Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets was ok. The story was interesting enough to keep me reading, but I felt like the narrator didn't do much actual investigating--she mostly just stumbled onto evidence, and reacted to what was happening. I also found it weird that she started out wanting to keep her investigation secret, but almost immediately started accusing everyone she came across of being the culprit. There were so many red herrings that the final reveal felt very anticlimactic; almost any of the other possible solutions would have been more interesting than what the solution ultimately turned out to be. Overall, I don't regret reading this book, but it's not one I would reread, either.

Piper Sullivan fell from a cliff during a hiking accident. Piper's sister, Savannah, is unraveling with grief. Savannah finds a note in Piper's locker asking her to meet at the very cliff she fell from that day. Savannah suspects her accident may not have been a suicide attempt or accident after all. She joins the hiking club to ask questions of the other club members to find their secrets. What Savannah isn't telling is that she has secrets of her own. Great suspense for grades 7+.

Chelsea Ichaso has created a world full of teens with secrets that still manages to feel believable as the twists unravel. The pacing of Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets was just right — information withheld and divulged at just the right moments to keep readers engaged. The characters are interesting, and having an unreliable first-person narrator allows for readers to go on an exciting whodunit journey where they’re never quite sure what’s true. I truly felt like I was in the midst of a murder mystery dinner set around a campfire. I’ll definitely be reading more by Ichaso in the future! Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Piper Sullivan has been in a coma for a month as a result of a strange hiking accident. The outcome doesn’t look good and its highly likely that Piper will not be waking up. Her sister Savannah is devastated. She and her sister were not on good terms before the accident, and a text message sent to Piper in the heat of the moment has her wracked with guilt.

While borrowing a sweater from her sister’s locker at school, Savannah discovers a startling note inviting Piper to attend a meeting of the wilderness club. This meeting was to take place in the same location, on the same day of Piper’s accident. Her accident was no accident. Determined to find the answers shes looking for, Savannah joins the club. She quickly finds out that her sisters seemingly perfect life isn’t so perfect. Savannah attends the wilderness club’s weekend long camping trip at the same location Piper was last seen. Everyone is a suspect and things quickly escalate as secrets are revealed and friendships are tested.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel going into this but I quickly, and unexpectedly got sucked in. I could not stop reading, and as I anxiously turned the page, I was filled with anticipation. I thought I knew who Savannah was looking for, however I was wrong multiple times. The plot twists were pretty good. I did not see them coming and the final reveal truly surprised me. I really enjoy books where I cannot predict how it ends and this one definitely delivered.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had a good time reading this. It's only 200 pages so I got through it in one sitting. I appreciate Ichaso's no-frills style it was refreshing to be thrown in the deep end of the mystery within the first few chapters. It reminded me of those old Nancy Drew games for the PC, good times. However sometimes, I found it moved a little bit too fast that all the twists failed to really pack their punch. Having a large ensemble of characters within a relatively short book made all the motives hard to keep track of.

I think the best way to describe this plot is in terms of a cat puzzle. When you buy a cat puzzle you assume that it has all the pieces that make up the image of a cat. You begin the puzzle with all the pieces in a messy pile, but you know that'll eventually make up that final image. Ichaso's 'Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets' felt like someone just started adding pieces from a lizard puzzle and tried to force it into the one of the cat. With every plot twist, the justification was something that was never really mentioned in the novel, just seemed to be thrown in to just have it make sense. I felt as if they came a bit out of left field and ended up being confusing.

In all, it was a compact mystery YA book that I couldn't put down!

I was really excited for this book, and while I did enjoy it quite a bit, there were quite a few things that didn't appeal to me.
the characters had no depth. I could not connect with them in the slightest.
the plot twists really had me, but sometimes too many of them really degrade the quality of the book. It also depends on how shocking the plot twists were because most of them were very predictable.

Let me just say this is one of those mystery/ thriller books that you will feel like you are twisting down a rabbit hole with all the whodunits and the mystery behind everything. That being said, if you love a good mystery then this should be your next big read!
Piper had an accident on a cliff that is known for suicide, while everyone is convinced because of events that had happened that she tried to commit suicide. Her older sister is racked with guilt because of what she did to her sister earlier that fateful day, she is determined to figure out what actually happened that day because she does not think that it was suicide.
Savannah starts trying to put different clues together to unravel the events leading u to Piper's accident and what she discovers is chilling! Everyone is lying to some extent and everyone has a secret involving Piper that they want to keep hidden. Savannah decides to join one of the clubs that Piper was involved in, she knows someone in this club has the answers she's looking for! Will Savannah find out what happened to her sister? Are you excitable by the twists and turns of a mystery? Check out this book to find out what happened!

I loooveee this book!!! The twisted plot. I tried to guess who the bad guy is because everyone seems suspicious.

Well written but just felt disappointed when I’d finished it. There are so many red herrings in this book, that the reveal at the end didn’t seem worth it. It’s a good premise but I don’t think it’s been executed well.

This was a fast-paced, enjoyable YA mystery! Ichaso's narration style is excellent for the genre, keeping you engrossed without ever slowing down to the point where you lose interest, and the cast of characters and suspicions is well-developed. If you're against "thriller heroes who make stupid decisions to keep the novel a thriller," you might be frustrated by some of the protagonist's actions, but overall, this was a decent read
3.5 stars for me

I enjoy books set in the wilderness and this story did not disappoint. I read loads of thrillers and mysteries and this novel had all the twists and turns and wrong guesses that proves this not only fits well within the genre but it’s also a fresh story within it as well. I loved this even more than the author’s debut— can’t wait to devour the next one!

This was an okay story. I liked the idea behind it and the writing was strong, but the concept is a little exhausted to me. I am starting to dislike unreliable narrators and this one just seemed to mirror too many other books I have read.

trigger warning
<spoiler> grief </spoiler>

A while ago, Savannah's sister Piper had a tragic accident that left her in a coma. Or was it an accident?

The book sets off as Savannah has forgotten to bring her sweater and borrows one from her sister. It's not as is Piper would mind, or even ever hear about it, how things are standing. Bunched up in the sweater is a note, asking Piper to come to the place where the accident happened - on the day it happened.
Conviced she finds the guilty party there, Savannah joins the survival club, which is sheduled for a weekend hike. Dun-dun-dun!

Let me start with what I liked, because that's the shorter list. Despite this being told from first person narrator, we get a sense of what the characters are thinking about Savannah and her actions, and Savannah gives things away she just doesn't realise how bad they are. Like, forbidding her friend to remain in a club he has been in for ages and that brings him joy, simply because his ex is also in that club.
So the author was really able to handle that narrative perspective in a nuanced manner, which I enjoyed.

Theeen the rest. Oh boy.
Savannah is not the brightest pea in the pod, which would be okay, since you don't have to have an outstanding IQ to solve a crime, if it weren't that annoying. Or if the people around her would draw attention to how dumb she just sounded.
Prime example: One of the first clues she finds is a message written on the inside flap of her sister's backpack. Later on, we have a message spray-painted on a tree, and supposedly the handwriting looks the same so it has to be written by the same person. ...excuse me? Give me two pens of different nib size and my handwriting will look different, never mind a pen and a spray can full of colour.

Towards the end, every two pages or so we have a new prime suspect. When the idea comes up that x might have done it, she's all in. She doesn't question, she goes all out to confront that person, who attempted murder, most often alone. I understand that emotions are high, but come on, this is ridiculous. Again, everybody just goes with the flow.

Then I didn't have the impression that the author was very into camping. Addmittedly, I've never been hiking, only camping, but I was confused because the teacher was fully into teaching them how to survive - this is the survival club after all - and didn't teach them about local plants, collecting a few herbs for dinner or something. They lived on instant soup and pasta, on oats - things you only need to combine with water. No cooking. They're away for a weekend, it's not as if it would have been impossible to divide up ingredients and cook something on the mountain.
Additionally, I was impressed by how much drama was going on at night after a full day of walking. It's not as if they were doing this every weekend, and Savannah joined for the first time. Yes, sure, adrenaline does wonders for being awake, but you crash especially hard afterwards, and it should be adressed in some form.

All in all, I did not like the writing, the crime solving, or the hiking content, which is a shame because this book contains some of my favourite tropes. Crime solving, limited cast of characters, secluded setting...
Can't really recommend it to anyone.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

This book was really good! I enjoyed how the plot had many twists and turns, keeping the ending a surprise (which is impressive!!). The characters were interesting and each developed as needed with the plot. I also enjoyed the introduction of the Piper chapters, because they gave insight that couldn't have happened with the other characters, but still kept everything mysterious.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All of the opinions given are my own and have been given nothing for my review.

Wow
Where to start
The whole book had me on the edge of my seat. Every chapter made me doubt every character. This is the type of mystery that I live for. Perfect planning, perfect execution.
Thrilling, to be honest. Not knowing what exaclty happened, not knowing who was involved, not knowing why it happened. I felt like I was there with them trying to solve the case.
I trusted no one. If there is something mystery books taught me is to never trust anyone, this book is not an exception.
I love how at the beginning of the book we knew absolutely nothing about what happened and we got to learn the story as the book went along.
I was mad the first couple of chapters. The main character annoyed me so much because of her impulsiveness. I honestly thought she was going to get killed because of it.
Anyone that liked A Good Girl's Gide To Murder by Holly Jackson is going to like this one.
Definitely, the perfect book to read to get out of a reading slump.

Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets is a is a wonderful and incredibly rich YA mystery/thriller novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone, especially those who love a good thriller!

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to read and review this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets is about Piper who gets into a weird accident in which she is put into a coma state. Savannah, her sister, is suspicious about what happened and finds a clue to Piper's "accident". Following that clue, Savannah realizes there is more to this incident than meets the eye and she's not the only one keeping secrets.

This was not a bad read, it was very fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. DGCTS is a "whodunnit" kind of book that keeps you guessing but I was able to guess some things a little early on in the story. I liked the sister bond even while it was on the rocks. You get both Savannah's POV and a Piper POV of past events. I think a lot of YA readers will enjoy the suspense and the twists at the end. Overall this was an average YA thriller for me. I do recommend reading at least once but I don't think I would go back for a second read.

3.5 stars

Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets follows Savannah, whose younger sister Piper is in a coma after a terrible fall. When Savannah uncovers some evidence to suggest Piper's fall wasn't the accident everyone says it is, she decides to take matters into her own hands and investigate by joining her school's survivalist group, which is taking a trip to the same mountains where Piper fell, so she can investigate each member of the group and find out the truth.

I had a fun time with this story! I always enjoy books where I can come up with my own theories, and with the twists and turns in this book, it had me constantly on my toes and coming up with my own potential theories.

However, I've definitely read YA thrillers that I've enjoyed more. The pacing in this book was great, but the writing itself wasn't anything special. The dialogue was sometimes a little frustrating, and while I was rooting for the main character, I found myself rolling my eyes at how she was determined to be "secretly investigating" on this camping trip, but then she openly accused everyone she talked to of being Piper's attempted murderer.

One thing I did really enjoy was the flashback chapters from Piper's POV that started being woven in toward the end of the novel--I loved reading from her perspective to not just see what happened to her, because her chapters were full of well-executed suspense, but also to see her sometimes tumultuous relationship with Savannah from her perspective.

All in all, it was a short book with fast pacing that was fun to read, but I wouldn't say it was anything I hadn't seen before.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Though I was not a fan of the prose style, I believe this will appeal to a mostly-female teen audience. Similar to Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye, this story's narrator is unreliable and somewhat annoying, though the story is still entertaining. I found the opening scene a little tough to get through, but once things started moving, the story was much better.

Teens will like the relatability of the setting and the varied characters in the story. This would be a pleasure read for them, but would not be something I would assign in my secondary classroom.