Unfortunately this one didn't really work for me. It was well written, but for some reason could not hold my attention.

really enjoyed this book! I usually skip over most YA thrillers but this one was SO good. I felt like it was a true reflection on grief and friendship. Sign me up to read any future works of this author. 4 stars out of 5!

This started out as a pleasant YA mystery/romance. The first chapter grabs you with several facts: Ella was driving a car that was involved in an accident which killed her best friend. Our story begins 6 months later, as school resumes and Ella must face her schoolmates who, she imagines, all hate her for killing popular Haley.

It begins losing credibility about a quarter of the way in; the constant angst of Ella, blaming herself and assuming everyone else does too. And almost immediately falling for the dead Haley's former boyfriend, Sawyer. Who, it seems, has also immediately fallen for Ella. There is much to-do about blame, and the family dynamics between Ella and her parents, Sawyer and his single Mom and little brother, whose absent Dad was abusive. Then Ella finds Haleys' journal and we learn more about her; her single Mom, and her absent Dad who was abusive, and her Moms' constant stream of nasty boyfriends.

The domestic violence in this book is unrelenting. Including, as we slowly learn from Haley journal entries, between Haley and her current boyfriend. I would say this is definitely a YA book with lessons to learn about abusive relationships, but some of the sex scenes go a bit far. Sex is ok, but pull it back just a tad, maybe. At one point there are hints of sodomy and other forms of violence during sex. Just so you know.

As we draw near the end, there is a confrontation between Ella and the true person who caused the car accident. It all happens in the blink of an eye, coming and going so fast you might miss it if you are reading too fast. There are other facets of the finale and story wrap-up that verge on unbelievable, but it's not a bad read for spending an afternoon. It just isn't a great read.

I loved loved loved this story. I loved that certain characters were so easy to fall in love with, then hate at the drop of a hat. And then? Just when I thought I had the twist figured out, the twist hits you and all of the pieces fall into place. This book was well written, easy to follow, and all around a great read. Thank you!

Everything We Never Said is the kind of Young Adult thriller that only comes about once in a blue moon. With lush character descriptions and a darker plotline full of twists and turns, readers will find themselves completely immersed in a story that proves not everything is as it seems. For me this was a quick read because the story was intense, but unputdownable. Sloan Harlow is an author that i'm sure will accomplish great things and I look forward to reading more works that they put out!

Ella like most teenagers has a lot of feelings and emotions. However, she has more than most as she was driving the vehicle when she crashed and caused her best friend Hayley's death. This book deals with teen romance, but also a lot of adult issues, such as domestic abuse. Some of the sexual scenes were more than I wanted to read given the ages of the subjects, but for upper YA it is acceptable. It is hard to write abuse scenes without romancing them, but Sloan Harlow did a great job. I could not put this book down and read it in a day. I kept going back and forth on theories and was surprised at the ending. Kept my attention and I neglected all my other duties for the day. Well worth the read.

Everything We Never Said by Sloan Harlow didn’t make a ton of sense but was a quick page-turner nevertheless. The story is told from Ella’s POV with occasional chapters from Sawyer’s POV and Hayley’s diary.

I can’t possibly list all the different things that don’t make sense or contradict each other so I’ll just go into a few examples that occur early in the book to avoid spoilers as much as possible.

I was a bit confused after the first few chapters of the book because I was slowly realizing that the blurb for this book includes a straight-up lie. It says “Then the school psychologist requires that Hayley’s closest friends join him for a grief counseling group, and Ella and Sawyer are forced together. After a few sessions, they start to grow closer, until Ella realizes something horrifying…” There aren’t “a few sessions,” there is literally one single session contained within a single chapter and then the grief counseling group is never mentioned again. The grief counseling session isn’t even the first time Sawyer and Ella interact in the story.

The grief counseling session is so contrived and becomes just another thing in this book that makes no sense. We’re told that Rachael is one of Hayley’s friends and that Ella is in Latin class with Rachael. Then, Ella is specifically called out of class to attend this grief counseling session. Only Ella (and possibly Sawyer) was forced into attending the grief counseling session and everyone else volunteered to attend. None of Hayley’s other friends were required to attend and none except Scott chose to. The school administration is apparently keenly aware of who was a student’s best friend and who was simply a regular friend and for some reason is only concerned about providing support for Hayley’s best friend and not for all her other friends. Having this scene make sense would require such minimal changes so it’s baffling why it was written like this.

At multiple points in the story, the reader is told something major about a character to further the plot but it is never mentioned again. For example, after the first day of school, Ella and her mom almost get into a fight over Ella’s decision to quit the swim team. This is meant to show Ella’s family dynamic before and after Hayley’s death and reemphasize how much of a stellar student Ella was. Ella is considered good enough to be scouted by top universities but the decision to quit is never brought up again.

The way that Hayley’s diary entries are written is so unbelievable. No one can write down entire conversations that they’ve had verbatim and from memory hours after the conversation occurred. Yet Hayley’s diary entries consist of basically transcripts of entire conversations including incredibly emotional and intense conversations. After the first two entries, I thought that <spoiler> this was a clue that the diary is fake (like in Gone Girl) but no, it turns out that this diary is real and no one (not even the police) doubts the authenticity of the diary.</spoiler>

The biggest issue I had with this book was the narrative framing of Ella’s role in the accident that killed Hayley. We are told from the very first chapter that Ella is wracked by guilt and blames herself for Hayley’s death yet everyone around her (except Scott but we’ll discuss him later) assures Ella that it wasn’t her fault. While Ella believes that her (and Hayley’s) friends are only being nice to her out of pity but secretly dislike her and don’t want her around, the narrative heavily implies to the reader that this isn’t true.

But in the second chapter, we are told that <spoiler>Ella was drinking while underage at a party before driving and crashed the car with Hayley inside, killing her. Ella has no memories of that entire day so the reader is only told that witnesses from the party saw Ella drinking a beer. We have no sense of how much Ella really drank or what her BAC was. </spoiler>There was this extreme cognitive dissonance in how the narrative expects the reader to feel about Ella’s role in Hayley’s death and the facts that are presented to the reader.

The root of the problem is this: <spoiler> The author already knows that Hayley is not dead (and that Ella was thus not responsible for Hayley’s death at all and should not feel guilty) before the reader or Ella knows. So unintentionally, the author does not have the plot treat the idea that Ella caused Hayley’s death seriously even though from the facts available to the reader and to Ella for most of the story, that’s exactly what it looks like. The story takes for a given that the reader agrees that Ella is too hard on herself and that she shouldn’t feel so guilty before the plot twist happens.

The hoops that characters jump through to justify Ella's drinking and driving are wild. In Hayley’s letter to Ella at the end of the book, she says that Ella was just drinking a Natty Light so it’s no big deal.

Literally, the only person to blame Ella for Hayley’s death is Scott and he is described as annoying and mean for doing so. In fact, at the end of the story, he apologizes to Ella for his behavior towards her. No one else even remotely cares that Ella was drinking before getting into a fatal accident.</spoiler>

On a related note, everyone in this book including all the adults (and the police) has a completely blasé attitude towards straight-up crimes up to and including manslaughter. We are explicitly told that Ella <spoiler> has faced zero consequences for the underage drinking and driving that led to a fatal accident. </spoiler>

When the big plot twist at the end of the book reveals that<spoiler> Hayley faked her death with Sawyer’s help, neither of them even consider that Ella could be prosecuted for Hayley’s death. Hayley’s only concern is that Ella will blame herself for killing her, not that Ella might go to jail. Again, the problem is that the author has unintentionally factored the fact that Hayley is not dead into the plot even though only Hayley and Sawyer (and eventually Ella) are supposed to know that.</spoiler>

On a related note, I just have to mention how completely and totally unrealistic the plot twist is. <spoiler> Firstly, the idea that an actual domestic violence shelter is going to commit a felony (obstruction of justice) on your behalf is absurd. A DV shelter can help you disappear from an abusive partner but not literally fake your death like it's witness protection. Secondly, the idea that Mr. Wilkens’ car hit Ella’s car hard enough to send it in through the barriers and this didn’t leave a recognizable dent/impact on Ella’s car for the police to notice is equally absurd. </spoiler>

Let me end this review with something that I actually liked about this book. If you basically turn your brain off, this can be a quick and fun read. The plot goes pretty off the rails going into the climax of the book and I did enjoy <spoiler>the “good for her” Hayley arc </spoiler>

What did I just read?! Although some of the twists didn’t come as much of a surprise and the ending was a bit far fetched, it was without a doubt a wild ride. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives in the book and it was written with a really fast pace. Massive trigger warning for DV (which was relied on much too heavily in this book IMO). 2.5/5 stars.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing this ARC for my voluntary and honest review!

Wow loved this one! The story had a lot of different components to it not just a straight romance, thriller, or whatever. You get the idea. I typically don't relate to YA books as much but there were some more complicated aspects to the plot that held my attention. #EverythingWeNeverSaid #NetGalley

In full transparency I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley early to read and review. WIth that being said overall I wanted to give this book 3.5 stars but since that is not allowed I decided it would learn more towards 4 stars than just 3. I did enjoy this book and it did come with trigger warnings, as it absolutely sure, there were just a few things that took it where it was not a full 4 or 5 star read. for me.

This book was presented to me as a YA thriller/romance/dark romance and I slightly disagree with some of this. I do not like the idea that dark romaance and YA be together. That seems on a level of ick that I am not here for. Without spoiling this book while there is a lot of dark in it I would not say that it is dark romance. Again, I mentioned there are trigger warnings and this is one aspect where it comes into play.

Overall this book is dealing with a high school girl trying to navigate life after a horrible accident where she was behind the wheel of the car and her best friend did not make it out alive. It deals with basic high school life and trying to figure out who one is as well as friendships and romantic relationships all while dealing with grief. There is also domestic violence. stalking, secrets, childhood trauma going on as well. There were some discussions of sexual activites that at first I was like "wait are they not like 16 and 17" then I stopped and thought about it and everything that takes place is very normal for teenage sexual encounters at that age, well almost all. Most everything is vague discussion of it taking place or them almost but not quite getting there. So, again pretty normal but I think that is what makes it not really YA. There is a part of this that is a huge plot point to the story and once you realize that it is still concerning but you see it differently.

The author does leave you wanting more in the sense of wanting to know the how of the whole picture for the main characters in our story. I like that she made it where you thought you knew who was behind things and then you didnt but oh yes you actually did, just with a twist you did not see coming. I think there is the opportunity to have a book 2 for this and if that happens I would love to read it.

Wow, this book had more going on than I realized at face value
Ella is trying to navigate school after the death of her best friend, and her and friends boyfriend find themselves attracted to each other, when Ella turns to her friends diary
Inciting the question do we really know who we know?
I found this book, captured me right away and held me to the last page

While this is considered a YA thriller, I felt it addressed a lot of important subjects and how to (or not to) handle them.
We follow Ella who is struggling with the new school year after the loss of her best friend. Her memories of the accident have slowly started coming back to her while she finds herself spending more time with Sawyer, her best friends boyfriend. Ella is having a hard time with all the emotions she’s experiencing while also trying to piece together what really happened the night of the accident.
While I’m usually pretty good at predicting twists in thrillers, a couple of the ones in this book got me. I enjoyed this book and it was a quick read.

Excellent novel highlighting what should have been said in a relationship. Good characters and exciting writing.

Loved it! I loved that it had some romance, some mystery and some suspense. Would definitely recommend to my bookish friends.

What a whirlwind this book was. Ella and Hayley are best friends until one tragic day and Ella is left to face the world on her own. Navigating grief and growing up simultaneously, Ella reaches for Sawyer, the third member of their unbreakable friend group. When Ella starts to suspect something off about Sawyer, she reaches out to the school psychologist Mr. Wilkins for support. Let me just say, I loved the ending of this book. I found myself literally cheering inside for these characters at the end. I’ll be excited to see more from Sloan Harlow in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️ I started this book out thinking it would be an angsty high school romance… which it was, but with so much more. There’s witty banter, romance, a thriller component, and layers upon layers of different traumas and dark undertones. I encourage readers to check out potential trigger warnings because this is certainly not a light read.

I found the “twists” predictable from pretty early on, but I still read the entire book in less than 24 hours because I had to make sure I was correct in my guesses! Overall, a quick and compelling read.

Thank you to NetGalley, G.P Putnam’s Sons Books, and Sloan Harlow for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love YA Drama, with a messy plot. Everything We Never Said, delivered.

Brief Summary-
Ella is entering her senior year after the death of her best friend, Hayley. She has to deal with her grief while also being bullied by her peers for blaming her for the accident that killed her best friend. She is mostly scared of facing her best friend’s boyfriend, Sawyer, so she spends countless sessions with the schools psychologist. However, this backfires and she ends up spending more time with Sawyer and complicated feeling arise between them along with her guilt. Things then take a turn when she helps clean Hayley’s room where she discovers her diary…..

What To Expect-
📓Forbidden Romance
📓Dark Secrets
📓Multiple POV

Content Warnings-
📌Death
📌Inappropriate relationships
📌Sexual Assault
📌Domestic Violence


My Thoughts-
Read this in a single sitting and loved it! A little predictable, but I still enjoyed the ride anyway. The first half of the book was a little slow for me…however the ending was a wild ride.The characters went through a lot in just 300 pages. They all dealt with heavy life experiences. I would def check out the content warnings before jumping into this book.

Playlist-
Just A Kid- Simple Plan
Ocean Avenue- Yellowcard
The Anthem- Good Charlotte
Adams Song- Blink 182
The Middle- Jimmy Eat World
Move Along- The All American Rejects
Welcome To My Life- Simple Plan
Fat Lip- Sum 41
Teenagers- My Chemical Romance
Numb- Linkin Park
Basket Case- Green Day
3AM Matchbox Twenty
Swing Life Away- Rise Against
Bring Me To Life- Evanesnce
Teenage Dirtbag- Wheatus
Secret Crowds- Angels & Airwaves

This was such a good book! I loved the characters, and their story. The dialogue was realistic and enjoyable. I was very surprised by the ending!

quick YA read that was overall enjoyable. it was a little slow but quickened the pace third of the way through. i look forward to reading more by this author!

Loved this one! Ella is starting a new school year without her BFF, Hayley. Hayley and Ella got into a car accident months prior. Hayley is dead and Ella blames herself for the accident. Ella feels alone without her best friend but finds some comfort in Hayley's boyfriend, Sawyer. Their relationship turns into something more than just friends and just when Ella is finally feeling like herself again, she finds Hayley's diary and she starts questioning everything about Sawyer.

I thought I predicted what was going to happen and while I was kind of right, I was also way off with a couple of the characters. This book touches on domestic violence so proceed with caution. There was one prediction I was hoping for that I did end up being correct on and really loved that twist.

Overall, this is a good YA thriller that has some romance, suspense, and mystery!