
Member Reviews

I loved this book so much. I want to read it again for the first time. There were a few times I felt a little old while reading this, as the characters are in high school, but they are dealing with real issues, real problems, real drama.
This story was the perfect mix of drama, thriller, and even a little romance.

Everything We Never Said is an amazing story that will pull you in from the very first page! It focuses on a girl named Ella and her life after losing her best friend Hayley in a horrific car accident. Ella and Hayley's boyfriend, Sawyer, find themselves drawn to one another upon returning to school. The twists and turns that ensue will keep you on the edge of your seat and up WAY past your bedtime to reach the end. I highly recommend this book and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

By no fault of the author, I did not realize this was a young adult novel. I started reading it and it became a bit too immature for me. After looking it up, I saw that it was YA and I ending up not finishing it.

In this gripping YA thriller, "Everything We Never Said" unveils a world of dark romance, high stakes, and unexpected plot twists, catering to fans of Colleen Hoover. Ella, grappling with guilt over her best friend Hayley's death, finds herself back at school surrounded by reminders of her lost friend—especially in the form of Sawyer, Hayley’s boyfriend. As Ella and Sawyer grow closer, a horrifying realization dawns on her—she's in love with her dead best friend’s boyfriend.
Haunted by guilt, Ella turns to Hayley’s journal, hoping for solace but instead discovering Sawyer's hidden secrets and the less-than-perfect reality of his relationship with Hayley. As Ella becomes increasingly drawn to Sawyer, she faces the unsettling truth about him, questioning whether it's his grief, unfulfilled desires, or something even darker that Hayley knew.
A dark and romantic thriller in the vein of Colleen Hoover and Laura Nowlin, "Everything We Never Said" explores the secrets within friendships, challenging perceptions of love, loss, and the intricacies of truly knowing those we hold dear. Brace yourself for a tale of suspense, twisted desires, and revelations that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page.

The synopsis is better than the actual book. The characters were flat stereotypes - perfect student who feels like a disappointment, angry yet sensitive guy who feels like he needs to be the man of the house, dead best friend with dark secrets. The over-the-top angst made it difficult to really connect with any of the characters.
On the other hand, I think teens would really like the book because it was an interesting read with some good plot twists and plenty of sex and drama.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

While I liked the relationship between the protagonist and her best friends and found the complexities of it very thrilling; I didn’t like romance. It felt forced, partly because soon after Ella and Sawyer see each other they become involved with each other, even though Sawyer is the ex of Ella’s best friend. And while I understand she is “dead”, I would expect to see more respect for her memorie. I am also aware that there is a proof of time between her actual death and when Ella and Sawyer get toguether; but we as readers do not get the full scope of the time that passed; so it actually feels super short. Especially for a best friend

Everything We Never Said is about Ella's journey after her best friend died. She has to go through senior year without Hayley. She may have someone in Sawyer but is it wrong for them to be together since he was still Hayley's boyfriend at her time of death?
I would have to warn people that there is a lot of talk about domestic violence so if that's not something you can handle I wouldn't not recommend this book. I liked that you thought the diary was so vague that it really could have been about anyone. It really did touch on DV situations and how vulnerable teens can be. It also shows that you don't always really know what is happening with you friends no matter how close you think you are.
It was a really good read. Not too many spicy parts but enough to make it more high school demographic.I think there were a lot more on the edge of your seat parts. It was an all around good read.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for an ARC of this book.

OMG you need to read this book! I did NOT see the whole plot coming out until well after! I highly recommend this one, and yes I’ve already ordered a physical copy! Yes it was THAT good!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Penquin Random House, for providing me with this ARC.
This book was great! I was hooked from the beginning, making it a super quick read for me. I was a little hesitant because it is a Young Adult book, however, the story, the characters, and the suspense kept me interested through out the entire book. This book had just the right of romance (some mild spice) and thrill to make it a great read. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good high school drama suspense. It will keep you guessing till the end. I look forward to seeing more works from this debut author.

I found this book to be enjoyable. I don’t normally like books with jumping povs, mainly this is due to there tends to be a less likable character that I don’t care to hear their thoughts. This book however I felt like the dual povs and the random diary entry chapters added to the story. It’s gives you a glimpse into what everyone who is important to the story is thinking and going through behind the scenes. I will say I did find some of it to be a bit predicable just based upon previous reads of the same genre. It also reminded me of the movie Sleeping with the Enemy.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Ella and Hayley are best friends until an accident kills Hayley. Now, Ella is left to try and move on as well as Hayley's boyfriend, Sawyer.
Forgive me, Hayley. For all of it. For Sawyer. For this. Is Ella starting to have feelings for Sawyer?
I'm a mess. I don't know how to get through this. In fact, I don't think I can. I'm ruined without you and the only person who can get me through losing you.....is you. Now, Ella begins to read Hayley's diary.
Something is happening to Hayley. She locked the dead bolt, fled to her bedroom, made sure all the locks work on her windows and the door is secure. She had eight missed calls from S. She checked her face in the mirror. It's not as bad as it feels. My lip is split, and there's a reddish splotch where his knuckles hit her cheekbone. Ella is reading a scary scene between Hayley and S. S is jealous of anyone and everyone.
This is a good, quick and easy YA read, Ella is such a strong character!
Forbidden Romance, Dark Secrets, and Fast Paced! 3 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 5/28/24.

This book is full of secrets and some of those secrets are worth killing for. This book has thrilling twists and turns all the way until the end with a hint of romance for those looking for something without too much spice. The characters in this book take us on a journey of exploring hidden desires and finding out what happens when we pursue what we want. Is it ok to move on after death? Is it ok to love your dead best friend's boyfriend? What if you have it all wrong?

Definitely a dark, YA book that deals with sensitive subjects.
Ella has spent the summer before her senior year in her room. Dealing with the loss of her best friend, Hayley, having died in a car accident in which Ella was driving. Now senior year is here and Ella must go on with life.
Ella starts to have mixed emotions as she begins to fall in love with Hayley’s ex, Sawyer. She feels extremely guilty but has never felt that way with anyone. Until she starts to read Hayley’s diary and wondering if she should be afraid of Sawyer also.

I appreciate the subject matter of the book but it just fell flat to me. I am glad, however that it touched on domestic violence and grooming.

Wow, this was a wild ride. It is YA, thriller, and dealing with grief. It follows Ella, who's blaming herself for her best friend Hayleys death. She finds comfort in Sawyer, who was Hayleys boyfriend. They grow closer bonding over grief falling for Sawyer. Ella finds Hayleys diary, and she reads it because she misses her and needs some type of closure. But Hayley describes Sawyer as a totally different person than what ella knows.
This was a fast-paced read with twists that you will not expect. I enjoyed the dual POV and reading Hayleys diary. It has some heavy topics, so make sure to check trigger warnings before.

This book explores some serious topics, mixed in with young love and friendship issues. Death of a friend, family abuse and violence and the resulting trauma, grooming are some of what is covered. I think my students would be affected by this book and learn from it

This book was a mixed bag for me, it felt like two different books that didn't quite fit together. Ella is mourning the loss of her best friend from a car accident where she was the driver. Loss and a lot of guilt and add to that her attraction to her friend's boyfriend. It then becomes a mystery and a look at abuse and violence and grooming. Serious subjects but it went a little over the top for me

This was a fast paced read that kept me engaged and interested. I liked the premise, and the overall development was really nice and easy to follow. I might be in the minority for this, but there was a lot of hot-and-heavy themes that felt a little odd for me to read with the characters all being 16-17, but that's more of my personal thing. I really enjoyed Ella's character, and she was a relatable and genuinely interesting person to follow. Especially faced with her circumstances! I do have to say that I didn't really like how the book ended. The twists and turns just felt so unbelievable to me, and I found myself just kind of wanting to get through the latter 1/4 remaining in the book. Despite that, I'm sure this is right up so many peoples' alleys for young adult fiction, and it was a pleasure to get to read it ahead of its June release. I'd recommend it for sure. Huge thank you to Penguin Young Readers' Group, Sloan Harlow, and NetGalley for this advanced copy and the chance to read it!

Everything We Never Said was good and I finished it in one sitting because of how fast-paced it was. It felt like a mix between the tv show Cruel Summer and If I Stay. Told in a dual POV, our main characters Ella and Sawyer are high school seniors struggling with the death of Hayley, their best friend and girlfriend respectively. In their grief, the two become bonded. As always, there's a twist. Ella was driving the car during the accident that killed Hayley. And worse? She can't even remember the accident or the events of that day at all.
I have to say that some of the teenage dialogue felt off. For example, in Ella's memory, Hayley starts to sound a bit like a manic pixie dream girl. However, we do get to read through Hayley's official POV eventually. In Hayley's diary (spoiler), we get a firsthand account of a dark relationship she was having with an "S" in the months before she died. In those diary entries, Hayley feels more like a real girl. In fact, thsoe diary entries do a great job at showing how easily grooming can happen in relationships and how complicated the emotions of the victim can be.
I also understand that Sawyer is a bit of a foil for "S"'s behaviors, but because he reflects some of that character a bit, it was hard for me to like him at the end. This book is about grooming and domestic violence. It's about a predatory relationship, so when the romantic interest for our main character displays a few attributes in common with the predator, I don't appreciate it. I understand that it's to show how different he is from the predator and how you can choose to be a good person instead of choosing to follow the generational cycle of violence, BUT it also kind of encourages a girl reading the book to accept things in a guy. All that being said, it is important to have real and complex characters in the book that mirror real life, so this was good in that regard for Sawyer's character.
Overall, fast read. Once you get to the 50% mark, you won't want to put it down.

I received an ARC of Everything We Never Said from Netgalley. The publication date is May 28, 2024. The story does have trigger warnings: domestic abuse and grief. The story is told from Ella, Sawyer and Hayley’s diary point of view. Ella is about to start her senior year of high school but this year will be different because her best friend Hayley died in a car accident that Ella blames herself for. Sawyer was Hayley’s boyfriend and he starts falling for Ella. They start seeing each other but not out in the open because they both feel guilty that Hayley just died. Ella is asked to help Hayley’s mother clean out her room and while cleaning Ella stumbles upon Hayley’s diary. Ella misses her friend and has trouble remembering what happened the night of the accident so she starts reading her diary and finds out some disturbing things about Hayley and Sawyer’s relationship and she is clueless why her best friend kept this information from her. This is a YA book I really enjoyed the story and the plot twists.