4.5 stars rounded down. Everything We Never Said is a hard book to review, largely because I don't want to give too much away. The blurb states that this would be enjoyable by Colleen Hoover fans, and I 100% agree with that sentiment. Everything We Never Said stars Ella, the mild-mannered, docile, and very agreeable best friend to Hayley, who is essentially the opposite. When Hayley dies, Ella's life is turned upside down, and Ella is wracked with grief, feeling responsible for Hayley's death. The only person she seems to be able to find any comfort or solace with is Sawyer, Hayley's former boyfriend. The more that Ella tries to deal with her grief, the more she finds herself falling for Sawyer, which ultimately makes her feel even guiltier. But the more time she spends with Sawyer, the more she realizes that something just isn't right. Is Sawyer the guy she thought he was? Confusion compounds when Ella finds Hayley's diary, which seems to corroborate Ella's growing fears and really makes her wonder whom she can trust. Everything We Never Said is an emotional story heavy on the drama. Readers need to 100% be aware of trigger warnings, which include domestic abuse and assault of minors. In addition to these heavy topics, there's also a bit of a mystery going on, and I would 100% classify this one as a thriller. I was able to figure things out, but that did not detract from the story at all. Truly, this was a really quick read and although I had my suspicions (which were ultimately correct), I wanted to keep progressing with the story to see how things ended up. I really applaud Harlow's portrayal of teenagers. Her characters were so emotional and hormonal and everything was high stakes, and it really made the story feel realistic. All in all, I definitely recommend Everything We Never Said. Although this is YA, I think because of the subject matter and discussions of sex, this is probably more suitable for older teens rather than pre-teens (and younger). And of course, this is also suitable for 35 year olds, like me 🤣.

Thank you so much to Harlow, Penguin Teen, and netgalley for sending me an eARC and physical copy in exchange for my honest review.

I ended up really liking this one. I love the first half, the middle was a bit skeevy and I was uncomfortable with the fact that the main characters were in high school with what was happening between them. But I guess, it does happen in real life. But still. It felt like this would have been better as a adult novel, not a YA novel.

Ella's best friend Hayley is gone. She doesn't know what to do now, trying desperately to survive without her other half. Sawyer is grieving too, and Ella feels so guilty that they're coming together for comfort. Guilty for betraying her friend's memory and for liking Sawyer. But he's feeling the same, and they can't stay away from each other.

Secrets begin to reveal themselves as Ella finds Hayley's journal and reads it. She feels horrible but just can't believe that Sawyer would do the things she wrote about. Could he? Ella starts to remember part of the accident, and goes to the school guidance counselor, Mr. Wilkins, for help.

After a series of events that lead to Ella going to his house to avoid Sawyer after someone broke into her bedroom, she realizes that nothing in her life has been what she thought it was, and struggles to figure out what to do next.

There were so many moments that had me so shocked, and it really turned it around for me at the end.

Ella and her friend Hayley were driving home from a party one night. Ella wrecks and is injured. Hayley disappears and is assumed dead.
Ella begins dating her friends boyfriend Sawyer. She later discovers Hayley’s diary and it has devastating consequences for her.
This was an excellent read that had me quickly flipping the pages. Thanks NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP for this ARC that will be published May 28, 2024!

Thank you Netgalley, Sloan Harlow, and Penguin Group for the ebook! Wow! I'm not sure what I was expecting with this book but it took me through about everything. Started off with heartbreak and then turned into a thriller with some twists and turns that just had me dizzy! Then the end dropped a bomb I wasn't quite expecting! Enjoyed this!

Language: R (111+ swears, 1+ "f"); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG+
The sexual content is very intense for high schooler characters, and I was done reading it less than halfway through.
The mature content rating is for alcohol use, including underage drinking; discussions of periods; mentions of pornography, orgasms, adult toys, and sex; innuendo; sexual harassment; intense making out; groping; humping; and partial nudity. The violence rating is for death and jokes about murder.

Ella is back at school after her car accident that killed her best friend, Hayley. There are reminders everywhere, including Hayley’s boyfriend Sawyer.

This is a great young adult debut that’ll be a perfect summer read. It is very readable and a fast paced read. It is for a young adult audience and predictable, but still entertaining. I saw reviews saying it was too steamy for YA. While it is steamy, it’s also not. There are some seriously hot moments, but there aren’t dirty details. I’m looking forward to the next book by Harlow.

“Save your effort and time for students who aren’t lost causes. Students who deserve it. Students who didn’t kill their best friends.”

Everything We Never Said comes out 5/28.

This book was a HUGE wow….. Ella just Lost her best friend Hayley, in an accident that involved her. And now she’s about to start the new school year, without her best friend, so now she’s just going through it. But in the process of morning, she starts to develop feelings for her best friends, boyfriend, and the feelings are mutual. I will say this, even though it is a young adult read, there were a lot of adult content on here, but then again, the young adults in my time are different from the young adults in this time.

When Ella was sent to help clean out her best friends room she found her journal that she found out that Hayley was keeping a ton of secrets. Each of the characters involved have so much going on it’s so sad. But right when you thought you knew where the book was heading, it takes a huge LEFT and I was in shock.

There is a ton of trigger warnings, that I feel people should be aware of, like abuse among other things. I also love the resources in the end of the book, the author is awesome for doing that.

First off, this is supposed to be YA suspense, but it is clearly beyond the realm of YA. Warnings: there is domestic violence and sex, so I personally would not allow my YA to read this.

The premise is a best friend's death, and the surviving friend gets close with the boyfriend of the deceased. We have both of their perspectives and even excerpts from the diary of the deceased girl. But then there are triggers of violence and teen sex. The mystery reveal was predictable, however, I will say this book was not all bad. These issues may not be triggers for all.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

A terrifyingly realistic tale of dark romantic suspense, Everything We Never Said kept my eyes pinned to the pages. From characters that felt genuine and true to a plot that twisted and turned until a final timely reveal, the entire plot was quite chilling for even this adult reader. For that reason, while billed as a YA thriller, I think it was much more aligned to NA given the topic. Thanks to relatively explicit intimate scenes and a plot line that made a trigger warning essential, portions of this would have even been much more appropriate for an adult audience. It was only the characters’ ages kept it in the realm of NA.

Back to the winning attributes to this blindingly good book, though. A quick, easy read despite the heavy themes, I thought I knew exactly where the plot was going for much of the slow burn first half. So you can imagine my surprise when a twist to end all twists arrived on the scene. Shocking but also perfectly set up by the storyline, it took a straightforward tale and turned it on its head. Add in the adrenaline-fueled climax and smile-inducing conclusion, and this book hit all the right chords. Was it just a bit over-the-top? Well, yes—but given the age range, it made perfect sense.

My only hang up with this book was down to the genre. Namely, the strong romantic streak running throughout. Granted, I should have realized before I even picked this one up, but I was expecting something more akin to B.A. Paris, I guess. Instead, I found a twisted love story paired with a second half filled with plenty of thrills and chills. Ultimately, however, my discomfort with this was no fault of the plot. It was all down to me and my mostly anti-romance leanings.

All said and done, though, this was a story that all teens should read. Sometimes toxic relationships happen and kids—just like adults—need to be willing to lean on others for help. From seeing red flags and then acting on them to learning to trust one’s instincts, multiple lessons were illustrated that are important for all ages to hear. I also got lost in the multiple POVs, authentic teenage behavior, and dark secrets. So much so, in fact, that I read this in just a single sitting. So if you’re looking for a book meant for more than one age group that addresses hard to tackle topics as well as possessing a killer plot, this is the one for you. Rating of 4 stars.

I'm not always a YA reader but I was really intrigued by the premise of Sloan Harlow's Everything We Never Said. I enjoyed the soap opera drama and tension - I did figure out some of the twists (definitely not all of them...) but I had fun on the ride to the end! I will definitely read more from Harlow in the future.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Sloan Harlow absolutely knows what she’s doing. Last summer I binged “Cruel Summer” on Hulu and I felt like I was being transported into my couch where all I did was avoid my responsibilities and binge this book!

Sloan wrote in such a way that I was hooked by the first chapter. Were some of the plot twists and clues a little predictable? Yeah, sure! But I still immensely enjoy it the whole time!

I loved the plot. The forbidden love between Ella and Sawyer. I loved the friendship between Hayley and Ella. This whole book was just a *chef’s kiss.* I did feel a little like I was reading a Lifetime movie with some cheesy parts in it but overall I LOVED IT!!

Will post review closer to publication date! Will come back to add link to review. Thank you thank you Penguin Teen for the advanced copy. #PenguinTeenPartner

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sloan Harlow for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Everything We Never Said coming out May 28, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I thought the first half of this book was amazing. There was a lot of character and world building. It felt like a really interesting and heartbreaking look at grief and how it affects different people. I really liked the chapters being different characters’ perspectives. I was really curious to find out what happened to Hayley and to see the journey of Ella and Sawyer. However, the second half of the book felt tonally different to me. I thought Sawyer and Ella were moving really fast, especially considering their characters in the first half. I don’t want to give anything away, but this book felt a little more mature than the teenager ages. There were a couple plot points I didn’t care for at the end. I did like the book, but I wasn’t obsessed with it. I would check out another book by this author.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers in return for an honest review.

Let me start off by saying I don't usually read a lot of thriller/mystery types of books, and I'm not even sure I would fully categorize this book as such, but I really enjoyed this and was surprised by the twist. I also say this isn't fully a thriller/mystery because it has more coming of age/growing into your own voice and identity as a person as themes, and has a smattering of trying to figure out something that happened as a subplot. It also has some elements of romance and young love.

Ella is about to start her senior year of high school, but unlike most seniors who are getting excited for college acceptance, prom, and final high school experiences, Ella is grappling with the fact that her best friend, Hayley, died in a car accident over the summer. When Ella was the driver. Ella and Hayley had another best friend, Sawyer, who is a tall, handsome, and kind young man, who also was at the same party where Ella and Hayley made a fast exit that ended in tragedy, and Hayley's ex-boyfriend. Sawyer and Ella pick up their friendship, with a massive hole that Hayley used to occupy, and start to find solace, and feelings, in each other.

I don't want to give many plot points away, because I think Harlow does a nice job of letting the story unfold, with strong character development, and diverse backgrounds and experiences as well. Things I really liked about this book: set in Georgia, senior year of high school, good depiction of grief being complicated, chapters with multiple perspectives, strong and crisp writing. Things that I didn't enjoy as much: parents seemed kind of absent which seemed out of place for Ella's dynamic, with the twist the plausability of one aspect of it seemed a little far-fetched to be realistic. Overall I think this is a good summer time thriller for readers age 17 and up, and I would recommend it.

Everything We Never Said reminded me of Jennifer Armentrout's Don't Look Back. Just like Don't Look Back, Ella struggles with piecing together what happened the night her world turned upside down. Ella was a likeable and relatable protagonist. It was fun watching her piece everything together. Ella's POV chapters were my favorite. The Sawyer POV chapters were okay. Since this book is a mystery thriller, Sawyer's chapters didn't make sense until the big reveal. Although the big reveal was predictable, I liked how the author weaved everything together. I can see all of the S names throwing off readers. I thought the pacing of the story could have been better. The beginning was slow. I also thought Sawyer and Ella's relationship pacing was off. The author's writing style made up for the inconsistent pacing. Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC.

YA is not my target taste but this thriller was interesting enough to keep me reading. it was definitely predictable that the FMC would gravitate to her dead best friend's boyfriend but it would be weird if that was just platonic. love a secret, left behind diary that will probably have some clues.

My thanks to NetGalley and G.P.. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Random House for the ARC of "Everything We Never Said" in exchange for an honest review.
This book really takes you on a ride.......through a passionate, guilt-ridden YA romance to start out with and then veering into twisty thriller territory filled with real danger and surprises in store for its lead character.
Back in school after physically recovering from a tragic car accident, Ella's consumed with guilt over death of her best friend Hayley, who was in the car with her. Hayley's body, hurled into a river's strong currents, was never recovered and Ella's amnesia of that moment torments her always.
It's not surprising that Ella and Hayley's boyfriend Sawyer, find solace in each other's company as a way to deal with their mutual grief. But it doesn't take long for that solace to develop into an overpowering attraction to each other........until Ella's left stunned and fearful at revelations about both Sawyer and Hayley. She's not only a witness to Sawyer's sudden bouts of explosive anger, she discovers even more alarming secrets that Hayley had kept from her.
From this point on, the book revs itself up into full page turning mode, with the burning hot romance competing with the suspense and those 'whoa!' twists that comprise the final chapters. And in addition to the swoony stuff and the jeopardy Ella's faced with, and book also details the heartbreaking repercussions of families enduring domestic violence. Quite a package for one single book, which is why it gets my 5 stars.

This is a new author for me and I highly enjoyed! I recommend this one for all. It was intriguing all the way through!

Loved it!!! Was a little slow to start for me, but once it picked up I was sucked in and stayed up all night to finish it. Didn’t see the twist that came at all. This was the first book I’ve read by this author and look forward to reading more.

I might have to just accept that YA isn't for me. Overall this was a good premise and at the halfway mark, it really picked up. It even ended up surprising me in part which is always a plus.

However, I knew where this book was going about 5 pages in. Besides being ultimately fairly predictable, hot and heavy romance between two underage teens always skeeves me out and there were times that this one went a little too far for me. Maybe this would be better received by a 16 year old, but I was all set.

I also struggle with the overly flowery writing in YA. Everything has two descriptors and just feels over the top. There are endless "hot tears" and the "release of breaths they didn't know they were holding" and it all just gets to be a bit much.

It also pained me that Ella didn't sit down and immediately read Haley's diary. I honestly can't imagine a situation where someone finds the diary of a someone they think they killed and they DON'T read it immediately, but that's neither here nor there I suppose.

That being said, this is a quick and entertaining read. The pressure Ella must have felt knowing she killed her best friend, the guilt over falling for her ex boyfriend - they were big emotions for anyone to grapple with, particularly a teenager. The chemistry between Ella and Sawyer was well developed and I liked the building of tension, I just would have preferred a little more closed-door scenes because they were young.

I listened to this novel on audio and didn't love the narrators for Ella and Sawyer. Ella's voice was a little whiny and felt too young whereas Sawyer felt too old. The narrator for Haley was generally fine.

Overall, this was a decent read but not one that will stick with me. Thank you to Penguin Teen, PRH Audio, and Netgalley for the copy.

It's been 4 months since the accident that killed Ella's best friend, Hailey. Ella is ridden with guilt and is trying to just get through the first day of school. Everything reminds her of Hailey, especially Sawyer, Hailey's boyfriend. Ella is drawn to Sawyer - and is slowly falling for him. When Hailey's mom asks Ella to come over to clean out her room, Ella discovers Hailey's diary. Reluctantly, she begins reading through Hailey's entries, hoping to find anything to bring her comfort. Instead, she finds important information about Sawyer that helps explain why Hailey was acting so strange in the weeks leading up to her death. Everything We Never Said explores the secrets in even the best of friendships and asks how well you ever know the ones you love.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and GP Putnam's Sons for Young Readers for this e-arc.*