"Not Like Other Girls" does not read like a debut work, and instead reads as if it was written by a seasoned writer. The book takes a unique spin on the teen sleuth narrative with a reluctant main character who is dealing with failing grades and social ostracization after a former friend leaked her nude photos. Despite Jo's difficulties at school, she is witty and relatable and tries to do the right thing by attempting to solve her ex best friend's disappearance by teaming up with (and fake dating) a boy from her former social circle named Hudson. Another element of the book is Jo coming to a realization about a toxic relationship she had years prior, and building a support network of trusted adults. This book is greater than the sum of its parts (fake dating, missing ex-best friend, sexual assault). Highly recommended for mature teens who like Sadie by Courtney Summers and Monday's not coming by Tiffany D. Jackson.

I was lucky enough to win an audiobook of NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS by Meredith Adamo through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. While I appreciate the early look, I didn't realize that I'd have to use the Netgalley Shelf app to listen to it. I think I'll wait until it's available on Libby through my local library. (Not my favorite reading app, but less buggy than Netgalley Shelf.)

3.5 stars - this was an interesting story and kept me wanting to listen. The audiobook was a great way to consume this piece of media. I’m looking forward to see what the author does next because this was a solid debut. Trigger warning for sexual assault.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Meredith Adamo, Bloomsbury YA, and Bloomsbury Audio, for early access to this book.

Not Like Other Girls is a powerful story about a young woman coming to terms with her past, her present, and her future. It is a mystery that kept me on my toes and wondering what was going to happen next.

I don't often read mysteries, so I was worried I might not like it, but I found this book highly engaging right from the beginning. It has a strong cast of characters that are realistic and have depth. It was simultaneously heart wrenching and inspiring. It's not a 'happily ever after' kind of book, but it is optimistic at the end. I don't enjoy sad books, but that's not the main feeling of this book, although it has sad moments. I very much enjoyed the book. It has love, adventure, mystery, danger, and so much more. It deals with complex family dynamics, friendships, romantic relationships, and the pressure teenagers face when transitioning out of high-school, particularly around college applications.

It's very real, which for young women that often means it's not without its trauma. I think this is an important book for young girls to read, but I would also recommend it to adults, like myself. It does deal with some sensitive topics, so check spoiler reviews for trigger warnings if you have topics you need to avoid. But it's not overly graphic and I thought the author did a great job of treating the topic with respect and honesty. It was tastefully done, and most importantly it sends the right message to young girls about the seriousness of it, the blame for it, and what they should do about it.

I listened to the audiobook, which was well read and the voice worked well with the book.

4.5-stars for a stellar YA debut.

Not Like the Other Girls is a gripping and emotionally resonant journey that I wasn't expecting to love so much. From the very start, I found myself deeply invested in Jo-Lynn's story, flaws and all. The fast-paced narrative kept me on the edge of my seat, delivering excitement and intrigue throughout.

What struck me most was the poignant commentary on the societal pressure to conform to certain stereotypes, particularly the pervasive notion of being "not like the other girls." Adamo skillfully navigates this theme, offering a heartfelt exploration of identity and self-acceptance that will undoubtedly strike a chord with young women grappling with similar struggles.

This book is a perfect combo of "Would've Could've Should've" by Taylor Swift and Veronica Mars. The story was entirely captivating, blending together mystery and chaos the entire time. Watching Jo-Lynn have to navigate through a maze of terrible friends, secrets, and newfound romances all while still having to go to school made for a thoroughly engrossing read.

The only thing that kept this from a 5-star rating for me was how everything was a little shoved into the epilogue to clean it up nicely. I actually think I would have prefered having more questions. It didn't take away from the story, but left things a little too "perfect".

Not Like the Other Girls is a powerful and thought-provoking read that offers both heartache and hope. I cannot wait to see what Adamo will write next. This is a must-read for anyone seeking a story of resilience, self-discovery, and the journey to finding one's place in the world.

Thank you Bloomsbury Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audio in exchange for an honest review.

I was surprised to learn that this was a debut author. I jumped into the story pretty quickly and stayed engaged for most of the story. There was a time about halfway through when the story felt a little slow, but the last 25% of the book jumped back into the faster pace and I was happy with the ending.

Jo's ex-friend Madi comes to her and asks her for help, but then goes missing before they can meet and talk. Everyone seems willing to write it off as she ran away, but Jo feels there is more to the story. We see glimpses of Jo's life unraveling - disinterested in school, poor grades, reckless behavior. Throughout the story we discover why she responded to life in such a self-destructive way, as well as the process she goes through when she accepts the trauma she endured and begins to heal.

The story is about lost friendships, cyberbullying, and the struggles of being in high school. You'll find mystery, fake dating, and a journey to understand and value your worth.

Romance content: sexual references, fade to black, explicit language
Trigger warning: sexual assault discussed

The way this book sucked me in, broke me and repaired me. It’s not just about a missing girl, but a girl finding herself again after not knowing she lost herself. Bad friends, mystery, total chaos and a girl who was pushed from grace by someone else’s doing. If you get the chance to listen to the audio book I highly recommend!

I listened to Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Amo and have zero regrets! It was an incredible story filled with friendships, scandal, love, family and mystery! I was sold the moment I read that it took place in Rochester, NY. As a Rochester native who has lived here my whole life I was very excited to hear a story take place here! There were so many moments where a ROC reference made me giggle with glee; garbage plates, sea breeze, the secret room at the library and the white lady ghost, just to name a few! But all of that aside I was sucked in so quickly as we follow Jo-Lynn Kirby on the wildest ride of discovery. Both discovery into her own life and a scandal that would rock the community if discovered! Meredith Amo’s writing and character development are stellar and add so much to the enjoyment of this book! I would recommend this to anyone looking for a great read! I would also note that I very much enjoyed the voice of the person reading the audio book!

Not Like Other Girls, WOW. What a debut! Very much excited to read more from Meredith Adamo.

I listened to the audiobook and 2 very big thumbs up to the narrator. She was absolutely perfect for this book and really made Jo come to life.

Not Like Other Girls follows a girl named Jo. Her ex-best friend Maddie goes missing and there is a big mystery behind it. The book is the unravelling of that mystery and also about the unravelling of of the friendship between Jo and Maddie. There was a lot of very serious and difficult topics in the book. I felt like all of those were handled well.

I absolutely loved Jo as a character. There were times I was so frustrated by her, but she felt so human. She was flawed and reacted in such a real way to trauma. There were parts that really stopped and made me think about certain relationships in my own life. Honestly, there were multiple parts of this book that felt healing to me. The "nice guy" really mirrored some experiences in my life and it felt very cathartic to hear something like that in a book.

4.25/5

i enjoyed this book a lot! it hit me in an emotional way that i really wasn't expecting. you can't help but root for jo-lynn throughout the book. her story is one i think a lot of teens can relate to unfortunately, and it's told in a very captivating way. younger me would have loved to have this book to help get me through high school.

also i can't believe this is a debut novel?! if this is how meredith adamo starts her career, i will happily stick around for the ride! that author's note had me in tears on the floor.

Not Like Other Girls is more young adult fiction than a mystery or even a suspense thriller. Meredith Adamo doesn’t have Maddie go missing until Chapter Eight. The book mainly tells the story of Jo and how they got to where they are in their life. As you can see by the content warnings, she goes through some difficult times. She makes consensual choices for which her peers judge her for, but not the boys for in our patriarchal society.

Georgina Sadler does an excellent job narrating this story to include accents and tone. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her as this is my first time listening to one of her reads.

I was anticipating a mystery and this part of Not Like Other Girls is disappointing. This unfortunately affects my review because I was expecting a mystery/suspense/thriller and what I got was a general fiction book with some romance thrown in. The story is too long and should have been edited to take out the filler.

I’m going to date myself, but this book was reminiscent of the coming of age aspects of The Perks of Being a Wallflower combined with the mystery and intrigue of Get a Clue - the 2002 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Lindsay Lohan.

Teenager, Jo-Lynn Kirby fell from grace after her nude photos were leaked, resulting in bullying and alienation from her peers. Jo-Lynn is struggling to survive senior year when she is approached by her former friend Maddie Price who claims to be in trouble. Jo-Lynn contemplates the authenticity of Maddie’s situation until Maddie suddenly goes missing. Authorities are quick to write her off as a runaway teen but Jo-Lynn isn’t convinced. Enlisting her old fling Hudson Harper-Moore, Jo-Lynn will stop at nothing to uncover what exactly is going on in their town, and what happened to Maddie, before it’s too late.

This book was far more introspective than I was expecting. It is just as much about Jo-Lynn’s self-discovery as it is about Maddie’s disappearance. There are a lot of moving parts to this story but I found each of them vital to the overall arc in addition to being highly compelling. The tone of this book worked well to convey Jo-Lynn’s cynicism and her existential crisis brought on by various factors that hardened her to the world. She was a sharp, biting main character peppered with insecurity that made her incredibly relatable.

I am so glad I was able to consume this book via both audio and physical formats. The audio narrator did a FANTASTIC job narrating Jo-Lynn and I thought she did a wonderful job conveying the story as a whole.

Thank you to Bloomsbury for a physical ARC as well as the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced audio copy!

This YA book was so good! 🙌 It's got a bit of everything - thriller, mystery, and romance - which kept me engaged the whole time and even though it is YA, it didn't feel YA, like it had way more grit to it!

🩶 Jo-Lynn was involved in a scandal, causing her to lose most of her friends. One day, her ex-best friend Maddie says that she needs her help - but before Jo-Lynn can find out why Maddie disappears. Worried that Maddie is in trouble, Jo-Lynn and another old friend, Hudson, plan to uncover where Maddie is.

🩶 Throughout this coming-of-age book, we watch Jo-Lynn evolve - in her friendships and relationships. I absolutely loved Jo-Lynn's character, and the narrator, Georgina Sadler, was amazing - their voice was a perfect fit.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury Boooks for my #gifted copy to read and review! #ad #sponsored

⚠️ Trigger warnings: SA

Initial Thoughts
This was a great book! I am a bit surprised by just how much I connected to the main character, Jo-Lynn. Jo-Lynn is one of those girls that everyone has labeled a "bad girl." Her old friend Maddie would never come to her for help, but ends up doing exactly that before disappearing. Jo teams up with Hudson to try to figure out what really happened and learns a lot of things in the process. I enjoyed this mystery and loved how layered the story was. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator did a fantastic job with this story.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Full review to be posted soon.

4.5 stars highly recommend I had a love-hate relationship with this main character all the way through she was a mess but when we find out why she was acting that way you understand it. The twists and turns you had to get through with this story for the ending to all come together were great! My biggest thing with these types of books is my high school and high school experience wasn't like this and I hope most teens and girls don't think that is so. For a YA book, this had so much depth and was fantastic I don't even know if I'd call it a YA other than the character's ages the writing was well done.

This book is wild. Apparently Mindy McGinnis recommended it to some people, which is good enough for me.

This is a PERFECT book for people who like Karen McManus books.

So just know...Mindy McGinnis + Karen M. McManus... it's gonna be a good book.

This book starts with Jo reminiscing about her life. How she never got along with girls, how all the guys she was friends with would say she's "not like other girls." And then how that turns from a compliment to something sinister. How the boys betray her and hurt her. How the girls backstab and call her names. How she can't trust anyone.

Nude photos of Jo-Lynn get sent around by her alleged best friend, Cody. With her reputations in shambles, she's left with no one except one nerdy friend. Then one day, her former BFF Maddie corners Jo and says she needs her help. Reluctant to help, Jo-Lynn eventually agrees. Only Maddie disappears.

Now Jo-Lynn has to step back into the world she was outcast from in order to find Maddie. But who can she trust? The boy who always treated her with kindness? Her one remaining friend? The new girls who have her back and shelter her from harm and tell her "it wasn't your fault," when she opens up to them? Her family?

Or maybe...no one.

This is a GREAT story of reputations and how human we all are. How awful we are. How unforgiving and forgiving we are. How easily we turn our eyes to other things to avoid the pain that's going on in front of us. How we let people down.

This book is the epitome of what is it to be a girl.

I enjoyed this book and it had a lot more depth than I expected from a YA mystery book. It covers a lot of deep and heavy topics that were handled very well in this book and I hope that it reaches the right audience because I think it could be so beneficial to many readers!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really liked the parts of this book that I could hear. However, the audiobook didnt play each chapter so I'm unable to give a true review of this book.

This story started off REALLY strong and then kind of went off the rails a bit for me. I'm not sure listening to the audiobook was the best choice to try and absorb the storyline and it was all over the place at times.

I loved/hated Jo. She was the girl I wanted to be when I was IN high school, but as a 36 year old woman I would be embarrassed looking back now if I was Jo. I think that's why I didn't enjoy this as much as I should have.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. However, I struggled a bit with the storyline as I felt in went in several different directions and often veered so far from the main storyline that I almost forgot about it. It may have been easier to follow if I was reading a physical book instead of the audiobook. That being said, I really enjoyed the narrator. I would listen to other books she narrated.