When I sat down to start this, I had no clue I’d be glued to those pages and utterly consumed by this story. I blinked, it was mid afternoon, and I was utterly shook, gasping, and cackling at that epilogue! I loved it!

I’m always so fascinated by toxic high school dynamics and the precarious intricacies of relationships at that age. It felt like an interesting mix of books and movies I loved when I was younger. The characters and their group dynamic vs. their individual relationships gripped me. The slow reveal of each person's interactions with Emily enthralled me, and the lean into the paranormal was the icing on the cake! I devoured it in a single sitting.

If you enjoyed books like 13 Reasons Why, Pretty Little Liars, Before I Fall, you will want to add this to your TBR.

Thank you to the author, St.Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the eARC.

All opinions are my own.

This was so bingeable. While the beginning was a bit slow, it did speed up and was amazing. The epilogue had me spiraling. Very thrilling read.

Wow this book has actually blown me away. It was the perfect fast paced twisty YA thriller that could get anyone out of a book reading slump. I found myself invested in most of the characters and was pleasantly surprised at the development of a certain two (no spoilers here)! The end had my jaw on the floor and I will not be forgetting it anytime soon. I followed along with the audiobook and it heightened the experience that much more. This was a 4.5 star read for me and I can’t wait to recommend it to anyone willing to listen!!

Julie Soto continues to enrapture with this debut. A spooky, tense, emotional story about growing up and facing your mistakes. Every character truly has a life of their own, and all have something to draw people into caring about them. Jodi is relatable and her fear and insecurity are something that drew me into her story and her interactions with every other character. The writing is incredibly well done, but still easy enough to read to appeal to a YA audience. The very realistic social settings and problems reflected my own experiences at that age, and no doubt will resonate with current young adults and their life experiences.

Julie Soto can do anything and The Thrashers is proof! This is a flawless transition into YA. Soto never talks down to her audience, developing fascinating characters that have you hooked. This is by far one of my favorite thrillers I’ve read in years whether YA or adult. The plot is interesting with twists that make perfect sense and still catch you by surprise. Absolutely loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars ~ I cannot even explain how hooked I was during this book. Finished it in 24 hours because I was LOCKED IN. The more YA mystery/thrillers I read, the more I believe I like this genre more than the adult counterpart. This story was absolutely gripping and bonkers.

The Trashers follows an elite popular group, comprised of five very different high school seniors. Told from the perspective of the only Thrasher that is not from a rich family, Jodi Dillon has to navigate her senior year following the death of a girl who was "thrashed" (aka dropped from their friend group) and the mysterious, and maybe criminal, circumstances that surround it. With a touch of paranormal interest, this story very much gave Pretty Little Liars, in terms of the suspense, drama, intricate relationships between characters, obsession, stalking and life or death decisions. I literally would read an entire series of this!!!

I highly recommend this and all of Julie Soto's books. She can really do it all! Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books, and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.

This was alright. I should probably give it 4 stars but my heart's not in it.

SUMMARY:
Jodi is part of the most popular group in her high school: The Thrashers. This Group consists of Zach Thrasher, the group's namesake, Julian, the bad boy, Paige, who is the overachiever super-nice prom queen, and Lucy, who is promiscuous and got assaulted at a party freshman year.

Hey why did they do Lucy like that. Why are those her two traits. Why is every other character nuanced and interesting.

Jodi is the only one of these characters that is not insane levels of rich. Like these kids got MONEY. Why does Jodi go to the same school as them? This is never addressed.

Noted weirdo Emily Mills is desperate to join The Thrashers. Having failed to do so, she commits suicide on prom night. Selfish. How dare she ruin their night??? Soon, The Thrashers become suspects in her death. Is she haunting them? Did they really bully her to death? Is it all a misunderstanding? Why choose one of these options when you can do all three!

MY THOUGHTS:
This book was very entertaining. I was invested in the characters and the mystery. I think the ending lost me a bit. I especially think the epilogue was unnecessary. Like, it would have been okay to keep some things a little ambiguous. Instead it feels like the author tried to jam both a supernatural and a normal thriller ending into this book. It could have been both at once!

I think things got tied up a little too quickly and neatly at the end. Like, the entire book has a fun, fast-paced tone. But the third act just slammed by.

The characters in this were really fun. Jodi is a great main character. You really feel like you get to know everyone that shows up. The setting is really nice. Feels cozy almost.

Why can't we just let J&J be happy??? This is not a complaint on the book. I was just rooting for them. XD

FINAL OPINION:
Please don't let my less than stellar review dissuade you from reading this book. It is a quick, fun read. It isn't like, breaking new ground in the genre or anything. But it doesn't need to. It is just a really solid YA thriller that I have some small gripes with. Read it for yourself; I think you will have a good time.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Boy did this have me running late for work, all because needing to see what was uncovered next was more important than showering and getting ready. Soto did a fantastic job with the character work - everyone was so three dimensional and well thought out. I felt like I knew the Thrashers intimately and was so invested in figuring out what exactly happened to Emily. Jodi, Julian, and Oliver in particular had me captivated. I feel like the mystical/supernatural element could’ve been beefed up a tad, but this still had its hooks in me.

Once upon a time, the biggest concern I had with my kids was if they were meeting their next developmental milestones and sleeping through the night and then the teenage years hit and the fears of the unknown became terrifying. Julie Soto’s latest book may be every parent’s worst nightmare but I still could not put it down. The Thrashers is the most exclusive group around…and trouble seems to follow them. The only reason Jodi is in the group is by the default of being Zack Thrasher’s childhood bestie. Just months ago Emily was on the fringes of this in group but could not make it; she surprised everyone when she died by suicide. Her death continues to haunt the community, and that was before her journal emerged, shaking the group to the core. The Thrashers is an absolutely thrilling cautionary tale about the decisions we make and the company we keep. I certainly do not want to relive my “glory days” of my youth and I really hope my kids do not give my premature gray hair with their decisions but I am 💯 on board with this gripping, emotionally riveting, unputdownable thriller that I will unapologetically binge with my young adult readers and love every minute!

I jumped right into this YA novel and enjoyed it so much. It is an about a group of friends in high school who are being haunted by their past actions. It is a great depiction of high school cliques. There’s drama and so much more in this book. There were twists I didn’t see coming. This was almost a 5 star for me, but I didn’t like the epilogue 😂.

Julie Soto has quickly become one of my favorite romance authors, and her YA debut The Thrashers is equally great! Jodi Dillon is a high school senior who is part of a friend group nickname the Thrashers for their propensity to “thrash” other students when they are tired of their company. Several months before the start of the novel, a girl named Emily Mills took her own life, but now the police are asking questions about bullying and The Thrashers are in their crosshairs. This was such a spooky, unnerving read. The mystery unfolded slowly, and I truly did not know what was going to happen. What else can I say about the Thrashers other than I want more!

4.5 ⭐️ I am quite convinced that Julie Soto can do it all! This YA book of hers drew me in from the beginning and frequently had me wondering how to get out of plans so I could go curl up and read this book on my kindle instead.. I highly recommend and can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book!

In this book, we meet The Thrashers - a popular group at New Helvetia High of five friends.. Zack Thrasher is the It Boy, Julian Hollister is the model friend who’s too attractive for his own good, Paige is the girl next door and Lucy is a bit more edgy. Jodi Dillon is the one who feels like she was never meant to be one of them, as she isn’t rich and isn’t as popular or outgoing, but her longstanding friendship with Zack pulled her into the group anyway. But she always feels like she’s the fifth wheel, a bit on the outside of the rest of The Thrashers.

But when Emily Mills, a student the grade below them who desperately wanted to be part of their friend group, dies on prom night… the whole school is talking about The Thrashers and pointing fingers at them. This only intensifies when Emily’s diary is uncovered, detectives have their eyes on The Thrashers, and Jodi is put in a position where she has to decide whether to keep quiet or share what she knows. During this, strange occurrences keep happening, from odd texts from random numbers to weird electrical mishaps. Perhaps Emily isn’t done with The Thrashers just yet, after all…

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this ARC - I enjoyed it so much!! Instagram post will be posted closer to pub date for extra attention :)

I was absolutely enraptured by The Thrashers! Julie Soto’s foray into YA suspense is totally different than anything I usually read (children’s non-fiction in the streets, romantasy in the sheets) but it was well worth stepping out of my usual reading style!
The supernatural elements were so novel, and had me hooked. The characters had depth and were realistic. I stayed up until 4 am to finish the book, and then a while longer to linger on that ending!

Book 2 needed ASAP!

read if you like:
💁🏻‍♀️ high school dramas
👯‍♀️ cliques
💔 obsessions and stalking

summary:
This book was an amazing and surprisingly quick read! It follows Jodi Dillon, a high school senior with a group of friends nicknamed “The Thrashers”. Led by her best friend, Zach Thrasher, it includes her and their friends Julian, Lucy and Paige. They are known for their popularity, but on a darker side, for their ruthless and cutthroat ability to ruin people and “thrash” them out of the group. However, the latest Thrasher wannabe, Emily Mills, was found dead by suicide, and all eyes are on the Thrashers to see what role they played in her death. As detectives find her journal and begin to investigate, Jodi realizes that her friends are the target — and with eerie signs of Emily from beyond the grave, she has to decide — protect herself or protect her friends.

Jodi is a fascinating protagonist in this book. You can picture her as a little emo, a little out of place, but welcomed in this group because of her lifelong friendship with Zack. You feel for her when she has to decide whether to do what’s right and tell the truth, or side with her friends, who are her escape from her otherwise challenging home life. The rest of the characters are far less likable, but I think we can all easily compare them to someone we went to high school with. The plot moves quickly in this, and while some storylines seem a little more unrealistic (especially if you don’t believe in ghosts…), it’s generally a true high school drama. It gets a little dark at times, especially for a YA novel, but the mystery is worth it. I wouldn’t say it’s a jaw dropping thrill at the end, but still a quick and fun read!

Thanks to St Martins Press, Wednesday Books and Net Galley for the advanced copy. Check this book out when it releases on May 6!

As a high school teacher, my biggest question is: where are the adults? Seriously—these kids are out here throwing prom night scandals, getting accused of murder, and possibly being haunted, and yet, not a single guidance counselor is stepping in? Classic YA.

The Thrashers really nailed something I think all educators will appreciate: the way teens make questionable choices. The novel perfectly captures how, despite all the drama, there’s a very real biological reason behind their poor decision-making: their frontal lobes aren't fully developed yet. (Yes, that part of the brain that helps with impulse control, decision-making, and thinking through consequences? Not quite fully functional in teenagers.) So when Jodi, who may as well be a certified crash out, and her friends decide to cover up or ignore the mounting signs that something supernatural is going on? Totally relatable, even if it makes me want to grab them all and give them a "Think it through!" lecture.

The novel perfectly captures the way teenagers balance loyalty, social survival, and questionable decision-making skills—though I’d love to take Jodi aside and remind her that peer pressure is not a legal defense. And then, just when you think this is a classic thriller, things take a supernatural turn. Strange messages, eerie occurrences, and an overwhelming sense that Emily isn’t quite done with them yet. At this point, I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone proposed solving this mystery with a séance instead of, you know, telling an adult.

Julie Soto delivers a thriller that’s part Mean Girls, part Pretty Little Liars, and entirely a lesson in why we should all read the fine print before making new friends. The twists come fast, the suspense is real, and the characters are so deeply flawed that they’d probably fail a group project.
Final verdict? The Thrashers is a binge-worthy, eerie, and darkly entertaining novel.

While the YA genre and books with paranormal elements are not my usual go to, this book still managed to keep me engaged throughout. I feel like the best way to describe this book is a mix between Pretty Little Liars and Riverdale. It follows a friend group through a police investigation after the death of a fellow student. There are many twists and turns throughout and you never quite know what is going on.

This book is a good reminder to be mindful of how we treat people and that you never know how people are perceiving a shared experience.

Please check trigger warnings as this book does include the topic of suicide.

Overall, an engaging book. Since it’s not within my usual genre I am erring on rounding up to 4⭐️since I think people who like this type of book will enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!!!!

After a girl named Emily dies by suicide, a friend group called "The Thrashers" become suspects in her case. Did they push her to kill herself? Was Emily bullied? Were they ever friends with Emily?

I am shook!!! This felt like a mix between Mean Girls, Pretty Little Liars and Thirteen Reasons Why, but make it paranormal

This book was trippy. I didn't know who to trust. I couldn't tell if the narrator was reliable. So many secrets! So many twists! So much drama! I was captivated from start to finish and was on the edge of my seat throughout. A highly satisfying YA mystery/thriller. I hope Julie Soto writes more books like this! I love her Adult Romance, but I think I liked her thriller even more!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

I finished this book yesterday and I can’t stop thinking about it. The Thrashers has taken over my life.

There characters were interesting and complex and the plot was engaging and kept dragging me back in every time I tried to step away. I really loved the paranormal aspect and being from Sacramento myself, it’s also fun seeing familiar names and places sprinkled in. There were definitely a few “how do you do, fellow kids” moments that were a tad cringe but overall I loved it!

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.