Wasn't what I expected at all! I went into this book with low expectations -- I haven't enjoyed YA as much as I used to for a little while now, but this was a pretty pleasant surprise.

This book reads as dated due to a bunch of social media/pop culture references; these are just a general issue I have with any kind of book I read, I cannot stand direct use of modern slang or references to whatever the latest trend is. Slang and trends change so quickly that it automatically dates a book, as it did here, even though it only came out recently. However, this was only an issue with the parts of the book that didn't involve the thriller aspect.

I actually enjoyed Jessa's character quite a bit -- she had a lot of character development throughout the duration of the story. She felt grounded -- she dealt with the usual and the unusual issues a teen can experience in a way that was easy to understand and rational. The side characters were somewhat flat, but it worked in the context of the novel. It felt very much like a classic horror movie, sort of like Scream.

The threats faced in the book were actually menacing, disgusting and not bumblingly cartoonish. There was a real sense of danger. I also really enjoyed the merging of the psychological and the paranormal, I think it worked quite well.

Overall, a fun teen thriller book to read!

Our main character has grown up being told that she needs to be the perfect girl and she is just that.

This plot hooked me right away from the summary! There was a little bit of a slow start, but once the plot got going I was locked in. There were so many great twists and turns and I always love a plot where someone has a target on their back.

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and I highly recommend this book if you love books like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was an enjoyable reading experience.

What happens when being the perfect girl leads trouble to your door? I LOVED this book. I love that this book takes place over the course of one day (for the most part *wink*) which makes it really fast paced and gut wrenching. Jessa is truly a perfect girl, but makes us see the pressures of being perfect. I think that lots of teens, and people beyond that, can see themselves in Jessa and her struggles and find her a truly compelling main character. The friend group, the way these girls interact, was so well thought out and felt so realistic. I could see my friends and the struggles we had. The red herring in this book was also fantastic. I think the commentary on forcing people to be something they aren't or if it doesn't make them happy was also really good. Everything about this book felt like it was on purpose, and while it wasn't the best thriller for me, it was a very well constructed book. I think if the ghost/haunting aspect of this book had been explored a bit more completely, it would have been perfect for me. I am so happy I was able to read this and share some thoughts. Overall 3.75 out of 5! You should give it a read!

Suspense / thriller fans will eat this one up. Teenage girls have a sleepover on a stormy night while watching Buffy reruns. The power goes out... someone is standing outside the house... you get the idea. Underlying the B-movie horror tropes is an exploration of self esteem, anxiety, and even consent. Tack on a wicked surprise and this will make teen readers scream with delight.

this was just not for me. i thought the beginning was super slow and the ending was just okay. i was hoping for more with this one and it just didn't happen unfortunately.

Soooo good!!! From trying to be absolutely perfect in all sense of the word to kicking butt and taking names This is an amazing book!!! Truly she understands how much pressure high schoolers put on themselves to be perfect and the Plot twist? INSANE, if you're a fan of twists and turns this will DEF be for you!

The Perfect Girl by Tracy Banghart is a gripping dystopian thriller that explores themes of identity, control, and rebellion in a society obsessed with perfection. The protagonist’s journey is both emotionally intense and thought-provoking, highlighting the costs of conformity and the power of resistance. Banghart’s taut pacing and vivid world-building make this a compelling read for fans of feminist speculative fiction.

Perfect Girl by Tracy Banghart suffers from something that a lot of Y.A. mystery novels suffer from--it was clearly written by someone who has no idea how teenagers speak to each other. I wanted to enjoy it, but I found the dialogue cringy and the writing just wasn't doing it for me.

I wasn’t expecting this to be as Young Adult as it was, but I still enjoyed it. The mystery was interesting, but the sub-plot and dialogue was very much written for a younger audience than myself.

So I didn’t really expect this to be as YA as it was…it was RL Stine coded. That being said, it wasn’t bad, I’ll definitely have my 12 year old daughter read it and I know she will have a great time. I was expecting a little more out of this though. It was still okay.

super fun and fast paced !! Will definitely be wanting to read more by this author.

Thank you netgalley!!

This was really disjointed. I didn’t understand why the subplot story was included. This was very goosebumps ish - but not so fun and campy. It wasn’t for me.

This is an engaging YA horror/thriller. The opening filled me with such a sense of dread and forthcoming doom that it helped me get through the slower novel start. The start is written well but focuses heavily on introducing you to the teen characters, their relationships and challenges, which help you stay invested in the characters. The action of the story begins before you’re able to fully investigate the most interesting parts of the characters.
The main character was SO naive and so much of a people pleaser that it was almost hard to believe, but I understand the point the author is making about ignoring your own instincts and boundaries.

this YA thriller/horror was SO GOOD.

- loved all the characters, yes even people pleasing Jessa, bc hello that was the POINT
- themes were great
- dialogue was done really well, you could really tell the author did NOT write the teenagers based off tiktok trends
- I really wanted something bad to happen to Tiny's boyfriend lmao
- I wish we would have either gotten a lil more out of the subplot or none of it at all, bc it really didn't do anything for me
- was def a fan of the dollhouse stuff- so creepy!!
- very campy but i love 90's horror camp and since these kids didn't have cell service, it gave those same vibes
- lil love clicks in there were cute
- finding yourself without the pressure of your parents, teacher, friends, and other outside voices is so important. Also trusting your gut. absolutely fuck politeness.
- would most def recommend this

Fun book full of suspenseful moments. The main character was a little annoying at times, but I was still rooting for her. Twisty turny fun though!

The beginning of this book was a bit of a struggle, the characters felt a little too immature for high schoolers. But once the sleepover kicked off, the story took a turn for the better and really pulled me in. I appreciated the subtle nuances of society's pressure of being the “perfect girl” and how doing what’s expected isn’t always the right thing.
I also enjoyed unraveling the mystery of the missing girls and how it all connected back to Jessa and the mysterious killer. The classic tropes of a dark, isolated night and people being picked off one by one were well executed. The big question remains… will Jessa finally break free from the perfect image she’s been forced into?

*Thank you to Tracy Banghart, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

In all respects this book should have been a slam dunk for me. The premise is perfectly up my alley and lately all I want to read and watch are feminine rage books and movies. I wanted so badly to love this, but I just really disliked this book.

There was so many times I found myself cringing to myself. I’d read a line and wonder, ‘Did I just read that right?’ And would back up and realize that yes, I did just read that. It also took a good while for the story to pick up and there was a lot of nothing happening in the beginning.

The guy and his mom who kidnap the girls and the whole dollhouse vibe was creepy, but ultimately it was not enough to save the story.

The subject of Covid wasn’t handled well in this book and with the amount that Covid is mentioned it irked me a lot. Also there was a bisexual character who is being told that they are lying to people because she isn’t out and that just left a huge bad taste in my mouth.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book. I really did not care for it.

I got an ARC of this book.

This is not my typical horror read. I am not into the slasher sort of vibe. Slashers tend to read a bit too thriller for me. I don’t enjoy thrillers. They are drastically different genres, despite what so many people say. This is a hill I will die on.

The first half of the book was pretty slow, but I enjoyed it. It was building the atmosphere. It felt like the sort of horror that really gets me invested. I cared about the characters. I wanted to know them more, I wanted them to survive. I was also incredibly suspicious of them. It was a great build up. The first half of the book was by far my favorite.

The book started to go downhill when the action really started. The slasher aspects dragged it down for me. It was pretty clear who was doing it and why. It was weaker than the first half that could have made the big bad anyone.

The cover is gorgeous and I loved the fantasy duology by Banghart, so I was going to read this even with my misgivings. It was not a bad book. It just wasn’t strong the whole way through. Instead characters came and went in ways that didn’t really make sense. The giving up being perfect to save her life wasn’t really feel delivered on. The romance felt thrown on. The ending for the romance felt so weak. So many details in the second half seemed to just chip away at what was building so perfectly in the first half. The roamnce could have been handled in a way to further build that as well. But even the side character’s romance with a violent person just felt thrown on. It was sad to see how far it fell.

Overall, the first half of the book was five stars. The second half was three. So rounding it, four. It was a fun read, but not going to be one that I am going to shove at horror fans. It would work better for thriller fans who aren’t the best with really scary books, but want to dip their toe in.

As someone who reads a lot of YA mysteries, I usually go into them with some level of apprehension, and The Perfect Girl was no exception. I had no idea what to expect, but this book leads with intensity and promise. It slows down after that, but not for long. And sometimes, a slow buildup is just what a good mystery needs. This one follows a group of teens having a sleepover at one of their houses in a pretty isolated area. Some pretty intense thunderstorms roll in, the power goes out, and the group soon realizes they are not safe and someone is targeting them, looking for "the perfect girl". I don't think the premise is completely unique, but I do think it's a setup that works for a reason. Also, this friend group is easy to root for, and the author gives us a main character that a great arc and manages to learn a thing or two instead of just being traumatized. This is a book I'd recommend to teenage girls who love Criminal Minds, or Natasha Preston, and want something equally creepy. This kind of has everything they could want, including romance and a truly deranged mystery plot.