I went to Goodreads to grab the book info for this post, and I see this book getting positively lambasted, and I don't really know why? I mean, I get that everyone has opinions obviously, but I am here to provide you with a different one, because I really liked this book!

We first meet Nora and her brother Wesley when they are quite young, Nora not even in high school if memory serves. They've been told their whole lives that their biological dad was dead, only surprise, he's not. And he wants to hang out! He has a family cabin at Donner Lake, which is obviously cool, but Nora is understandably hesitant. Her mom is in poor health, and she certainly doesn't trust this father that was suddenly thrown into the picture. But since she's like fourteen, she has no choice.

While she and Wesley are there, they meet Grace and Rand. We know from the start that something has happened to disrupt this foursome, since they are no longer the happy group they once were. At the present, Nora, Wesley, and Rand are cold to each other, but accounted for. Grace, however, is not.

So we switch between the past summers and winters and springs that the group had spent together, and the present time when they are seemingly fractured beyond repair. There are several mysteries happening, though. The obvious being Grace's whereabouts, but the less obvious being what happened over the past few years that lead to this once close-knit group to now be unable to stand the sight of each other. Also, what has lead to the point where Nora is packing up their cabin, never to return?

While I found the book a bit slow to start, I became really invested in the story once it did get started. Grace's actions were so off the wall from the beginning, that I figured it would be even more difficult to discern when or how things went off the rails. Grace was always trying to be a little... extra, for lack of a better word, but her intentions seemed to be for the benefit of her friends, always. So yeah, I did find myself really invested in the outcome of all of the stories.

And all the while Nora is focusing on the big mysteries around her, she is coping with a lot in her own life. Her first love, her mother's illness, having a father appear in her life, and her ever changing relationship with her brother all play huge roles in the story. Also, I'm legit never going to turn down Donner lore being part of a story, so added bonus there.

Bottom Line: I became quite invested in all of the mysteries of this story, both the huge and the subtle, and the growth and changes all its characters underwent.

This book was absolutely beautiful. From holding on tight to the whimsicality of childhood to preserving memories in the whispers of wild adventures I felt transported into the story. I loved getting to slowly know each character by unravelling their secrets and how their pasts combined with their lives at Donner Lake.
This book ended up being exactly what I needed for my summer. It captured the magic of summer while also holding a dark undercurrent—somber and studded with mystery. I loved how the chapters combined present and past and carefully led the reader to discover the whole plot. But oh the ending truly ripped a hole in my heart however despite the ending it truly was such a beautiful story that came alive through the pages.

DNF at 8%

It’s a huge disappointment when none of our teens act like teens. We have a 14, 15, and two 16 year olds having an existential discussion where they all sound like they’re in their late teens/early 20s.

Two are pointed out as “you seem older” but the other two, our leads, seemed older in the earlier scenes before we even meet the second set of characters.

This was a fun, quick read. I didn't love the characters, and I think if they had been better this book would have been a home run for me. I wanted more from this book, but overall it was decent.

This slow burn will take you on a heartbreaking journey of friendship. Grace has gone missing, and Nora needs to know what happened.
This novel will connect the past, and the present, with some surprises along the way.
This page turning suspense, will make you wonder how well do you know your closest friends.. and whether you even know them at all.
Great read, with an unexpected ending you won’t soon forget.

"Who We Were in the Dark" is one of those "just OK" books. I've read much worse and I've read much better. It's not that the writing is bad, it's just that the characters were meh and I didn't feel connected to any of them. I also thought this would be more of a mystery/thriller, so I kept waiting for that AHA! moment that never came. I found myself scanning through pages towards the end, waiting for a satisfying ending that never came.

Still sort of on the fence about this one. While I loved the concept, it felt very repetitive. I did enjoy the foursome and their friendship, but grew bored with their antics. I really liked the intrigue and the complexity of the characters. *I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just plain boring. There was nothing here, no interesting plotline and boring characters.

Who We Were in The Dark is a YA thriller featuring two siblings that spend their summer breaks at Donner Lake where they befriend two kids their age. Then, one of their new kids, Grace goes missing. But it’s not the first time that someone has gone missing in Donner Lake. This feels like the perfect summer read but not the type of summer read you read on the beach, but alone in the dark.

I was honestly hoping for so much more. The premise really grabbed me but I felt like the execution let me down. The characters felt mostly flat to me and definitely didn’t feel relatable. In addition, some of the characters motivations and emotions didn’t feel like they made sense given certain situations.

I didn’t DNF because I wanted to know what happened at the end, so the story didn’t completely lose me. I think the structure of the story could use a bit of tweaking, there is a lot of time jumping back and forth, which I think could add to the feeling of disjointedness.

I found it very hard to keep reading this one. The characters were such stereotypical teenagers that think they're "old souls". I found myself brought out of the story over and over by their attempts at philosophy. There was a moment when they acted as if it was a profound thing for them to carve their names on a cave wall to mark it as "theirs". It just felt very cringy. Besides the characters the story was okay, but it did not drive me to keep going. Also, the setup was a little confusing with the timeline. Overall just not one of my favorites, a 1.5/5 for me.

I received a digital copy of this book free from Penguin Young Readers Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I unfortunately wasn’t able to get past chapter 5. I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. The writing is beautiful but the plot didn’t capture me. I hope others enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Not really a thriller, more a mystery!

This one started a bit slow for me, if it was more fast-paced I think I would've been more into it. I didn't care too much for the characters and chapter structure, but the plot was interesting!

Review Check out the aesthetic video I made for this book on my TikTok and Instagram @katherinebichler. See the links below ⬇️

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdwsmtrH/?k=1

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ce09Sf...

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
3.5/5 (rounded up)

This is more of a YA coming of age than it is mystery/thriller, so know that going in.

It is about a group of friends who meet seasonally over two years and how their relationships develop.

The first half of the book is slow and a little confusing because it jumps around from past and present. I had to go back a few times thinking that I missed what was going on. (I think because I was expecting a mystery and was looking for clues). It picked up halfway through and turned out to be nice coming of age story. I enjoyed the “present” plot the best.

If you liked Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls, you will enjoy this one!

Thank you Penguin Teen for the ARC! 💙

I'd probably give this a 3.5, but bumping it up to 4 as it was a fun, quick read. The writing is great and I was really invested in the characters and plot. My only real complaint is that sometimes it was hard to keep track of when things were happening. I'm not sure if that's just because I was reading an ARC or if there needs to be a bit more obvious clues to which time period the book was in.

The characters were well developed, even when they weren't very developed. The character of Grace is a mystery to the other characters and the author keeps her a mystery from the reader for most of the book. While this was kind of frustrating, it was done well and it was less annoying and more that I wanted to know more about her.

This is pretty sad overall, so be warned of that. Lots of coming of age angst and heartbreak.

I really enjoyed this! I was definitely into the coming of age/mystery vibe, but it was more the former than the latter in my opinion. It was a nice, quick, summer read and I definitely recommend it, but maybe go in with a little less of "thriller" expectations.

I wanted to love this book.

I’ll say this—it was interesting! It started off slowly, but it really picked up. I was more invested in it about halfway through and I knew I had to see it to the end rather than DNF it.

Now, I’ll explain why I didn’t *love* it—the structure. It drove me nuts. I understand we needed to know the past to figure out what was going on, but I don’t know if switching every other chapter back and forth was the way to do it. I could see there being an intro chapter of the present and then starting at the beginning when they all first met. Then, following the series of events in chronological order until the present. The way it was set up was honestly a little confusing and hard to understand at first. It made the pacing feel sort of all over the place. That’s why it took me about halfway to start to enjoy what I was reading. Maybe that’s just me though! You might love the way it’s set up. I thought that it tried to add an element of mystery but the execution wasn’t quite there.

Another thing I didn’t love was how Nora felt so responsible for what happened to Grace. Honestly, how they all did. Grace was manipulative and in need of some serious therapy. I understand that her home life was less than ideal. However, Nora kept saying she should have/could have been a better friend to her. Sorry, Nora, but even being a better friend to her wouldn’t have solved Grace’s problems. And Rand? With all the secret keeping? I get that he was respecting her privacy but all of her risky behavior is a huge red flag. Sure, teenagers mess up and make mistakes and whatnot but Grace is on another level. It’s not fair to put that burden on the other’s shoulders. They’re kids, too.

Gah. I am probably reading too much into this. Like I said, I wanted to love this but I didn’t. Ultimately, it’s more coming of age than it is mystery/suspense. Don’t go into it with a “thriller” mindset but more of a teenagers-figuring-out-communication mindset.

Thank you PenguinTeen for this ARC! My review is live on Goodreads.

I absolutely loved this plot. I was quickly invested in the story and couldn’t wait to find out what happened. It was an incredibly original plot which was also nice to see.

Nothing about the characters, setting, or story pulled me in so I was reading it half-in and half-out the entire time. The mystery or thrill of discovering the deeper side of all of the characters and then what happened with Grace's disappearance wasn't particularly intense while I was also questioning Nora's family situation. Needless to say it wasn't something I got in to.

I was intrigued by the premises, but the overall delivery of the book didn’t live up to the excitement I had going into it. I had a hard time trying to get into the story or connect with the characters. I think that having the mindset of a thriller, but the actual lack of thrill made it hard to fully get into the story. I was expecting something big, anything big, but the lack of surprise in the ending made this read just OK.

This book was really easy to read and I feel for the intended age demographic it’s a perfectly paced story. I think the lack of suspense makes this the perfect “soft thriller” for the younger reader. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for this ARC