Wow wow wow. Julie Soto what have you done to me? I could not put this book down, I kept turning page after page needing to know what happens next and wanting more!
The thriller atmosphere Julie weaves into The Thrashers is tense and eerie, it had me in a chokehold the whole time! I'll probably be thinking about it for months, it was SO good.
The friend group dynamics between the Thrashers were written really well and I found myself torn between liking the characters and my trust issues screaming at me that I should not trust anyone. I loved how none of them were inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’ which kept it very engaging and had me guessing how everyone fit into the story. I enjoyed how Julie Soto explores high school/friend group hierarchies and the pressure of fitting in.
I REALLY liked the paranormal elements and how you never knew whether something was actually paranormal or just a coincidence. Besides making the characters paranoid, it made even me paranoid and I was questioning everything.
And the epilogue??? WHAT??? I'm seriously unwell. @Julie Soto save me from this agony and give us a sequel I'm begging on my knees.
～Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the arc!

Thank you to the author, publisher (St. Martin's Press) and NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.

So to start - I've never read anything by this author but the synopsis sounded appealing. This was nicely paced thriller that follows a group of teenagers as go through life after a tragedy that's changed everything. Unfortunately, there are those that won't let them move on.

I found this very well written along with the pacing (like I mentioned before) that allowed to read this one in one sitting.

I'm not a huge reader of YA Thrillers and with that, this one kept my attention. I will say that some of the storyline could have been tidied up a bit better as there were moments where I felt a little lost in terms of each twist. The one twist *which I will not say where as it may spoil* seemed a bit out of nowhere and with no real inkling that it was anywhere in the story. Overall, I did have fun reading this.

Julian, I would say, probably the most character development out of all of them. Jodi seemed okay. Oliver just confused me.

My Rating: 3.75 (rounded up)
(cross posted on GR)

The Thrashers by Julie Soto absolutely sucked me into the cutthroat world of high school cliques, delivering a gripping mystery that held me captive from the very first page. This novel is a sharp, atmospheric dive into loyalty, betrayal, and the dark side of desperate ambition.
From the get-go, Soto nails the allure and exclusivity of "The Thrashers," the untouchable elite at New Helvetia High. We see this world through the eyes of Jodi Dillon, who's an outsider by nature but finds herself inexplicably tied to the group through her childhood friendship with the infamous Zack Thrasher. Jodi's internal conflict immediately resonated with me; she's in the group, but she's not of them, and that subtle tension just permeates every interaction.
The story really kicks into gear with the tragic death of Emily Mills, a girl who desperately wanted to be a Thrasher. Soto masterfully ramps up the suspense as whispers turn into accusations, and Emily's journal starts to surface, revealing secrets that threaten to unravel the group's carefully constructed facade. The arrival of detectives adds another layer of pressure, forcing Jodi into an impossible bind: protect her friends, or protect herself? This moral dilemma is the absolute beating heart of the story, and I found myself constantly questioning what I would do in her shoes.
What truly elevates The Thrashers for me is the escalating sense of dread. The "eerie messages and strange occurrences" aren't just filler; they genuinely make you feel like Emily's presence lingers, adding a chilling, almost supernatural edge to the mystery. Soto maintains a tight grip on the pacing, slowly revealing clues and peeling back layers of deceit, keeping me guessing until the very end.
While the core group of Thrashers could sometimes lean a little heavily into their "rich, sophisticated, and attention-loving" stereotypes, Jodi's nuanced perspective and the unraveling mystery more than make up for it. The novel doesn't just ask "whodunit," but also delves into the psychological toll of keeping secrets and the destructive power of social hierarchies.
Overall, The Thrashers is a compelling and suspenseful read that brilliantly captures the intensity of high school drama with a dark, thrilling twist. It's a fantastic choice for anyone looking for a mystery that will keep them turning pages late into the night—it certainly did for me!

Thanks for the ARC! The Thrashers is a sharp, fast-paced thriller with a glam-meets-gritty vibe that pulls you in quick. The layers of secrets, power plays, and blurred loyalties kept the tension high, and Jodi’s internal conflict was compelling throughout. Some twists felt familiar, but the ride was so addictive I didn’t mind. A juicy, page-turning debut that delivers drama, danger, and just the right dose of teen chaos.

The Thrashers is a fun and twisty YA thriller about a group of 5 friends in high school that are very wealthy, apart from one. Out of the 4 very wealthy friends, Jodi is the 5th and she feels like she’s an outsider when it comes to her friend group. The 5 friends are widely referred to as “The Thrashers” because one of them is named Zack Thrasher.

This book was really fast paced and I found myself wanting to keep flipping through the pages to find out what happened with the sudden death of their classmate, as well as why. I found that our main character, Jodi, was really likable and relatively relatable. I find these kinds of characters really make me root for them and I become really invested in not only their outcome, but the outcome of the story and plot as a whole.

I would really recommend this for fans of Holly Jackson!

Thank you Wednesday Books and St. Martins Press for my copy of this!

Title: The Thrashers
Author: Julie Soto
Length: 352
Format: ebook arc
Pub Date: May 06 2025
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers | Teens & YA
Rating Out of 5: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Summary:
Welcome to the Thrashers—New Helvetia High’s most elite friend group.
Jodi Dillon doesn’t fit in with rich, glamorous Julian, Lucy, Paige, and Zack Thrasher—her childhood best friend. But when wannabe Thrasher, Emily Mills, dies, dark secrets start to surface. As Emily’s journal is found and detectives close in, Jodi must choose: protect the group or save herself. Because Emily might be gone, but she’s not finished.

Thoughts:
This book had me hooked from the very beginning! It gave me One of Us is Lying vibes, but with more goosebumps! It was just the right amount of suspense/creepy mixed with a good bit of high school drama that didn’t actually get on my nerves. I would recommend this to anyone! It’s a good little spooky read!

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

I had such a good time reading this. I didn’t know who to like or who to trust or not trust. Everyone was suspicious. This book gave me big 13 Reasons Why vibes but like the book version not the tv show version.

If that was your vibe, then you’ll love this fast paced YA thriller. I could not put it down!

Reading is all good and fun but please check content warnings for this book. While it’s a good read and I enjoyed my time reading it, there are HEAVY topics in the book!

This was a super edge of your seat YA thriller perfect for fans of Karen McManus. The Thrashers follows a close knit group of friends who are all upset about one of their group member's suicide that spring. They all start to get odd messages and once the layers start to peel back maybe they weren't all as nice as they seemed? Overall I enjoyed this read but I have some issues with the characters. Julien was just plain mean. A bully. Angry and rude. I don't really understand Jodie letting him in while he still is emotionally unavailable and NOT sorry for his actions towards her or Emily. I think any kind of character redemption could have happened in the epilogue. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC!

The Thrashers is Julie Soto proving she's an absolute menace who can dominate any genre she touches by delivering a YA thriller that had me clutching my Kindle at 2 AM with my mind absolutely blown. This book captures all the addictive toxicity of Pretty Little Liars but cranks the psychological terror up to eleven. Following Jodi as she navigates the deadly consequences of elite high school politics and a very pissed-off dead girl, I found myself ensnared in a web of secrets so twisted I couldn't even untangle what I thought would happen next. I don't even know how to describe this without spoiling anything, but if you want a YA thriller with some paranormal and a hint of morally grey romance, you need this.

I devoured The Thrashers in two days, which is like a record for me now. It was fast paced. Thrilling. Unputdownable. (is that even a word?)

After the suicide of one of their classmates, The Thrashers (a group of five friends) become the focus of a police investigation and the media's attention, as everyone begins to wonder how much they are to blame for her death.

This book begs the question: What's the line between bullying and setting boundaries with someone who keeps inserting themselves into your life like a stalker?
What I loved the most:
🫟 The intricacies of a highschool friend group
🫟 The subtle romance (I'm going to need a follow up story about Jodi and he who shall not be named)
🫟The gothic/ghost story elements that I ate up like I hadn’t read a creepy story in years

Highly recommend this one, friends. 🥂

The Thrashers captured me in a very unexpected way. I went into this totally blind and I'm glad I did because this story completely enveloped me and kept me seated. The Thrashers was an interesting look at how clicks in high school can effect a teenagers mental health as well as how a crush can cloud your judgement of a person so much that you can't accept what and who they are.

I'm so glad I picked this up and I hope that everyone else does too because it is not one to miss.

This was a wild ride. I wasn’t expecting to be sucked into the story but I was. Great YA thriller with some paranormal elements. I did feel bad on how it ended especially with the epilogue.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have a lot of thoughts about this book, but I don't know where to start. I was really looking forward to this one, but right off the bat, I had some problems with it.

Don't get me wrong, the book isn't necessarily bad. The writing itself is really well done, and I can see why people like Julie Soto as an author. But if I'm being honest here, the book is just a lot of... tropes? Cliches? Overdone plots? that are all thrown together.

We have our main character, Jodi, and she's not as skinny/pretty/rich as all her skinny/pretty/rich friends. She's the outcast of her group, and one of the other boys is mean to her for it. Then we have the dead girl, Emily, who is "haunting" them after her death, someone is sending anonymous text messages to the group of friends, the try-hard detective isn't trying hard enough, and all of this feels like a conglomeration of every single YA high school murder mystery since Pretty Little Liars first got popular. See the problem? And for the most part, I liked Jodi as a main character, but then there were other times I just... did not, and I had to roll my eyes at her inner monologue and move on.

The ending was also okay. You're still left with more questions than answers. And again, I didn't hate any of it, but I didn't love it either. So overall, I guess this book just wasn't for me.

The Trashers delivers a juicy, twist-filled ride through the glittering, cutthroat world of New Helvetia High’s elite friend group. Julie Soto takes all the tension of a prep-school thriller and mixes it with a ghost story that lingers like a chill at the back of your neck.

Jodi Dillon is an easy character to root for—awkward, loyal, and in way over her head. As the only outsider in the Thrashers, her discomfort feels authentic, especially as the mystery around Emily’s death begins to unravel. Zack, Lucy, Julian, and Paige are a mix of fascinating and terrifying—sharp-tongued and magnetic, the kind of people you want to impress but never fully trust. Watching Jodi navigate loyalty, guilt, and self-preservation makes for an intense and emotionally satisfying experience.

The pacing is sharp, with short chapters and cliffhangers that practically beg you to keep reading. Emily’s journal entries add just the right amount of psychological unease, and the ghostly elements—whether real or imagined—give the story its bite. Soto captures the volatility of teen friendships and the cruelty that can hide beneath charisma and privilege.

If anything held this back from a full five stars, it was the occasional predictability of the twists and a few character beats that felt slightly underexplored. Still, the atmosphere, voice, and suspense more than make up for it.

Final verdict: The Trashers is messy, moody, and addictive—a perfect pick for fans of One of Us Is Lying and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, with a paranormal edge that keeps things deliciously eerie.

I devoured this YA thriller! It gave off Veronica Mars, Gossip Girl, and Final Destination vibes that kept me on the edge of my seat. Julie Soto does a great job developing her characters and weaving a compelling mystery. I'll read anything that she writes, but I truly hope that she decides to write more thrillers, I'd love to see more of the Thrashers world!.

The Thrashers are a group of elite friends in a California high school, put under a microscope following the tragic suicide of Emily, a student that persistently tried to be one of them. Emily's journal entries are used for the police investigation and each member of The Thrashers is facing media attention and scrutiny. The friend group starts to see what secrets each other have been hiding and find that Emily may be getting revenge from the grave...

This YA debut from Julie Soto was a wild ride! It is filled with drugs, parties, alcohol, teen drama, and paranormal events. As someone who loved Pretty Little Liars growing up, this book scratches that itch!! The author really showcases the effects of bullying and trying to fit in with the cool crowd. I think Julie should continue to write thrillers- I'd love to read another one!

Thank you NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Not my preferred genre, but I decided to give it a try since it was offered as a "read now" and it's always good to try new things! Well done for YA mystery.

Oh wow am I ever happy that the internet was barely a thing when I was in high school. Yes, I just aged myself. I think I got an email address in grade 9? It was painful to check because dial up was a thing and nobody could keep themselves from picking up the phone for 20 minutes.

This was such a well written book about what it feels like to be in school with people who you're not really sure are your true friends but you are desperate to stay connected with them. I think that even as adults we sometimes face these same fears. "Are my mom friends going out for mimosas without me cause I said something stupid at the playground?" I don't think we ever really grow out of our insecurities, they just shift in our lives as we age.

Jodi is a really refreshing character in the sense that she realises the mistakes that were made and attempts to fix them. She is your typical high school girl, she does dumb things and doesn't even notice the pain she leaves in her wake, but once she's had it brought to her attention she really does try to do the right thing.

I loved the hints of a ghost story. Is Emily really trying to reach The Thrashers from beyond the grave? Or was their guilt for being shitty people getting to them?

Oh Julian.... I need more. That's all. He's every boy I ever loved. A little bit mean and completely out of my league.

Thank you to Wednesday Books [St Martin's Press] for making sure I got a copy of The Thrashers to review. It is now available wherever books are sold or borrowed

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC! Julie Soto can truly write anything. This high school thriller left me grateful I didn’t have anything like this experience to relate to from my HS years.

Very rarely do I find a perfected book - from Characters, plot, pacing...it was all *chef's kiss**. This is my first Julie Soto book, but will not be my last.