I enjoyed this book so much! Not something I would typically pick up but was hearing great things so applied for the ARC. Such a great story and an eye opener for DV awareness

A YA thriller is one of my favorite sub-genres so I was so excited to read this debut novel from Sloan Harlow. Our main character, Ella's, best friend, Hayley was killed in an accident months ago and Ella can't stop blaming herself. At school, she's experiencing so many reminders of her friend and while coping with her loss, she becomes closer and closer with Sawyer, Hayley's boyfriend before she died before she realizes she is falling for him. Through reading Hayley's journal, she learns more about her best friend, secrets that were kept, and that things were necessary the way they appeared to be.

This was perfect for what it is! A great YA thriller that is fast-paced and kept you wanting more. Some of the twists were a bit predictable, but nevertheless, quite satisfying. I'd recommend this to anyone that is a fan of YA thrillers.

Loved this book, kept me very interested from the beginning. This book kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figured out what really happened: a great quick read that you wouldn’t believe what happens! A great read with an ending you won’t see coming!

3.25/5

I have to start off by saying that this book seems like more of a new adult book than a young adult book to me. When you have some of the scenes that are in this book, I feel like it’s kind of pushing the ya boundaries.

I was honestly annoyed through the majority of this book by the main character. Falling in love with your best friend’s boyfriend even as you’re learning all of these things about him seems a bit ridiculous.

The ending did help turn the story around and so that’s why I gave it the rating I did, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to others

This was a well written YA novel. There were two best friends Ella and Hayley. Ella blames herself for the car accident her and Hayley got into and they can’t find her body. Ella starts to get close to Hayley’s ex Sawyer. Ella can’t figure out why something feels wrong. What will she discover when she keeps digging.

Everything We Never Said is a YA romantic thriller about Ella, a 17-year-old high school senior mourning the death of her best friend, Hayley. Complicating manners, she finds herself developing feelings for Sawyer, who was Hayley's former boyfriend. The plot thickens with the mystery surrounding the night of Hayley's death.
The story is narrated from the perspectives of both Ella and Sawyer, and readers get to know more about Hayley through her diary entries. The book explores the relationships between Ella and Sawyer, Ella and Hayley, and Hayley and her boyfriend "S". All of the characters are likable, and each offers a unique take on the events that lead up to the night Hayley died. Themes of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse are also woven into the plot.
The pacing is fast, but the mystery is predictable. I found the dialogue and character interactions painful to read, but this might be because I aged out of the core audience. Moreover, the writing is overwrought with an excess of flowery language, eliciting many an eye roll.
Despite the predictable mystery, there is a good amount of tension and suspense. Overall, this is a decent, if not original, read.

The plot was predictable; I loved the multi pov.’s Super fast pacing and an easy read, some heavy emotional themes

Everything We Never Said was a quick thriller with a good ending. This was an enjoyable read but parts seemed predictable, and somewhat forced. I liked how the author framed the different twists and the story line, but I had trouble feeling sympathy for the main character Elly. I became very tired with Elly’s storyline and was more interested in the other characters. Overall it was a quick read and had good qualities for a fast paced thriller.

"Everything We Never Said" by Sloan Harlow is a deeply emotional and evocative novel that unravels the complexities of love and loss with grace and poignancy. Its powerful storytelling and relatable characters make it a moving and memorable read.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Penguin Books for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this read like Pretty Little Liars fan fiction. I feel like even the dumbest, most hormonal teenagers would treat each other better than this.

I could not get on board with Sawyer. It was good to see a male character who recognized problematic behaviors due to a traumatic upbringing and want to break the cycle. But, this guy was having violent outbursts and did not need to remain in a relationship. And, even with the plot twist the fact that he knew Ella didn’t kill her best friend and never said anything was very not okay.

And of course the creepy guidance counselor meeting students off campus is the actual villain. I called that immediately.

2.5 Everything We Never Said is a fast paced thriller about a high school girl who has recently lost her best friend.

This book has mystery, secrets, some romance, and covers some heavy topics surrounding abuse. This is said to be YA but because of the heavy topics and romance I do not think it leans more adult. The mystery was very predictable for me and I also did not really enjoy any of the main characters other than Hayley. Who we only get to hear her diary perspective.

Because I just didn’t really love Ella and Sawyer and didn’t feel a connection to them, I didn’t enjoy this book very much. It was just okay!

This was a great YA romance/thriller. The characters were so well-written but be warned there are a number of triggers.. You will become emotionally involved in Ella’s heartbreaking loss of her best friend and her guilt in falling for Sawyer. Then the number of twists will make you keep turning the pages. Definitely more for the upper end of YA.

Love makes us do bad things…

I like to include books from the YA genre amongst my eclectic mix, and this book is one of the reasons why. This one is not a feel good flowery love story - it does have romance, but is more of a dark romantic thriller with triggers and sensitive topics, which makes it more captivating and interesting. Parts are predictable, but the twists add the thrill and intensity. I love the teenage POV, language, and actions, and the realistic storyline slightly coated with colorful fiction. I read this one quickly and did not want to put it down. I do highly recommend it, but please note the warnings about triggers and sensitive topics.

#everythingweneversaid #netgalley #bookreview

I enjoyed this! The twists are good and I had a hard time putting this down. I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Sloan Harlow, Penguin Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this is an emotionally loaded book.

The teens are so well written, through secrets, swallowing emotions, confusion and guilt. I didn't expect most of the hard turns this book made but from a 17 year olds mind, it makes total sense. When you're in too deep who can you trust?

Be warned these teens are frisky. They do everything but sex on screen and discuss sex. They are full of Romeo and Juliet level emotions, feeling so much so fast, and it's a ride.

Even if you think you're kid has a good head on their shoulders the shame and guilt can still prevent them from coming to you. This book really takes you back to high school and all the emotions running high like those days were the rest of our lives.

The discussions of abuse are well handled, many perspectives and the multi-pov helps the plot stay mysterious and scary.

In the end all the threads are wrapped up, and explanations are abundant. My only complaint is towards the end Sawyer rehashed something we already heard from another person, and the letter doesn't read like a letter someone would actually write. But those are small potatoes when looking at the book as a whole.

You'll love this book, if you enjoy high emotion mysteries surrounding friendship, romance and hard topics.

TW: physical abuse on screen, emotional abuse, domestic violence at many levels. Abortion.

Ella blames herself for the horrible accident that killed her best friend Hayley. The thing is she does not remember anything that happened that night. All Ella knows is that she was the one driving after having only one drink. And now she has fallen in love with her dead best friend’s boyfriend, Sawyer.
When Ella finds Hayley’s hidden diary she struggles with her conscience on whether she should read it to have one last connection with Hayley. But what Ella finds hidden within that diary will change everything she knows about Sawyer and Hayley forever. Will she remember what happened that dreadful night and was it truly her fault?
Overall rating 4/5
This book gave me all the traumatic and baffling vibes of Cruel Summer. I appreciated how Sloan managed to capture the despair of a teenager grieving the loss of her best friend all while struggling to maintain the pressures put on her by society and her peers. Packed with teen drama, lust and grief that concluded with an astounding twist makes me want more from Harlow.

*Thank you to Sloan Harlow, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

I saw so much hype about this one, particularly a reel from the publishing company that made me super excited to read it. There was talk of a major twist, so I spent my time reading, trying to figure out what it could be. I was shocked, and I love the direction the book took!

I admit, I almost did not read this because of its comparison to Colleen Hoover, who I feel romanticizes abuse. I was concerned when the abuse storyline appeared in this book, but it was handled so well.

I would recommend this one for sure!

Thus book was sooo good! I really wasn’t expecting the twists at the end ! Made me want to not put it down!

This book proved far more interesting and involving than I initially thought it might. It’s written in a manner that made me believe that the characters were real, despite how far-fetched some things might have seemed. The dialogue was perfectly suited to older teenagers. The book covers a lot of territory, from grief, to high school classes, from romance to friendship, from abortion to violence, anger, and fury.

Three high school friends loved to hang out together. One night, however, after attending a party where they had a drink or two, two of those friends would be involved in an accident. One of them disappeared in the aftermath of the crash. For six months, Ella mourned and felt the full brunt of responsibility. For six months, Ella was all alone. Then school started without her beloved Hayley. Most of her friends kept their distance, but Sawyer, one of the trio, and Seema, a friend form grade school, reach out to help her re-acclimate to life. Mr. Wilkins, the school psychologist, also reaches out to her.

It wasn’t hard ot figure out who the villain was fairly early on, but there’s a huge, unpredictable (at least for me) twist that happens closer to the end of the book that makes it well worth reading. The book is about grief, possessiveness, jealousy, abuse (both physical and emotional), young love, friendship, secrets, traumatic amnesia, teenage sex, family, diversity, and so much more. This book is well worth reading. Here’s my favorite quote form the book:

Don’t give up hope, Ella. There’s something on the other side of this pain, I promise you. Life might not be what you had hoped or expected, but it has a way of showing you a door to a place that’s better than you could have imagined.

I think that’s a thought that could help us all through the ups and downs of life.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

Everything We Never Said is a book that every teenage girl should read because it shows that everything we think we may know, is not 100% the truth. This book touches on subjects that we only hope pur daughters and sons will never go through, but in all honesty, is becoming more and more of an issue because many people find these subject taboo and not something that should be spoken about aloud. 4.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy of Everything We Never Said by Sloan Harlow in exchange for my honest review.