Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really like murder mystery stories where just an average girl is doing what no one else can and is solving a murder, so this book had that going for it.

Unfortunately, because I’ve read so many of these kinds of books, I found this one to be lacking in a new or unique way. I wanted it to have something that would make it stick out in the genre and I just didn’t get it.

I think Greta is a solid lead, even if she is the picture of an awkward teen who acts on her impulsive thoughts and sometimes gives the reader second-hand embarrassment. However, I think she lacked a complete character arc in this book. I also think the cast of characters has potential, but I just wanted more of pretty much everything.

The mystery resolved in a way that made sense, but also wasn’t very shocking.

Overall, a quick and entertaining story, but not anything that will surprise you if you’re not new to the genre.

I liked this book but I didn't love it. Greta had secrets from her past that she was running away from and still couldn't stay away from them because past and present seemed to mix together. This book was full of action and mystery but the plot twists were way too easy to guess. This book has a lot of new friendships built and new relationships.

This book is a good read for anyone who liked One of Us is Lying and A Girl's Guide to Murder. It's a good high school drama filled mystery with a little bit of romance, that is still questionable as to what come of it.

The first half of this book was super slow to me but the second half was like cramming so much drama into such a small time frame, but it still was a decent book in the end.

It took me a moment to get into this book, but overall, I enjoyed it. The setting helped keep the story moving, and while some of the twists were predictable, it was still fun to follow along.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy.
This was a fun little mystery. Nothing too exciting and memorable, more of getting involved in something you shouldn't types of books. The first half of the book was quite slow, and then we had all of these quick reveals and twists. Some more wild than others. But I did like the theme of reinventing yourself, or finding out who you are when you find the right people in your life. Trusting yourself, and that there's someone out there for you, who will like and appreciate who you are, instead of trying to fit in.

Top Five Reasons to Read Difficult Girls
Amusement Park Setting
From Trouble to a Fresh Start
Relatable Female Main Character
Sweet Romance
Mystery & YA Thriller that Delivers

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows a teen who is having trouble with people at school. She decides to get a job at the local amusement park and start fresh. This park has a history of dead girls and then another one comes up missing. Greta is trying to solve the mystery and find the missing girl.

I enjoyed this book! I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. I really liked how the mystery unfolded. We as the audience were finding out things along with Greta and her friends.

Greta was a likable character because she was going through some stuff so I bet people can relate to her. She was also going for redemption so it was good to root for her.

I do feel like the bit of romance was not totally needed. It was cute but kinda distracted from the story.

Overall, a solid YA mystery that I would recommend!

Bane has done a great job weaving a tale of mystery and intrigue. When Greta moves to a new town and school, hoping to forget what happened last summer, she doesn’t realize she is about to fall into a whole new dangerous world. All she wants to do is start over. Make new friends. She starts working at the local amusement park. She makes a new friend who is popular and feels this is just what she needs. And Mercy is eager to confide in her a special secret. But when Greta goes to meet Mercy and hear the secret, Mercy doesn’t show. And is nowhere to be found. Does Mercy’s disappearance have to do with the big secret?

Greta is determined to find out what happened to Mercy, no matter what it may cost. But, does that include her life?

Difficult Girls is one of those books where I enjoyed the second half of the book far more than I enjoyed the first half, and I will be honest, I almost DNF the book halfway through. I'm glad I did persevere though, as I was curious to know what happened to Mercy and how everything would tie together at the end. I do have to say however, that Greta is probably one of the most annoying FMC that I have come across in quite a while and is the main reason why I almost put this book aside.

This story is set in an amusement park and I always like a setting like this as there is so much scope for imagination and for something to go terribly wrong. The mystery itself was rather intriguing and I did enjoy how it unfolded and how the unsolved murder from the past tied into the present-day one. There were lots of twists and turns, even if some of them were quite predictable, and I liked how it all unfolded. Naturally, there were a lot of things that were coincidences and where you just had to accept that they happened even if they were not quite believable, but I chose to go with them and just enjoyed the ride. Yes, there was a general tendency to over-explain concepts and it could, at times, be repetitive, but the writing style was clear and it did flow very well.

Now we come to an area with which I had problems, the character development. First of all, I really did not like the main character, Greta. Sorry, but no wonder she got herself into so much trouble in the past as her judgment skills are so incredibly poor I just wanted to shake her through most of the book. Let me explain. So, here's this guy she met , no SAW, maybe twice, and she had already convinced herself how great he was, how perfect he was, how he would never treat anyone poorly like she had been treated in the past, how he was just so, so, so NICE, and he was going to be hers. And it just goes on and on. For a guy she said maybe three words to and maybe had seen twice. And then there's this other guy who she judges harshly because someone has a nickname for him that she misinterprets, and it becomes so repetitive in her thoughts it's what almost made me DNF. Honestly, I've seen this technique used in writing in other books to use as red herrings and it simply does not work; in fact, it seems like a sloppy way of trying to throw off a reader and create an unreliable narrator. Because of this, there was not a lot of room left to develop any of the secondary characters which affects any empathy shown for their situations. The character development was a bit of a mess. It also created a situation where I was rolling my eyes every time Greta had any space for inner monologues. So juvenile!!

Difficult Girls actually had a strong mystery behind it so there was no need to create an unreliable narrator, one whose judgment skills were so poor it became cringeworthy. The clues were interesting and I enjoyed how the mystery unfolded as well as how it tied to the one from the past, and it was believable. The character development was lacking however, and the FMC was in dire need of help. I don't mind flawed and vulnerable characters at all, but she was silly. Did she redeem herself in the last quarter of the book? Yes, a bit, as she realized she was putting her own wishes into people, but it was not enough to really make her likable. With that being said though, I would read another book by this author as I thought the mystery was strong and I did like some of the other characters.

Twisty mystery with cold case elements in an amusement park

Greta needs a job and money as she tries to leave an incident from her high school behind her. She’s hired at a local amusement park, where she finds a cold case murder is not very cold at all.

I liked the book overall. The depiction of amusement park employees rang very true, and the characters had lots of personality and attitude. Would definitely recommend.

This is an honest review based on the book provided by NetGalley and Random House.

A thriller at a theme park that was advertised as similar to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder? Sounds perfect. The only problem--this did not even come close. Greta, the main character, is starting a job at a theme park. She finds out that there had been a girl murdered 20 years ago on the gondola ride and the killer had never been captured. Then strange things start happening at the park and to the employees, which causes Greta to play detective.
This was a tough book to rate, because for the first half the book, the writing was boring and repetitive, and there was zero plot but a ton of characters to try to get to know. Additionally, the way Greta's past was related to the reader made it really hard to get to know her character and want to be on her side. I also felt there were a lot of unresolved issues in the story, especially about her dad. Once I hit 60% on the ebook version, the plot sped up and things got more interesting, but this was still a disappointing read for me.

Difficult GirlSummer
By: Veronica Bane
Pub Date July 8, 2025
Pages 336
YA
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
After the incident last year, Greta Riley Green is looking for reinvention—a fresh start—and a job at Hyper Kid Magic Land, the local amusement park, seems like the perfect way to forge a new path . . . no matter what it takes.

15 Reactions

1. "his eyes are blue , blue like the river that runs between our hearts." --🫣Only a teenager could come up with something so corny!!

2. What did Greta do, what is the incident? 🤔

3. What happened to the Hyper Kid Magic Land employee from 20 years ago, that's creepy. 🧐

4. Mercy Goodwin, what was she gonna tell Greta?😟

5. Did lauren and Allie do something to Mercy?

6. Gene irks my nerves, like hes employee of the month for life.

7. Teenager's can be such jerk's and very cruel to one another.

8. OMG!!!!!That took an unexpected turn.

9. Awww I think he likes her.

10. Welp, that took an unexpected turn.

11. Focus on the good guy, not the hot one. Ughhhhhhhh

12. Murder......oh my.

13. Who did it?????

14. Girl power.!!!!

15. Well, I enjoyed that ride!!!!
Thanks Netgalley and topplingstackstours for the gifted copy of the book and e-Arc in exchange for my honest review.

So this one is a thriller and a comedy. I loved Greta's fierce character in this book. She never stops until she finds out just who did it. Greta is the young girl that saw a young girl before she goes missing. Greta didn't have anything to do with her going missing , but she has to prove it. Greta doesn't stop investigating until she finds who did it.

This was a great book and I really liked the dynamics between Liam and Greta these two were sweet together.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this in advance.

This was such a fun, fast-paced, expertly-plotted YA thriller! The themes of competition/solidarity among girls, the theme park setting, and the twists and turns were all so satisfying. Can't wait for what Bane does next!

This was a creepy summer thriller. It had a great summer setting in a theme park. I liked that there was some suspense about what happened in Greta’s past. I couldn’t figure out the mystery of what happened to Mercy. There were some key clues that were held back until the end, but it was a satisfying ending!

Difficult Girls is a great summer thriller!

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for providing a copy of this book!

Content warnings: divorce, bullying, murder, suicide, knife violence

eARC Review: Difficult girls by Veronica Bane

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub date: 8 July 25

Greta is a teen girl that has been facing hard times at her school & town. Social reinvention is a process for her as she leaves school after last year’s incident, she aims to start fresh with a new job at Hyper Kid Magic Land (the local amusement park). Mercy Goodwin chose to confide in Greta at a recent party, & asked her to meet up with her at work the next day. Yet to Greta’s surprise, Mercy doesn’t show up to meet her the following day or any day after. Greta has easily sensed something is wrong in this scenario & working at Hyper Kid is a cause for concern from that trouble that so quickly finds her.
Overall, my first thoughts on this book were that while it did keep me entertained, it could have done with less lengthy chapters. I really enjoyed reading about the development of Greta & Liam, as compared to Greta & Grey. Greta had originally planned to have more than a friendship with Grey, yet she was turned off to that idea after having encounters with Liam. Towards the ending, we see more of the true colors from Greta’s coworkers & who they’ve really tried to be. Also, learning what happened to Mercy was a bit of a shock along with who the actual Gondola Killer was because I definitely didn’t see that coming! I did rate this book at four stars but it was very close to being a five star for me. I would recommend this book to a friend of mine. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"Difficult Girls" follows Greta, a teenager starting a new job at an amusement park, as she searches for her coworker, a talented actress and beloved by everyone - almost. The other catch? A young employee with a similar background died at the park not too long prior.

I really wanted to like this one but just couldn't buy into it. To start, I absolutely loved Greta - she was interesting, likable, and well-developed, but there was too much of the story that was hard to believe. You're telling me shy, introverted Greta decides to uproot her life and risk her job after a girl goes missing who she met ONCE? And is convinced that they were BFFs? I don't know. I feel like this story was trying to follow in the footsteps of "Good Girls' Guide to Murder" but missed any kind of personal connection; unfortunately, it made the story feel harder to connect with.

That aside, I did enjoy the characters and overall premise - I also enjoyed the romance and felt it was well-done! Plenty of twists in the end, this one will keep you guessing. Thanks so much for the ARC!

I read somewhere that Veronica Bane had always thought amusement parks were creepy and that was all the information I needed to want to read this book.

I enjoyed solving Mercy’s disappearance along with Greta! My favorite part of the book was how it started out as “every girl for herself” and ended with community.

And Greta as the FMC was refreshing and relatable. She was so imperfect yet open to learning life lessons that even older folks are still learning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an eARC of this book! This is my honest review.

This book was pretty good. We follow Greta, a girl who is starting over after a mysterious event. We do find put later what that is. While working at Hyper Kid Magic Land, she finds out that a girl named Hailey died there almost every 20 years before. An attraction actor, Mercy, asks her to meet because she has a secret she wants to tell her. Mercy didn't show.

I enjoyed the ride this story took me on, but with the great twist, I was left underwhelmed by the reveal. It wasn't the twist I has hoping for. Greta and Liam were stand outs, flawed and believable.

4⭐

Thank you to the author, @netgalley, and @topplingstackstours for providing me with a copy of this book for the purposes of review. My opinions are, as always, honest and my own.

There’s something instantly intriguing about a thriller set in a theme park—especially one like Hyper Kid Magic Land, where everything is bright and cheery on the outside but hiding something much darker underneath. *Difficult Girls* takes full advantage of this setting to create a story that’s tense, layered, and at times unsettling.

Greta, the protagonist, isn’t always likable—and that’s part of what makes her compelling. She’s self-aware, sometimes too much so, and her constant second-guessing can be grating, but it also feels authentic. The narrative plays with the idea of truth and performance, and Greta walks that line in every interaction. Whether she’s a reliable narrator is part of the tension.

The mystery surrounding Mercy’s disappearance is well-paced, and there are just enough red herrings to keep things interesting without feeling like a trick. Some of the supporting characters veer into stereotype—the classic jealous mean girl, the overly strict mentor—but in a setting designed for performance, even that makes a strange kind of sense.

The standout element here is the setting. The park is more than a backdrop; it’s alive with history, mood, and danger. It captures that perfect contradiction of fun and fear that makes amusement parks such a smart location for a YA thriller.

It’s sharp, atmospheric, and more introspective than expected. Recommended for readers who enjoy unreliable narrators, dark secrets, and thrillers that lean a little literary.

It was so awesome, mysterious, and too good. I loved Greta and the way she didn't stop her investigation. The characters are written so well that I was interested in learning more about them. It felt like it ended soon, actually.