Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read early in exchange for my honest opinion. Honestly, what can’t Julie Soto do? This is her debut YA thriller and it was PHENOMENAL. I really enjoyed every moment of it. All of the suspense, the supernatural. The story begins with Emily Mills who dies by suicide, but eventually a group of 5 friends known as the Thrashers get singled out saying they bullied Emily to death. A police investigation goes on, the group gets threatening messages, WEIRD things literally happen to them such as lights flickering on and off to the point that I, as the reader had no idea who was behind any of it.

Spoiler: can we talk about the epilogue?! Was Julian haunted the whole entire time?! Did Emily manipulate his feelings for Jodi?! Once he went through the door back to his cell, the light overhead flickered as if it sensed Emily’s presence.

I absolutely loved the Thrashers and I can’t wait until release day.

This book truly had me on the edge of my seat! I truly adore Julie Soto and every book she has put out so far and “The Thrashers” fits right along into that category. This book was the perfect young adult mystery thriller. And while I am no longer a “young adult” or a reader that really gravitates toward that genre, this book had me hooked! There was no part in this book that was “slow” or “dull”. The pacing of this book flowed SO well and was so appetizing. I absolutely LOVED this book! Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this early. And a huge congrats to Julie Soto with another AMAZING book!

I have not stopped thinking about this book since I put it down. This was a roller coaster of emotions and I'm not sure I'm ready to get off. The epilogue. Julie, my love, please please please give us more. This book was pure magic. I was hooked from the first page and finished it in 2 days. I wanted to know what happened so badly and was surprised around every turn. These characters are deliciously flawed and yet, I was rooting for all of them. I have no words for the ending or the epilogue and I'm still not sure how I feel, but this was so good!

This was a binge worthy YA Debut from Julie Soto. Pretty Little Liars meets The In Crowd with a smidge of Final Destination vibes thrown in. Absolutely loved it, could not put it down, especially the second half. Seriously, I stayed up late to finish reading because I simply couldn’t sleep not knowing what was going to happen!!

Jodi is a part of the Senior in-crowd, “The Thrashers”, though she doesn’t always believe she fits. Her best friend since 2nd grade, Zack Thrasher, is the sun around which the rest of the group orbits. Zack pulls everyone towards him, he’s charming and kind and knows how to make people feel seen.

Unfortunately, on the night of their Junior prom, Emily Mills is dead and all eyes are on The Thrashers. Senior year was supposed to be everything but the shadow of Emily’s death is looming over their every move. Strange things are happening and they can’t help but think Emily is still watching them.

*Upper teens +older would be my rec.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and #NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own. #TheThrashers

Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for a copy of this book.

This book initially in the first half had me hooked right away and was another great YA read. However, about the 70% mark it got a bit weird with paranormal themes that were not mentioned prior to starting the book nor were they even hinted at. After the 70% those themes continued until the end of the book so if that is not your cup of tea you might want to skip. I don't mind that theme so I was still able to finish the book but it did change my opinion because the whole time I thought it was going one way when it ended up changing the storyline in my opinion.
Overall a decent book and still enjoyed it.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for my first Netgalley e-ARC!!
I was fortunate enough to obtain a physical ARC of this in December, but was so excited to obtain the e-ARC so that I could go through and highlight & overanalyze the shit out of this!

Re-read Review:
This was somehow even more fun & unsettling the second go round. I loved being able to pick up on little hints throughout the book. Despite a re-read and sitting on my feelings for a couple months, I am STILL thinking by that ending. I love any thriller with an ending that leaves you questioning your whole understanding of the book. Despite this being a YA thriller, I think it holds its own against some of the more popular Adult thrillers. The only real YA piece of this is that the characters are set in highschool!

I'm even more impressed by the motivations and dimensions of Jodi as a character. Without going into more detail/spoilers, that's all I can say.

First-read Review:
This book is a complete 180 from her previous books, and yet Julie Soto's writing is like a drug. It doesn't matter the shape or form - I'm an addict, and I read this almost in a straight sitting (with a brief interruption for sleep).

Each character felt so palpable and real, and the story felt like a careening roller coaster ride. I was on the edge of my seat until the very end, and still feel sick to my stomach from the Epilogue. I need a few days to process.

This book took me by surprise! I loved Julie Soto’s previous romance novels. So I had high hopes for her debut YA novel, but I was truly blown away by this one. The mystery, intrigue, and clever plotting had me immediately sucked in. Jodi was such a strong main character. And the group dynamics were so well-crafted. Where’s book 2???

The Thrashers by Julie Soto

First I’d like to thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the eARC of The Thrashers by Julie Soto for a fair and honest review.

The Thrashers is a YA thriller that is hard to put down. She weaves a story with characters who you can love and equally dislike. Everyone has secrets. How well do you really know your best friends? Ask yourself; if you keep secrets from them what might they keep from you?

The Thrashers are the it group and everyone loves them but also loves to hate them; wants to see them all fall. That’s just what happens when an acquaintances death may seem more than it appears. Jodi feels like the outlier of the group; how long can they hold together before all their secrets are revealed? Julian was my favorite stand out character and had great character development.

I feel into this one immediately and needed the answers. There was only one thing I figured out pretty quickly and when I was revealed I wasn’t surprised. The true shocker still has me stunned and hopeful for more.

This book does have mentions of suicide, child abuse, alcoholism and bullying.

maybe a 3.5? i'm not sure how i feel about this book. i wasn't expecting a paranormal element at all, and while i'm not bothered by it, i just don't see how it fits in this book. i also think the other members of the thrashers should have had more towards their characterization, specifically lucy and paige.

and the epilogue ?? with an ending like that, i really hope there's a sequel.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced E-copy of this book.

Julie Soto has delivered a nail biting, edge or your seat YA suspense with The Thrashers. Here I thought she delivered heart tingling romance novels. Some authors really can do it all.

Make sure you carve out a solid 3-6 hours of your day to read this book as you won't want to put it down.
This book takes a look into high school cliques, bullying, and how far we are willing to go for our friends. The feelings of being on a tightrope with the popular kids in school and how one wrong move could get you isolated. The public opinion of peers determining self-worth.

This book is dark, twisted and a whole lot of fun. All the narrators are semi-unreliable and as a reader, the most fun is that you have no idea who to trust. All the characters are flawed, and a spotlight is shown on each character's selfishness.

This book has vibes of '13 Reasons Why' mixed with 'Final Destination'. It's spooky, haunted, and addictive.

YA thrillers aren’t usually my go-to, but this one completely took me by surprise. From the first chapter, I was hooked by the suspense, twists, and constant sense of unease that kept me flipping pages late into the night. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, another reveal would throw me off. The characters felt real and layered, making me invested in their choices and fates! Fast-paced, gripping, and impossible to put down!

4.75 - Julie Soto delivers again! This book kept me entertained the entire time and managed to have me going through all the emotions right alongside our characters. I don’t always love YA books because they feel juvenile but this wasn’t the case. The story unrolled just like typical drama between friends (wealthy friends in this instance). The ending had me slightly stupefied, however I can truly say I didn’t see it coming!

This was my very first ARC (THANK YOU!) but all my opinions and thoughts are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Julie Soto for the chance to read this ARC.

Julie Soto could publish her shopping list and I would read it, that’s how good she is and this book is no different. While it doesn’t have the signature spice of the adult books she writes, it does have the same amazing story line.

The Thrashers are a group of friends, named for the last name of the most popular kid in the group. Zack Thrasher happens to have been best friends with Jodi (MFC) growing up, and he brought her into his popular friend group in high school. A new girl Emily comes to their school and is obsessed with not only Zack, but with Jodi also. When Emily commits suicide, everyone is looking at the Thrashers because they believe they are the reasoning behind the suicide.

This story has a little romance, but the mystery is the best part. Nobody knows what is true and what is not true. There are paranormal elements, and there are moments where you’re wondering who is to blame. Also, the epilogue is so shocking and makes you wonder just how much of the stuff that was happening was just coincidence and how much was actually paranormal.

It’s 6:26am as I write this.. I couldn’t sleep because this book had me in a CHOKEHOLD. First off, WOW WHAT CANT JULIE SOTO DO??? That was honestly incredible, had me hooked from the very beginning. But I’d like a few words because excuse my French but what the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ENDING HELLO? SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN PLEASE ELABORATE. Not gonna lie im a romance reader right.. so my romance self was excited for Julian And Jodi but of course, this isn’t a romance i was played. EXCUSE ME THAT ENDING PLEASE EXPLAIN. Anyways.. I’ll scream about that ending into the void until I’m blue in the face but onto the book. It was amazing lol. I never thought I’d enjoy a thriller so much but I just couldn’t put it down, it was addictive. I have chills as I write this, that ending is really messing with me to be honest. I’m not okay. Definitely not okay.

YA mystery thriller is not a genre I can say that I read often, but I'm so glad I read this book! I will always read anything that Julie Soto writes, but I was a little nervous about whether I would love this book or not, even with the amazing reviews I had seen so far.

The book draws you in from the beginning, and keeps you interested the entire read. I normally have a pretty easy time figuring out what is going to happen by the end of a book, and although I had correctly guessed a few things, there were quite a few that surprised me! And that epilogue! The ending was great as it was(although maybe ended...quickly?), but to have the prologue draw you in, and then have the epilogue leave you wanting so much more? Loved it. (And I found that the epilogue made up for the way I was feeling about the ending/resolution of everything. I felt like they had gotten off easy in the end, but the short epilogue 100% made up for that in my mind)
I can not wait to own my physical copy, and I hope this isn't the end of the story for The Trashers!

I’ll preface this by saying that I will enthusiastically devour anything Julie Soto writes, So I was so intrigued when she announced a YA thriller, as it felt like a completely different direction from her contemporary romances and fanfiction repertoire.

…and I’m happy to report that I was completely blown away by this book. The characters and their relationships with each other felt layered and real. The drama, tension, betrayal, and just a touch of romance…it all keeps you turning the page as fast as you can. And just the right mix of creepy supernatural vibes vs. explainable instances to keep you guessing through the whole book.

And that epilogue! I’m going to be thinking about it for a while. Some might say it was…haunting ;)

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

This book grabs you from the first page and continues straight through the last page. It's like the perfect blend of 13 Reasons Why and Pretty Little Liars. With this book it's clear Julie Soto shines in every genre!

I love Julie Soto's other books and was excited to read her first in the YA genre. And she absolutely knocked it out of the park. It's got a 13 Reasons Why/Pretty Little Liars vibe and has romance, suspense/mystery, and paranormal all combined into one book. I'm a huge fan of Jodi - I think her struggles were so relatable as someone who yearns to fit in and I was so proud of her when she finally stands up to the Thrashers in the end. And that EPILOGUE left me shocked and shaken - it kind of left things unfinished and I am hoping that means this book will get some kind of sequel because I would love to see Jodi thriving in her college era. I actually turned out to be a Jolian fan, and I truly believe in his redemption arc.

I highly recommend this book, like all of Julie Soto's books. Her writing just beautifully builds the suspense and all her characters are so complex. Some things I could predict, but I like how there's still an eerie aspect of paranormal activity that doesn't explain all the weird things the Thrashers had experienced after Emily's death.

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

Thrillers are not my usual genre, but The Thrashers was so fast paced and addictive. I couldn’t put it down. I think teens will definitely enjoy this one— I certainly did, I read it in one day.

I felt for Jodi and how she viewed her own role in her friend group, it made everything so relatable. I also loved that the mystery wasn’t always the main focus of what was going on. It felt very balanced overall, the plot moved along quickly as information about the Thrashers and their stories were collected. Just loved it.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Julie Soto for allowing me to be an ARC reader for The Thrashers. Words cannot even describe how incredible this book is. It had me hooked by the first paragraph and I only put it down once to get some sleep so I could grab it again. When I say I didn’t put it down again until I finished, I mean it. Each character was developed so much and every scene was laid out so perfectly to that I felt like I was watching a movie as I read.
The Thrashers had me on the edge of my seat during most of the book. There were so many questions that had me guessing until the very end. I’m usually extremely good at predicting books, TV shows, and movies (thank you ADHD), but this book had me in awe. The epilogue, especially, had me screaming. Julie Soto did a fantastic job of writing this thriller and I cannot wait to read more of this genre from her.