Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Seven for a Secret by Mary E. Roach introduces us to the character of New, an emancipated foster child, who came from a group home that housed girls no one cared about, girls who had nothing and no one but each other. Over a period of time eight girls disappeared never to return, only Nev returned. She returns to the town five years later searching for the answers of what happened to her ’sisters’.

This book deals with tough and realistic subjects that face individuals in foster care or in at-risk situations. If you are a fan of mystery, thriller, suspense, you should give this a try.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication Date: September 30, 2025

#SevenforaSecret #NetGalley

Told first person by the seventh girl to go missing from a foster home for teen girls, this book is dark and unsettling. The ending was not what I expected, and instead of cathartic, it was just sad.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

This was a tough story, but one that is so important. Readers follow Nev, a teenage girl who spent part of her adolescence in a group home for girls. While there, several of the girls went missing, including Nev--but she came back. Now Nev is older and returns to the town where all manner of dark things happened to her and her "sisters" in the home. I did find this a smidge difficult to follow at times, but I do think that occasional chaotic feel to the writing adds to the story in a sense, as Nev is unraveling memories and trying to figure out what happened years ago and what is happening in the present. I loved the relationships and solidarity between all the girls and absolutely did not see the ending coming. I'll be adding a copy of this to my classroom library!

I thought this was a really great young adult read. I enjoyed every aspect. The characters, setting and premise were all great!