“The Champions” by Kara Thomas improves on “The Cheerleaders” and still keeps things suspenseful and dark. Football, Murder, and Small-Town Trauma—What More Could You Want?

Okay, Kara Thomas really said, “You thought cheerleaders were bad news? Hold my Gatorade.” “The Champions” takes us back to the murder-y little town of Sunnybrook, where apparently no one can just go to high school without tripping over a mystery or a suspicious death. And honestly? I ate it up.

I liked this one much more than “The Cheerleaders”. Where the first book took a little time to get going, “The Champions” hits the ground running—with a poisoned football player at a party (because, of course), cryptic messages, and Hadley, our snarky new girl who's just trying to win the title of Editor-in-Chief for her school newspaper and not die. Mood.

Hadley doesn’t care about football—which made her immediately relatable—but she *does* care about not letting attempted murderers run free. Also relatable. She’s funny, a little messy, and determined in a “probably should have minded her own business but I’m glad she didn’t” kind of way.

The mystery here is twisty, fast-paced, and weirdly fun for a book with two suspicious “accidents.” There’s small-town paranoia, secrets that refuse to stay buried, and a football team that is definitely hiding something (besides the playbook). And the ending?? Very satisfying.

So yeah, four stars. Darker and sharper than book one, with fewer slow moments and more *please tell me what’s going on* vibes. Just don’t drink anything at a Sunnybrook party, and you’ll probably be alright. Maybe.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Delacorte Press, for sharing this eARC with me in exchange for my honest opinion. This review is based off of an uncorrected proof which did not sway my opinion either way.

𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★★☆
𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: ya mystery
𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: this book has mentions of r!pe, murder, and su!cide

"𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮," 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨. "𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙"

*DISCLAIMER: Thank you to the publisher, St. Martins Press, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. BOOK IS NOW RELEASED*

OVERVIEW
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I enjoyed this book, I think its very well written. I read the first book in this series, the Cheerleaders about a year ago, and that book was FABULOUS! In my opinion the first book was better, but I still liked this one. I recommend reading the Cheerleaders first, as this book references it a lot. The plot of this book was ok, albeit a little confusing. However even when I was confused, I was still on the edge of my seat, and wanted to continue reading. I think this is a good YA mystery if you like twists and turns and would recommend it for kids older than 12 as some of themes are very complex and could be triggering. ( I added some at the top of this review )

CHARACTER REVIEW
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I really like the main character Hadley. I thought she was very smart and a cool character. She was good at taking care of herself while still trying to help others and get to the bottom of the truth. I would say she was a solid main character, no complaints here. The side characters were also extremely well written and intertwined. They all had complex personalities and felt like real people, you were cheering for some of them, and angry at others. The writer does a superb job with the character development throughout the story, all the characters become more complicated and new information changes how you see some them. I think the characters as a whole were extremely well done.

PLOT REVIEW
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The plot itself is not that confusing (if you've read the first book) but the ending WAS SO CONFUSING! This may be because I read the first book a year ago, or maybe I was tired while reading this one, but I just didn't get it all. I didn't love the ending, its very complex and everything is VERY intertwined. I had trouble remembering all the names, people, and their connections. It was hard to follow at points and some points were a little unrealistic. But, there was still lots intrigue and suspense sprinkled throughout the book, and the mystery plot and the investigation was interesting. I liked how everything slowly comes together. (Even if I didn't really understand how) The setting is super interesting and I think the themes in the ending of the book are very relevant in todays society.

WRITING REVIEW
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The writing is what kept me reading. The author did a really good job of keeping me interested. The developments that occur throughout the book are super well written, and the characters are well written. I think that the author did a good job of writing complex issues and emotions, and all the craziness that comes with being a teenager, while simultaneously the mystery also takes place. I love this authors writing style, both of her books Ive read, I have liked a lot.

ENDING THOUGHTS
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Well written but some parts were confusing. I would recommend this book, but the first one was better, and I recommend reading it first. I enjoyed this book, its a good mystery, but it does have some pretty complex themes, just a heads up!

Thanks! Ellie,

Kara Thomas wrote another novel that I am excited to get into the hands of my high school students. I have already purchased a copy for my classroom library! I would recommend that people read The Cheerleaders first before reading The Champions because I did have to reread it to get a refresher on the plot. Hadley, a new girl, starts to get messages warning her about foul play on the football team, and Hadley goes out to investigate the mystery emails she has been receiving. The choice to investigate has dire consequences for the popular football team.

This book was very fun. It was a sequel to "The Cheerleaders", which I also enjoyed. It has been a while since I read the first one but the author does a nice job of summarizing the first one. This one was entertaining and readable.

A good follow up to the first book in this series. I liked the characters of the story. There was a lot of unknowns in the story that took too long to reveal. Also the main character not having any real friends fell flat. Peter and her relationship didn't develop as well as I thought it could have for me. Overall the storyline was good enough for me to finish the book!

I remember reading books by her when I was in highschool. I would def say I think I 100% outgrew her writing, but she did a great job with this book. I just sis not enjoy it as much

Kara Thomas brings us back to the world of Sunnybrook that she introduced in The Cheerleaders in this new mystery, and for the most part the sequel is as good as the original. You can read this book even if you haven't read the first one, but there are connections you can appreciate more if you have the background.

If you are going to read this one, check the trigger warnings because there are some pretty heavy topics, but Thomas does a respectful job of handling them. Overall, I recommend this book for high school students.

I like this book better than the first one, The Cheerleaders, though I rated them both three stars. I believe some schools will go to great lengths to see their sports teams succeed, especially football, and this was a prime example of that.

Little disclaimer here, I didn't realize that this book was sort of a sequel to another book by the author. Kara did a good job for readers like myself that hadn't read the first book. She did a good job making this a standalone yet interconnected "sequel".

In this book, Hadley a new girl to Sunnybrook looking to make her mark on the school newspaper, shooting for the Chief Editor role. This leads to her having to cover her least favorite thing, sports - specifically their football team. A player is poisoned which kicks off our mystery. Hadley is determined to get to the bottom of it no mater how dangerous (and drama filled) it becomes.

I enjoyed it brought me back to my R.L. Stine's Fear Street, and Christopher Pikes but for the youth of the 2020's.

Thank you to Random House Children's and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the sequel to the Cheerleaders. This takes place 5 years after the town experienced all the deaths. They are trying to overcome the horrible reputation and become known for something else. They want to be famous for their football team. The school and coaches will do almost anything to make sure this happens. But murder? Blah blah has recently moved to the town and she wants to be editor of the school newspaper. Breaking the mystery behind the 5 year old murders and the current mischief going on could be her big break and help her get into the college of her choice. But, could it also mean her death?

A murder that remains unsolved. I did enjoy that this one was technically looking at a cold case crime. And that we get a teenage sleuth that's determined to solve it.

High school is tough for everyone, but more so when scandal seems repeat itself.

Well written and full intrigue, this is the perfect entry for any YA mystery. Can Hadley keep her sanity while fighting for editor-in-chief of the HS newspaper? Will the newest death in a town that has only recently recovered from a series of murders derail everything she has worked towards?

Hadley fights the good flight, deals with her rivals and being the new girl. She is strong when others expect her to be weak.

Hadley is a hero all young girls needs.

Content Warning: sexual assault, bullying, death, cheating, toxic relationships, car accident, abortion

Kara Thomas does it again! I consider her an auto-buy author. I can always expect lots of twists and carefully laid out clues.

Book 2 in The Cheerleaders YA duology.
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It’s been 11 years since the deaths of five cheerleaders occurred in the small town of Sunnybrook, NY. Hadley is new in town and works for the school paper, hoping to make editor. She’s assigned to work the football game because the town has a winning team and hopes to make it to state again. Hadley couldn’t care less about football, but a hard-hitting news story is right up her alley. When she realizes there’s something sinister about the football players and how they all close ranks around one another when their QB is poisoned at a party, Hadley decides to investigate with the help of Peter, Monica’s younger brother from book 1. What she finds puts her life in danger because the champions will stop at nothing to win.
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So I’m not sure this qualifies as a sequel because the main character is someone completely new and unconnected to book 1. I wish there had been more with Peter and Monica and towards the end, the amount of characters became so convoluted with the plot. Way too many cooks in the kitchen so I wasn’t as invested as I wanted to be in this follow up.

CW: gang rape, sexual assault, drugging, hospitalization, bullying, alcohol, hazing, toxic relationship, gun violence, infidelity, emesis, grief, car accident, gaslighting, misogyny, sexism, addiction, panic attack, suicide

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. This is a YA mystery so it takes place when the characters are in high school. The story did keep me interested and there were some twists that were interesting.

I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Sunnybrook High is home to the celebrated Tigers football team, but its past is haunted by the tragic deaths of five cheerleaders over a decade ago. When Hadley moves to Sunnybrook, she’s uninterested in football—until a Tiger is poisoned at a party and she’s assigned to cover the incident for the school paper.

As cryptic emails warn her to back off and a second player meets a grim fate, Hadley suspects that someone is targeting the team. Are the murders linked to the cheerleaders’ deaths from years ago, or are the Tigers hiding sinister secrets of their own? Determined to uncover the truth, Hadley dives deep into Sunnybrook's dark history, but her investigation may come at a deadly cost.

Tropes
- Small-town secrets
- High school hierarchy
- Outsider uncovering hidden truths
- Sports team with dark secrets
- Linking past and present crimes

he Champions revisits the shadowy world of Sunnybrook where secrets refuse to stay buried. Hadley is a compelling protagonist—cynical yet determined—whose outsider status gives her a unique perspective on the town’s deeply ingrained culture. The story weaves past and present crimes seamlessly, drawing eerie parallels between the cheerleaders’ tragic deaths and the current targeting of the Tigers. Thomas builds tension masterfully, with each chapter layering on suspense as Hadley unearths disturbing truths about the town’s golden boys and their invincible reputation.

What sets The Champions apart is its sharp commentary on privilege, accountability, and the lengths people will go to protect their own. The football team’s façade of perfection crumbles under scrutiny, exposing a web of lies, betrayal, and guilt. At the same time, Sunnybrook’s fixation on moving past its history highlights the dangers of ignoring unresolved trauma.

The book’s pacing is excellent, with each revelation raising the stakes until the explosive climax. The connection to The Cheerleaders is satisfying but subtle enough for newcomers to enjoy this book as a standalone. Thomas’s writing is immersive and atmospheric, perfectly capturing the dark undertones of Sunnybrook’s seemingly idyllic setting.

Fans of high-stakes mysteries with morally complex characters and plenty of surprises will find The Champions impossible to put down.

More books like The Champions
- The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
- One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
- Sadie by Courtney Summers
- People Like Us by Dana Mele

The Champions by Kara Thomas is the sequel to The Cheerleaders. Though I enjoyed it, it didn't quite live up to its predecessor. The writing was good and the story was solid, but I think my expectations were a little too high.

*The Champions* by Kara Thomas is an engaging thriller that keeps you hooked with its fast-paced plot and intriguing mystery. While the twists are solid and the characters are relatable, the story occasionally feels predictable and lacks the depth to make it truly standout. A solid three-star read for fans of suspense, though not quite as gripping as expected.

This one took me a min, I wanted to read cheerleaders first, and I ended up really liking both!!! This was good, I liked it a lot!