Had some really mixed feelings for the first half of this book but it won me through the second half!
First of all, the concept is very interesting and I thought it was quite original! The setting of the local med-school and the idea of simulated patients was very intriguing and it built a good atmosphere.
The plot was also intriguing, it moved fast and it kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. I was guessing some plot twists a little before they happened but not in a way that annoyed me, since I feel like the story had a lot to give when it came to the effect of what was happening to the psyche of the characters.
The characters themselves were quite unlikeable, like most teen characters in YA thrillers tend to be, but I guess it was about sympathizing for them without having to like them.
I also had to take that one star away because a lot of comments the characters were making went from ''cringey'' to problematic. I feel like they made occasional comments about things like eating disorders, mental illness, relationships, that lacked sensitivity and that would upset me at times.

Big trigger warning for sexual assault as well, even though I feel like the aftermath of it was handled quite well. I think that could upset quite a few readers, but, all in all, it was a very enjoyable fast-paced thriller!

I love a good YA thriller/mystery. The concept of this story drew me in - the simulated patient program, a supposed overdose - and the fast-pace and twists kept me reading. While it did take me a little while to get fully invested, once things got going I found it hard to put down. When the pieces started coming together I was screaming about the glaring evidence and the ending was such sweet satisfaction. A great read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

Trigger warnings: sexual assault, drugs, alcohol

Tell Me When You Feel Something was super interesting. I didn't suspect the guilty person until the last 20% of the book and even then I was still kind of wrong. The jumping around between different points of views, times and detective interviews took me a while to understand. I usually have issues with books that have points of views before and after the big plot point as I don't really pay much attention to time stamps (more on me than the author). Just having to jump between the different points of views was confusing. The reader is supposed to understand the character of Davida when you don't really get to read much of her points at all. The book is mainly about Viv, which is fine, I didn't like her character much at first but she grew on me as you read more, but I feel as if there should have been more development behind Davida. It almost feels like a rushed book and especially a rushed ending when there could have been so much more development in order to make the book more understanding to the readers. I also think Tim's point of views were unnecessary and just annoying thankfully they were short. Like, yes, we understand, you're weird and different and in love, yay.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book. It was a quick read and very interesting once you read enough to understand what is going on. Definitely a great book if you're looking for something kind of similar to One of Us Is Lying!

Tell me when you feel something covered a lot of ground and was a good story. Just wish there was more, the ending kinda left you wondering what happened

Thank you to NetGalley and PenguinTeen for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, Tell Me When You Feel Something is a poignant and timely young adult thriller dealing with some heavy topics with admirable skill. The book jumps between multiple POVs, as timid Davida realizes that she knew much less than she thought she knew about her fast friend Viv, who has ended up in a coma after an alleged overdose at a party. The two knew each other through a volunteering gig at the local teaching hospital, which may hold the answers to what happened leading up to that night.

Content warnings for topics include but are not limited to sexual assault, alcohol abuse, alcohol and drug use in minors, mental health disorders, abuse of an authority figure, and family dynamics.

THOUGHTS
The writing was very readable, and the book was suspenseful and page-turning. I like how the story was broken up with multi-media sections. It helped keep things fast-moving, especially in sections that could have gotten bogged down with the multiple POVs. Despite figuring out the “big bad” pretty early on, the book was still super engaging as you waited for the characters to catch up. I think that the heavier topics it covered are really necessary in today’s day and age, and I’m happy to think of some people younger than myself picking this up at just the right time.

In the final fifth of the book, some of the pacing and logical premises grew a tad iffy. What was previously believable, maybe with a touch of suspension of disbelief, began to get too convenient when it came to information coming to light. Some discoveries felt a touch too convenient the second-time around, perhaps as a way of wrapping up the plot without drawing it out another hundred pages in a book already lengthy for the age-group and genre.

Would I recommend this book? I would!
Would I read more from this author? I’d be interested in how this author writes thrillers moving forward.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada, Penguin Teen for early access to the novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Viv tries to keep up the appearance of a perfect life. She has secrets though, darkness around her that becomes buried within her. Davida, a shy outsider, becomes friends with Viv, and thinks she knows her. When Viv ends up in the hospital, Davida searches for answers. Despite knowing Viv better than many, she learns more than she imagined could be true. We learn about Viv, Davida, and their friend Tim through their points of view woven together with a series of police interviews.

Overall, the story is interesting. However, the very end was disappointing. The charachter development was strong throughout, but in the last scene, it falls flat; significant issues (Viv's status in the hospital and the relationship between Davida and Tim) are resolved in a couple sentences with no real meaningful connection to the rest of the story.

There were many strong plot points, but some just seemed over the top and overly detailed for the weight they should carry in relation to the core story. Additionally, the one action that causes Davida to figure things out is not really believable.

This has the potential to be a powerful novel. I'd wish for additional editing to refine it more, tweak the turning point, and build out a stronger ending.

Spoiler below:



The subject matter is mature for many teens, and I believe they should be warned beforehand that there is pedophilia, date rape drugs, and suicide. This is the type of book, though, that to do so would give away the story. This bothers me and makes me hesitant to recommend it to teens.

3.5 ⭐️

Interesting plot. I was glued from the start until the end because I would like to know where the main character was able to collect the said drug. The story is very intriguing although it was a bit of a slow pace in the beginning.

The story was told from multiple points of view and the author was able to describe the strengths and weaknesses of each main character.

Thanks to the author, to the publisher, and to Netgalley for letting me read and give my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, this book should have included TW from the start, which is why I’m taking away some of the stars. There are major TW for SA, alcoholism, pedophilia, sheltering/protecting assaulters.

Now, I did like how this book had multiple POVs and went between past and present, it felt really easy to follow while you’re trying to piece together everything that happened. I never felt lost or confused on perspectives or time. I thought the interviews with police as well were placed correctly as we got more development.

This story really did break my heart, I think it’s important for people to realize that when people experience SA, it’s usually by someone they know and trust. At first, I thought the person responsible wasn’t the one who it actually turned out to be. As a young female myself, this book felt extremely realistic to the horrors of SA, the last 1/4 of the book had me feeling sick because of the horrors Viv had experienced. These things happen in real life and it’s important to educate and let people know there are resources out there and people who will support them.

In personal opinion that has nothing to do with my review, I think books that take these topics head on, in a really realistic narrative, should include resources in the back of the book for anyone who could be experiencing it

I finished this book within 4 days. This review is also posted on my goodreads account which is linked to my net galley.

really wish i loved this one more than I did. the ending was incredibly lacking, and I wasn't able to connect to the characters in any way.

I do believe that there are some readers that may enjoy this, but it just seemed quite similar to books I've previously read, and therefore couldn't fully appreciate it.

As a lover of mystery and medical student, I immediately knew that I had to read this book! Charismatic and well-loved Viv works at the local medical school, the kind of job that's every high schooler's dream. Her life seems almost perfect to those outside looking in. But when she ends up in a coma after an overdose, she leaves behind a trail of confusing and knotted clues as to what really happened to her that fateful night.

I think that my favorite thing about this book was the way that it showed the heartwrenching effects of Viv's trauma up close and personal. Viv may have looked like she had it all together, but this book did a wonderful job of showing the internal struggles of regular teenage life combined with traumas that no one should ever have to experience. This book made the reader really and truly feel for Viv in a way that can't even be explained in words. Her story was one that brought every single emotion into play, sometimes all within the span of a few pages. It left me rooting for Viv and wanting more for her and of her.

I wish we'd gotten to know more about Davida and Tim throughout the book, but I also understand that this was Viv's story and not theirs. They were wonderful characters who did everything they could to support their friend, and they only strengthened the love that the reader felt for Viv.

My biggest issue with this book was that I was thoroughly confused for quite a bit of it. The way that it was written in the alternating points of view as well as alternating timelines made it very hard to get into at the start. Once I got a majority of the way through it, I was completely hooked and was able to keep up with what was going on in each timeline, but it was very hard to get into originally.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will definitely be recommending it to my friends. It was a mystery that had me on my toes until the very end, and I greatly appreciate a gasp-worthy plot twist!

Tell Me When You Feel Something tells the story of somewhat-friends Viv and Davida in the lead-up and aftermath of a tragic event in their lives. When Viv is seen taking a pill that causes a potentially fatal reaction at a party, Davida is desperate to prove that this was some kind of mistake; but as we witness the weeks leading up to the party, it becomes clear that maybe nobody really knows Viv enough to understand what’s going through her mind at all.

This book is very intense and covers some incredibly serious and troubling subjects including addiction, sexual assault and drug use, but this is definitely handled carefully and, sadly, believably. The book is told from Viv, Davida and Davida’s boyfriend Tim’s perspectives, with police interviews with all involved parties mixed in following any big reveals in the plot. This was a really fascinating style for me, as I loved that the police interviews were almost responses to Viv’s chapters, and that the police were discovering things just as the reader was.

I can see from the twists and even the characters why this book is compared to One of Us is Lying and I would absolutely recommend it to fans of Karen McManus’ books, or anyone who likes intense, high-school set thrillers and contemporaries. It was a fast-paced, serious story with a troubled set of characters, an impossibility to determine who to trust, and a page-turning quality that no other book has gripped me with for a while.

Not only was the end a surprise, it was also fascinating to see Viv throughout the story in situations that you wouldn’t expect and reacting in ways that were completely unpredictable. She's a likeable, realistic character who is in no way to blame for anything that happens to her and that really makes this a heart-breaking tale and a saddening warning about society and the struggles that young people go through in the wrong situations.

Thank you Penguin Teen & Netgalley for sending me an ARC of Tell Me When You Feel Something by Vicki Grant. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Tell Me When You Feel Something follows the participants of the local med school program. While it starts as acting and fake symptoms, the real danger below the surface threaten to spill over as Viv, one of our protagonists ends up in a coma. Told through multiple perspectives and formats, we are pulls between past and present in an attempt to discover what really lies below the surface.

TW: While my reviews are always TW free, this book does contain sexual assault, pedophilia, alcoholism and drug use.

The novel is presented through 3 narrators and excerpts of police documents. Our characters Davida, Tim and Viv pull us through the book in a very conceptual way. Viv's story told in past tense leading up to the situation that left her in the coma, while Davida and Tim's POV's follow the aftermath of the situation as they try to piece together what truly happened. A lot of YA books aren't written in dual timelines for various reasons, mostly in my opinion because there are so many ways to fail as keeping the audience's attention. With mysteries and thrillers, this style is very effective as Grant made evident. The book starts off slow, the initial character build and setting took a little longer than I hoped. The characters and their struggles intersect well with each other, but some scenes felt heightened to an unneeded extent to keep the mystery thriller aspect intact. Overall in. objective sense, I think the choices of Grant's writing progression was a smart and capturing move. Keeping alternate timelines captures attention and while it it felt a little slow in the beginning, I still wanted to know what happened next, still wanted to piece together the past and the present until the very end where I could see the full picture.

Now, onto the more sensitive topics. This book deals with various heavy and triggering content,. Always right off the bat I think it's important to TW books, especially if it wasn't mentioned in the synopsis. My heart ached for what what these characters had to endure, and some aspects were frustrating. I remember distinctly the moment the big plot twist finally clicked in my head before it was said and I just couldn't help but think "please don't let this be what happens, please don't let this be where the story leads". It is where the story led, and there are definitely plot points in books where it becomes hard to tell whether it was a strategic and awareness filled plot point, or just an add in to unnecessarily heighten and garner. I still don't have a conclusive answer to that thought, but it keeps me thinking and sympathizing with the situation, so more than anything the book is effective in memorability if anything.

Overall we see teens grappling with the pressures, fears and feeling lost in a book that kept me interested with a talented literary structure.

The premise was intriguing that I decided to read it right away. The story is about Vivienne, Davida, and Tim who goes to med school during their summer break and work as SPs (simulated patients). A story about teenage life, family/marital drama, friendship, addiction, and sexual assault. Narrated in multiple POVs and dual timelines, the story has well represented each main character's family background, their predicaments, and mental health.

The story is thought-provoking and compelling that you can’t stop reading until you reach the end. My only qualm is one of the MC's weak coping mechanisms and poor judgment that led her to a life-threatening situation.

I’m thankful to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and give my honest feedback.

The blurb captured my attention right away and I am so happy I was able to read this book. Being a YA novel, I knew some of the general tropes to expect but this story was able to hold my interest the entire time.

I really enjoyed the multiple points of view as well as the different timelines. I didn’t find this confusing and I appreciated entering each character’s mind. I thought this was a refreshing way to tell the story and uphold the mystery. The beginning did start slow but it began to pick up speed and didn’t stop until the climax. The climax may have been a bit too fast, I would have liked to see more, but it was satisfying nonetheless. I also would have liked some storylines wrap up better, maybe add in a few more details.

There are some triggers (binge drinking, sexual assault, pedophilia) so readers should be wary of those.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book to review. This review is my own opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, PRH Canada Young Readers, for the chance to read this ARC.
Vivienne seems like the girl who has her life together. She has good grades, a loving boyfriend, and volunteers as a simulated patient at the nearby med school. Life can't get better, right?
Well, when she ends up in a coma and the last video of her is evidence of her taking drugs, her friends have to find out who she really is and how this happened to her.
I really enjoyed this book. I found it was a really fast read and it was easy to get lost in the story. Vicki Grant writes the voice of teenagers very well and how they're awkward but try to seem cool, how they gossip, and try to hide stuff from the ones they love.
The alternating perspectives was well done and I liked the excerpts of the police interviews.
It would have been nice to get to know Davida, Tim, and some of the other characters more, but the story is centred overall on Vivienne so I understand.
Overall, I think if a teen or young adult wants to get introduced to the medical thriller genre this would be a good choice.
TW: sexual assault, drugs, overdoses
Go read Tell Me When You Feel Something on June 15th, 2021!

I was a bit hesitant to pick this one up but I really did enjoy the read in the end. This read was slow at times, but also relatively intense at moments as well! It was overall a well written YA thriller, however sadly isn't anything groundbreaking for me.

If you love YA thrillers/mysteries then you will love this either way!

Tell Me When you Feel Something is an excellent YA spin on a medical thriller.

The story revolves around teenagers who enroll in a summer program where they pretend to have various illnesses for the training purposes of med school students. But when one of the teens, Viv, uncharacteristically overdoses on party pills and ends up in a coma, the program comes under scrutiny. The narrative alternates between several different characters which made for an interesting unfolding of the mystery, as the surprise leak of new information from a new perspective provided twists at every turn.

I was gripped by the story and raced to finish the book. The ending wasn’t a complete surprise, but it was perfectly executed. There were plenty of triggers but that is pretty standard for YA fiction, I’ve found. All up, a fast-paced mystery that I’d happily recommend to others.

Davida has a friend who doesn't drink or take drugs. But now Viv is hospitalized from an overdose at a party. Davida wants answers. Who can she trust? Davida, Viv, and Tim work as fake patients to help train medical school doctors. The story unravels from different voices and police interviews. It starts out slow, but comes together as more information is given. The beginning can be confusing and frustrating because we don't have enough background. Hang in there. Things aren't always what you expect. Thank you Netgalley for this suggestion

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Davida, Tim and Viv are working as SP in summer break at med school. Everything was fine Viv and her long term boyfriend Jack are so happy. Davida and Tim are getting along. Everything seems fine. Until one day Viv fall in a comma and the video showed her taking a pill deliberately. Davida has known Viv for 36 days but she can't believe that Viv can take drugs. 

I am a sucker of YA mystery so after reading the synopsis I had to read it. But it takes me ages to finish it which simply means that it wasn't able to hook me to finish it in one sitting or in a couple of days. The pace of the story was slow, there were many characters but it was hard to feel for them as the story focused on them for a while and they disappear after a few chapters. There were so many loose ends and loopholes. It felt like the author didn't even care about all the side tracks and left them in between... I like the concept of the story and the ending was so dark and creepy but unsatisfying.

Tell Me When You Feel Something is a mystery told in a variety of perspectives and formats (police interviews, legal documents, multiple perspectives) that unfortunately, all read as slow, boring, and indistinguishable to me. Maybe reading this in print would make it easier to keep the POVs separate, but all the characters read as pretty much the same to me and the things that did differentiate them really annoyed me. Mysteries don't have to focus on likeable characters but when you spend this much time on character details instead of unfolding the actual mystery, I feel like at least someone needs to be likable.