Oh. Em. Geeeee. I DEVOURED this. I have loved Soto's romances, so l was so excited to give her debut YA thriller a try. Let's just say I'm convinced Julie Soto could write about anything and it would be amazing
This thriller is very Pretty Little Liars meets 13 Reasons Why, with a touch of paranormal. An elite friend group/clique called the "thrashers" is under investigation and scrutiny after an incriminating journal of recently deceased Emily Mills (a wannabe thrasher) winds up in the hands of the police. As things unravel and the investigation progresses, strange and eerie things are happening to the thrashers. Was there more to Emily's death? I was questioning everyone and everything the whole time, I couldn't put it down!
Rating: 4.5
This book did contain some heavier topics, check TWs

I just know that early 2010's CW would be salivating over this IP. When I saw that one of my favorite romance authors was going to be dipping her author quill into the YA Thriller genre I was intrigued. This isn't a genre that I've read a ton of, even when I was a teen myself. I had no idea what I was signing up for when I downloaded The Thrashers. This book had me hooked from the very first page. The characters are so distinct and relatable. While 'Teenaged Sarah' had very little in common with the character Jodi Dillon's family life or friend group dynamics, the running theme of 'Is everyone just pretending to like me?' and 'Are my friends hanging out without me?' really resonated with me. This book and me laughing, crying and gasping at every twist and turn.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books, and Julie Soto for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so surprisingly great! Not surprising that Julie Soto wrote an amazing book, but amazing that I enjoyed it so much when it’s not my usual read. I haven’t read many of these high school thriller types since they became popular several years back, but I have to say I enjoyed it so much more with a supernatural twist!

I was hooked on every word, the characters had so much depth and nuance they seemed real to me. They’re stuck in my head, I want to keep reading and I’m so hoping there will be a sequel to this because I need more Julian!!!

I honestly can’t say enough how much I enjoyed and loved this book!

To say I couldn't put this book down is a huge understatement. This book CONSUMED me from the moment I started it, to a day later when I finished it. I don't even consider myself a fan of YA thrillers...and yet! Julie Soto just has a way with characters that pulls me in. I would liken this book to 13 Reasons Why meets Veronica Mars. Jodi is our main pov character and I immediately latched on to her. She is a member of The Thrashers, the popular clique at school led by the handsome and popular Zack. I really liked Jodi. She felt like a fully realized high school student to me. She has her group of friends but is insecure and constantly wonders why they would be friends with her, are they hanging out without her, what are they really thinking. That feeling permeates this book that deals with bullying and all the most horrifying things you can think of when you think of teenage kids.

Soto does a great job of making this a veritable page turner while making you care about all of the characters while constantly second guessing all of them. And it wouldn't be a Soto book without a bit of romance thrown in. This book is for all the Logan Echolls girlies out there. I think this would be a great book to read when you are in a slump because I can almost guarantee this will have you on the edge of your seat. I would take a look at some of the content warnings and be mindful of the themes because this book does get dark. But in terms of a good story, Soto completely delivers.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Julie Soto, NetGalley, and Wednesday Books for the ARC of The Thrashers! Julie Soto is one of my favorite authors so I was ecstatic to receive a copy of her debut YA book, which is suspense. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book and couldn’t wait for release day so I could get my friends to read it and talk about it with me!
 
The Thrashers, a friend group consisting of our main character Jodi, her best friend and uber-popular Zack Thrasher, and Zack’s other best friends Julian, Lucy and Paige, come under fire from both police and their fellow high schoolers when wannabe Thrasher (and sophomore) Emily unalives herself on prom night of their junior year. Rumors start spreading that Emily had been bullied by the group and “Thrashed,” or kicked out like so many others before her. When the police get involved after Emily’s diary is found containing some concerning information about the group, Jodi starts to wonder who she can trust. Feeling like the outside of the group, who can she turn to with all of these now unanswered questions about what really happened to Emily? And is Emily hanging around to haunt them for what they did to her when she was alive?
 
I finished this incredible book in one setting and the epilogue may have even set up a sequel. If so, I LITERALLY CANNOT WAIT. Julie Soto has cemented herself as an auto-buy author. She’s never let me down with her adult books and now her first YA book. I can’t wait to keep reading her books as soon as they release!

“ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ɪ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ʏᴏᴜ.”

I cannot stop thinking about this book. It is eating me up! ! The twists, the turns, the fact that even though the FMC is the “good” one she’s still an asshole. I mean its everything I would want in a YA book. Don’t give me the perfect teenager. They don’t exist. I really appreciated Jodi’s character arc through this book. She really starts to sort out what she wants from her people pleasing nature. As a people pleaser I love to see it, I also liked that this book showed that you can be a pushover with the people you care about and still be strong to those you don’t or who are outside of your circle. Jodi was the epitome of that, she wouldn’t go against The Thrashers, except for Julian. She did stand up for her friends and she would also stand up TO Julian.

I am stunned at the way Julie Soto wrote these characters. Jodi was a pretty unreliable narrator at first, there were alot of things she didn’t know that color the way she views her friends.

I really really enjoyed this book as I have enjoyed EVERYTHING by @juliesotowrites

A huge thank you to @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for a copy of this book! I recommend it for anyone who likes thrillers, mysteries, and YA.

When high school sophomore Emily Mills takes her own life on prom night, the investigation as to why turns all eyes towards a group of five teens known as the Thrashers and what role they might have played in her death. The Thrashers claim their innocence and soon the investigation must determine how much truth there is to the claims and how many secrets there are to uncover.

The Thrashers, composed of Lucy, Paige, Jodi, Jullian and Zach is the “it group” in high school. Everyone wants to join but you will never get in and even if you get a taste, you will eventually end up getting thrashed, aka kicked out. As the story progresses you soon realize they are not as tight knit as they appeared to everyone else and as the truths start to come out it becomes apparent that there are fractures within the group.

The narrator, Jodi, was the nicest and most patient thrasher and while she tolerated Emily, she didn’t particularly like her. Emily was intense and a little odd. She would invite herself to things and was really clingy. She also twisted stories to fit her narrative and kept a diary that was not always accurate. So that begs the question if Emily was really all that innocent? Jodi sets out to figure out what’s the truth about these claims and what’s fabricated.

This was a little paranormal, little misdirection, little mystery and a lot of enjoyment and excitement. With a very morally great cast of characters, you never really know who to root for.
Very fast paced and while I didn’t love the ending (are we getting a sequel?), it was overall a very fun YA paranormal mystery.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

Julie Soto has not disappointed me yet. I really enjoy her writing style and the atmosphere she creates. THE THRASHERS WAS OUT OF BOUNDS! The character and world-building, the plot, and the mental strain the twists and turns in this story put you through were genius! Poor Jodi Dillion. What is a girl to do when trying to remain loyal to your popular friend group?

Emily Mills commits suicide, and because of carefully placed information, “the thrashers” are the prime suspects. During the investigation, Jodi finds that people around her are not as honest and innocent as she thought, leaving her with a hard choice.

I could not put this book down; it was that good. At the end of each chapter, you wanted more!

I read the ARC, and after I finished, I was given the ALC of The Thrashers and enjoyed myself all over again! This has to be a series, Julie, please make this a series.

Thank you, Netgalley, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books, and Julie Soto for this nail-biting ARC of The Thrashers. I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

Thank you to Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARCs. Here are my thoughts.

The Thrashers are the cool kids at New Helvetia High, and everyone wants to be friends with them. They are wealthy, beautiful and talented, and Jodi feels like she’s only in the group because of her friendship with Zack. Emily desperately wants to be one of The Thrashers, and after a series of events she dies, and the Thrashers are being blamed. Can Jodi figure out what happened to Emily, and did her friends have something to do with it?

I love reading thrillers in the summer, and this was an amazing one to start with. I absolutely loved it. I stayed up way too late two nights in a row finishing it with no regrets. I could not put it down. The characterization was spot on. I had strong opinions on all of the characters and loved sitting in as the mystery was unraveled. It was paced out flawlessly with an ending that still has me screaming internally.

There is a paranormal piece that I was a little worried might come off as a little silly, but it was woven into the story so seamlessly, and it ended up being one of my favourite parts of the book! There is also drama, romance, teenage angst and shenanigans and of course a whole lot of suspense.

There are some heavy themes in the book, but I thought it all wrapped together so nicely. I hope Julie Soto writes more thrillers because I am so here for it!

✨ ARC REVIEW ✨

The Thrashers by Julie Soto (OUT NOW)

4.5⭐️

Wow, wow, wow! 😍 This one is an absolute must read for all lovers of YA mysteries!!

Jodi feels like she wasn’t meant to be cool or popular and was absolutely never supposed to be considered as part of the “elite” but thanks to her childhood best friend Zack, that’s exactly what she became… a Thrasher. The spotlight is even more focused on Jodi and her group of friends when Emily Mills tragically dies - and everyone is convinced that The Thrashers had something to do with it.

One of my favourite series of all time is A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. I read them almost three years ago and have been desperately searching for a YA mystery to fill the void ever since! Happy to report, I just found her! 😍 This mystery was EVERYTHING - edge of my seat grippy, with complex characters and relationships that had me second guessing their morality and intentions from one page to the next!

The audiobook was extremely well done with dual narration that really helped bring these characters and story to life! Totally bingeable.

I will say, there is some dark content here that I struggled with a bit and I most definitely would have struggled with as a young adult. Reading the synopsis and checking content warnings prior to starting really helped me to enjoy the story while also being mindful of my own feelings! Highly recommend that everyone do this as well, I promise it won’t take away from the story one bit!

I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to read AND listen to this book prior to release date! Julie Soto is an auto-buy author for me and I absolutely LOVED this genre jump from her! Thanks to @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress and @wednesdaybooks ❤️

Let me introduce you to a book that kept me glued to its pages until the very end—a book that gave me chills, made my head spin, and hasn’t left my mind since I finished it. And that ending? No freaking words.
This is the book. 🤯

I don’t even know where to start, because of course I want to write a decent review, but I don’t want to give anything away.

Jodi is the lead protagonist, and I love her character. She’s not rich, she’s insecure, and yet she’s part of the most popular group of friends in school—Julian, Lucy, Paige, and Zack—even though, more often than not, she doesn’t feel like she belongs there.
Her character is very well written and so damn relatable.

When Emily Mills dies, The Thrashers receive a different type of never-ending spotlight. And the moment Emily’s journal is discovered, these people’s lives are no longer the same.

I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, and I was possessed by the need to know what the hell happened, and what will happen next. 😭

As the story progresses, it’s inevitable to start building connection with other characters. And let me tell you, the minute a certain someone walked in… 🙂‍↕️😮‍💨 I just knew. I KNEW!!!
I’m not saying who, though. 🤭

The secrets, the mystery and suspense, the paranormal twist, and that beautiful touch of slow-burn romance gave even more life to the story. It's so good I'm not even kidding when I say I felt utterly addicted—and still not over this story!!

This is one of the best ya thrillers I read! Julie's writing is amazing, and these characters will live rent-free in my head for a very, very, very long time. Am I even getting over them at all?

I'm ready to beg Julie on my knees to give us a sequel. A second book. Anything! I need answers. I need more of *them*. I need something! I NEED IT. 😭 PLEASE! 🧎🏻‍♀️

The Thrashers is a change of pace for Julie Soto as she has written adult romance in the past, and this is a young adult thriller. I'm not the target audience for this book, but I didn't want to miss a book by Soto, and there’s definitely a lot to like. The elite high school setting, secretive clique, and sudden death make for a tense and dramatic backdrop. I found Jodi to be a relatable lead as she tried to navigate some seriously toxic relationships and figure out herself. The mystery had some good flow to it, and Soto knows how to build tension, but it all felt a little predictable. The emotional weight and sharp dialogue make it a solid debut in this genre, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me overall.

4.25 stars

I am surprised by my rating of this book because it had 2 things in thrillers that I really dislike. And yet, it was so compulsively readable, and so engrossing, and so fascinating, that these things that I normally really hate didn't effect my enjoyment of as much as they normally do.

Firstly, if a thriller is going to have paranormal themes, I want the author to dive in headfirst, It's either all paranormal or no paranormal, and I need that early confirmation of yes or no. A confirmation that I didn't get. Not going to get more into it because ..spoilers.. but even though I was real skeptic about the things that were happening, I really loved how the story went. The writing was quick and the pacing was just perfect for me. just slow enough to create that tension, but when things were happening, things were happening.

My second issue actually lowered my rating a quarter star, and that was the ending. Not the epilogue which is it's own beast and is still making my mind just kind of explode, but the solution to the main plot made me so mad. I hated it. And here, a couple days after finishing, I still really dislike the conclusion to this story. The character work done in this book was so well done that this ending just made me so upset.

Now, that epilogue though. That was a great way to end this book. Creepy and shocking and so mind-blowing.

I really enjoyed my reading experience with this book, and while there are a few things I disliked, and I feel so let down by the ending, it was a fantastic first attempt at a thriller by this author I really like.

𝟒⭐️

𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: YA thriller, set in HS

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝-𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞

I was so intrigued my this book at first because it’s Julie Soto but also the cover. Like she’s absolutely stunning! Thrashers did not disappoint. I love a good suspense or mystery and this was honestly giving me MAJOR Veronica Mars vibes which I LOVE. I wasn’t expecting to connect so much with these characters and setting as I did. Julie did such a great job writing in a way that made you feel as if you were part of the group. This was a story that had me invested from start to finish. We meet all the Thrashers, who are the most popular students in school. Something very sinister happens that revolves around the group, which is where the main portion of our story blooms. This was a wild journey of a mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

The epilogue honestly gave me goosebumps. There is still so much that I just think “what the actual fuck.” If you’re looking for a solid thriller I recommend giving this a try!

I just binge read that book in less than 12 hours and now I'm looking around wondering what happened in real life while I was suctioned in this story.

That book was just so freaking good ! I love Julie Soto and was really excited to read her first YA book and it didn't disappoint.

I was riveted to the story. I headed into that book blind and you should do it too.

If you binge watched 13 reasons Why, You will definitely loved that book.

Thank you so much for the ARC Wednesday Books !

First Julie Soto book, will not be my last.

I took a minute to start this book because it’s YA and I feel like that TikTok sound “am I too old to be here?” when I start reading about high school students.

BUT

Holy cow this book is good.

•mystery
•paranormal
•capital D drama

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly recommend if you liked Pretty Little Liars and One of Us is Lying.

Jodi is part of an elite friend group known as the Thrashers. Zack, Julien, Lucy, Paige, and Jodi. When you’re out, you aren’t just out, you’re thrashed. When Emily is thrashed and decides to end her life, the friend group finds themselves haunted by a police investigation and maybe even haunted by something more sinister.

Aside from feeling disconnected to the main characters because she refers to a 30-something as older (I did it then, too ok, I know), I ate this book up. The paranormal was sprinkled in so tastefully it felt real and CREEPY.

THE FREAKING EPILOGUE.

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC and happy pub day @juliesotowrites! Will definitely be checking out more from you ASAP.

This is the kind of book that makes me wish that YA books had been a bigger thing when I was a teen. It's heartstoppingly tense, and deals with difficult issues. Jodi is a well realized characters, though some of her friends are a little less well fleshed out, but the plot is very solid, and the ending of this one will resonate with me for awhile.

The Thrashers is Julie Soto’s first YA thriller—and WOW, I devoured every page. I was hooked from the very beginning and literally stayed up until 3AM reading. If it weren’t for pesky adult responsibilities, I would’ve finished it in one sitting! The twists, the pacing, the characters—everything had me completely gripped.

I had the chance to see Julie at the Lovestruck event yesterday, and it blew my mind to learn this was actually the first book she ever wrote (and her third published). How cool is that? Julie is hilarious and so genuine in person, and it made me love this book even more.

I didn’t keep up with my Julie Bingo last night (oops), but The Thrashers more than made up for it. Highly, highly recommend picking it up—you’re in for a wild, addictive ride!

Zack Thrasher along with his close friends Julian, Jodi, Lucy and Paige run New Helvetia High. When Emily Mills forces her way into their group, the friends put up with her but are not amused. When Emily commits suicide the Thrashers become suspects in the investigation into her death after Emily’s journal is discovered. The aftermath of Emily’s death tests the relationships between the Thrashers in different ways, causing their dynamics to change. Jodi gets caught in the middle of the investigation as she was supposedly the closest to Emily, even if Jodi didn’t feel the same. An impending trial and new revelations create an intricate web lies and deceit. But who is truly responsible for Emily’s death?

Having been a fan of Julie Soto’s previous romances I was excited to read something different from her, and this YA thriller did not disappoint. Proving the powerhouse writer she is, readers will not be able to put this book down!

I flew through The Thrashers. I thought the story was fast-paced and bingeable. Like always, Soto's writing was strong and enticing. Although I found the plot predictable, I had fun reading this book. I liked that the main characters were flawed. Zack, Lucy, Paige, Julian, and Jodi, AKA The Thrashers, weren't perfect characters. The story follows Jodi, one of the members who struggles with her place in the friend group. I found Jodi relatable and can see young readers resonating with her character. As the story progressed, we start to learn more about the Thrashers and their relationship with Emily. I thought the Emily storyline was a little perplexing. I wanted more information on her mental health issues and past. I also found the whole ghost stuff out of place within the book. The Thrasher's friend group dynamics was interesting. At times, I struggled understanding why Jodi was still friends with everyone. I found myself getting annoyed with her inability to recognize the school's viewpoint of the Thrashers and the grey behavior of the group. Everyone except for Jodi was underdeveloped. For how much Zack plays a role in the story, his character felt underwhelming. I liked the relationship between Julian and Jodi. As a fan of enemies to lovers, I enjoyed the way Soto set up their relationship. I was disappointed with Julian's ending. Julie, why did you have to do that to him? The Thrasher's covers some serious topics. I thought this book was a thought-provoking read on the complexities of high school. Despite having some flaws, I thought this was a fun and gripping read. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC.