Thank you Netgalley and Harpercollins publishers for allowing me to read this prior to release date. This is my first book by Faith Gardner. I loved the concept, I was not a huge fan of the main character I found her to be very annoying. The story though was very interesting and it had me wanting to know more. I finished this book within about 3-4 days.

3.75 stars rounded up! 💫

Something about this book had me hooked almost immediately. There's something about a good young adult novel that just gets me sometimes, and I really enjoyed this one. I do want to say right away, the inspiration from series’ like AGGGTM was glaringly obvious at certain points, most notably within the dynamic between Posey and Sal, and some of the investigation format. But it deviated more than enough to be it’s own original story, in my opinion.

The author was able to write young characters without making them seem like stereotypes or too obviously written by someone who is NOT that age. Some of their dialogue and interactions actually had me laughing. The only character who spoke in a less than realistic way was our main character, Posey - however, it’s brought up by other characters and explained, so at least it’s self aware, and I can’t say I minded it. In general, Posey was really likable. All of the kids in the AV club were. (I think Jeremiah and Lexy were my favorites, if I had to choose.) The friendships within that group were the heart of the book for me, and my personal favorite parts.

Also, I have to say, I wish the books I read as a teenager had this kind of casual diversity. Multiple characters of color and queer characters on the pages is just refreshing as hell, and I think it's amazing that young readers have this kind of representation now.

The ending of this book left a little to be desired, it felt a bit anti-climactic, but it wasn't enough of a letdown to change my overall rating or opinion of the book. If the author decides to turn this into a series of some sort, with the club diving into other investigations, I'd absolutely read it. There was a lot going on in Wild Pines that the surface was only scratched on and I think there's a lot left to uncover there. (A cult? Hello? Let's unpack it.)

I’d recommend this to any YA reader or anyone who wants a lighter read that still has a dose of mystery to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins!

when posey is the new girl at wild pines high school she joins the AV club, as she wants to be a journalist. not even a week a the new school and the multimedia teacher suddenly goes missing. posey and the AV club make it their mission to find out what happened to mrs. moses. this was such a good YA thriller and totally gave me a good girls guide to murder vibes.

I, honestly, really enjoyed this book. It was a definitely a YA Mystery, however, it could easily be for middle grade. If I was looking at this book purely from an adult perspective it would rate a 3 for me but because of the age range, it gets a 4. I felt the characters were very well written, however, some falling into some stereotypes. I suppose that happens a lot in high school though.

Posey, the main character, is a neurodivergent overachiever and is brand new at her school. With no newspaper to join, she decides the AV club will have to do. Upon joining the group, the others are less than enthused about her presence. Yet, when their teacher, Ms. Moses, goes missing, the group bands together to write and publish news on her disappearance.

Each child in the group, except for Posey, has a meaningful relationship with their teacher, yet it is slightly inappropriate. She is the 'cool teacher' to the misfits and although I do believe the character was acting out of kindness and not malice, her actions crossed lines. That's neither here nor there, though, as the story mostly focuses on the kids looking for her.

The ending was not some crazy twist but it was still interesting and realistic. I enjoyed how it all came to be. Just some kids trying to figure some things out and looking for their beloved teacher. Cute read.

This was a little too YA for me, I’m sure if I was in high school I would have enjoyed it. Also, the twists didn’t quite do it for me.

this book sounded so up my ally. and i picked it up for a spooky little suspenseful read... and found it lacking a little maybe i have just outgrown ya horror/thriller/suspense. but this was so... mid to me it genuinely broke my heart, especially when so many of my favorite books seemed to have the similar synopsis’s to this read. in all i am sure this book has its audience, and i believe my 13 year old sister would adore it and for that i am still rating it 3 stars. i believe i am just past the age group for this read.

THOUGHTS

This book feels so perfectly YA, and at the same time, it is so not geared toward me! It's a fun and quick read, and it feels absolutely geared toward the target audience in a way that is (unfortunately) hard to find. But it doesn't reach the depth that I personally crave from a thriller, and I did have to suspend a lot of disbelief. And I do mean A LOT.


PROS
Friends? Yes, Please!: I really, really appreciated the group dynamic to this investigative team. So many YA thrillers have a lone-wolf type investigator, someone who is convinced they can solve something nobody else has. At best, you get a duo of friends standing up against the haters. But this book has a really dynamic friend group digging into this missing persons case, and I like the life this group of friends breathes into a saturated market.

Group Dynamic: Not only does having a whole group of investigators shake up the genre conventions but these characters have great chemistry as a group. Honestly, even though this book didn't suit my personal style of thriller, I would absolutely love a whole series following this AV-club-turned-mystery-investigators as they track down the lies and the cover-ups of their small town. They just play off of each other that well.

Perfectly YA: I've said it above, and I'll say it again: this book is perfectly YA. I could absolutely recommend it to anyone in that age category, whether they're moving up from MG or on the verge of stepping out of YA and into the general adult market. And that's really, really nice. So many books skew toward the older crowd, and those that don't push the upper limit feel like they aren't interesting for the older YA reader. There's not a lot of middle ground in the current market. Finding something that hits the sweet spot so well is like finding a gem. It's wonderful. It's magical.


CONS
Annoying MC: Not going to lie. I found Posey particularly annoying. On, like, a personal level. I absolutely wouldn't have been friends with someone like Posey back in high school, someone who ignores all social cues and absolutely tramples on people's toes left and right while justifying herself in doing so. She's so pushy, and while I appreciate that makes her an interesting character, she definitely wasn't for me.

OTT: There are a lot of character and plot elements that were too much for me, personally. There's a lot of melodrama here in the character backstories. There are a lot of crazy things woven into this story. Everybody just lets these kids interview them, and they reveal the most out-of-pocket tidbits about this small town and its history. I was flabbergasted. And somebody else will absolutely love how unhinged all of this is; it just wasn't for me.

Trust Issues: Posey and Sal are in this together... until they're suddenly not. And to be honest, I just didn't buy Posey suddenly not trusting Sal. She had all kinds of reasons before this particular point, and she just wasn't bothered by anything she learned about her AV Club co-president. But one more dubious rumor causes her to question everything (even though I think, on a character level, she probably wouldn't have been upset with him in this case). So that was a bit of mischaracterization, as far as I'm concerned.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Fans of Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder will like diving into the dubious histories of this small town. Those who enjoyed the over-the-top nature of Kate Weston's Murder on a School Night will appreciate how unhinged and wacky this investigation proves to be.

A lot of YA thrillers are tough to read because they are too Venice and unrealistic. This was different! The dialogue was amazing! The banter was quick, and the characters were smart. Loved it!

This is just a knock off, poorly written copy cat of "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder". Even the main character Posey is similar to Pippa and Sol vs. Sal. Missing woman, aspiring journalist in high school. It's not worth the time just read the original

This book was OK but it was way too young adult. It had a lot of adolescent themes to it, and it lacked a real plot. This book was difficult for me to get through, it was not as exciting as I wanted it to be..

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harpers Collins for this ARC.

I have to start by saying that I did not know this was a YA thriller so at first, I was waiting for something really dark to happen. Faith Gardner has used high school aged kids in her adult thrillers before but I quickly realized that the whole tone of it was different. I gave this four stars for what it is, a YA thriller. I think for a younger audience, this is a solid book. It definitely gave me AGGGTM vibes and Posey was a very strong protagonist. If I was a high school aged kid reading this, she would be a great example and a character I would look up to.

Faith's writing is always easy to follow and intriguing. She keeps readers engaged and this story, like her others has great pacing.

While this isn't my normal genre, if anyone asks for a YA thriller, this would be one I'd recommend.

If You Can Hear This sounded so promising, and I was excited to read it. I do appreciate a good mystery novel.
Unfortunately, my excitement was slayed within the first few chapters.
I think the premise of the story was good, but I never felt like the author tied everything together. By the time the ending came, I couldn't have cared less about what happened. This one was a big disappointment to me. I'm not sure I could sell my readers to read this one either.

𝐞𝐀𝐫𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
3 🌟
-
For fans that love, "A Good Girl Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson," This book might be for you!
The cover art is what caught my attention and drew me to this book. Unfortunately, this YA thriller | mystery didn't keep my attention like I wanted it to. The pace was extremely SLOW, so I just couldn't get invested into the story. The premise is great, but the pace is not.
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬:
•thriller | mystery
•young adult | teen
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 Nov.19
Thank you, Netgalley, and Harper Collins Publishing for the eBook for my honest review.

As a teacher, I happen to have a student just like Posey almost every year. It was refreshing to read a high school character like her. She reminded me a lot of myself when I was younger, except smarter and more self-assured. I think shes a great role-model character for my upper middle school students. Not every high school character has to be drinking and partying to be able to find her people and fit in. The AV Club kids were fun to read about and very realistic to the types of high school students you’d likely encounter in real life.
The mystery solving itself did feel a little slow at times, but the characters made up for that. Also, there are some details that were included but not really explored fully (the cult, for example). I am hoping there will be a sequel so that it makes sense why some of this was included.
The one character I think we were MEANT to like, but I didn’t like that much, was Posey’s father. I know he is a single dad, but does he really have to work so much that he is quite literally non-existent in her life, despite her desperation to connect with him? Posey seemed to always be making excuses for him. I know Posey was written to be optimistic and hopeful, but her dad deserved for her to be a little mad that shes home making herself avocado sandwiches for dinner.
Overall, I thought this was a different take on the YA mystery genre and I will definitely be recommending it to my students.

Wow. So, that was a book. And, now it's over!!

Ugghhh, I was not a fan of this book. I kept putting off reading it, till I finally needed to just sit down and finish it. The characters didn't feel very interesting, and I found some of them really dislikable. The mystery was disappointing, and I didn't feel a lot of suspense. Like, I get that their teacher was missing and all, but it just didn't feel urgent to me. Stakes are really important, and I did not feel them in this book. There was, also, the aggravating teen speech. As in, abbreviations even in the spoken language that I did not understand despite being a teenager myself. And, some of the little details, like the classes she was taking, were wrong and kept annoying me. Juniors are usually not taking algebra and biology unless they're behind. This may be changed in the final version, so, there could be that.

There is a good chance that I'm just not interested in YA mysteries/thrillers anymore. They're all very similar, and, at a certain point, you get bored of the peppy, motivated main characters and the sidekicks they drag along in solving a mystery that feels kinda boring. And, I've just summed up most of the YA mysteries I've read, like, ever.

So, I would not recommend this book, but, as always, these are just my opinions, and you may love this book for all the reasons I disliked it.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The story kept me engaged all the way through. I enjoyed trying to guess "who dunnit" along with the main character. The characters were relatable and multifaceted, something that is so important in a YA novel. The ending was unexpected but believable. My only complaint is that there were some details brought up through the book that were never addressed or resolved in the end. I wondered if they were intention red herrings, but some of them had nothing to do with the mystery plot, so I am unsure why they were included. Overall, I would recommend this book to mature students who are ready to read about adult themes handled in a teen-appropriate way.

This was a good read. I liked all the characters. The plot was interesting and kept me engaged. It seems like it could’ve the start of a series. I would read Book 2. Thank you for giving me this advanced copy.

This book has given me a rekindled love for thrillers that I didn't know I needed. Time flew with this book, I read it all in one sitting even though I was on the edge of said seat the whole time.

I was able to read this book by obtaining an ARC copy from NetGalley.
This YA mystery/thriller was hard to get into at first. The main character moves to a new town and joins a club where the teacher of the club goes missing. She and the members of the club try to find out what happened to their teacher. Once it got to the mystery part it was easy to read and get consumed to try and figure out what happened. My main criticism is not feeling a connection to any of the characters and I wish there was more character development.

I chose the book based on the comp alone (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder). I was not disappointed! This book was full of twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I loved the "band of misfits" trope and how truly authentic the characters felt. It was refreshing and nostalgic to see an AV Club band together to solve this mystery. It's not often that I'm so invested in the characters of a thriller. I was very inspired by the power of friendship in this story and I think readers will truly relate to this theme!