What a great story! Can't wait to read more by this author!
Thanks Netgalley and to the author for the ARC!

julie soto you are a master of every genre. please save some talent for the rest of the world. I went into this completely blind so I had no idea what to expect. I only knew I had to read it bc julie wrote it. I was hooked from the very first page to the very last.

I thought the pacing was great and the story never felt like it let up and there were so many points where I got legitimate chills. truly the best way to describe this book is “haunting”. some of the reveals I think will be predictable for most but some of them really took me by surprise. and that epilogue?!?! goosebumps.

also I know this is a thriller and not a romance but thank you julie for still giving us a little sprinkle. the tension was everything I wanted and just the right balance with the rest of the story.

thank you thank you thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this digital arc.

I just finished this on my commute and I’m internally screaming JULIE SOTO WHATTTTT???? where is the rest of it? I’m gonna SOB??? WHATTTTTTT.

Phenomenal story telling. Wow. Oh God I’m so torn about this book, I’m actually gonna be sick. If there isn’t a sequel I might kill myself. Because whattttt???? oh Gods…

Thank you St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday book for the digital arc. I hope you all send me the physical one because I think this might be my entire personality for the foreseeable future 😭

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc. Ive never read anything by this author and Im glad this was my first one by her. I really enjoyed this story. It had a lot of twists and turns and was very well written and super enjoyable.

This book reminded me a little of Pretty Little Liars show. 5 besties who have been labeled “the Thrashers”are being questioned about the death of a schoolmate. It has been deemed a suicide, but the family and investigators believe that she was bullied by this friend group. Secrets, lies, haunting and other odd occurrences bring out the truth of who Emily was as a person.

I think this is classified as a YA book but I would maybe consider it more of a New Age. I think there were things in it that I may not want my younger child reading. Not that it bothers me as an adult but there is use of F*** a few times. There is also a séance and “talking to the dead”. I just think that maybe these are better suited for a little older age group.

It was a really fun story and definitely had me hooked! Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

I unfortunately wasn’t the target audience for this. I disliked every character, and I accidentally went into this thinking it would be dark academia but it just felt like pointless plot and drama. It also felt younger than most YA do this day (yayy teens actually getting books made for them again). Due to that though, it falls flat for me.

The Thrashers , by Julie Soto
4.5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TRIGGER WARNINGS-
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Violence, drinking, drugs, death, suicide, bullying, sexual assault

This was a really captivating read and kept you on your seat. I liked the sprinkle of supernatural in it, it wasn’t too overdone so it was believable. The characters were written well too. The ending was a real twist, I didn’t expect that in the epilogue.

What irks me was that Jodi put everybody else’s secrets on display, but she didn’t out Hannah‘s, who caused a lot of interference and harm, she could have saved Emily- she knew what Emily was doing and took part in it. This would have probably taken everything in a different course in someway?

I feel like Jodi never took responsibility for her own actions of how she treated Emily. If Jodi wanted to be her friend she should’ve just been her friend. She should have taken responsibility for how she acted and how she played Emily and played her friends. She was “two timing”, acting one way with Emily and then acting another with her friends; if she didn’t want to have Emily around she should have been more direct with her. Her desire to have Zach to herself and fit in with his friends, drove her to be mean as well.

Emily should’ve taken the hint or they should have come out and directly said something right from the beginning. Jodi’s just as responsible for how she treated Emily as the rest of them are. The only person who was direct, (a little more harsh than needed…???), is facing jail. No one saw how Emily’s actions were invasive and such to them? I feel like if Emily acted like that with other people they would have treated her the same as the Thrasher’s did, they wouldn’t tolerate it but the Thrasher’s were the only ones that included her for whatever reason and she graded on them and wore them down. So they were the targets to pin Emily’s death on.

They went about disassociating with Emily the wrong way. Maybe reaching out for help would have been better. The counsellor definitely should have said something knowing how obsessive Emily was with them/Jodi.

Also how come nobody ever called Emily’s behaviour out? Maybe because they didn’t want to speak ill of the dead? It was never publicly outed that Emily‘s treatment of people- too direct, blunt, intrusive, obsessive, how she borderline harassed people, was in a way what caused her to have no friends or for people to dislike her and leave once they got to know how she was. I think the friend group tolerated her as much as they could, which was nice, but it gave mixed signals. I feel like nobody wanted to speak on it because you don’t speak ill of the dead.

I feel like Emily’s death wasn’t exactly from bullying; her own actions had consequences. I mean, she was damned and determined to fit into a friend group whether they wanted her there or not. You don’t have to be friends with everyone and not everyone needs to like you. Then she became obsessive just like with her other friend Vanessa. I don’t think they should have treated her the way they did and played her like that and pretended they liked her, they should’ve been honest from the start. It could’ve avoided everything.

Also her parents knew how she was so why didn’t they get her help? Julian was honest with her, but everybody else was wishy-washy, like including her and then talking shit behind her back. Zach played on her feelings and used that to fuel his ego, and Jodi was just too chickenshit to say anything. That didn’t help with sending mixed messages to her. For whatever reason Page and Lucy just followed suit.

Also, it would have been nice to flush out Jodi and Julian‘s relationship especially after learning what we learned in the epilogue it makes you wonder if it was Julian‘s actions or possibly Emily‘s…?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for
giving me an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a good read!! I’ve been a fan of Julie’s for awhile now and I never doubted that I would enjoy Thrashers but I was surprised at how much I loved it!

I have enjoyed Julie Soto’s previous work, but I had an absolute blast with this book. It had all of the vibes I was looking for: high school, mystery, paranormal, and drama. A lot of plot twists and turns which were really fun. It reminded me a lot of Heathers and Reality Bites vibes. I only wish that I would have saved this read for October because it would have been perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book! Everything worked really well together between the high school cliques and ghost vibes. I loved all the different characters. Story kept me hooked throughout. It was hard to put down!

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 😂.