I enjoyed this book, I read it in one sitting. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the first few chapters. This author does a great job of creating suspense and keeping you in it for the whole ride. I would highly recommend anyone who loves a good fast paced thriller to pick this one up.

I recently received a copy of Such Quiet Girls and I am eager to share my thoughts on it.

This book is an emotional roller coaster, with a narrative that had my heart racing. The use of multiple perspectives, including those of Jessa, Sage, Sheena, and one of the kidnappers, adds depth to the story. However, the book deals with sensitive topics, such as child endangerment, domestic abuse, and kidnapping. Without revealing too much, the plot revolves around the kidnappers' demands for ransom and the captives' struggles to survive underground. Sheena's desperation to rescue her daughter adds an extra layer of tension. Overall, it's a gripping tale that kept me on the edge of my seat. Interestingly, the story is inspired by the real-life Chowchilla kidnapping.

This book is so good! Based on a true story, I loved the themes of courage, bravery, friendship, and hope. A must read!

Whew! Heart pounding thriller but that ending bout had me in tears!!

Excellently written! Four POV, Sage the oldest daughter of Sheena, Sheena, Jessa the bus driver and Ted one of the kidnappers.

Easy to follow.

A bunker, a devious plan, a mom who’ll do anything to get her girls back, a bus driver who is trying to redeem herself after an event in her past. Woven together greatly!

Loving more and more by this author.

Thanks to netgalley for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Noelle delivers, yet again. There’s something about her writing that gets to your core. She isn’t afraid to push the envelope and to write about situations that are less than warm and fuzzy. She takes our worst fears and brings them to life. Reminding us we can never be too careful.

As a Mother, this book pushed me past my comfort zone, raised every hair on my head and gave me full body chills. I love Noelle’s writing style and bold topics. I’m still recovering from this story!!

Another great read by Noelle West Ihli. I have seen some reviews where they found it predictable, but this was based on a true story, so that didn't bother me. Reading it from the perspective of the bus driver with a less-than-stellar past (on paper) and a few of the children is what set this book apart for me. The dynamic between the teacher and the students hits you in the feels because these young children were able to be there for the teacher just as the teacher was there for them in this situation. The student who helped save these children by risking her life showed me just how much books and other positive strong female role models can influence what a young girl feels they are able to do. This does have to be one of those books that shows how a normal day or small actions can lead to something like this. Being cognizant of safety, not blindly trusting, etc is always important. I will always recommend this and all of Ihli's books to friends and family.

My first Noelle Ihli novel, and I now completely understand her popularity! She has delivered a amazingly face-paced, suspenseful thriller! I couldn’t stop reading. Thrillers with children involved always have me highly invested and so I had to read this in one go, to find out how it ended before time ran out for the victims. Such a heart wrenching read that I will definitely be reading again!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dynamite Books and the author for the ARC of this book.

I seem to be in the minority but I really didn't like this book. I found the characters to be frustrating and hard to connect to. I often had to put the book down and found myself reluctant to pick it back up again.

I can see how it would be a great read for some but I feel like this author just might not be for me.

Noelle W. Ihli is an auto read author for me, yet I will never understand why I always find my self surprised at how much I have enjoyed my reading experience as I turn the final page of any of her books (okay technically I’m using my Ereader but that doesn’t sound nearly as poetic and you get my point!)

I love that Ihli’s books are often inspired by true events, and they always make me wonder: if I were faced with the same situation, what would I actually do?

Such Quiet Girls, inspired by the 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping, is one of those stories that had my heart racing as I wondered what would happen next. The volume level at which I gasped at several points while reading was completely out of control—I felt like I was right there in the story, living it alongside the characters. Most of all, as a domestic violence survivor, I deeply appreciated Ihli’s portrayal of the abuse experienced in the book. It was written in a way that never came across as victim-blaming, which is something I truly value.

Such Quiet Girls was inspired by the 1976 kidnapping of 26 kids and 1 bus driver and buried underground known as the Chowchilla kidnapping.

But how do you kidnap multiple kids on a bus and not be found? Is it possible with technology today? Trackers for phones, watches, gps maps, etc.

Jessa is a new bus driver for an after school child center. She’s been on the job for a week. She’s also a struggling mom who doesn’t have custody of her own 9 year old daughter, but her sister does. She’s secretly a felon who lied in her job application just to get this job.

As the kidnapping unfolds, the story focuses on two of the ten kids.

On her bus are sisters, Sage (6th grade) and Bonnie (1st grade). Sage is the oldest on the bus and taller than the bus driver, Jessa. She’s strong willed and as much as her little sister annoys her, she is protective of her.

Sheena is Sage and Bonnie’s mom and also works for the city council. The kidnappers peg her for the ransom note as she has access to the most money. As a mom and the daughter of a police officer, she finds herself in a position where she needs to either listen to her gut and follow the kidnappers demands or call the police and risk the lives of everyone.

As mom, I’m not sure what I would do. I can say I’d let the police know, but in the moment, would I?

This was a gripping story that kept my attention. The fact that it was inspired by a true story also kept me interested!

Thanks @Netgalley and @DynamiteBooks for this advanced digital copy.

As always, Noelle Ihli delivered with a face-paced, suspenseful thriller! I couldn’t stop reading because I HAD to find out how it ended before time ran out for the victims. Such a heart wrenching read as well because I’m a mother and can’t imagine the horror of having your children go missing from a place you trust.

<b> 3.5 stars </b>

Haven’t read a thriller like this in… well, ever, I think?

The story follows a group of girls who are kidnapped on their way home from school and their harrowing struggle to escape. The narrative is told through multiple POVs, giving you a broader look into the events and the people involved.

One of my favorite aspects was reading from the perspective of one of the kidnappers—watching his internal conflict and wavering conscience unfold was really interesting. Unfortunately, the author didn't include on final chapter in his POV after the 'grand finale' which I found quite unsatisfying.

The book is pretty fast-paced, which made it an easy read overall. It dragged a little in the middle, but picked up nicely in the final third.

What didn’t work as well for me was Sage’s POV. The author seemed to be trying very hard to make her sound like a child, but it ended up feeling a bit forced and unrealistic.

Some parts of the ending also felt a little too convenient and predictable—but that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.

If you're looking for something that breaks away from the typical murder-thriller formula, this one is worth a shot!

<i> Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. </i>

Imagine waiting for your child to get home off the bus and it never arrives. Nobody knows what happened to this bus, it's driver or the other students on it. Now imagine your either the driver or a student who has been kidnapped and you're forced underground into a buried cargo container of sorts. All aspects of this story is INTENSE! Noelle Ihli wastes absolutely no time putting you on the edge of your seat and she keeps you there until the end of the book.

Absolutely love Noelle Ihli's work! I am so thrilled and thankful to have received this ARC even if I didn't get a chance to read it until after it was published. Thank you so very much! Can't wait for your next one!

This author really knows how to write an unputdownable book. While it wasn’t my favorite of her books it was still good. I loved Sages character with her boldness and perseverance.

Love Noelle books and this one did not disappoint. It’s engaging and loosely based off a true story. I felt so many emotions reading this book.

Thank you to Dynamite Books for an advance reader copy of Such Quiet Girls by Noelle West Ihili. Inspired by a true story, a school bus full of children gets hijacked and they are buried alive in a shipping container underground. I loved the different points of view; the new bus driver who’s blaming herself, one of the kidnappers, one of the sisters buried, and the mom of two of the girls.
The pacing is quick with short chapters making it an easy book to read in a couple of sittings. The author does a good job of building tension and creating a sense of claustrophobia as the characters struggle to survive underground. I felt the stress and anxiety for the kids trying to escape knowing they were running out of air and also for the mother who is trying to secure the ransom money. The story is inspired by actual events, which adds an extra layer of gravity to the narrative. I wouldn’t call it super twisty, but there’s enough mystery to keep things interesting. Overall, it was decent — not something I’ll be raving about, but I don’t regret picking it up.

It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that Noelle Ihli is one of my favorite authors. Her books are horrifying and often creepy, but also oftentimes hopeful and triumphant as well. This book was no different. The women (and girls) in her books are so strong and smart and fleshed out and I love reading about them. I can't wait for her next book, 'Forget You Saw Her'

**Thank you Dunamite Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own**

Good idea, especially when the author tied in the history of the incident, but just an okay execution. Such Quiet Girls had a strong start and an interesting premise. I liked the tension and the mystery between the characters at first.

Some of the twists were easy to guess, the ending wrapped things up, but it wasn’t very surprising.

Overall, it was an okay read. Not bad, but not great either.

This book was amazing. It had me hooked from the very beginning. There was so much excitement and so many things going on that there was no way I was going to stop turning pages. This story is very thought provoking as anything is when children are involved. I definitely wasn't expecting the ending. Its quite a twist.

Umm….a novel based on the 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping?

Mam.

Tell. Me. Everything.

This book had my heart racing from the first couple of pages. It was riveting and incredible hard to put down, I think I tore through it in 2 days. The story is alternately told from the point of view of Jessa the bus driver, Sheena (mum of 2 of the kidnapped kids), Sage (one of the children kidnapped), and one of the kidnappers. Sage is the oldest kid on the bus and shines throughout the entire novel as an incredibly strong , brave and tenacious young woman. She is the hero we should all want to be and she sets aside her fears to take care of the group she was kidnapped with.
This is a must read!!