The Thrashers is a book about a high school clique and the power of words. It's a mystery and a bit of a coming of age story. I couldn't put it down and didn't see the ending coming! It's completely unlike the other books I've read by Julie Soto but just as excellent!

omg!!!!! julie!!!!! i just spent the last 12 hours reading this because i couldn’t put it down!! i was hooked and needed to know what was happening with the group known as “the thrashers”. the drama? the mystery element? the paranormal element? i really enjoyed this!!!!!

I have read Julie Soto’s past two books and I've loved both of them. When I saw she was doing something different I knew I had to get my hands on that book, so I put in a request for the ARC and it was approved. At first I was a little hesitant to start it, for this is not my usual genre. However as soon as I read the first chapter I was hooked. This book is amazing. The Thrashers by Julie Soto truly surprised me. The story is so intriguing and it is such a fun read. I loved each of the characters and their personalities. The story line was gorgeous. How they each interacted with Jodi Dillon differently really was interesting and when I got to the epilogue I read it four separate times. The Thrashers by Julie Soto is such a good book and I recommend you read it right away.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book.

The Trashers aren’t just a high school friend group, they are the high school friend group. The ones everyone wants to be a part of—so what happens when one of those Trasher hopefuls winds up dead? This story follows the twists and turns as truths begin to unfold and friendships begin to come apart.

I’ve read Julie Soto’s first two books, Not Another Love Song and Forget Me Not and immediately became a fan of her work. So when I found out she was working on a YA thriller I was pretty intrigued.

First off, I really enjoyed the epilogue. It was the type of ending that made you go back and re-think everything that’s happened between the two characters since the beginning. An epilogue like this also makes you wonder if there’s room for a second book to come?

I also liked how Jodi progresses throughout the story; you can really see her growth and see her come into her own and find herself as she uncovers more information regarding Emily and her friend group.

While there was enough to keep me turning the page and intrigued, I will say that I wasn’t very surprised by the truths uncovered or the overall ending/what happened with Emily. It was slightly predictable, but still enjoyable.

The paranormal aspects in relation to her mom also felt a bit weird. It seemed slightly random and didn’t feel necessary to keep the story line moving along. I think the connection between Jodi/her mom/and Emily’s death could have been accomplished without this.

Also, I would have liked to see a bit more of a back story with the other characters within the friend group. I think if we had gotten more background information I would have been more invested in the actions they took, secrets revealed, etc.

The Thrashers follows an elite group of friends at New Helvetia High accused of being involved in the death of their classmate, Emily. Not everything is as it appears as secrets are unearthed between the friends and Emily isn’t quite done with them yet.

The Thrashers is told from Jodi’s perspective as she and her friends attempt to clear their names of any wrongdoing as they receive mysterious texts related to Emily and unexplained supernatural occurrences. Jodi, at times, reads like an unreliable narrator and coupled with the investigation into Emily’s death, Soto makes it hard to trust Jodi.

The Thrashers is full of twists and turns keeping readers on their toes. These twists and turns relate back to Jodi’s friends. Can the reader believe what they’re saying? Is the friendship dynamic Soto’s presenting to readers the truth?

When The Thrashers was first announced Soto likened it to Veronica Mars, which immediately got my attention. There are echoes of Veronica Mars in the socioeconomic differences within the friend group and Jodi as a main character. Jodi is poor while the rest of the group are from affluent families. Jodi is also more connected to those outside of the friend group as compared to the others. While Jodi does some investigation work, it’s by no means in line with what Veronica does.

The ending of the novel is wild. It’s an ending that will either make or break the novel for readers. For me, I enjoyed it.

Overall, The Thrashers is a fun YA mystery novel that tackles socioeconomic differences, friendship, domestic violence, supernatural elements, and much more. Soto is proving herself to be a powerhouse writer excelling in any genre.

first off, thank you so much st. martin's press and netgalley for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

if anyone can make me a thriller girly, julie soto sure as hell can. she just solidified herself as one of my fave/auto-buy authors with this ya thriller that was reminiscent of my gossip girl era. this also had me harkening back to 'the clique" series that I was obsessed with in middle school. anyone anyone? all the twists and turns with the plot and the secrets kept amongst this group of friends...I could not put this book down! I truly had no idea where we were headed at some points and all the supernatural elements were 100% freaking me out lol.

the biggest thing that just kind of irked me a bit was the amount of cpr that was performed throughout the story...like the believability of that just sort of detracted from the plot a bit. and I think she was kind of going for final destination vibes, which is totally fine! but it just didn't quite land for me. and perhaps my high school experience was vastly different, but I completely grasp what a "typical" american high schooler goes through, it just seemed like for someone who spent literally every moment with her friends, jodi should not have missed out on so much.

overall, I still loved this and could totally see this being a movie sometime in the near future!

high school is its own kind of horror story and Julie Soto nails every unsettling detail. this book is literally all the best parts of Pretty Little Liars—toxic friendships,
manipulation, and twists that keep you second guessing—and my inner teenager was THRILLED.

and while I could predict some of the ending, the way it unraveled had me coming back for more. sometimes even double taking.
the characters are all shades of toxic, and even the ones you pity still make your skin crawl. It’s the kind of book that reminds me why you couldn’t pay me to relive high school.

while i personally would’ve loved to see it lean more into the supernatural, it was still a fantastic read. 5/5

I couldn’t put this book down! I read it straight through in one day! It’s part high-school drama, part thriller, part mystery. I always enjoy Julie Soto’s writing and this was no different. She knows how to weave a story and keep you engaged from the first to the last page. This will make the perfect summer read!

Really enjoyed this book! A fun thriller that’s adventurous and emotional. Julie Soto has proven her range of capability from steamy romcoms, to emotional fantasy, and now this intriguing suspense! Looking forward to whatever Soto cooks up next!

The Thrashers by Julie Soto is an addicting teen drama psychological thriller with supernatural elements.

I read this one in less than 24 hours - I was so captivated and invested in the story!

The Thrashers are the popular kids in school - everyone wants to be their friend… but those who try are likely to get “thrashed!” Named after the king of the group, Zack Thrasher, the group is made of a core 5 members: Jodi Dillon (who has known Zack since second grade), Julian Hollister, Lucy Reed, and Paige Montgomery. All of them are super rich…. Except for Jodi. Which has her wondering if she even really belongs.

A girl named Emily tries to infiltrate the friend group and ends up dead…. The media is having a frenzy saying that she was bullied to death by The Thrashers. This insane media attention has a heavy impact on their senior year. Amidst the chaos there’s some supernatural elements that will spook you.

I loved this one so much and would love to see it turned into a movie or series. This was so well written & I am so grateful to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Be sure to grab your copy when this hits the shelves on May 6th!! Julie Soto is a queen!! I will read everything she writes.

This book had me annoyed with the decisions of the characters, but still obsessed with the mystery. Although I could already guess a good amount of the ending, it was HOW it got to that point that was keeping me invested. While I am used to reading books with at least one morally sound character, there is none of that in the Thrashers. Each character is a different shade of morally grey, with some being significantly darker than the others.

As a protagonist, Jodie tends to have rose-colored glasses when looking back at past moments with her friends. There are times when she considers that things were not as great as they seemed, but she tends to reason them out to be more positive. Her thinking is not that far off from how a good amount of high school students treat certain situations (from my experience). While there are situations that were obviously exaggerated for a fictional story, it was all so well written. As a YA debut, Julie Soto has created a world that I can't wait to dive back into -- if a sequel is already planned for.

There are heavy themes discussed in the book, so I recommend caution to those that may be sensitive to such topics as alcoholism, suicide, abuse (substance and physical), manipulation, etc.

The best way I can describe this book is that it falls in the tradition of Riverdale, Do Revenge, and Euphoria - these are 2020s teenagers, but they feel like they are being played by twenty- and thirty-somethings.

It also means that this story was WHOLLY entertaining. It's a great mystery with a small splash of paranormal, over-the-top characters where you don't quite know who to root for, and a nice look at class divide and pretty privilege. I also found it to be a fast read that kept your attention from beginning to end.

In short: don't come into this story expecting it to actually feel like high schoolers are the characters. Do come into it with expectations of a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! Un thriller algo tóxico que te mantiene intrigado y con un toque de elementos paranormales. En realidad espero que tenga una secuela!
Julie eres maravillosa!!! Realmente recomiendo este libro.

This book started out slow and for that I am rating it 3 stars. Once it picked up, it made you want to turn the page to answer every question it gave you. You’re trying to figure out who is the worst of the worst in this friend group, when they all seem terrible. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in
exchange for my honest review.

I honestly don’t know what to do with myself. Obsessed. I need more. I finished it a few hours ago and I’m still thinking about it. 5/5 amazing

Thank you so much to the publisher for the netgalley arc! As with all of Julie Soto’s books, it’s incredible. her writing is gripping and the plot put me in a chokehold. A fantastic YA thriller debut!!!

This was so good and should def be on your TBR. Creepy vibes reminded me of PLL 😂 I haven’t loved a YA thriller so much since The Mary Shelley Club (which should also be on your tbr). Also, you could not pay me to redo high school.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Psychological high school thriller and a YA debut? Fab! I love a toxic cliquey novel, especially when it has paranormal elements. Every time I feel like the culprit is clear, Julie Soto delivers a twist that veers us so far off course. These high schoolers are cutthroat, codependent, and manipulative like nothing else. It really annoyed me how spineless Jodi is though, especially with Zack. Is there a sequel coming?? 10/10 would still read.

High school Emm would've been absolutely feral for this book. 30 year old Emm? Little less so.

My goodness is there anything Julie Soto can't do? This was an incredible read, I was at the edge of my seat and fully entertained the whole time. Jodi was such an unreliable person to follow, she had one focus and that was it. She really knew nothing about what happened around her and in her friend group if it didn't involve Zach. Everything else around her basically didn't exist, but that made it fun to see her get out of that hole she put herself in. After finishing the book I just sat there and thought for a minute and fully took in how little she knew, but my god do I love her. She was so flawed, but at the same time she was just a teenager that has been so focused on this one person her whole life she didn't, or couldn't see beyond him. She had so much going on in her life that to escape it she tried to forget and made Zach into this hero he wasn't. I wished we could have seen more of Lucy, Paige, and Jullian, they, at least Julian, was a very interesting person even if he did lie like there was no tomorrow. I'm not even going to try to be nice, Emily creeped me out, she desperately needed professional help that no one was giving her. I really can't believe everything she did and made others do for her. I don't know if I could have ever forgotten any of it if it had happened to me, especially the role Hannah played. There was a hint, a wisp really, of romance in this and because Julie Soto wrote this it was incredible, I clung to it every time I was creeped out about something. The ending was not what I expected, but it left me desperately wanting more. This just solidified that I will read anything and everything that Julie Soto writes, she is unable to write anything bad. This is like Pretty Little Liars if Allison had allowed someone that she didn't like into the group and that person had died instead of her. That is the best way I can describe the book. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC.

Props to Julie Soto for branching out and writing in a new genre. Creative minds fascinate me, especially when it comes to things like publishing something so entirely different than one has done before. I have mixed feelings on my personal enjoyment, but it is nothing to do with the skill or storytelling that is present in this book.

The story here is immersive, thought-provoking, and, sadly, all too easy to believe as an authentic teen/high school experience. This is the kind of book that reinforces my firm belief that you couldn’t pay me to go back to high school. I feel blessed to have been on the tail end of classes to graduate before social media became a thing. There is a lot more than the light paranormal elements in this book to be afraid of when it comes to how vicious teenagers can be. I had to process a lot of emotions while reading this one, mostly anger and pity.

There are a lot of toxic characters here. Even the ones who draw out empathy and pity at times. It’s an interesting dichotomy of feelings toward nearly every character in the book. I can’t say that I loved reading about any of them. I can say that the way Julie Soto writes will draw a whole host of emotions out of a reader, for better or worse, whether you like it or not. She’s so talented with words no matter what genre she’s writing in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.