Cover Image: Nobody Knows But You

Nobody Knows But You

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Member Reviews

Not the most original or engaging book I’ve ever read, but not awful. The camp premise was interesting; more should have been done to build that world up more. The letter format the story was told through was good. The end was predictable. More could have been done to make it more believable though. Interactions should have been more present to really sell the outcome. Would recommend for a quick and easy read.
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Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

DNF @ 10%

Perhaps it is because I am an adult, but I honestly found the writing unbearable. I liked the format and tend to enjoy epistolary pieces so I tried to keep reading. Kayla's letters make her sound way younger than she is supposed to be and I did not find her to be a likeable character or even a good love-to-hate character. I just did not care about her or the story.
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I really enjoyed this book. The writing captured my attention right away with the multiple interviews/point of views. Made for a fast paced read. Kayla was obsessive, loyal, crazy and enjoyable to follow. I guessed the plot about half way through but I still enjoyed the ending. No shocking reveals, but delivered in an enjoyable way!
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Through letters, court documents, interviews, and news stories, "Nobody Knows But You" offers summer camp thrills, heartbreak, and an ever-unfolding narrative that comes together slowly like a puzzle. As each piece slides into place, Kayla and Lainey's story builds on itself, evolving into something that, by the end, will certainly have some readers frozen in surprise. What is the truth? What really happened that night? And what marks a murderer? A solid addition to the YA thriller canon.
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This one is like "I've read this story before" because it's like every YA mystery book. Same things, same characters skills, etc.
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Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I really enjoyed reading this book, even though I guessed the plot twist before it was even revealed. I really liked the summer camp setting and the way the story was formatted through interviews, text messages, and letters. Even though the characters were not very likable, you couldn't help but keep reading. I'm such a sucker for unreliable narrators, Kayla most definitely was one. Lainie was such an interesting character! I wish we could have gotten a POV from her. I hope to read more from this author!
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Thank you, NetGalley, and publishes for providing a copy of this book!

Slight spoilers ahead, nothing too descriptive.

Nobody Knows But You focuses on the mystery surrounding the death of a camper on the eve of the last day of camp. Lainie, the victim's on-again/off-again girlfriend stands accused. Kayla, her devoted best friend, is holding onto Lainie's secrets as well as her own and what everyone wants to know is, did Lainie do it?

The story takes place a few months after the murder and is told through a series of letters written by Kayla, news reports, interview transcripts, and text messages. While I think that this was an interesting writing style, some of it fell a bit flat for me. Kayla's letters had started to get a bit monotonous. I personally would've liked to read scenes from their time at summer camp as flashbacks, so that we could hear Kayla's feelings in real-time as opposed to her recalling them afterward, and then had the letters be present tense. In my opinion that would've added a bit more variety to the writing style and would've helped it to feel less stagnant at times

While I found the story interesting, I also found it a bit predictable. At the start of the book the way things are phrased it is easy to assume that Lainie is the camper who has been murdered, but then a few chapters in you discover that Lainie is in fact alive and it was Jackson who has been murdered. I will say that I was actually surprised when that reveal came because it was all pointing in the other direction, and because of how quickly the reveal came. I then found myself asking, "then what is the big plot twist?" This is when the book became a bit predictable for me, the "big plot twist" I ended up guessing a few chapters later.

I feel that there could've been more development with some of the characters, as well as their motives, but overall I thought it was a nice quick read and easy to follow.
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This novel is extremely readable -- I literally picked it up at 5pm and couldn't stop reading until I finished the book at 8pm. I predicted the ending, but I don't know if it's actually predictable or I'm just an adult woman who has read a lot of young adult books in her life. It was still compelling; I liked the one-sided epistolary prose interspersed with news broadcast transcripts. I thought the relationships and characters depicted were very realistic, and I liked that the vocabulary was current. For example, one of the protagonist's friends uses they/them pronouns, but it was done naturally, without calling special attention to that friend's gender identity. I will look for more by this author.
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Nobody Knows But You is an enjoyable young adult thriller with a tense atmosphere and a twisty plot. I love books that feature unreliable narrators and this one hit the spot. I can't wait to see what else the author has in store for us in the future.
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This YA mystery was intense. It follows the rambling mind of a sixteen-year-old girl, whose albeit not close and only somewhat friend dies at summer camp. The pieces of who did what, when, and why come through very slowly through the eyes/rumors of the other campers via interviews with the police and on social media. Even though I got the gist of what happened early on, the why it happened still kind of left me stunned. There is some light cursing, but nothing else unsavory. 15-17 year -olds would probably enjoy this read.
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This was a pretty standard YA mystery novel, I thought the different formats in writing, such as articles, interviews, etc... made it pretty interesting. 
I still do not know how I feel about the unreliable narrator, but it was pretty well done and made me definitely keep reading. 
I most likely will not re-read this book, but I did enjoy the camp atmosphere and female friendship aspect. 
Overall, well written, interesting story that kept me reading and a fun atmosphere for the YA genre.
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"The nail-bitingly intense story of a summer at camp that ends in a disturbing death - and depicts a powerful friendship that won’t ever be forgotten. Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Broken Things.

Kayla is still holding on to Lainie’s secrets.

After all, Lainie is Kayla’s best friend. And despite Lainie’s painful obsession with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, and the ways he has tried to come between them, friends don’t spill each other’s secrets. They don’t betray each other’s trust.

The murder at the end of the summer doesn’t change all that.

Besides - Kayla knows that the truth is not the whole story."

Anyone else hoping this has serious Scream vibes?
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3.5 STARS rounded to 4

Perhaps not the most original of YA thrillers, but a highly enjoyable read nonetheless. Unreliable narrators have become all the rage over the past decade, and their use in suspense novels ranges from "Hah! This is whodunnit!" to "This person is hiding secrets and has manipulated the narrative to their own benefit." I won't tell you which one this book falls under, but I will say that I enjoyed being back at summer camp and reliving the nostalgia of some of the milder thematic elements included here. Things like navigating the power balance in female friendship, not murder. I look forward to more from Anica Mrose Rissi!

{GIF}
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This didn't grab me as much as I had been hoping considering it involves summer camp (I worked at camps all through college) and a mystery - one of my most favorite genres. And then throw in an (view spoiler) to boot and I'm usually all in! I became very tired of the letters to Lainie which seemed long and dull to me. Instead, I was looking forward to the chapters of statements to investigators or reporting on the trial. Obviously we have to mostly hear from Kayla as she was closest to Lainie and the most involved in whatever happened, but her voice didn't do anything for me. I'm also disappointed that I knew what had happened very early on. Not the specific details of the murder, but the killer and why. However, I can probably attribute that to the fact that I DO love mysteries and have read/watched a lot of them so it's difficult to fool me. A teen reader might be astounded.
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Kayla meets Lainie at the start of Camp Cavanick’s 8 week session. She had been reluctant to go, preferring to stay at home and sleep and read, but the two 16 years old bond instantly. Kayla has never been friends with anyone like Lainie before: a charming, funny rule-breaker and Kayla feels she transforms once she’s Lainie’s best friend.

They are an inseparable club of two and the author expertly creates that feeling you get when you meet a soulmate - someone you know you’ll be friends with forever. But then, inevitably, a boy happens. “Nerd hot” Jackson Winters and Lainie are instantly attracted to each other and for the remainder of camp have a passionate on-again off-again relationship. Jackson already has a girlfriend at home but strings Lainie along, dumping her when he feels guilty and then reeling her back in. I think most of us have been that third wheel at some time and can empathize with Kayla: why did a boy have to come along and get between them? And why can't Lainie see he's no good for her?

We know right from the start that the camp ends in murder. Kayla tantalizingly takes us through that summer, writing letters to Lainie that she knows she’ll never send. These are interspersed with news reports and a Greek chorus of campers and counselors.

Without any spoilers, I think the author does a terrific job of slowly peeling back what happened at Camp Cavanick and exposes the psyches of the three central characters. While not the most original thriller I’ve read, I was hooked right from start to finish. Recommended for fans of Lauren Oliver’s realistic novels.
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Loved the story and the pace. A little bit of ways into the book I figured out what the ending would be but I still was shocked about how it happened. Definitely recommend!
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I'm beginning to learn that I don't care for the kinds of stories that are solely letters to other people or just news clippings. It was still interesting but could've used more substance.
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This was a good book and I enjoyed it. It's got pretty good twists and I didn't see the final twist coming.
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Murder at a summer camp? Yes, please. Give me all of the canoes and color wars! 

Told in a series of unsent epistles, news reports, and camper commentaries, this novel unfolds the backstory behind a salacious murder that high schoolers interested in crime & affairs of the heart will surely find engaging. 

While some of the build up seemed a bit overdone, that build up is what eventually lent greater authenticity to the narration. 

This one will be a good fit for my kids & will be an excellent addition to my shelf. I look forward to being able to discuss it with them!
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