I requested this book because I love Julie Soto. I went into it pretty blind so I wasn't prepared for all the high school drama., but for some reason I can't stop thinking about this book. The epilogue really caught me off guard. I hope there's another book after this. I don't think I'm ready to let go of this group of friends.

Jodi Dillon, Julian Hollister, Lucy Reed, Paige Montgomery, and the infamous Zach Thrasher make up the elite friend group, The Thrashers, at New Helvetia High School. Once Emily Mills dies on prom night, the Thrashers are under investigation for her death.

If you enjoyed Pretty Little Liars, 13 Reasons Why or One Tree Hill this is a book I would recommend to you! You will get mysterious text messages, Emily Mills’ journal and characters that reminded me of Lucas/Nathan.

So this book is not a genre I typically read at all (but honestly I would read Julie Soto’s grocery list so I was happy to have been able to get an ARC) but I actually really liked it! The beginning was a bit slow for my taste and I didn’t find any of the characters likable (although I think that was the point) but I was so invested in the plot, the supernaturals elements, and the friendships/relationships outlined in the book. Also the epilogue was SO good, I hope there will be a sequel! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

I don't think I'm ready to give up on YA thrillers but the older my own children get the more I'm like where are these high schoolers parents?! Am I too old and jaded to read this genre now? I sure hope not.

Jodi is in with the popular kids despite her rough home life and when a classmate is found dead on prom night the popular clique is put under scrutiny for bullying. But wait is there a ghost of the dead girl too?!

I liked the premise of this but didn't end up getting super into it. May just be a case of wrong time for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I NEED A JULIAN BOOK NOW!
Excuse me while I fangirl. Because Julie girl, you do not miss! This book had me hooked from the very beginning. I was tuned into every single detail there was to be had. Was it slightly predictable? Yes. But even still I was hanging on to every word. This book was so beautifully crafted and I’m sad it’s over. But please tell me there is more for Julian and (redacted) because that can’t be their ending. That epilogue left me uneasy.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this arc

Julie Soto is one of my favorite authors and YA thrillers are my jam, so I was really excited for The Thrashers. However I eventually found myself delaying reading the ARC, and when I finally started it, it took me a while to get into it. As in, 60% into it. And since Soto is someone I enjoy, I kept fighting through—I'm ultimately glad I did that because the last 40% of this book were highly entertaining, but I hate that it took such a long time to get started. Part of me feels this suffers the feat of many YA thrillers: because they're teenagers, most of their days are spent in school or hanging out in clusters during summer break, so there often times is a very extended cast of characters. This can either make the chapters feel snappy and thrilling, or it can make the narrative feel muddled and slow. The Thrashers falls more into the latter for me, and the plot is a bit of a slow burn because it observes many characters and features journal entries.

I found the characters to be naive and flawed which is a plus for me in YA thrillers. No one likes a squeaky clean kid who has it figured out long before everyone else, so it was nice that the character who is presented this way, Jodi, turned out to be a very layered and flawed character as well. I thought the paranormal/supernatural aspects were very well done and not executed in a way that felt far-fetched or mocking. I wish that more had been done to hold Emily accountable, because even though she is no longer alive by the time the story starts, she is also ultimately never "checked" for her actions and choices.

Overall this was a fun time and I enjoyed it!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

3.75 ⭐️s

This book was super nostalgic for me. I’ve been a lover of YA thrillers for longer than I can remember. I loved how one minute I could be feeling anxious about what was happening, but then the next the budding romance could have me kicking my feet giggling. Such a great mix of everything. The characters really felt like they grew throughout the story too! And that ending 🤯 I need more!

Five stars! Julie Soto can do no wrong.
This book is Pretty Little Liars meets Mean Girls with a chilling twist—and I was absolutely hooked. Secrets, lies, toxic friendships, and just enough paranormal to keep me up late flipping pages. Jodi is the perfect reluctant insider, and I loved piecing things together through Emily’s haunting journal.
Drama? Check. Suspense? Check. Ghosts, betrayal, and morally gray characters? Triple check.

Julie Soto, you’ve done it again. I’d follow the Thrashers into another book in a heartbeat.

Happy pub day to The Thrashers!

Thanks, Wednesday Books, for the arc! Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the ALC!

I don’t understand Julie Soto. What does she sprinkle in her books to make them so addicting? Her adult romances are the chef’s kiss. But for her first YA thriller, THE THRASHERS? Honestly, I think she just knew us PLL and Veronica Mars fans needed something new to feed us.

The number of twists made me dizzy. Sometimes, I was so sure I knew something, only to be fumbled entirely by a plot point that it felt like I was back at the beginning. Julie Soto is a mastermind in how she plots the book.

I loved that the book is about the Thrashers, a group of five friends, but it’s told from one person’s PoV. It was a strong choice to only hear just from Jodi as it elevated the suspense and made you question everything more.

I split my time splitting THE THRASHERS between the book and the audiobook. Eva Kaminsky and Jesse Villinsky are excellent audiobook narrators. You can’t go wrong with whatever way you choose.

THE THRASHERS is a fantabulous YA thriller that will keep you guessing until the last page. Then, you’ll be like me and can’t stop thinking about it after it ends! I only hope that we get more!

While THE THRASHERS entertained me, it is a heavier novel. Sujçjde, which happens in the first few pages, is a significant plot point. Check your content warnings and read with care.

For a complete list of content warnings, visit Julie Soto’s website.

Wow, wow, wow! Thrillers aren’t my normal read but when I saw it labeled as Pretty Little Liars in book form I knew I had to try it. Not to mention it’s my favorite author Julie Soto! It definitely lived up to that label and was fabulous! Such a fun read.

Just like PLL everyone is toxic and even to the end you’re like are you really friends or not. They were pretty well developed and I loved getting bits and pieces of their lives so you kind of get to form your own opinion of them. Julian was absolutely a surprise and to the end I’m still wondering if he was nice to our FMC, Jodi, because he likes her or if it’s something else. There are a lot of heavy topics covered in the book and I feel like they were handled well. It’s all things high schoolers feel and have to navigate: peer pressure, bullying, alcohol/drug use, abusive parental relationships, grief and more. Really 👏 well 👏 done

I loved the ghost angle and I didn’t see how she died! I mean in one way yes I know how but not HOW! IYKYK. No spoilers here! Absolutely devoured this book and I mean if there was a follow up I’d devour it as well! Definitely lives up to the hype.

Julie Soto’s "The Thrashers" is a haunting, tightly wound YA mystery that peers into the toxic undercurrents of high school social hierarchies. Set in the glossy, high-stakes world of New Helvetia High, the novel begins with a tragedy: Emily Mills is found dead on prom night, an apparent suicide that quickly becomes the center of a chilling investigation. All eyes turn to “The Thrashers”—a coveted clique of rich, charismatic teens—as rumors swirl that Emily’s death wasn’t just a personal tragedy but a social punishment.

At the heart of the story is Jodi Dillon, a quiet, thoughtful outsider on the inside—close to the Thrashers by history, not status. As investigators unearth Emily’s journal, which points to bullying by the group, Jodi becomes both a suspect and a moral anchor. Her internal conflict—torn between loyalty to childhood friends and the mounting evidence of their cruelty—grounds the story in emotional realism. Soto deftly uses Jodi’s perspective to explore insecurity, complicity, and the ache of belonging.

The novel’s structure is slow-burning but razor-sharp, with eerie developments and unsettling clues building dread as Jodi pieces together what really happened. Soto’s prose is evocative without being overwrought, and her portrayal of teenage relationships—full of shifting power, jealousy, and need—feels painfully authentic.

"The Thrashers" is more than a whodunit—it’s a powerful exploration of how far people will go to protect their image, and how easily silence can become betrayal. Gritty, suspenseful, and emotionally resonant, it’s a standout addition to the YA mystery genre.

Julie Soto just blew my mind. This was incredible and I am convinced she can write anything and I will be drawn in and captivated. She can write my grocery list and I will need it repeated to me immediately. She is a fantastic author and this book shows her talents can span all the distances. The audio is fantastic too and shouldn't be missed.

ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Netgalley for a copy of this eARC. You know, I am the first person in line for a Julie Soto book always. My ride or die, and when I heard she was writing a YA paranormal thriller, I was so intrigued to see this switch. I know she can write dark well, but YA is a different world in its own right.

Thirteen Reasons Why meets Pretty Little Liars, and I ATE THIS SHIT UP. Julie... Julie my dear, that cliffhanger of an epilogue was rude af when we know there isn't another book coming. I always said I love open endings, but you have now proved me wrong.

Jodi Dillon is the girl I feel like embodies so many of us in this world. Thinking we have a significant friend group but still feeling like the odd one out. Never thinking someone will make us the priority in the group, and overlooking what we contribute, and thinking we are always replaceable. I love Jodi with my whole heart. Even though she cared, we learn in the end that she was also willing to sacrifice someone else to help life herself up. To seem worthy of the attention of her friends. To fit in.

I think a lot of us at this age take for granted just how hard that was to navigate. We misread signs, we sometimes trust the wrong people, and sometimes people are just above consequences. No one is ever without fault, even if we try so hard, one small thing could be misinterpreted and we could be the villain in someone else's story.

Emily was so an interesting character to explore, the obsession, and realizing just how dark and twisty it had gotten really sends you on a rollercoaster for the book. Some moments were a bit predictable, though I'm not sure if that's because I just read too much, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it at all.

You know a book has been written well when you can spend it making theories, and not being disappointed when it was exactly what you expected. To me the most unexpected twist of the entire book was how I left really feeling betrayed and disliking two of the Thrashers that I thought I liked most.

Moral of the story: you never really know what is going on in someone's life, nor their motivations, and that if you have to lie to be kind, it really isn't that kind at all. If you must choose anything in life to be, choose honest.

Also Julie, if you choose to write a sequel, I need Julien POV. Please and thanks.

My biggest problem with this book is not the book itself, but the lack of a trigger warnings page in the arc (or in physical books if sources are to be believed). This book is pretty graphic in it's depiction of suicide.
This felt very under-baked. Jodi is a confusing and meandering character- she has so much happen to her and her inner thoughts couldve been so interesting but they really aren't. Maybe because so many of them are about Zach.
I just don't understand what I'm supposed to like about any of these characters. They don't have enough depth to justify how awful they are to Lucy OR each other. They're supposed to be this elite group of best friends that everyone wants to know, but they have almost negative amounts of chemistry as friends. They really seem like they hate each other for a lot of this.
I also just. Idk. Maybe this is on me or maybe it's because none of the Thrashers have redeeming qualities, but I don't see the appeal of reading from the POV of someone who essentially bullied a teenage girl into suicide. Like. They're the bad guys here.
This feels like its supposed to be a mystery version of 13 reasons why, and it takes all the bad parts of that book and doesnt add anything interesting.

I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing this book up for a 'free' read.

Hrmmm.

This book was entertaining but confusing at times. I feel like the friends group (The Thrashers) didn't really have any depth and I didn't understand the reason why the main character put up with them. Or, in reverse what any of them liked about her. She was obviously the poorer of the bunch, and she herself makes it clear she was taken in by them due to Zach (her friend since childhood). I just found their relationship a chaotic trope where it didn't really seem to meld.

The best part of the book was the 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' esque stalking / text messages / diary story going on and who was behind it all. Was Emily really back from the dead?

There is also a strange romance that pops up in the book and while it really doesn't work on paper (the writing for it was messy), watching too much Veronica Mars and other shows of the like where the broody one that teases the girl is the one that ends up liking here is a low key trope I enjoy.

I'll call this one a chaotic mind thriller teen romp, but once you figure it out it has no re-readability.

Two things I know for sure: I love Julie Soto romance books, and YA thrillers. The Thrashers has been an anticipated release for 2025 and a 5 star prediction. However, there were a lot of elements in this book that just unfortunately didn’t work for me. In my opinion this book has way too much going on and the characters for the most part felt bland. I cared about Jodi but there were moments that she was no better than the rest of the group. The rest of the Thrashers and the strange love triangle dynamics just didn’t work for me. I will say that the book reads really quickly and there are a good chunk of moments that will make you feel the tension.

I'm a little unsure how I feel about The Thrashers. I think the premise sounded interesting, and the idea of a paranormal aspect was so exciting. Sadly, for me, it fell short. The story starts off strong, then goes in a bunch of different directions, and ultimately ends anti-climactically leaving more questions than answers. The potential was there, but I don't think it delivered.

This was an absolute BLAST. I’m not usually a thriller fan, but I loved this one so much, I may have to explore the genre some more!!! I love some good morally gray characters and also i want Julian and Jodi to get together thanks!

Thank you to Julie Soto, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was really good. It was a good thriller, with twists that kept me engaged. I enjoyed the writing.

Jodi is one of the Thrashers- a group of best friends revolving around Zack Thrasher. She is not like the rich, gorgeous group, but as Zack's childhood best friend she is instantly part of the group. When a new girl, Emily, tries to join the group and later dies by suicide, people start to view the Thrashers differently. Jodi tries to uncover what really happened, but in the midst of doing so she wonders who she can really trust.

This book was cute! It was a bit predictable, but a fun YA read. I could have done without the supernatural elements, but overall I enjoyed the book and sped through it in one day,

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.