WOW! So, as an adult school librarian who loves YA books, I always feel like I need to give a disclaimer at the beginning of my YA reviews. This is written for teens so it's not John Grisham, nor should it be. The original disappearance is set in 1999, the year I graduated high school. How could I not read this?

That disclaimer given:

Missing Clarissa is a book that I cannot wait to get in my high school library. It has plentiful representation (which a lot of students are looking for, even though it can feel a bit obvious to an adult), an LGBTQIA+ storyline, and a solid mystery. The tagline on the front of the book is also intriguing. "Everyone loves a dead girl." Using the lens of a podcast is an innovative idea.

The main characters (Cam and Blair) are savvy and do solve the mystery through their investigation after some missteps that even my students will sigh at. Cam in particular is impulsive to a fault. Blair is more relatable in my opinion. They're fairly typical high school journalists. It has a bit of a Nancy Drew feel for those old enough to get that reference. The adults are very forthcoming, the kids are very know-it-all. Like Nancy Drew.

Overall a good book that I could see my teens checking out at the school library.

Missing Clarissa reminded me of Sadie, which I absolutely adored! I really love anything involving a podcast. It was full of twists and red herrings. I think I would have loved it even more as a teenager.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun, twisty read. I did have to keep reminding myself that the girls were in highschool though because certain things kept driving me crazy but they totally tracked with the age / mindset.

While true crime podcasts don't usually pique my interest, this story did. I felt like parts of the story dragged a little bit but the end more than made up for it. I do read a lot of young adult, but the characters in this book read a bit younger than what I expected. I would say that's the only negative though. If you like murder mysteries, true crime podcasts, then I would recommend this book.

Yo, this isn’t really usual for me. While I love thrillers, I don’t think I’ve ever read one that was funny? But it wasn’t funny because of the subject matter? It was because one of the main characters was annoying? I found myself laughing at her so I didn’t get mad. As someone who majored in Mass Communication, her whole blase’ attitude wasn’t for me.

The very best part about this was the podcast. I have such a weird relationship with podcasts lol I like them when they’re in books. Even more so when the book is a mystery or thriller. But when they’re in real life, I just don’t like them. I think it’s because the menz have ruined them for me. But anyway, when I saw there was one in this book, I needed to read it. And the podcast didn’t disappoint. I think it was the way they had no idea what they were doing. And the way people said they sounded like they recorded in a bathroom. The author just made it seem like these are everyday teens who could do this. And I love it. It lets teens know they too can start something big like this.

Buttttt I didn’t like the characters. Again, they had no idea what they were doing. They were doing all they could to figure it out. But what I didn’t like was they just went off vibes only. They just JUMPED and didn’t think about anything first. Well at least one of them. I was happy that there was two of them and they were able to bounce ideas off each other and help each other come to different realizations. They were the true definition of partners. But the one that just did the things and didn’t think about the consequences? I was glad that they showed the truth of what could really happen. And I was glad that they showed that it wasn’t them, but they were still a shitty person. Because they were shitty, but not for that. And anyone working a case like this will most definitely run into that.

As for the mystery, I think I was so into it because of the cold case aspect of it. It sounds weird and possibly morbid, but my favorite shows are Unsolved Mysteries and anything to do with like mysteries that have been unsolved for years and then something happens and they’re able to catch the person who did it. And this was basically one of those shows in book forms. I do think the way it was played out and the way the author helped them solve it was pretty bad ass tho. Definitely seemed like it was plucked off a show. But it seemed a bit advanced for some teens lol

There is a romance storyline there, but I thought it was unnecessary? Like it was just there to be sure that there was one? And I hated that because one of them was an LGBTQ relationship, and the other was a toxic relationship that gave me the ick from the first page. I just feel like they were unnecessary. Especially since they had nothing to do with the mystery. They were just there. Making them more fleshed out could have made the book longer. Or cutting them and making them just friends wouldn’t have made any difference.

The narrators for this were amazing. I don’t know, it’s just something about a full cast. No matter what the characters are, even if they annoy me like this one did, I was still enthralled because of the narrators. I know they were just the interviewee’s, but they still gave some difference to the book and it was fun to see how each of them were able to play their own individual parts.

There was some space for another book at the end tho. Hopefully since they’ve learned lessons in this one and know better, maybe things would be better. The only thing missing……… Another true crime that needs to be solved. I guess we’ll have to see what the author decides.

I dont even know where to start with this review, I wasnt expecting to love this story as much as I did. Its a wild story, full of secrets and deception.

Best friends, Cam and Blair, are making a podcast about the twenty-year-old cold case of Clarissa Campbell, who’s been missing since the night of a senior graduation party in the local woods of Oreville, Washington in 1999. Clarissa was a popular cheerleader dating a popular football player and her life seemed perfect to outsiders. Mr. Park, journalism teacher, has assigned a project to his students and that’s why Cam came up with the cold case podcast idea. Blair and Cam are dealing with their own personal struggles but become devoted to figuring out Clarissa’s story. They soon realize they’re in over their heads and that they’re in danger themselves.
5 stars!

Enjoyable, twisting, turning, red herrings. So many suspects, and so much time has passed. Two girls start a podcast and focus on a missing girl from their mothers' high school years. This was an intense, fun read.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for the ARC!

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this nearly as much as I did. I ended up listening to the audio from my library after the publish date. I'm so glad I did because this story has a podcast element. I highly recommend the audiobook version. I enjoyed the characters. I liked that the few things that annoyed me about the two main characters were mostly resolved by the end of the story. The story was well-paced and the clues, hints, and twists were well-timed and kept me interested and wanting to know more. I definitely recommend this one for mystery/thriller fans.

This book has so many elements that I enjoy in a mystery: amateur sleuths, unlikely friendships, true crime vibes, a small town, and an interesting cold case.

I really enjoyed the two main characters Blair and Cameron; their friendship is an important element in the book and what made this book so enjoyable for me. As they dig into this cold case, they are navigating their own relationships and finding their footing in a new podcast partnership; which (of course) puts pressure on their friendship.

The mystery itself is interesting; they take a methodical approach to working the case - interviewing one suspect at a time and then following the next lead that uncovers - and that in turn works well in the story.

I really enjoyed the transcripts of the podcast episodes, especially the early ones - those were a fun element to read.

Definitely pick this up if you enjoy true crime podcasts (or the fictional equivalent). This fictional mystery still had that true crime vibe to it.

I just saw that there will be another book coming out next year featuring this crime-fighting duo, looking forward to it!

Missing Clarissa is about two friends who decide to make a podcast about a girl who went missing over twenty years ago as a class project. This book reminded me of A Good Girl's Guide to murder.

I’ve really enjoyed thrillers a lot more recently. I highly recommend picking up Missing Clarissa if you’re into Jessica Goodman’s books!!

This was a quick, enjoyable read with a good amount of suspense, even if I was able to guess the outcomes of the plot fairly quickly. The thriller & mystery elements of this novel are very similar to other YA entries in the genre, but are still enjoyable. I appreciated the podcast portions of the story, especially with the dialogue being slightly different as it is a true recording versus the characters' recollections.

What set this book apart from other YA mystery & thriller books were the elements of representation and social commentary. It was interesting to see the different views between generations, which gives some perspective on how much things have changed within the last handful of decades.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this but I ended up really enjoying this! Missing Clarissa is about two teenage girls who start a podcast about a girl who disappeared from their hometown in the 90s, and hasn’t been seen since. It’s not super different than any together YA mystery I’ve read in the same vein, but it’s fun. The main characters are besties Blair and Cam who are equally likable and complex. The author took great care in making sure they balanced each other well and I loved that. Cam could be deeply frustrating at times, but I really connected to her and loved that her sweet little sapphic romance!

I don’t think the mystery itself does anything exciting, but Ripley Jones has one character in particular whose whole role is calling out issues with the police, the Justice system and prisons. There is an abolitionist message that I wish went deeper, but I appreciated that and the mentions of the many injustices against Indigenous women. Where’s the YA mystery about that? I wish the mystery played out differently, but I will always read this genre because I am so obsessed with teenage girls defeating evil. And I will recommend this because it is quick and fun.

TW: Grooming, violence against women, mentions of homophobia.

I enjoyed this story, it was a mystery with twists along the way. About the last 20% the pace does pick up. I did enjoy how the author brought together the past and present.

Read if you like true crime podcasts.

The title and cover caught my eye. This book was sooooo good. It was difficult to put down. I have suggested this book to several people including teachers I work with. Such a good idea to develop a podcast. Kids have written papers, which is also good; but a podcast is something that people are doing more often and the girls not only had to do research to solve the crime, but also how to do a podcast. Each chapter ended with a bit of wonder, where it was difficult to put the book down because you wanted to know what was going to be next.
I not only suggest this book to young adults, but to adults.
Such a good read!

I absolutely am obsessed with this novel. It was marketed as YA for fans of Good Girls Guide To murder and it hit that market exactly. I loved this wasn't too overly YA and the plot kept me hooked from page one.

I wanted to love this one. I* mean what's not to love about podcast and true crime. And solving an almost 3o year old murder. However the two teenage girl main characters acted younger than they were age wise.

This was one of the first books I was approved for. I don’t know what i was expecting but this was a little much for me. I was able to finish it though.

I am a fan of amateur detective stories, especially being told in an engaging way, like with podcast elements, so I was interested in the plot of this book.

The main characters, Cam and Blair, are in high school and for a school project, decide to revisit a somewhat cold case and create a podcast about a missing girl from their small town.

I found this book to move at a good pace and I was interested to see where it was going. Cam is a quirky genius who won’t let anything stand in her way, whereas Blair is the opposite, timid and self doubting but well spoken and patient. Combined, these two seemingly have the qualities to create an entertaining amateur detective story.

After Cam and Blair’s first interview, the elements here left me feeling like the situation was unsettling and I was hooked in finding out where this was going.

But as the story progressed, I felt less inclined to realistically believe these two could solve this case based on their interview skills. I know they are young, but it was a bit too much. It was admitted early on that they knew nothing about creating a podcast, yet they, Cam especially, just kept barrelling through everything thinking there is no way they won’t succeed. If the adults of this story didn’t conveniently reveal all the necessary information, I don’t think these two would have gotten as far. Cam especially did not seem to learn anything despite the impending repercussions.

Overall, I found this to be a propulsive but predictable mystery. The ending was decent, as it was tense and dramatic.

Thank you for St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.