ARC Review!!

After the death of five cheerleaders, Sunnybrook became infamous. Time has passed and the cheerleader's killer was found guilty but other events start to unfold. Eleven years have passed and Hadley has moved into town with her mother. The town is back in swing with football season and their beloved football team, the Tigers, want to head to nationals for a third time.
Hadley writes for the schools newspaper and gets assigned to cover the teams latest championship bid but she could care less. Shortly after writing the paper, one of the football players gets poisoned at a party and right after Hadley starts getting warning emails to stay away from the football team.
With the start of this, Hadley starts to uncover secrets and has some to realize the football team is not filled with golden boys. After the death of one of the players, Hadley starts to believe someone wants the football team to pay or she comes to think it's connected with the cheerleaders all those years ago.
Since being fairly new to the town, Hadley sees the town and the football team for what they are and she knows she has to dig secrets up to come to the full truth. She's willing to do anything, even talk to the people who were involved eleven years ago with the cheerleader's.

This was such a fun read! I didn't think it would be a full on sequel but it kind of is. For sure can be read without reading the first book, someone might be a little confused but it connects the dots for someone who hasn't read book 1.
All those characters from book 1, who were younger, are back. It was a little confusing with the amount of characters introduced but as the books develops it becomes a little easier to keep track. The plot twist was crazy! I would've never guessed that's why the football team was being plucked one by one. They're so disgusting and I wish they would've gotten justice for what they did.
The story unfolded so well and flowed nicely.
A 3 star read!

4/5

This book was full of twists and turns. I would think that I had it figured out and then another red herring would show up.

I know that my students will really love this book so I plan on adding a copy to my Classroom.

This sequel to THE CHEERLEADERS focuses on the football players and their problems. References are made to events in the first book, so it is recommended that readers start with the first novel in the series. The narrator is a newcomer to the school, and thereby someone who knows nothing about the previous deaths. Her mother is the new superintendent, so Hadley has access to a lot of information and people that help her tell the story. It is another good high school story, with realistic characters and events. Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Pess for providing an ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kara Thomas for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Champions coming out August 27, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It’s been a while since I read the first book, so I might have needed a little refresher. I loved the writing though and I was so excited she came out with a sequel. I love high school drama books! I think this book definitely had some serious themes that hopefully most high schoolers don’t have to deal with. But I really enjoyed the mystery and the new characters. I’d definitely check out more books by this author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA murder mysteries!

A dark YA thriller following a girl who is investigating her small town's high school football team and their deadly sins as they are being killed off one by one. The town of Sunnybrook is famous for the murder of cheerleaders eleven years ago and now the town's prized football team is being killed off one by one. Hadley dreams about being a journalist and is writing for her school's paper. The last thing she wants to work on is writing for her school's football team but when she ends up at a party where one of the footballers is poisoned and she begins getting strange emails... Hadley's interest is peaked. Something is off about these footballers and they're all hiding a dark secret that would expose just how corrupt the town is at covering up crimes. The more Hadley digs the more she begins to put herself at risk.... and as more bodies drop Hadley gets closer and closer to becoming the next one. This is a spinoff of the first book The Cheerleaders and takes place in the same town but a few years after the events of the first one, you do not need to read the first one to read this one. This one was definitely an interesting thriller that deals with a lot of dark topics and subjects. Though if I am being fair it felt a bit typical and super easy to guess the who and why after the first few chapters. I do think YA readers who like thrillers will have a fun time reading this and it's a quick and easy read. For me however, I kind of wish there was a bit more and that the mystery and story had a bit more to it. The villains are easy to guess and the outcome just felt... so typical and like any other ending and I was hoping for something more. It's not a bad book by any means but it is a forgettable one. I would say read it if you like YA thrillers with easy twist and turns.

Release Date: August 27,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I read The Cheerleaders when it was released and though I can’t recall much of it I do remember devouring it and wanting to get my hands on more books like it. When I saw The Champions was going to take place following the events of The Cheerleaders I was so excited to dive back into that world.

I appreciate that you can easily read this book without having read The Cheerleaders prior. I wish I had just to catch myself up but because we follow a girl who is new to town being unfamiliar with the events leading up to this book wasn’t a disadvantage. This story was fast paced and easy to get drawn into. I enjoyed the general vibe of it but I do wish that more happened to Hadley. So much of the plot was moved forward by other people telling her about things that had happened rather than things actually happening. There were also so many characters to keep track of (many from the same family) and it became difficult to remember which brother was which or who was related to whom.

Overall it was an enjoyable read. Because I have virtually no recollection of The Cheerleaders I can’t say how it compares but if someone is looking for a quiet and fun read I’d definitely recommend this one.

Sunnybrook is back in the news. What is happening to their championship football team? There are exploding coaches, plenty of peer tutoring, and too much partying. 🏈

It has been more than five years since The Cheerleaders, and I was thrilled to see this sequel on NetGalley. There's a new girl on the newspaper staff. Hadley Daugherty finds herself at a bit of a disadvantage, but her reporter instincts are spot on. This is her second year on the newspaper staff and as a senior she is gunning for Chief Editor. When her first assignment is the iconic Sunnybrook football team, she realizes there is more than meets the eye. As the narrative progresses, there is girl drama, danger, and a red herring or two. Do not fear! Monica and Gabby are back as supporting characters. Could not get through this one without their contributions to the search for truth.

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

I'm really into those Wreck Your Life tales that happen before you even graduate high school. There's something about that high school murder mystery with its completely unlikable characters, the plethora of bad choices, and the rampant underage drinking that makes for a great read.
Thank you for the ARC

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I read The Cheerleaders when it came out in 2018, and was so excited to see another story in the universe. The two are standalone, but The Champions does reference characters from the Cheerleaders (it also gives a good TLDR on why these characters are important, which honestly could be really fun if you haven’t read The Cheerleaders).

The Champions picks up at the beginning of the school year for Hadley Daugherty. She’s transferred to Sunnybrook towards the end of high school and doesn’t feel a solid connection to much anything except the school paper. While writing a story about the two time champion football team (currently aiming for a three peat), she starts to hear odd comments and receive vaguely threatening anonymous emails from someone called SportsFan. When a party goes painfully wrong and a star player ends up in a coma, Hadley makes it her job to find the truth.

The Champions follows a very similar format to The Cheerleaders, and is a classic whodunnit thriller. Honestly I was so interested in where the story was going and who was responsible for what I couldn’t put it down. It’s an easy read that’s worth it, the payoff continues until the very end.

Major CWs on this book for: rape and domestic violence. There are also references to statutory rape, suicide, murder, drug addiction, and probably more that I’m forgetting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback

I personally enjoyed how this book tied in with the first one, seamlessly continuing the storyline, while also offering new and unique plot twists that kept it fresh. The plot was engaging and moved at a brisk pace, making it an easy and enjoyable read. You should definitely check it out when it releases on August 27th! If you enjoy a good young adult thriller, this one is for you.

This was such a great read! When students are being killed again, H wonders if it may be connected to the killings 15 years ago.

This book was a great follow up to the Cheerleaders being told eleven years after the events of the cheerleaders. This book focuses on the dark side of high school football. This book deals with some heavy topics so just make sure to check the trigger warnings before hand. It was exciting to return to Sunnybrook. Overall this was a gripping thriller that I could not wait to finish. Would recommend this for sure.

The Cheerleaders is my favorite YA Mystery/Thriller, so it’s no surprise I had to get my hands on this one. This gave me some Pretty Little Liars vibes with the anonymous emails being sent to Hadley. Naturally with Hadley being an aspiring journalist, I knew she would put the pieces together. As an outsider, Hadley is learning about the connections the characters in this book had with the characters in The Cheerleaders.

Some of the characters weren’t all that likable, but I still found their stories relevant to move the plot forward. I didn’t know who to trust, and with Hadley not being an insider, it was even easier from her perspective to question everyone. When all was revealed, I was angry. The town of Sunnybrook is no stranger to secrets, so I was not surprised at what was covered up. Overall, I did enjoy this one.

A fantastic return to a world I deeply missed! The characters are just as razor sharp and engaging as before, and the mystery pulled me in from the beginning. Kara Thomas can do no wrong and The Champions is not to be missed! My students will love this.

I read this without reading The Cheerleaders, the first book in this series, but I will definitely go and read it now. This was a thrilling read, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.

In this solid but not exceptional YA mystery Kara Thomas revisits Sunnybrook High, where the events of The Cheerleaders (2018) took place 11 years ago,

Aspiring journalist high school senior Hadley has been asked to write about the school’s two-time state championship-winning football team. But an anonymous emailer tells her to stay away from the team for her own good and, shortly afterwards, one of the football players collapses at a party and ends up in a coma. Hadley’s investigative instincts are on full alert because she’d overheard a teammate shouting “You’re going to fuck up everything” to this player.

The action moves along as Hadley uncovers some dark secrets from the past and, in the process, riles up the whole football-mad community by threatening the untouchable status of the team.

While this was a decent enough YA mystery, I felt it lacked the author’s usual exemplary world-building of a tight-knit working class community, instead focusing on a not particularly well-worked through look at the effect of the past tragedy on a few families. I had a few other gripes as well:

There are so many characters and so many connections to the previous spate of murders that I got a bit lost in who was who and what their connections were with a) the football team and b) the dead cheerleaders. And the cheerleader plot isn’t actually relevant to this one, so I’m not quite sure why the author decided to revisit the scene instead of starting afresh, which might have been a whole lot less confusing.

Though many of the students have been sitting on secrets for years, all of a sudden they decide to start spilling everything to Hadley, despite her being a self-professed “quiet girl” and a newcomer to the school. Of course, this moves the plot along swiftly, but it just seems to come in a bunch of information dumps.

Finally, the denouement - [that footballer players had raped a dance team girl at a party, been abusive to their girlfriends, and had cheated on tests with the help of teachers and coaches - does not seem to be a particularly original conclusion. I mean, other than Friday Night Lights, when haven’t fictional football teams done this? (hide spoiler)]

So, a wobbly 3 stars for The Champions, and a strong recommendation to read the author’s previous YA mysteries, particularly Little Monsters (2017).

Thanks to Delacorte and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Kara Thomas is one of go to thriller authors to recommend and I LOVED The Cheerleaders. When I found out that there would be a sequel I was so excited. I really enjoyed The Champions! It was a solid follow up to one of my favorite books. I recognized a lot of names from The Cheerleaders which added to the small town feeling of the town- really everyone was connected. The premise was compelling and honestly felt like something that could happen.

Trigger Warnings: Rape, bullying, harrassment

This absolutely ate. Mother never disappoints

To be completely fair, I barely remember anything from The Cheerleaders--I remember a major reveal and I remember I was truly gagged while reading it, but the details are fuzzy at best. However, The Champions can be read separately, but it does have spoilers for The Cheerleaders. The Champions follows Hadley, newly arrived in Sunnybrook, as she works to uncover what's going on with the football team. When one player is poisoned at a party, and another is subsequently killed, Hadley wants answers. But she keeps getting warned to leave it be by a mysterious email account. Unwilling to let it go, will Hadley be able to uncover the dark secrets of the Sunnybrook football team? Or will she pay the price for trying to dig up what's been buried?

I loved this. It has the signature darkness of Kara Thomas books, with care handled to sensitive issues. I had no idea who did it until the end, and I found the characters interesting. Hadley definitely has some parallels to Monica, and it was nice to see Monica make an appearance, older and well adjusted now.

Bottom line: I would read Kara Thomas's grocery list.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

I haven't yet read The Cheerleaders, the first book from this universe, but I will for sure go and read it now. This was a great thrilling read, perfect for the upcoming spooky season! The perfect read for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson. A definite add to my HS library.