⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | FIVE STAR READ

The Thrashers are the elite group of their high school and even well known at surrounding schools. Comprised of 5 students and named after the “it boy", Zach Thrasher. Everyone wants to be a part of this group. Some even have the rare opportunity to experience what it is like. But at what cost? For Emily, it was her life.

This story follows Jodi, the one Thrasher who doesn’t seem to belong. Jodi gets put into a tough position where the only way out seems to be to betray her friends. Instead of accepting this position, she decides to dig into everything herself to free her friends. All the while it seems as if Emily isn’t done with the group.

I really enjoyed this book and most of the characters in it. Everything was really easy to follow while also having enough suspense to keep me wanting more. Pretty sure I finished this in two days because I couldn’t put it down. Every time you turn around, something else shocking is coming to light.

If you love an easy, suspenseful, and dark read, this one is for you. I would also say this book makes you think about the events that transpire inside and the consequences that can follow.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, an Julie Soto for the opportunity to listen to this ARC. I truly enjoyed it and it is worth every bit of five stars. Really enjoyed the narrators as well. I look forward to reading more of Julie Soto’s work.

firstly, thank you so so much to the publisher for an arc and an alc! 💗

if you know me, you know that julie soto is an autobuy author because i have absolutely adored her fanfic on ao3 since 2019/2020 — her fanfic helped me get through the dark times that were covid.

while i enjoyed her adult romances, her ya debut has absolutely blown me away in every possible way — the characters, the plot, the writing, and the psychological mind-fuck were all absolutely phenomenal. i had a fantastic time piecing together the timeline alongside our fmc jodi dillion.

the thrashers takes place a few months after emily mills commits suicide, and “the thrashers” — a popular friend group of five — are the key suspects and labelled emily’s former bullies, but as evidence is unravelled and discovered for the court case, jodi learns that both her friends and emily’s journal are not as truthful as she was lead to believe…

i tore through this and stared at my kindle like “where’s the rest?!” i have a feeling we may return with the way the epilogue shared some new information…

as for the audiobook — while i did enjoy the narrator and think they did a great job, i think that this would have been such a fun book to have a full cast and sound effects!!

Um wow…. First of all, thank you SO much for the ALC of The Thrashers. This title was absolutely a step away from what I normally read, though not entirely. While I enjoy YA and have read many titles in YA contemporary, I have grown to avoid high school settings and high school aged kids in a contemporary setting without fantasy. I am absolutely glad that I ended up deciding to break my rule about high school books and read this one. I have been so deep into fantasy or just rom com that I was not sure what to expect. With this narrator and the story and writing itself, I was absolutely entranced and could. Not. Stop. Listening. I had to absorb every little piece of it. The book felt at first almost predictable but the narrator helped keep you hooked and entertained. There were certainly points that kept me on the edge of my seat and not where I thought it was headed. Then it felt like it wrapped up nicely… and FINALLY you get to the very very end. Just a fragment and my mind said hold up a second! This is not a book to skip out on and just enjoy the ride all the way through! I truly felt Thrashed after the end of this book. It is going to live rent free in my mind for a while now.

The men in this book were awful, but I think they were supposed to be. This book featured an unreliable narrator and kept me guessing some stuff until the end. For me this book was just ok, I found myself wanting to continue listening but the mystery points didn't resolve and are left up to interpretation. The epilogue with Julian left me unsatisfied because I feel like this book was not a paranormal thriller however it relied on supernatural for the reader to just except plot holes.... Overall I did enjoy it, the tension between characters and character development were done very well that I was rooting for characters with awful personalities, like Julian or our narrator. I think this book will definitely appeal to it's target audience and will probably recommend it even if it wasn't perfect for me.

Wow. I’m honestly so impressed with this. I know Julie Soto has a gift, but making a 30-something smut lover unable to put down this high school drama?? MAM. Okay so think a blend of Pretty little liars meets final destination meets Nancy Drew- but don’t think too hard. The twists just kept coming but in such small ways that you aren’t sure what to believe to the very end.

Normally I can’t stand single narration but she pulled it off flawlessly.

What the hell did I just read?

This book took me by ABSOLUTE surprise. From early on I had a feeling this book had the potential to wreck me. So I was adamant to NOT lose my heart. Well, that proofed to be futile.

The characters Julie Soto created are as far from black and white as the plot is. The twists come from all directions, it's actually difficult to write this review because even the tiniest hint could be a spoiler. Nothing is as it seems and I kept and still keep questioning everything. Between the layers of secrecy and seeing everything through Jodi's filter of unassertiveness, I'm still unsure of what was true and what was't. Between social concepts, blurring lines and dynamics that rage to the point where its difficult to track them.

Julie perfectly captures the insecurities and fears of that age, the extreme situations social life at high school can fuel and what it means to be confronted with privilege and lack thereof.

The writing is great, the narration on point, and Julie really succeeded in pulling me in to a point where I felt like a part of the gang. An outsider looking in but with one foot in the door. Just like Jodi.

Well, safe to say that ultimately, I did get attached, hurt and now am reeling after that bomb of an epilogue.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Julie Soto for this ALC.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
High school drama meets occult meets bullying - throw in an unreliable narrator and a storyline that jumps around and honestly I would be looking for the train wreck.
Well, there wasn't one. There were a couple of car crashes but that's beside the point. The book actually worked, somehow.
Julie Soto managed to make it all come together in a way that made me want to read it too. I was connected to Jodi and wanted to see how her story played out.
I anticipated a twist ending, but she turned it and it was a different twist then what I predicted which was nice. Overall I thought she wrapped the story up well, but left herself the potential for additional books if she wanted them.

Julie Soto’s storytelling and writing alone made me read this book and I loved it. Had a blend of mystery-thriller and supernatural with all the teen drama that I was obsessed with. Left me thinking about the ending for the rest of the day, will their be a sequel or was this the end?

This story is a wild ride from start to finish. The mystery keeps you guessing, twisting and turning when you least expect it. Just when you think you’ve figured it all out—boom—another clue changes everything.

The atmosphere pulls you in, making every moment feel real, every discovery more intense. The characters feel alive, their emotions, their fears—it’s all there. And the ending? Let’s just say, you won’t see it coming, but when it does, it all makes sense.

If you’re looking for a suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat experience, this one is absolutely worth your time.

WOW i am truly convinced there is no genre that julie soto cannot write.

this book had me in an insane chokehold from start to finish?! i was a little hesitant when this book was first put on netgalley as i tend to only really read YA when its fantasy, but im so happy i decided to give it a shot with the audio!! it was incredible how well julie wrote out every single character, i felt like i was constantly being pulled in different directions with each friend whether or not i wanted to trust them or like/dislike them. all of the characters in this book felt extremely real and flawed and it really threw me back in time to my experiences and feelings as a teenager (and making me SO fucking happy i am no longer one 😂).

i am also so impressed with how easily julie was able to make me feel about certain characters, there was one of the friends that i just did NOT care for but i ended up feeling so soft (for lack of a better word??) towards. somewhere along the way i really found myself rooting for that character in general but also with jodi until the very end and i will remain extremely delulu that they did get to show up to that spring play and that maybe just maybe they got their happy ending 🥹

one thing i was totally not expecting with this book was the paranormal aspect, which i thought was WILD and really cool?! it kind of made me reminiscent of PLL??? and ill be straight up with you there were so many points where i was fully convinced emily was gonna come out with a “gotcha” moment simply bc of how much it reminded me of it 😂

this entire book was a rollercoaster of emotions honestly, it just felt like absolutely no one could catch a break and right when you thought they might be able to breathe for a second something else insane happens and brings the fear factor back in 😂

i will say the end feels very predictable, i dont feel like there were really any big surprises but not in a bad way??? i really liked how it was able to bring closure while still keeping everything a bit open ended. the epilogue was honestly fun as hell, it felt a little diabolical because wdym youre leaving me there and this potentially isnt going to be expanded on ever??? LOL

overall i had a really enjoyable experience with this book, i really look forward to seeing what julie does in the thriller genre (if she does more) eventually. i would honestly kind of really love seeing a time jump of these characters maybe getting tormented once again?? (too PLL of me??? 😜) i think it would be fun to see where that epilogue could take things for this friend group 🫣.

if you dont mind YA books then i would highly suggest giving this a try, i dont necessarily think its going to be for everyone whose a fan of julie’s previous work BUT if youre someone like me who doesnt go out of her way to try YA books but doesnt mind them in the grand scheme of things then i think you may have a great time with this one!!

Pretty good. The ending was kind of predictable and underwhelming for me personally. I do think this book could’ve been a bit shorter. But over all enjoyable.

ARC/ ALC review
Publication date is May 06 2025

Rating: 4,25 ⭐️

“The Thrashers” by Julie Soto is an YA mystery thriller. I was very happy to receive an ARC from St. Martin's Press and an ALC from Macmillan Audio (via Netgalley). Opinions from this review are completely my own.

I liked a lot Julie’s romance books and I am glad that she writes other genres well too.

The story starts with the tragic suicide of a 17 year old girl, Emily Mills, on prom night.
I was not expecting this but it was a good way of getting my attention.

The protagonist of the story is Jodi Dilon. She is part of a group of popular students called The Thrashers. Unlike the other 4 members (Zack Thrasher, Julian Hollister, Lucy Reed and Paige Montgomery), she is not rich or privileged. That is why she has insecurities and is afraid that she will one day be cast out of the group (or “thrashed”).
Emily wanted to be part of the group and ended up being a bit obsessed with Jodi. The police suspect the Thrashers bullied her, after finding her diary.

The audiobook is narrated by Eva Kaminsky and Jesse Vilinsky. They both did a good job with the characters and listening helped me immerse in the story.

I liked that the protagonist is an unreliable narrator and that there was a paranormal side to the story. We see the other characters only from Jodi’s perspective and that is part of the mystery.
The ending was surprising and left an opening for a sequel (I would read that).

Overall I enjoyed the book, only the start was a bit slow.

The Thrashers was a pretty decent book, for the most part. I felt engaged the whole time I was listening to the audiobook, and never felt like it dragged. The characters were an interesting mix, although I did have a hard time remembering which girl was which, especially when there were lots of rivals, sisters, stepmothers, and other female family members introduced.

I think mystery readers should know that this book has a supernatural element, since some folks (myself included) don't like the supernatural mixing things up when there's a mystery to be solved. It didn't ruin the book for me, but I likely wouldn't have chosen this book had I known there was so much of the supernatural involved.

CW: Alcoholism, suicide, family violence

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this ALC.

I know this is going to be hit or miss for adults since it is YA but I loved it! I fear that there will Be fans of Julie Soto that read this because of their love of her work when they typically don’t enjoy YA fiction and this end up not liking it.
Putting those folks aside.. this was a very well written and constructed YA paranormal thriller.

What I enjoy about YA besides the escapism and not feeling my age is that the young characters can make mistakes and interesting decisions and we don’t think twice because they are kids whose brains aren’t fully formed.

This book was fast paced and entertaining where I was able to get lost in the story where next thing I know it’s 1am and I still hadn’t gone to sleep. I actually can’t even put a finger on what I liked so much about it.

From the thriller standpoint it was clear how things were going to unravel with no big surprises but to me, it didn’t matter. The characters were incredibly flawed and selfish but you could see some common anxieties that plague teenagers sitting beneath the surface enabling young readers to be able to connect to them.

I was thankful to receive both an eARC as well as the audioALC which enabled me to do an immersive read which made the experience even better. One thing for I’ll point out is because the eARC is an uncorrected proof whereas the audio is a final version there can be some minor differences. Many times you don’t notice as they are typos but in this case there was a single word removed from the final version. That word (a name) stood out to me in a positive way (not the name being positive but the action taken) as I applaud the author and/or the editing team for having the foresight to make the change due to the current climate surrounding the name. While this won’t make sense to most, I still wanted to make note of it.

The narrator, Eva Kaminsky and Jesse Vilinsky did a great job with the narration. It was recorded a touch slow but not too bad and it was easily fixed by changing the playback rate. Full disclosure, most of the time I couldn’t tell when the voice actors were trading off! It was a seamless collaboration yams all the voices were handled well.

I am thankful to have gotten the ARC and ALC for free from Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

This title comes out May 6, 2025 and I can’t wait to get my own physical copy.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

10 stars.

This was such a good thriller! It gave me Jawbreaker vibes and I ate it up! I was intrigued the whole way through and that epilogue was fantastic! The narration was very enjoyable as well.

This was my first of Julie’s books but I will be reading more from her!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absolutely Unputdownable!

This book deserves all the hype it’s getting! I’m fairly picky with YA thrillers, and wow, was I not disappointed with this one! From the very first page, The Thrashers had me completely hooked. The exclusive friend group, the dark secrets, the eerie sense of something just being off—it all builds into a masterfully woven mystery.

Jodi Dillon is the perfect protagonist—relatable yet tangled up in a world she’s not sure she belongs in. The Thrashers are equal parts fascinating and terrifying, and as the tension escalates, the twists just keep coming. And Emily’s presence? Chilling. The epilogue? Jaw-dropping. You do have to suspend some belief but I didn’t see it coming!

If you love high-stakes drama, dark academia vibes, and a thriller that actually thrills, this is the book to read. Believe the hype—you won’t regret it!

Thank you, NetGalley & Macmillan Audio, for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this story! I was enthralled from the first chapter and really wish it didn’t end. The narrator was fantastic and did a great job at portraying the storyline perfectly, keeping you on your toes. Thank you for the opportunity to review!

Julie Soto's debut YA thriller is phenomenal! I love Soto's romances so much. I was not sure how she would translate to a young adult audience, and one seeking a thrilling story, at that! I could not stop listening to this audibook. The narrator was so engaging. I cannot wait to recommend it to my teen (and even adult) readers.

Is there anything that Julie Soto can't do?! I loved this. I'm not normally a Thriller girlie, but kept hearing great things about this. I loved it. Absolutely loved it.

The narrators did a phenomenal job! This was my introduction to both of them and I LOVED it!

The story was amazing, and I think the audio made me love ot even more