As a big fan of Julie Soto's previous work, I was excited by the news of a new book. The genre is so different from her previous work, so I was a little hesitant at first but as expected, Soto’s masterful storytelling quickly dispelled any reservations. If you enjoyed watching “Pretty Little Liars,” this book is definitely for you! The narrative created PLL-like paranoia, leaving me perpetually questioning the facts of the case and I was constantly at the edge of my seat! I was hooked immediately.

What truly elevates Thrashers beyond a typical YA novel is its incisive but relatable social commentary. Soto delves into the power of unchecked privilege, the pressures of social conformity, and the consequences of individual actions, forcing characters to confront the ethical implications of their choices. I developed so many different theories and found myself feeling gaslighted!

Thrashers is a testament to Soto’s versatility, delivering a gripping and thought-provoking experience that is quite different from her usual genre. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the ever-amazing Julie Soto for an advanced reader copy of this incredible book! All opinions are my own.

I got such big "Heathers" vibes from this book and I am LIVING for it. Julie Soto has delivered every time and she did not skip a beat going into YA. I could not put this down.

Ms. Julie Soto!!! The Amazing Writer You Are!!!

This Novel Was Good From Beginning To End! A Group Of Friends Have A Nickname Called “The Thrashers”. This Group Included Friends By The Names Of: Jodi, Lucy, Page, Julian, and Zack.

Each Character Had Their Own Story And As More Time Has Passed New Shocking Details Were Revealed. Is This Group Capable Of Murder Like Rumored Or Is It Just That? A Rumor?

Follow Along On The Journey Of Each Character As More Details Are Revealed Of A Mystery Death, Mystery Diarty Entries, and Supernatural Events.

This Is A Must Read! Add This To Your 2024 May TBR ASAP!!!

4 1/2 ⭐️
⚠️ triggers: peer pressure, bullying, suicide, obsession, manipulation, drugs, alcohol abuse, paranormal
This narrative is captivating and addresses some profound issues.

It is chilling compellingly.

Jodi Dillion is part of an elite circle called The Trashers, including Lucy, Paige, Julian, and Zack. While her friends are affluent and glamorous, Jodi comes from a different socioeconomic background. She and Zack have been friends since second grade, and although many question her place in their exclusive group, Jodi herself shares those doubts. She harbors a secret anxiety about being "Thrashed," a term that signifies being cast aside by the group once they no longer find her valuable or entertaining.

Emily Mills, who was eager to be accepted by The Trashers, initially had a crush on Zack but eventually became more interested in Jodi. Despite the group's open disdain for Emily, Jodi treated her with kindness. Consequently, when Emily took her own life, her family held The Trashers responsible, but they did not direct the same blame towards Jodi. Following Emily's tragic death, unsettling events begin to unfold. Hannah, Emily’s younger sister, starts to emulate Emily by changing her hair color, wearing her clothes, and attempting to connect with Jodi. Meanwhile, Lucy and Paige experience a growing sensation of being watched. Even Julian and Zack are not spared from the strange occurrences that seem to haunt them. They all feel as though Emily’s spirit is pursuing them.

Will they uncover the truth before they are implicated in Emily’s death? Or will they face the consequences of their actions?

Side note to author: Please consider writing up a follow-up novel. It's that great!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC!

This story had me HOOKED from the very beginning.

I liked that each character had their own struggles and secrets, and despite being such a "close-knit" group, they didn't know everything about each other. The way the mystery of Emily, her death, and diary entries were revealed left you second guessing everything. The plot was twisty and the revelations were perfectly timed. I wasn't expecting this book to have supernatural, ghostly elements but I actually loved them. I think it added an extra layer to the story, but didn't take away from the real-world plot.

I enjoyed Jodi's growth as she realizes truths about her friends and herself, and becomes less dependent upon her friendships with them, and especially Zach.

Jodi and Julian's blossoming relationship was a bit unexpected, but had me rooting for them nonetheless. I really hope there is a second book soon because that epilogue has left me reeling!

Definitely add this to your May TBR!

I am a huge Julie Soto fan and this book is geared to a YA audience and I think they’ll find it very relatable as it encompasses so much in the way of teenage angst, vulnerabilities, hurt and drama.
The Thrashers is the nickname for a privileged friend group which Jodi Dillon is drawn to by way of her childhood friend, Zack. When a new girl enrolls in school and desperately tries to join the group but suddenly dies, secrets and regrets come to light. The book centered on a lot of high school drama including cliques and bullying with a devastating result. While the tone is dark and suspenseful there’s also underlying romance and mystique and quite the ending!
For me personally, I was not the targeted audience but can appreciate that this one will resonate well with a younger adult.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press/Wednesday Books for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. The Thrashers is Julie Soto’s first published YA novel and is a thriller centered around the death of Emily, a high school girl, and the possible involvement of the high school’s elite friend group/clique, known as The Thrashers.

This book is definitely a slow burn and I think is not only a thriller (surrounding the details and background behind Emily’s death) but, really a close character study of our main character, Jodi, the friends in the main group of focus here, and Emily. There are a lot of questions and comments raised about the characters’ motivations, secrets, feelings of shame, etc. and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these characters. As noted before, the book is indeed a slow burn and the tension really slow builds over time. The creepiness and heavy tension of the story is very palpable and I personally enjoyed it. I think some of the comparisons I’ve seen to Pretty Little Liars are accurate and if you enjoyed that show, I think you’d enjoy this book. However, if you are looking for a more fast paced plot with heavy focus on the mystery only, this may not be for you.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and will continue to read anything that Julie Soto puts out! I’ve read all of her published books and loved them all— her focus and ability to narrow in on her characters is just fantastic. I would definitely recommend this book to mystery/thriller fans, who enjoy a deep dive into the characters at hand. I also think this book would be successful with adult audiences and not just YA; I look forward to reading more from this author in the future and can’t wait for more readers to enjoy this when it’s published!

For anyone who loved Pretty Little Liars this book is for you!

I was hesitant at first because I didn't love the idea of a vapid popular exclusive clique that seemed to be guilty. As the book went on and I learned more about them it was just so grey! I wanted to hate them but at the same time Julie humanized them so well that I was also rooting for them and loved them all. I loved the switch that happens between Zach and Julian how one starts off as this seemingly good guy and then his cracks start to show and you realize how broken the facade really is, and then the harsh and seemingly cruel guy who ends up softening and while you don't want to root for him you really really are by the end. I had such an emotionally rollercoaster reading this book, but it was shocking at how viscerally I felt those emotions. It really was a perfect way to give word to what being a high school girl was and is like for so many. The anxiety is tangible and while Emily and Hannah are great "villains" so much of the drama really is from gossip or the potential for hearsay.

This was fine. It reminded me of other bordering school trope mystery/thrillers like the Private series. I don’t think it was anything memorable there was nothing special added to the story.

The Thrashers is an intriguing and thought provoking YA novel. It blends many different topics that are highly relevant to modern day teen struggles and reflect how badly teens want to fit in. I thought the subjects were approached well and felt very realistic. It was definitely a slow burn, but it still managed to hold my attention throughout. I loved the blend of high school drama, toxic friendships, mystery and supernatural twist had me glued to the pages.

The characters were fun to discover and I enjoyed getting to uncover their personality little by little. All of them are flawed and complex, each struggling with their own secrets and pain. They felt real and relatable. There were a few twists and turns, although some were predictable, for me it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book.

Overall, this was a highly entertaining YA mystery/thriller that I really enjoyed reading and kept me flipping those pages until the end.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @wednesdaybooks, @juliesoto for my gifted ARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review.

no bc this was so bingeable and kept me so invested and honestly is there anything more you could want in a thriller? like, genuinely, do i really need to say anything else here?

thank you to st martins press & netgalley for the arc! all opinions are my own <3

I ATE THIS UP. Julie Soto can do no wrong. This was filled with teenage angst and drama, with so many layers of family dynamics and social hierarchies teens deal with. It was cool to see the growth, or lack thereof, within their friend group.

Jodi Dillon is pulled into the glamorous yet dangerous world of the Thrashers, an elite high school friend group, thanks to her childhood best friend, Zack. But when a girl desperate to join them dies and her secrets come to light, Jodi must decide whether to stand by her friends or save herself.

I’m not the target demographic for this and rarely read YA, but I decided to give it a chance since I enjoy Julie Soto’s writing. Unfortunately, The Thrashers was a miss for me. The premise was intriguing and the beginning hooked me, but the execution fell flat. Jodi was such a dull main character. While Emily’s journal entries were somewhat interesting, the supporting characters lacked development and didn’t show much growth. The pacing was uneven throughout the book. Rather than reading like a thriller, it felt more like high school drama which didn’t hold my interest. The suspects at the end were predictable and underwhelming. Overall, I’d recommend skipping this one.

This book was so good. I loved every bit of it. It handles the aspect of cliques and accidentally bullying to keep up with peer pressure. And it touches on mental illness. That ending left me shocked though and desperate for more

4.5 stars!!!! Omg this book was SO GOOD. I’m going to be thinking about that epilogue for months. Only took half a star off because there were some slow parts in the beginning that dragged a little bit and I wish other parts had gotten more of a deep dive or time spent on them. Review incoming! As always since this book has not been released yet I will keep the review spoiler free and all opinions are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advance copy!!
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The Thrashers by Julie Soto was such an amazingly written psychological thriller because up until the very ending you’re still questioning absolutely everything you know. This book focused on the social hierarchies of high school and the internal struggles that come with the desire to be “popular”, while also examining the bonds of friendship. We follow “The Thrashers”, a tight nit group of 5 friends that are infamous for being exclusive and cruel to those outside their clique. They are also being accused of bullying a girl to suicide. Throughout the story events unfold in present time and flashbacks, with the narrative constantly changing as we realize how unreliable Jody is as a narrator. As she comes to terms with her own insecurities towards her friends, her perception of past events changes as well. All of our characters are flawed to the extreme, and as soon as you start liking/disliking someone you’re thrown off your guard. The same goes for the plot. As soon as you start thinking you know what’s going on, an event will happen that leaves you questioning everything! The paranormal twist completely threw me on my head, and I still don’t know what was real and what wasn’t. Especially that epilogue!!!!! I’m going to be thinking about the ending for a while. I have so many questions, but also all the answers I need to wrap up the story. There are a few things I wished were different or that I wanted more of, mainly that I wanted the whole truth about Emilys actions and her role in everything to be revealed to the world. Julian’s actions make a lot more sense put in to the context of Emily’s behavior. I also wanted more context towards Julian’s sudden shift in attitude toward Jodi, especially after the epilogue! Overall though this was an amazing and thought provoking book!

Will you be Thrashed?
A popular group of 5 high school friends known as “The Thrashers”. Everyone wants to be apart of the group and they don’t want to be thrashed. Emily Mills desperately wanted to a Thrasher and didn’t want anyone to get in her way. But the Thrashers are being investigated into her suicide. And this will determine how close their friendship actually is.
This book had me locked in from the first chapter! Suspenseful and chilling!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this advance reader copy! Thank you Julie Soto!!

4 stars!

I knew I already liked Julie Soto from her previous romance books, so when I found out she was coming out with a mystery/thriller I was immediately excited. I thought this was a very interesting and intriguing YA thriller. I liked how none of the characters were really that likable. Unsurprisingly, I absolutely ate up the romance. Was I highlighting quotes on my Kindle and giggling as I was reading their interactions? Yes. Did I support all of the actions of the main couple? Absolutely not.

I think where this was not a perfect thriller for me was the ambiguity and open-endedness. Also obviously because they were teenagers, sometimes they just acted a bit dumb and I was questioning this actions.

I hope that Julie keeps writing within different genres as I will continue to eat up anything she writes!

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When a book leaves you with more questions than answers, it's for one of two reasons. One, it's because there were some loose endss, the author failed to tie up. Or two, the author creates multifaceted character(s).

In this case, it's the latter as to Emily and Jodi.

This book had author vibes similar to the Queen of the YA suspense, Karen McManus and her Liars series with the slow build and you will be rewarded mystery writing of Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series but in a contemporary setting. What really happened to Emily is drawn out in both present and past interactions she not only had with Jodi but Lucy, Paige, Julian and Zack. All told from Jodi's perspective the reader will question alongside Jodi as to what really happened. Only eh note is felt that didn't feel Paige and Lucy (to a lesser extent) characters had any memorable defining features.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was thoroughly impressed by this book. As a young adult novel, it addresses difficult topics such as suicide, obsession, and self-destruction in a thoughtful manner. Your perceptions will be challenged, and you'll find yourself caring deeply about each character, which makes for a compelling read.

If Julie Soto writes it then I am going to read it because she never misses! I am a huge fan of Julie’s romance books so I was super excited to read a new genre from her. This is a ya mystery thriller. This is perfect for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder, the Naturals, and One of Us is Lying.

This story follows the it group of their towns high school. The group is nicknamed the Trashers from the outsiders. It is impossible to become a new member although many have tried. It was dubbed the term “thrashed” when someone tries to join but fails or when they are no longer included into the group. We have 5 members: Zack, Lucy, Paige, Julian, and Jodi. Every member but Jodi is extremely privileged and popular. Jodi has an in into the group since she was best friends with the leader Zack since they were little kids. Although she considers them her best friends she does question on why she is included in the group when she has no money or status.

This story starts off with the death of Emily Mills. Throughout the story you will learn how the thrashers were involved in her life and what is actually true about her suicide.