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!!

This author is excellent! I haven’t read a book of hers that I didn’t enjoy! This book had me on edge the whole time!

Loved the book, especially since it’s based on true events that I have always been fascinated with. The story stood on its own but knowing that people went through this in real life is harrowing.

I love Noelle Ihli, and she is a must buy author for me!! This book is one of her weakest books, but it is a fast read and based on an interesting, scary true story.

I really appreciated the multiple POVs, and I found the child characters to be well written and genuine. My main issue with this book relates to the two mothers/adult FMCs. One made horrible decisions the entire time and one had a tortured past that was left underdeveloped and oddly placed. The plot was also very narrowed just because the plot is largely focused on a group of children underground, making it hard to add a lot of plot.

Overall, this book was a quick read. It kept me hooked. It was interesting to get inside the head of one of the kidnappers, and I think it was an interesting exploration of the human condition!

I recommend this to anyone looking for a thriller with no graphic details and a happy-as-can be ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an e-arc!! This is my second read from this author and I flew right through it!

Jessa is a bus driver for a daycare recreation program, a job she got recently as she tries to put her life back together. Jessa has had some serious hardship in her life and is now focusing on the future so she can regain custody of her daughter, Sophie. Jessa doesn’t love the bus driving job, but it’s stable enough employment that will pay the bills.

One day when Jessa is driving a bus full of 10 kids, she comes across a bright orange detour sign in the road. The road ahead looks fine, but she worries if she ignores it she could get ticketed or even lose her job. Although Jessa has a weird feeling about it, she follows the detour down a dirt road in a cherry orchard and quickly realizes it was a trap.

Two men with guns come to the bus, grabbing Jessa and the students and taking them hostage. No one knows who they are, what they want or what their plans are. Things get even more terrifying when they’re all placed in an underground bunker in the dark.

Meanwhile, the kidnappers send a ransom note to a mother of two of the kidnapped girls- who also happens to be treasurer of the city. They know that she has access to at least $2 million in city funds, so they decide to use it against her: no cops, no other parents, no one else can know about the ransom.

This book is told in a few different perspectives: Jessa the bus driver, 12-year-old kidnap victim Sage, kidnapper Ted, and Sheena, mother of Sage and Bonnie.

As Sheena works to fulfill the ransom and get the kids back, everyone in the bunker works together to try to get out. They have no idea if the kidnappers are planning on killing them or not, but they have to believe they may be fighting for their lives.

I read this so fast, I couldn’t put it down because I couldn’t wait to find out what was happening next! I thought all of the various POVs were really effective for the storytelling, and I also liked hearing all of the backstories of each of these characters. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone that likes mystery or thrillers.

This is my first book by Noelle West Ihli and I will definitely be checking out her backlist. This book was tense in fast paced. It felt suffocating and I could really feel the emotions of the kids.

Ten students and their bus driver, buried in a shipping container at an isolated quarry... A desperate mother, ransome note in hand...The two desperate kidnappers, arguing about their next step... This thriller alternates between multiple points of view. They're all necessary, but the plot moves slowly and I had a hard time picturing what was acutally happening in the buried shipping container. The dimensions I was picturing in my head didn't seem to match up with the author's intent and it was a constant distraction. Things moved slowly until the end when I finally started to worry about the characters and their fate.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

As always my reviews are spoiler free.

2/5 for me.

I really wanted to like the book. I've been following Noelle for a while and I genuinely wanted to enjoy this one too.

Maybe it was just me but I couldn't emotionally connect to the characters. It was high stakes yes and it had me on the edge of my seat but I put the book down. Nothing was tethering me to keeping reading until I knew what would happen. Because I could predict what was going to happen. And I'm not talking about the ending. You're going into the book knowing it'll all be okay. But the part when the stakes are about to be raised, that was predictable too.

To be honest, I can't recommend reading this book. Will I recommend the author's other books? Definitely yes.

This book was an absolute delight to read! It had everything I look for — engaging writing, memorable characters, and a story that stayed with me long after I turned the last page. The author’s voice is distinct and compelling, making it easy to get lost in the world they created, no matter the genre.

I'm incredibly grateful to the publisher for the early copy. It was such a joy to read this in advance, and I can’t wait for more readers to experience it. Highly recommend!

I have heard so many things about this author and so I decided to try this book by her and it did not disappoint. While it is based on a true story. It held my attention and I flew through this one. One felon bus driver and a busload of kids are kidnapped and held for ransom by two unhinged me . This is the story told from the perspective of the bus driver, a student, the mom of one of the children and one of the men. Definitely recommend. Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC. #SuchQuietGirls