It was an AMAZING BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was thrilling from the first page till the last.
Normally I am not a fan of ghosts and the paranormal but this book was a great paranormal thriller mystery that deserves a genre all by itself. I hope Julie Soto writes a sequel that explores more of Julian’s character. Definitely a 5/5

3.75
Putting the spiritual stuff aside, this was a decent book. I was intrigued from the moment I started the book, and I found it very easy to read. However, I had pretty much predicted the entire thing right from the get-go. And that says a lot, as this was the first time that my predictions were right in a thriller/mystery book. That isn't particularly a bad thing, but that's only because I'm ecstatic that I was finally correct &a. Overall I do think the book was decent and I am looking forward to seeing the physical copies appear on the shelves. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for letting me read the ARC of this book.

A mild two/five, but I may have just been the wrong audience. I wanted to like this book, but I struggled to get past the first chapters. I struggled to relate to the character(s). The pacing felt inconsistent. I admittedly wondered if this was an unedited copy. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend it but I wish it luck!

Thank you — I appreciate NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by the author, publisher, or any third party. My reviews are voluntary and not sponsored in any way.

I don't think there are enough words to explain how much I love Julie's writing. INJECT IT INTO MY VEINS! She's one of my favorite authors now and I will devour every single book she writes.

This book slapped and that's all there is to it. The storyline is unique and captivating. The characters, while not always likable at times, had me rooting for them. I didn't want to put this down. I needed to know what was going to happen. It's a YA thriller and I loved the creepy undertone throughout the book. I didn't know what to expect. The ending shocked me. Like what???

PLEASEEEEEEE tell me we are getting more from this world! This can't be the end of The Thrashers!

Huge thanks to Julie Soto and Wednesday Books for the ARC of The Thrashers coming on 5/6/25! This book had me hooked from page one—it’s a bingeable YA thriller with just the right touch of the paranormal. I loved the dynamic between the Thrashers themselves; their tension, loyalty, and secrets made for such a compelling group. And honorable mention to the fake journal aspect—such a clever layer to the mystery that gave me Gone Girl vibes in the best way. If you love YA thrillers with a unique twists, this one needs to be on your radar! 4.5/5.0 stars!

The Thrashers is YA mystery/thriller at its finest. Something that I love about YA mysteries is that they truly succeed in making you feel unsettled and second guessing everything in the best way, something that even adult thrillers sometimes lack. The overall premise and writing style of this novel was so intriguing and kept my attention throughout the whole entire reading journey. There were really no slow parts in the plot which I appreciated because I never felt like the story was dragging. I feel like this book would make a very good TV show, because it reads like a teenage true crime show. The drama within the friendships and never really knowing what is true/false really keeps you on your toes. I really liked Jodie’s character and I think she was a great character to read the story through. The way the case wraps up and especially the ending epilogue – utterly bone chilling and so mind grappling. I was really satisfied with how the ending played out. The way Julie Soto finishes the novel truly will leave a lasting impression on your opinion of how mystery novels are done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Julie Soto for ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Thrashers tells the story of a clique-y group of High School friends who are implicated in pushing a fellow classmate, Emily, to commit suicide. The book is from the point of view of Jodi who doesn’t quite feel like she fits into the group of friends called “the Thrashers”. Jodi soon realizes maybe there are things shes’s being left out of when it came to Emily.

The Thrashers really reminded me of the 90s teen horror movies. Very “I know what you did last summer” vibes. I thought the character development for Jodi was really well done. We really feel her pain and isolation. The book kinda lost me with all the incidents happening to the group. I thought the story could have held its own as strictly a mystery without adding in paranormal elements. I don’t read horror books, and I don’t know that I would fully call this a horror book, but maybe that’s why the story didn’t resonate as much with me as say a mystery novel.

This was my first time reading a Julie Soto book, and I will definitely go pick up her romance novels now! I was really holding out for the crumbs of the relationship building between Jodi and one of the characters. Would love to see these characters continue in another book!! Thank you to St. Martin’s press for providing this book for consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5🌟 (rounded up to 4)

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.
Pub date: May 6th, 2025

Unpopular girl wants to fit in with the rich popular clique, but she ends up not being alive instead. But popular kids are the ones to blame after some important information is revealed. Things start falling off the rails.

I liked the idea of this book. It was a thriller/mystery and YA (which I don’t usually mind). But it left me feeling meh. It wasn’t a bad book it just didn’t hit the spot for me. It was slow and confusing as some parts. I got some of the characters mixed up (probably a me problem). It was a mix of third person and first person, so I was a little confused when it switched

My first Julie Soto book and what a book it was!

The Thrashers started from the first page and kept me guessing and entertained until the very last page. It is suspenseful. It is thrilling. And it brought all sorts of goodness my way, including a slow burn.

I never knew what was going on. I was lost, second guessing myself, wondering who was really who they were portraying…just all of that and more. I would get a good feeling from someone and then that good feeling would be ripped from under my feet with new information. The good were bad and the bad were good. I never knew!

And that ending! What a freaking epilogue! It turned a high four star book into a five star book.

I received the ARC and this is my honest opinion. Thank you, Netgalley, for giving me this honor of reading The Thrashers.

WOW. This is my first Julie Soto book and when I heard this was a YA thriller I was all in. This did NOT disappoint.

This book was SO compelling and mysterious and hooked me immediately. I also GASPED at the ending. WHAT. SO GOOD I SCREAMED.

But honestly what I loved even more was the message behind the book. This book covers bullying in high school through a lot of different ways that some might not realize and I thought it brought SUCH good and real awareness to it. I was so glad to see this topic discussed in some way.

This book was great. I definitely recommend it, and am so grateful I got to read it early.

This book was a very interesting YA thriller! I really enjoyed how this book brought back all the feels from high school and the challenges that some people face during their high school journey. I truly was not sure what was going to happen through this whole book! Oh my that epilogue!!!! Please tell me there is going to be another book?!?!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review.

I’m not gonna lie I was a bit hesitant about this book going in (I love a teen drama once in a while but it’s not my main genre), but wow was this such a gripping book!!

The Thrashers follows a high school friend group after the tragic death of a classmate. Throughout the following months you learn about the events that may have lead to her death and the actions of these five “friends”.

The main character Jodi was a bit of an unreliable narrator in a way which really helped develop the mystery and intrigue as you learned about this friend group and how they “Thrashed” Emily.

Deeply proactive and through provoking, it had be second guessing everything and thinking back in the complexities of friendships in high school. Is no attention as bad as negative attention?? The characters are all flawed but in very realistic ways and it makes you think about how far should you go for someone’s attention.

Julie Soto has done it again. I never should have doubted her especially when she said this was Veronica Mars-like.

Also can we talk about that epilogue!?!?

Thrilling, Twisted and Perfect 🤩.

This book had me on the edge of seat in shock almost every chapter!! I’m missing The Thrashers so much😩. Emily had me so frustrated but at the same time I understand her. She gave me Hannah Baker vibes which I thought was intentional because she has a sister named Hannah( I may be wrong🤷‍♀️). The way The Thrashers got hurt left and right, you didn’t even have time to process what happened because something else would happen. The “freak accidents” that had my heart racing. I was praying that none of them died in this book so much I couldn’t even think!! Jodi is my favorite girl ever in this book besides Lucy. Jodi’s character development was so good to see, she faced her father and his actions with drinking and told him to stop,she got out of Zach’s shadow and realized things not only about herself but the people around her and Emily had a lot to do with that, i just wish she didn’t have to die for that to happen. Even though Emily knew that Jodi didn’t like she still protected her best friend 🥹. I hope I’m not the only one that wants Julian and Jodi together in the future, I’m glad Jodi didn’t end up with anyone because everyone needs to grow especially Zach and Julian and I hope that in the future we see more Oliver, Jodi and Nikita. I was shocked about what Hannah did and I resonated with her because she misses her sister and everyone grieves differently, I can’t imagine watching your sister die and everyone moving on while you’re stuck with the most gut wrenching memories of her death , she was traumatized and devastated. I’m glad Jodi was there to comfort Hannah even though what she did was wrong, she was able to also understand her because she didn’t deserve what happened and I’m glad Hannah got to let everything out and gained a friend in Jodi. PAIGE!?! THE EPILOGUE!?! My jaw was on the floor!! I 1000% recommend this book and I hope it will be a book series because I love these characters with my whole heart. It might be too soon but I really hope that this becomes a MOVIE 😁🤩

Julie Soto really said “let me tackle all the genres.. collect them like infinity stones” because wow oh wow did she have me on the edge of my seat this entire time. I could not put the book down, even on vacation!!

This is one of the very few thrillers I have read, and really only picked it up because Julie is an auto-buy author for me. I’m so used to having an HEA because hellllloooooo I only ever read romance and romantasy, so the ending didn’t wrap up with all of my questions answered. (A second book is in the works, right Julie?)

Some characters that I thought I’d love ended up pissing me off and others… I ended up screaming into the void, raising my fist to the air, chanting for Julie to give me MORE!!!

Thank you to Julie Soto for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t put this book down! From start to finish, it had me completely hooked, teetering on the edge of my seat with every turn of the page. It’s a masterful mix of psychological and paranormal thriller, blending the eerie and the emotional in a way that kept me eagerly turning pages.

As a 34-year-old, I honestly expected the drama to feel juvenile, especially given the high school setting, but Julie Soto’s writing drew me back into those teenage years effortlessly. It was a deep dive into the pressures, emotions, and complexities of high school life that resonated with me far more than I anticipated. Soto’s ability to build complex relationships between the characters really stood out—every interaction felt layered, real, and full of emotional weight.

And let me just say—there’s more than enough suspense and paranormal elements to keep you intrigued. Emily's ghost seems to have a vendetta, and as Jodi grapples with the truth and her own survival, you’re never quite sure where the story is going next. It's this perfect blend of psychological and supernatural tension that makes this book so captivating.

In short, this book completely transformed my expectations. Julie Soto’s storytelling is compelling, complex, and just the right amount of chilling.

The only thing that I didn't love about the story was the ending. The epilogue especially. We spend the whole book building these relationships and getting to see that in the end, no one was really innocent. Including Emily herself! But the one character in this story who seemed to truly grow as a person, and genuinely feel guilty...ended up in juvie and haunted? I didn't like that. Before the epilogue we get a bit of hope that maybe Julian can get out of juvie and finally have some peace....but not with a crazy ghost tagging along. I didn't love that

It was still fine, but I think I would've preferred to see him have a better ending.

WOW. What a wild ride! An easy 4.75
This has to be one of my favorite thrillers I've read. The plot, the characters, the secrets... I was hooked from the moment I picked it up!

This story follows a friend group nicknamed the Thrashers, and their possible involvement in the suicide of fellow student Emily Mills.
Our fmc, Jodi, has been best friends with the leader of the group, Zack Thrasher himself, since elementary school. So even though she doesn't quite fit into the elite rich social group of the Thrashers, she has always been treated as one of them. But what happens when accusations regarding a dead "friend" start to be pointed at all of them... except Jodi?

I 100% recommend this book to any YA thriller lover! It was super twisty, and had super compelling dynamics between the main characters. I'm crossing my fingers for a sequel after the ending! Pick this book up as soon as it is published on May 6th, 2025!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, and St Martin's press for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I couldn’t put down “The Thrashers.” This YA thriller is about a girl who dies and leaves behind a journal with accusations about the most popular group at school. Jodi has always been different than her friends, who seem perfect and well loved by everyone, until now. When they all get roped in by the police and supernatural occurrences seem to follow them, she’s got to help her friends or at least absolve herself. In this story, you won’t know who to trust and what to believe, but you’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

First, this was a great read. It was light enough to read in just one day and flowed well. The plot twists pertaining to how Jodi's friends actually treated her had tells throughout the book, but I am an adult reading what I perceived as a book geared towards teenagers who may not pick up those type of social tells.

Structurally, the story flows well, character building was developed early on in the story making it easy to identify with the characters early on in the story. Julian could have used more work. I feel like if there is a sequel that Julian's character needs more depth. I was most intrigued by his role in the Thrashers as it was established early on in the story that he was the, "bad boy" but by the end I saw him as the good guy who ultimately protected the group, particularly Jodi.

Relatability and relevance - I think the story is highly relatable, even for middle aged readers as high school bullying, teenage suicide, and the, "high school elite" have always existed. As a reader, it was easy for me to relate to the characters, particularly Jodi as I had a similar upbringing and social construct during my HS years. My friends were only so good and the ones who could have been best friends were often pushed to the wayside for popularity such as the situation with Jodi and Oliver.

The biggest takeaway for me was that that Jodi grew from her past, learned that the self-perceived good guy isn't always as good as you think he is, and that people grow and evolve really resonated with me. It gives hope to young readers that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It reminds older readers like I am that our stories are still relevant and worth the retell to our own teenagers. Jodi was able to confront the reality of her mother's death, her father's drinking problem and face head on a suicide her friends had a hand in.

Emily needed help - that one key topic that wasn't driven home enough in the story. If I have one complaint and one thing I would change is that Emily needed help and there wasn't a real resource in her corner helping her. She moved from one school to another - that isn't a viable solution. I understand the cautionary tale concept but I think there could have been more said pertaining to her needing help other than she was talking to a school social worker.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I used to love the “Fear Street” series and this book gave me very similar vibes. There is a supernatural element to it so if that’s not your preferred thriller type this one might be hard for you to get into.

It’s a very quick read (I finished it in 7 hrs) so it’s a great book choice for a lazy Sunday on the couch.

I really liked this book. It shines some light on bullying in high school, while I get the group of friends weren't trying to be bullies. Emily for sure had some mental health issues that caused her to obsess over people once they showed a little attention towards her, she needed help not what happened to her. Jodi is the perfect representation of the outcast in a group of friends. Zack is too much of a people pleaser, Lucy and Paige were the typical 'It" girls who didn't have to really try to get what they wanted. Poor Jullian was just trying to be straightforward about how the group when it came to Emily but it didn't work out the way he thought it would. And Hannah, she was coming from a good place but the actions she took were not good decisions.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a mystery but also wants to get into the mind of someone with mental health issues.