Incredible. Couldn't put it down. Great characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

3.75 stars

This is my first Megan Lally read, and it won't be the last.

Readers experience this narrative through simultaneous perspectives: Mary's and Drew's. When the former wakes up on the side of the road and has no idea who she is, she is found (not long after) by a man who says he's her father and her name is Mary. Since she has no memory of most aspects of her life, everyone is cautiously optimistic about this being true. However, a whole lot of weird things happen that suggest to both Mary and readers that she may not be Mary at all or, at least, that some sort of mischief is definitely afoot. Drew is in a similarly perplexing situation after his girlfriend, Lola, has gone missing, and he is the one at whom most of the suspicion is directed. Readers wonder about what the connection between Mary and Drew might be; there has to be a reason why both get such important roles, right?! Lally does a great job of feeding readers just enough detail to make us feel secure in that connection and then start wondering again, which does add to the mystery element.

I found this engaging, well devised, and twisty enough, and while I didn't love the ending, I will recommend this one to students looking for a solid YA mystery/thriller. The narration in the audiobook adds a lot to the characters, so this is my recommended medium, when and where accessible.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC/ALC. I read and listened to this one. I liked the audiobook better. I thought the story was good but it dropped off for me when the kids became the sleuths. Still really enjoyed and will recommend.

Summary: A girl wakes up in the woods, covered in bruises and scrapes with no memory of who she is. At the same time, a boy 90 minutes north prints out flyers for his girlfriend, missing now for five weeks. As Drew is persecuted by members of his community who all believe he had a hand in missing Lola's disappearance, Mary, 90 minutes south, is struggling to recover from a bout of amnesia with the man who claims to be her father. But things don't add up in Mary's mind and Drew isn't going to sit back and let his town declare him a murderer.

Review: While I really enjoyed the final act of the book and thought it was really clever how the author misled the reader in a true twist with great foreshadowing, I unfortunately found all of the characters bland-to-unlikeable. I suppose I could give a pass to the character of Mary, who has amnesia and doesn't know herself. I cannot, however, give the same pass to Drew whose main characteristic is that he hates himself for what happened to Lola. Bouncing between the two narratives, I found myself disliking every single character: Drew with his no-personality, Mary whose immune system apparently treats regular Benadryl like freaking Rohypnol, Lola sounding kind of like a brat in people's retellings of her, Lola's best friend, Drew's cousin, Lola's parents, the police! I was like, "Lord God, get me away from these people!"

All in all, I think this would have been a much better book if the characters had been more developed or if there had been a spooky prologue about the kidnapper stalking his prey.

I would recommend it as a good example of what a plot twist is supposed to look like, but I don't think it has many other merits.

I cannot believe this was a DEBUT novel. The writing was amazing and so impressive for a debut novel. I cannot wait until this author writes more books. AMAZING!!!!

This book hooked me from the beginning with someone that is stranded and not knowing who she is and doesn't know what happened to her. When she gets to the police station there is a guy there that claims she is his daughter and she doesn't know this is true. She starts getting flashback and she gets very suspicious of Wayne who claims to be her father.

I like to read YA and this debut novel will definitely make me want to read more. The narrator was also very good and made it to where you want to continue listening.

Suspense, twists and never seen coming some things. Really liked this book. WTG on the Debut keep writing.

Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read, listen and review. EXCELLENT!

This was one heck of a ride and the narrators did a great job of conveying two panicked teenagers trying to figure out what really happened. There less than stellar ideas and also how adults don't always get it right.

What's even more impressive is this is the author's DEBUT work! Excellent thriller and will certainly be on my TBR moving forward!

Our protagonist "Mary" wakes up on the side road with zero memory of who she is or how she got the bruises on her body. She is taken into custody by the sheriff when a man named Wayne, claiming to be her father comes to claim her. He has her school ID, family photos and her birth certificate, but she can't remember anything so she can't confirm or deny it. Either way, the sheriff turns her over to Wayne. She slowly begins having flashbacks/ memories, but none that are complete. Instead her suspicions of Wayne grow.

In our second POV, Drew and his girlfriend Lola fight and Lola storms off, never to be seen again. The whole town thinks he murdered Lola and Drew is determined to find out what really happened to Lola and clear her name.

This was an excellent YA thriller and the pacing was excellent. I couldn't (and didn't) stop listening to the audiobook. The suspense continues to build and the final twist is excellent.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the audiobook arc in exchange for a fair and honest review

YA thrillers are my jam lately! THAT’S NOT MY NAME was first put on my radar by my favorite Independent Bookstore…Beach Books.

I knew very little about the premise going into this one and trusted my reader friends with the recommendation! They did not disappoint. This was a fast paced, heart pounding mystery that I thought for sure I knew how it would go… but then… BAM 💥 My jaw drop!

With an eerie PNW atmosphere, dual perspectives, the anticipation throughout was unreal! Emotional and one that will leave you guessing to the end… I will be keeping my eye out for Megan Lally’s next novel!

Thank you Netgalley & Sourcebooks Fire for this gifted ALC

Loved this YA read! Girl goes missing, boy dedicates himself to finding her. Lola has disappeared after last being seen with her boyfriend. While somewhere else a girl named Sarah is waking up with amnesia. Definitely kept my attention

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Lally and RB Media for an audio arc of That's Not My Name

This one has been on my TBR for a while, so I was super excited to receive an early audio copy!

This story focuses on the disappearance of Lola and her boyfriend's (Drew) and friends' neverending search to find out what happened to her. Meanwhile, 2.5 hours away. a teen is found walking along the road with bloodied clothing & no memory of anything - not even her name. She is taken in by the local police when her father walks in and claims her as his daughter, Mary Boone. After providing identifying documentation, Mary is released to go home with her father.

Told from dual POVs of Mary and Drew, this story gets increasingly tense as "Mary" starts to believe she might not actually be Mary and as Drew gets closer to finding Lola, it gets super intense!

I did kinda figure out the twist before the end - more the "what" of the twist. This was extremely fast-paced and I listened to it all in one sitting this morning. The story was very atmospheric & enthralling.

Solid 4-Star read that I would recommend to any thriller/suspense lover!

I didn’t notice that this was categorized as YA when I requested this, and I missed it because I probably wouldn’t have requested it. This was a good story. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. The character development was great. I felt invested in know what was going to happen next. Some of the twists I saw coming, some I thought I’d predicted and I was wrong! I really enjoyed the audio on this one too.