I was excited about this book because the premise sounded promising & I do love a YA thriller but this one wasn’t for me :(

The beginning was very slow, and it just felt like the plot was all over the place. I wasn’t sure is it was a mystery thriller or a supernatural thriller & then all of a sudden it was none? Plus the ending was a bit underwhelming. I was left confused & wanting more.

2.5 rounded to 3.

⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟
The Thrashers by Julie Soto
This one delivers full-on I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes—with a creepy paranormal edge.
Jodi, Zack, Julian, Lucy, and Paige are the kind of messy friend group that keeps you flipping pages. Suspenseful, twisty, and darkly addictive, this book had me racing through chapters.
That said, I felt the characters could’ve been more fleshed out emotionally. Definitely recommend checking trigger warnings first—there are several right out of the gate.

Wow, what a wild ride! I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this story, but I had read one of the author’s books previously so wanted to give this one a shot.
It took me the first three chapters to really get into the story, but once I did I could not turn the pages fast enough! There were so many twists & turns, and the supernatural/paranormal theme kept me on the edge of my seat. And my jaw dropped with that ending!
It’s difficult for me to write anything more with giving away spoilers, so I’ll end with saying I hope you check this one out!

The Thrashers is my first Julie Soto book, and I absolutely ATE. IT. UP. Like, I read this in less than 24 hours, and had I not started it so late at night, I’d have read it in just one sitting.

Seriously, this book was fantastic. I loved Jodi’s story, and I was so sucked into this plot. I am so thankful that I got to read this early, and I may just have to pick up more of Soto’s books now.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my copy of THE THRASHERS.

I really loved this YA thriller!! I was so invested in these kids and this story. They mystery was slowly unfolded in the perfect recipe to keep me from putting this one down. I highly recommend this one!

As soon as I heard the Veronica Mars comp for this book, I was sat and ready!!! Did I sleep after I finished? No I sure didn't, but I was scared in a way that I found very enjoyable. Julie Soto what can't you do girl?!

A great YA thriller that is suspenseful and keeps you guessing. While none of the characters are particularly loveable, you still find yourself invested in their drama and story. Deals will difficult topics, such as suicide and abuse, but does so well. I think this could be one of the most popular teen books this year and has tv series written all over it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ARC Review

Tropes:
YA
Mystery
Paranormal
Psychological
Morally Grey

This was the first book I've read from this author, but it definitely will not be my last! It's been a while since I've read a full "murder" mystery and psychological thriller and it was so refreshing and I loved every minute of it! There are very heavy topics in this book, so please do take caution while reading.

Jodi is part of "The Thrashers" as her high school likes to call her friend group that's suddenly under investigation for causing the death(suicide) of Emily Mills. During this investigation, their friendship is tested and unfortunately, nothing will be the same as before.

I was hooked from the beginning and with each new chapter or information I was more intrigued. While I was expecting some of the plot & plot twists, the story was still very much entertaining. I loved the mix of suspense, psychological & paranormal aspects of the story.

The characters' actions and thoughts were very much high school like and I appreciated that. They were emotional, filled with doubt and made mistakes people their age would definitely make. None of them were completely innocent or completely guilty. I wouldn't go as far as to say they were morally grey, but they weren't squeaky clean either. Their character development at the end was appropriate as well. They all grew in different ways and at different levels.

There were some weird love interests throughout the story. This was a major reason why, even though I felt for Jodi, she annoyed me. She was too in her head to see that the others were suffering and had problems just like she did. I didn't see or feel the connection between Jodi and her first love interest at all. I was shipping her with the second love interest so much more and would have loved for that to be explored a lot more.

Their friendship group was a bit weird, but great as well. They were always there for each other and genuinely got along so well.

While I loved the character development with all the characters especially Jodi, I have very mixed feelings for the ending. I LOVED the very end of the story and still trying to wrap my head around that epilogue. I feel the character that was found to be at "fault" didn't deserve it. Yes, the actions were wrong, but it was a desperate person who didn't know what else to do to protect the people they cared about. As you see throughout the book Emily wasn't as innocent as she seemed.

Overall it was an amazing story that will keep you on your toes and rushing to turn each page! The way I would describe this book would be a mix between Pretty Little Liars and Thirteen Reasons Why(the book! Not the tv show).

It’s giving 13 Reasons Why meets I Know What You Did Last Summer with the essence of Perks of Being a Wallflower.

This book was everything I expected and then some. It was the way Julie Soto took the things that make Sac, Sac, and intertwined them into the story. The character were developed beautifully. The dynamic between Jodi & Julian was something even the best enemies to lovers authors couldn’t capture. I also loved how she had that constant feeling of inadequacy that we all felt as teenagers. Do we really fit in our friend group? Is it all a farce?

SO many ARCs and just not enough time. Here's Julie Soto's "The Thrashers."

["Either you're in or you're out.

Welcome to the Thrashers, the elite friend group at New Helvetia High.

They’re everything everyone wants to be.

Jodi Dillon was never meant to be one of them. Julian, Lucy, Paige, and the infamous Zack Thrasher are rich, sophisticated, and love attention. Jodi feels out of place, but Zack’s her childhood best friend, so she’s in.

Then Emily Mills, who desperately wanted to be a Thrasher, dies—and the whispers about the Thrashers begin. As Emily’s journal surfaces, detectives close in, and Jodi faces an impossible choice: betray her friends or protect herself.

But as eerie messages and strange occurrences escalate, it becomes clear—Emily isn’t done with them yet."]

Friend groups are hard, especially when there is an odd number of people. Someone is always feeling left out. There are so many secrets and pasts and Feelings. I frequently felt left out of groups in high school; then again, thats just a fact of high school, feeling left out, no matter the truth in the matter.

I did really appreciate how this book grabbed my focus and kept it. There hasn't been a ton of mysteries lately that did that. Even if a lot of the driving force of this novel was the feelings of inadequacy and abandonment.

There was a thread of romance, which I obviously loved. Especially since it was from a place we didn't expect. That subplot grew so steadily and perfectly. Well, almost perfectly.

I loved the sheer number of plot twists. Though, I also kinda hated a few of them. Wish that it would have effected the plot and the characters more. Then again, I got a little soft on a few of them and maybe they didn't deserve soft. A few of them definitely didn't deserve soft.

Trigger Warnings: suicide, alcoholism, abusive parents, bullying, and more.

#netgalley #arc #arcteammember
#thethrashers #juliesoto #thriller #yathriller #murdermystery #yamurdermystery #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

I loved Julie Soto's romance debut Forget Me Not, so I was intrigued when she also decided to publish a thriller read. There are authors who straddle more than one genre, but it is rare they can do both so well. The question is, can Soto really do it all? He'll yeah she can! A 4.5 star read for me.

The Thrashers follows a group of popular teens on the verge of high school graduation. Reminiscent of the movie 'Heathers', the 'Thrashers' are an it-group that gets their name from their ringleader, all-American teenage heartthrob Zack Thrasher. One of his best friends is Jodi, who I felt was sort of like the Wynona Rider character, who sits on the outskirts of the group. Like most of the girls, Jodi also harbours a crush on Zack she hasn't yet admitted. When a girl who is obsessed with the Thrashers dies, at first it is assumed to be a suicide. However, as more information about her death is uncovered, things don't add up and the group is soon targeted by the police. Did the Thrashers have to do anything with this girl's death? Are her friends really who Jodi thinks they are?

This was such a propulsive, well written thriller! Even though it is marketed for YA, I didn't feel it was too YA at all and could also be enjoyed by older readers. The characters are all likeable yet untrustworthy, which really upped the ante and the intrigue. Jodi herself is very nuanced and dealing with some really grown up issues, and I appreciate how the author handled these. There was also a little of the paranormal going on- up to the interpretation of the reader- and an ending and epilogue that totally blew me away. This was a wild ride that I highly recommend! A fun summer read.

Book Review: The Thrashers by Julie Soto
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This review may contain minor spoilers.

Julie Soto’s YA thriller follows a group of 5 friends, dubbed The Thrashers, after the death of their classmate Emily on Prom night. Their entire group is under investigation for potential involvement in Emily's death, causing tension with other students and even between each other. This story includes paranormal intrigue, found family, enemies to allies, and whodunnit mystery. Please check the trigger warnings prior to diving in.

This reader doesn't typically gravitate toward thrillers, but when Julie Soto released this shortly after I devoured her other novels, I had to give it a try. And I'm so glad I did. Each character in the story was not what you expected, including Jodi who is the main POV. The dimension and depth she gave each had me completely invested and on my toes to learn the next reveal in the story. I was questioning until the last page whether the paranormal aspects were real or a manipulation.

The friendships are the primary driving force for this story, with so many relatable moments that were beautiful and heart-breaking. Jodi learned throughout this story what each friend's character was and who she wanted in her life. There is a romance subplot that I was here for 100%. The pining and jealousy and protectiveness and and and…it's everything I want to read with a high school romance like this one.

I really enjoyed this story, and the more I think back on it the higher I rate it. Would eat it up if there was a book 2, but it honestly doesn't need it. I loved how the story ended with the epilogue!?!

Thanks NetGalley & St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the eARC!

This is surprisingly Young Adult but doesn't read or feel that way with the deep topics discussed like death. This reminds me of a better Pretty little Liars with a side of Mean girls energy. The side characters reminded of the modern-day Heathers.
The pacing was easy to read for young reader. The plot: was very tiwsty and i didn't expect a lot of things.
The writing was so insightful and gave the characters so much depth.

Perfect if you love:
How did you die?
Why did you die?
"Scary AF" Moments.
Nail biting

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this arc!

I don’t read a lot of YA these days, nor do I usually care for thrillers, but I took a chance because I’ve loved everything I’ve read from Julie so far and once again she knocked it out of the park. She just has that *it* factor that translates to excellent and captivating writing, regardless of the genre.

Wow. Just wow. I was hooked the entire time I was reading this. I found the paranormal elements compelling, and the flawed nature of each character had me questioning who to root for the entire time. It was a raw, emotional story that not only touched on important mental health topics but also the toxicity of relationships and the importance of prioritizing your wellbeing in a friendship. I really really enjoyed this book!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the digital advanced copy!

✨ The Vibes ✨
Mean Girls with a supernatural twist

📖 Read if…
✨ Pretty Little Liars is your favorite teen drama
✨ You don’t mind thrillers that veer into the supernatural
✨ You devoured The Clique series in your teens

Julie Soto truly amazes me because HOW can someone write so well across so many genres???

The Thrashers is Soto’s YA debut, and boy does it deliver. The book follows a group of popular and wealthy teens that may have contributed to a fellow student's death. As the police close in on the group, Jodi starts to rethink everything she knows about herself and her friends.

In a way, this feels like Soto’s take on Pretty Little Liars (with a dash of The Clique). There’s a lot of bullying and questionable behavior, which is admittedly tough to read at times, but the book was tense and spooky to the max — exactly the kind of thriller I love diving into during the summer months. I also appreciated the way Soto incorporated supernatural elements. Those can sometimes take me out of a story, but I thought they actually really elevated the emotional moments of the story.

There’s a little bit of romance sprinkled in as well, and that ending!! It was the perfect way to wrap up the story and left me wondering if we just might get a sequel one day…

Julie Soto is for sure an auto-read author for me and I’m eagerly awaiting her romantasy debut later this year.

The Thrashers is out now. Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Trashers is Julie Soto’s ya debut and this is a mystery story with Thirteen Reasons Why and A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder vibes.
 
The story is set at the New Helvetia High and The Thrashers are a group of friends who are very elite and elusive. The whole concept was so intriguing, and it’s so character focused and with each page you learn more about the people and it takes you von such a ride. The group consists of Julian, Lucy, Paige, Zack, and Jodi. And while all of them come from a wealthy background, Jodi is a bit of an outsider and a character that is more down to earth. She is best friends with Zack and their friendship was so different and it was interesting to follow along.
 
Of course, there’s lots of secrets and drama and everything changes when Emily dies. She desperately wanted to be part of the Thrashers but never got in and that gives you a whole new perspective on them. At the same time, you’re trying to figure out what happened with Emily and that took quite some twists and turns, and I liked how the story illustrates some very important topics. I was so into the theories and plot and time flew away while reading this book. The conclusion was very sufficient, and I was happy with the end.
 
If you’re looking for a thrilling and captivating ya book, definitely check out The Thrashers. 4 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

“The Thrashers” by Julie Soto had me hooked from the beginning just like her other books! I couldn’t put this YA book down! It was a good story about kids in high school. Secrets are always around!

The Thrashers by Julie Soto is so bingeworthy!! Although it is technically dubbed YA, it is one roller coaster ride you don't want to miss! Highly addictive and I will be recommending to everyone!!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

I was really interested in the premise of this one but the execution didn't do it for me at all.
The whole topic of suicide was not handled with care. The story made you feel like you should be rooting for the bullies when they were horrible to Emily and horrible to each other.
Emily was made out to be a weird, stalker, and it almost felt like they wanted you to believe she deserved her fate.
The "mystery" around it all was anti-climactic and left me disappointed and underwhelmed.
The "paranormal" elements lended toward the continuation of the story but were never rationally explained.
The bully romance? Miss me with that.
The epilogue???? I wish I hadn't read it because what was that?