. But, this is just my opinion and IF YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO LIKES UNPREDICTABILITY YOU MIGHT FALL IN LOVE WITH THE ENDING.