Review: Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala

Death in the Cards 

by Mia P. Manansala

Release Date: May 13, 2025

2025 Delacorte Press

Ebook ARC; 336 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593897928

ASIN: B0DHG7HB1M

Audiobook: B0DHSRSTVN

Genre: Fiction / YA / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Danika Dizon is a natural problem-solver. Thanks to her private investigator mom and mystery author dad, she's equipped with the skills to offer guidance to anxious classmates who come to her for a tarot reading between classes. For a price, of course.

But when one of her clients vanishes shortly after they're dealt a death card, the girl’s younger sister Gaby begs Danika to figure out what went wrong. Danika takes on the case, thinking it's the perfect way to prove to her parents that she should be an official investigator in the family’s detective agency.

What starts off as a compelling challenge quickly devolves into something darker as Danika and Gaby peel back layer after layer of the secret life the missing girl has been living. A life that those involved would do anything to keep from being revealed…

 

My Thoughts

Death in the Cards was a fun mystery novel featuring a main character whose knowledge of tarot cards helps her earn money on the side, but also lands her in the middle of her first murder/mystery.  Because she aspires to be a private investigator like her mother, she is somewhat excited, if unnerved, by the behaviour of one her clients during a tarot reading, and when that client goes missing just hours later, she wants to be involved in the investigation as she felt she was responsible for what happened.

 

Danika was a character who struggled with several things in her life making her quite empathetic and realistic. She wanted to be more active in her mom's investigation business, but her mother insisted she do chores that sidelined her in the business not really understanding her mother was protecting her and trying to keep her safe for as long as possible. I enjoyed the dynamics between mother and daughter and thought it was quite realistic, with high expectations as well as strict rules and regulations regarding her comings and goings.  And while Danika was upset at some of the rules, she still followed them.  

 

The representation was another of this book strengths and I really admired the lengths to which the author included so much of the culture. Not only do we have the American-Filipino community (and the food made me salivate), but there was also Danika's struggles with her sexuality. I loved that she was so clueless when it came to her friends. She could see clues all around her, but couldn't see a hint coming from any of her friends with regards to her behaviour towards them, something that was addressed in a wonderful way in this book.  Danika was so used to giving advice through her tarot readings, but did not know how to take her own advice or open her eyes to her own behaviour.  I am really glad romance wasn't the center of this book, but what was there was quite interesting and I am curious to see where the author takes the relationships next as I think there will be another book.

 

The mystery itself was interesting, if predictable, but it wasn't what kept me reading this book.  Having a friend who uses tarot cards to guide her choices, I like how they were used in this book as a reference and to perhaps help with choices one has to make, but doesn't give clues to help solve the mystery. That was entirely on Danika and her family. I think this would have been a very different book otherwise, one I may not have liked. 

 

Verdict

Death in the Cards was enjoyable and I thought the characters were interesting and well-developed.  I did think some of the sections moved a bit slowly and were somewhat repetitive, and I did find the mystery predictable. However, the overall reading experience was fun and the ending was done in such a way that I am expecting a sequel to this book. I definitely hope so! 

 

 

 

 

 

Review: We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough

We Live Here Now

by Sarah Pinborough

Release Date: May 20, 2025

2025 Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar

Ebook & Audiobook ARC; 291 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250394057

ASIN: B0DHV5DGJT

Audiobook: B0DN25LRDS

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

2 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

After an accident that nearly kills her, Emily and her husband, Freddie, move from London to a beautiful Dartmoor country house called Larkin Lodge. The house is gorgeous, striking—and to Emily, something about it feels deeply wrong. Old boards creak at night; fires extinguish; and books fall from the shelves—all of it stemming from the terrible presence she feels in the third-floor room.

But these things happen only when Emily is alone, so are they happening at all? She is still medically fragile. Freddie does not notice anything odd and is happy with their chance at a fresh start. She, however, starts to believe the house is haunted by someone who had been murdered in it even though she can find no evidence of a wrongful death. As bizarre events pile up and her marriage starts to crumble, Emily becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about Larkin Lodge. But just as the house has secrets so do Emily and her husband.

 

My Thoughts

We Live Here Now had all the elements that would make a good story as there was a house in the woods that had a history of strange things happening within it, neighbours who made odd comments about the house, things that went bump in the night, hallucinations, secrets, and a marriage on the rocks. But when you have main characters that are just unlikeable and you can't relate to them, and a writing style that is simply way too repetitive, this destroys any tension or suspense in the book and just makes you roll your eyes.

 

First of all, I don't need to like the characters in order to enjoy a book, but I do need to understand their motives and understand why they act the way they do. These two main characters, Freddie and Emily are just not likeable as they are spiteful, narcissistic, and mean, and boy, do they hold grudges.  It just makes it so hard to care what happens to them and honestly, I was hoping one of the ravens (even they were awful) would pick them off and we would just be done with the story.  I couldn't even distinguish between the secondary characters at the moment, and I just finished this a month ago.  Unfortunately, they were just as one-dimensional as the main characters. Again, the characters don't have to be likeable, but they do need to have some depth, some personality to them, and these just...didn't.

 

The story itself was intriguing, but unfortunately it was quite repetitive and nothing really happened until the last ten percent of the book.  There were very few haunting elements, but more discussions about Emily's illness and whether she was seeing hallucinations. You can imagine where the story went from there when you have two people who live together, but don't necessarily like each other and are scheming against each other.  It really is a shame though, as the actual story was quite interesting and I would have loved to have the author really develop the concept and make it a lot more creepy and eerie than it was. It could have been so much more, if you can forgive the pun, ...haunting. 

 

Verdict

We Live Here Now just missed the mark and spent too much time focusing on things that really destroyed the tension and suspense of the story. Instead of focusing on the actual mystery, the author chose to focus on two main characters and their relationship issues which really destroyed the overall effect for me simply because the story became too repetitive and the characters were just not developed. By the time we got to something interesting, I was just trying to get this book over with and simply lost interest.  

 

Review: In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World by Matt Bobkin & Adam Feibel

In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World

by Matt Bobkin & Adam Feibel

Release Date: June 3, 2025

2025 House of Anansi Press

Ebook ARC; 344 Pages

ISBN: 978-1487012687

ASIN: B0D87H9DD2

Genre: Non-Fiction / Music

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Drawing on exclusive interviews and personal stories from nine artists of the era, In Too Deep explores how Canada became the improbable birthplace of a new age of punk icons. Covering the rowdy punk rock of Gob and Sum 41, the arena-sized ambitions of Simple Plan and Marianas Trench, the reinvention of the popstar by Avril Lavigne and Fefe Dobson, and the quest to bring hardcore into the mainstream by Billy Talent, Silverstein, and Alexisonfire, In Too Deep traces the evolution of a music scene that challenged notions of who and what should be considered punk while helping to define Millennial culture as some of their generation’s first superstars.

 

My Thoughts

In Too Deep was a blast to read, and I definitely enjoy the trip back to my teenage years listening and watching MuchMusic videos. To be honest, I have actually forgotten about some of these videos and I did spend considerable time on Youtube watching old videos of Avril Lavigne, Sum 41, Gob, and Billy Talent.  What a blast to the past that was!! But on a more serious note, this book had a great blend of the creative genius behind these bands as well as their personal lives and fight to get to the top. 

 

This book is definitely written by authors who love the punk rock scene, but also acknowledge the difficulties of Canadian artists breaking into the international market. With the chapters broken into discussions around individual artists, I appreciated the different ways the artists broke the mold and became huge hits both in Canada, the US, and internationally. There's chapters on Gob, Simple Plan, Sum 41, Avril Lavigne, Silverstein, Billy Talent, Marianas Trench, Fefe Dobson, and Alexisonfire.  I understand there are more punk rock bands in Canada and not all of them can be mentioned in this book, but I certainly enjoyed learning more about the ones that were highlighted. There were even connections made with Finger Eleven and Nickleback, and a lot of American bands were mentioned as well, such as Blink 182, but only because they were associated with the Canadian bands through tours and for other reasons. 

 

While the book focused mainly on artists who exploded during the 1990s, there were some descriptions of those artists who were also on scene during the 1970s and 1980s, and while it would be interesting to learn more about their influence, this was not the book for that. I also spent a lot of time in the bibliography and read all the footnotes as I like to read biographies of musical artists and I was looking to further my reading experience. Personally, I enjoyed those as much as the book and I was amazed to learn how much of this book came from the authors' personal interviews with the artists. 

 

Verdict

In too Deep was a fun book to read and for someone who hasn't necessarily kept up with some of the bands, it was good to learn more about them. I appreciated the research that went into this book including original and new interviews with band members and producers as well as other credible sources. Honestly, if you are a music fan in general, you should take a look at this book. Highly recommend!

 

 

 

Review: On My Honor: The Secret History of the Boy Scouts of America by Kim Christensen

On My Honor: The Secret History of The Boy Scouts of America

by Kim Christensen

Release Date: February 11, 2025

2025 Grand Central Publishing

Harcover ARC; 336 Pages

ISBN: 978-1538726730

ASIN: B0D5X3BR7N

Audiobook: B0D6WLYLFM

Genre: Fiction / True Crime / History

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Since its founding in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has been the nation’s premier youth organization, espousing self-reliance and honor. More than 100 million Americans have been Boy Scouts, from Bill Gates to Martin Luther King Jr. Today, however, Scouting faces an existential threat of its own as more than 82,000 former Scouts have filed claims alleging they were sexually abused—seven times the number of similar allegations that rocked the Catholic Church two decades ago.
 
The Scouts’ indefensible practices remained all but hidden until 2012, when Kim Christensen and his colleague published a series of explosive articles for the LA Times, blowing up a century of secrecy. Now, continuing his decades-long investigation, On My Honor untangles the full story of the Boy Scouts of America, tracking its creation, growth, influence, and the massive generational trauma it has caused. Using the iconic institution to tell a story of American values over the last century, the book grapples with America’s changing understanding of what it means to “make men.”    

 

My Thoughts

On My Honor was an interesting read, and I thought the author did a great job highlighting the growth of the organization as well as cultural context as to why it was so incredibly popular for so many years. However, there was a dark side to it, one that hid many secrets to protect itself rather than protect the people it served, and while I don't think the book quite highlights the entirety of the horror that happened or the full context of the agendas by those who tried to keep it all hidden, it does serve as a good read to get an understanding of the corruption that can happen in such a society and the steps that need to be taken to prevent this from happening in the future. 

 

The nature of the sexual crimes is very gruesome, but for me, it was definitely the unapologetic nature of the BSA that set my teeth on edge throughout the book.  Here's an interesting quote from the book that seems to sum up what the victims felt throughout the process,

 

""There's a real feeling of 'I was abused as part of a bad system,' and here I find myself in another system - a system that is set up to accommodate or look after the needs of the Boy Scouts, not the survivors,"...After the first public bankruptcy hearing, in which the judge said that the primary goal was to preserve the Boy Scouts' mission, Kennedy said his phone had exploded with calls from exasperated survivors...'Why is the judge so concerned with them and their mission?'...So again, it's this feeling among myself and [other] survivors of just 'Here we are, getting abused by another system.'"

 

What's particularly disturbing is the reluctance of the BSA to admit culpability in what happened, to admit they failed to protect the children under their care, and to be more concerned with the state of the organization itself rather than the children who were abused.  The BSA had a comprehensive list of abusers they kept secret and repeatedly mentioned how worthless the list is for the public. Holy wow! A list of abusers, their offenses, why they should be banned from the organization, and they thought it was worthless?  They kept losing lawsuits and finally declared bankruptcy to protect themselves. 

 

The author added several personal stories to his research, enough to get an idea how bad the abuse could be and included the life-long effects this abuse had on their life, their marriage, their personal relationships, some of whom committed suicide, fell into drugs and alcohol abuse, or even became abusers themselves. Reading their stories was heartbreaking. And for it to be dismissed so callously by an organization that was supposed to protect them breaks my heart. 

 

That being said, I was also not a fan of the lawyers involved in the scandal, taking advantage of the victims, looking for a huge payout themselves, charging exhorbitant fees, like sharks.  Not all the lawyers were like this, but some wanted 40% of the awards victims received. 

 

Verdict

On My Honor was an interesting read, but I am left with a bad taste in my mouth. Until the organization actually accepts responsibility for what happened and takes real steps to ensure this doesn't happen in the future, I think there will always be a black mark on their association and people will not be able to trust them.  And just to be clear, the author is not against these types of organizations; in fact, when run well they are definitely beneficial for children to be part of something like this as there are not a lot of opportunities for these kinds of activities any more. But, the BSA needs to do more than rebrand, in my opinion, they need to tear itself apart and really examine what got them into this mess in the first place so they can build on that and rebuild trust. It should not just be brushed under the rug. I tend to agree with Doug Kennedy, a former scout, when he says, "...the BSA has faced too little scrutiny for its handling of a sexual abuse problem that has devastated so many lives...'There has to be an investigation to find out who knew what, who's at fault and why didn't they do anything about it,...' I concur on that.  

 

  

 

Review: Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney

Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend

by Rebecca Romney 

Release Date: February 18, 2025

2025 S&S/Marysue Rucci Books

Softcover ARC; 455 Pages

ISBN: 978-1982190248

ASIN: B0CWNVBQPR

Audiobook: B0D7WDZCWJ

Genre: Non-Fiction / Historical / Biography / Literature / Women

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.75 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf investigates the disappearance of Austen’s heroes—women writers who were erased from the Western canon—to reveal who they were, what they meant to Austen, and how they were forgotten. Each chapter profiles a different writer including Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Charlotte Smith, Hannah More, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi, and Maria Edgeworth—and recounts Romney’s experience reading them, finding rare copies of their works, and drawing on connections between their words and Austen’s. Romney collects the once-famed works of these forgotten writers, physically recreating Austen’s bookshelf and making a convincing case for why these books should be placed back on the to-be-read pile of all book lovers today. 

 

My Thoughts

Jane Austen's Bookshelf was a comprehensive collection of short biographies outlining the lives and literary successes of a variety of women writers during the time period Jane Austen was flourishing, outlining the authors who may have had an impact/influence on Austen's own writing career. It's also a good investigation into why so many women writers during this time period are not as well known as Austen, how society trampled over the ambitions of these women, and how journalists and other writers downplayed the work of these writers, often attributing, erroneously, their contributions to male writers simply due to association. 

 

If you are a Jane Austen fan, then you will undoubtedly know she often made references to other women writers and their works in her books. Romney set about to discover more about these women writers, to learn more about their impact during their time periods as well as possible on Austen herself. 

 

The chapters include a variety of women, and while they contain as much biographical content to give the reader a good idea of what they suffered during their life, they also focused on their literary success, the impact it had on society, and the impact their works had on Romney's current reading and understanding of Georgian writers.  There are additional insights by Romney into the world of rare book collecting as she hunts for a variety of books that are contain information about these various authors. As a fellow bibliophile, I enjoyed Romney's search, and frustration, for these rare books as well as her discussions on their worth and what to look for in such rare books. As someone who hunts down rare books myself, I found these discussions fascinating and learned quite a bit.  

 

I thought the biographies of the women writers who influenced Austen were quite enjoyable and it made me want to dive back into the classics for a little while, something I haven't done for a few years. There are a couple of these women I have not yet read, so I appreciated the insights into their lives as well as Romney's thoughts as she read the books herself. There were moments when the descriptions did get a bit repetitive, and I felt like the author was losing the thread of her discussion and went off on a major tangent, but these were few and far between so it didn't bother me too much.   The additional insights into the publishing histories and policies, women's rights, discrimination, societal rules and restrictions, women's place in society, physical and mental abuse, suffering, and racial and gender discrimination were well thought out and made me think about the difficulties women went through to get their work published and accepted.  I did think this book would have benefited from photos about the books as that would have enhanced the descriptions. 

 

Verdict

Jane Austen's Bookshelf was an interesting read and will definitely be something that not only Austen fans will find enjoyable, but anyone who is interested in women writers during her era. One of my favourite classes at uni was a women's classic fiction course that was an elective (I was a science major), and I read some of these books for that class, but this book has made me interested in looking at some of those books again and exploring other women writers. I think this book will appeal to bibliophiles looking for more information on women writers without getting too bogged down in academic writings, and can be used as a launching pad to explore more in-depth if one wishes. For more academia minded people, I think this book will have too many descriptions about rare book collecting and other paraphernalia (such as her feelings and emotions about what she was reading) that cause it to not go in enough depth.   

 

Review: Nabukko by K.R. Gadeken

Nabukko (The Nabukko Trilogy, #1)

by K.R. Gadeken

Release Date: June 2, 2024

2024 K.R. Gadeken

Ebook Edition; 430 Pages

ISBN: 979-8990421301

ASIN: B0CZ68D35Q

Genre: Fiction / Science-Fiction

Source: Review copy from author

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Eff wakes up on a strange planet, with no memories of her past or how she got there. After months of solitary exploration, a chance encounter with a group of colonists changes everything, catapulting Eff into far more mysteries, secrets, and bizarre circumstances than she could have ever bargained for.

Can she trust these colonists? Why does she get the feeling they are hiding something? And how is she tied to their mysterious circumstances?

As tensions rise and allegiances shift, Eff must navigate the challenges of the planet, the colony, and her own fractured memories if she hopes to uncover the truth.

 

 

My Thoughts

Nabukko is the first book in an intended trilogy, and I found this to be really intriguing. I really enjoy science-fiction books that are more mystery-related rather than military (although I love those too!), and I especially love it when we have an unreliable narrator.  Eff doesn't have memories of what happened three months prior and when she learns the other colonists are suffering from a similar fate, albeit not quite as severe as she, she undertakes to discover what is happening to her and to the others.  There was a lot of mystery surrounding Nabukko and I love how the author doesn't just tell you everything, but you have to figure things out for yourself, like peeling away the layers of an onion.

 

First of all, it took me quite a while to realize how unreliable Eff was as the narrator. Once I started cluing in, I actually liked her a lot more as the tension kind of leveled up and I became invested in trying to figure out what was happening to her memories and what was happening around her. With little episodes of nightmares thrown into the mix, you start to get an eerie idea of what went down, but not all of the pieces fit at this point. Despite the fact that Eff is not always believable, I did like her character development and enjoyed her as a character. She was actually quite clever and quite uncanny, able to distinguish when someone was lying to her or withholding information.  I enjoyed the friendships she formed and thought the relationships were quite interesting. The secondary characters were quite entertaining and added a lot of depth to the story as well as some much needed comic relief. 

 

The plot is rather gripping and I didn't mind that it was a bit slow towards the beginning as the author used the time to set up characters as well as some intriguing plot points that would play a huge role later in the story. As I've mentioned, there are some pacing issues, but I didn't mind these too much as the strong world-building more than made up for the issues.  There were quite a few twists and turns, some of which were predictable, some of which caught me off guard. And I was definitely not expecting that ending!

 

Verdict

Nabukko was a very entertaining science-fiction novel with great world-building, strong character development, and some interesting twists and turns. While the pacing had some issues, I was able to overlook that by focusing on the rather intriguing mystery of why Eff was on the planet and how the colonists figured into her problem.  The secrets were revealed bit by bit and the author's style was to let the author figure things out, a style I really appreciated. I am looking forward to starting the next book soon.  

 

 

 

Review: Bochica by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro

Bochica

by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro

Release Date: May 13, 2025

2025 Atria/Primero Sueno Press

Ebook ARC; 256 Pages

ISBN: 978-1668062579

ASIN: B0DHV14VQJ

Audiobook: B0DLCRMMH2

Genre: Fiction / Horror / Gothic

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

2 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

In 1923 Soacha, Colombia, La Casona—an opulent mansion perched above the legendary Salto del Tequendama waterfall—was once home to Antonia and her family, who settle in despite their constant nightmares and the house’s malevolent spirit. But tragedy strikes when Antonia’s mother takes a fatal fall into El Salto and her father, consumed by grief, attempts to burn the house down with Antonia still inside.

Three years later, haunted by disturbing dreams and cryptic journal entries from her late mother, Antonia is drawn back to her childhood home when it is converted into a luxurious hotel. As Antonia confronts her fragmented memories and the dark history of the estate, she wrestles with unsettling questions she can no longer Was her mother’s death by her own hands, or was it by someone else’s?

My Thoughts

Bochica definitely had a lot going for it, but the execution fell flat for me. Despite a haunted atmosphere, creepy things that go bump in the night, secrets galore, a haunted mansion, ghosts, cryptic journals, and a mystery, nothing really happened. Nothing. I really wanted to like this one, but the whole thing fell flat, from beginning to end.

 

What I did like and appreciate were the legends and discussions about the Muisca people as I didn't really know a lot about them. Learning about the different figures that play an important role in the spiritual life of the Muisca people was fascinating, and I really wish the author had used that a bit more in the story. There was also some discussion about the impact of the Spanish colonization and how it affected the people and some of the steps they took to protect the land. However, that being said, there were also a lot of tropes being used as well to depict Indigenous peoples, some of them discombobulated and contrary to what was originally mentioned, and I did have a problem with that. If you are going to use something to be a red herring, don't use these misconceptions as that is not very impressive.  There was also a lot of discussion about women and their role in Colombian society during the 1930s and how frustrating it could be for a woman who wanted to do something different than be a wife and mother. Women's roles were very limited during this time period and I empathized with a FC who wanted to do something more with her life and felt constrained by the men around her. The idea that a woman has to become evil in order to get what she wants in society should have been discussed more in the novel as I think that was an important theme in this book.

 

Antonia herself is a strong-willed character, but she is pretty one-dimensional in nature and we don't really get to know her very well. We don't learn very much about her time in the mansion, something I thought would have been important to the story. Despite the theme of women's rights running through the book, the author chose to have Antonia in a relationship for her to get out of her situation rather than on her own merits, something I did not appreciate.  The story itself was pretty formulaic and predictable, and despite all the elements available to give one the creeps, there was actually nothing to the story.  There were many plot holes and so many things were just glossed over in such a way that the reader was supposed to just accept them. Not this reader.

 

Verdict

Bochica had a lot of potential, but more emphasis on creating a plot that the reader has to figure out rather than a reader just accepting how things are would be beneficial. I had high hopes for this book, but this definitely could have used some editing to make it more powerful.  Overall, I think this suffered from a plot full of holes, a story that had potential but essentially was more in the nature of telling you what was happening rather than letting you figure it out, and little suspense.  

 

Review: The Thrashers by Julie Soto

The Thrashers

by Julie Soto

Release Date: May 6, 2025

2025 Wednesday Books

Ebook ARC; 352 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250377173

ASIN: B0CW9FRZM9

Audiobook: B0DFR9YZSV

Genre: Fiction / YA / Thriller

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Welcome to the Thrashers, the elite friend group at New Helvetia High. They’re everything everyone wants to be.

Jodi Dillon was never meant to be one of them. Julian, Lucy, Paige, and the infamous Zack Thrasher are rich, sophisticated, and love attention. Jodi feels out of place, but Zack’s her childhood best friend, so she’s in.

Then Emily Mills, who desperately wanted to be a Thrasher, dies—and the whispers about the Thrashers begin. As Emily’s journal surfaces, detectives close in, and Jodi faces an impossible choice: betray her friends or protect herself. But as eerie messages and strange occurrences escalate, it becomes clear—Emily isn’t done with them yet.

 

My Thoughts

The Thrashers follows a group of five high school seniors over the course of a year as they navigate not only their senior year, but also an investigation into the death of one of their classmates, the blame being put on them and their behaviour towards not only their classmate, but for their behaviour in general. Known as ‘The Thrashers’, this ‘it’ group has a lot of power at school and is known to ‘thrash’ people with whom they no longer wish to be associated. I enjoyed this book as it was so much deeper than I anticipated at first, and although the plot was fairly predictable for the most part, the ending totally caught me by surprise.  

I think the author did a great job creating characters not only with whom I empathized, but ones that were also morally grey and quite complex. So many YA novels depend on tropy type behaviour and often use miscommunication to propel a plot forward, but the author made her characters go through some pretty complex emotional trauma, exploring a lot of topics throughout the book. While it’s been years since I’ve been in high school, I have taught it for years, so I thought the author captured a lot of the complexity of navigating high school life with characters that were definitely not perfect, had to reflect not only on their previous behaviours but also on their relationships and how they treated people, and were dealing with current crises due to some of their choices in the past. Each of the characters had their own distinct voices, and while most of the book was told from Jodi’s POV, the author did not forget about the other characters and worked hard to make them unique and well-developed as well. 

The plot itself was quite engaging and the way the mystery was wrapped up within the daily life of the main characters was interesting.  With mysterious text messages from a person unknown, to a secret diary, to incidents happening, the MCs had to lean on each other to try to figure out what was happening, but they also had to keep their distance for reasons which will become clear as you read. They were in a difficult position trying to navigate the investigation into Emily’s death as well as navigate daily high school life as a senior and the author did not hold anything back when it came to exploring themes. Suicide, date rape, trauma, depression, alcoholism, physical assault, car accidents, drug use, abuse, culpability, loss of a loved one, bullying (including cyberbullying), and consequences were all explored throughout the pages of this book, to a depth that was quite satisfying. It was not glossed over or avoided, but the author made the characters face the truth of their actions and deal with the consequences, something that made me quite happy.  

I wish the author had spent more time exploring Jodi’s behaviour with regards to Zach as that is an area I feel needed more development and was worth discussing. It sounds vague, but I don’t want to give any spoilers from the story. When you read it, you will understand. 

Verdict
The Thrashers was a fascinating look at a group of five teenagers who made poor decisions and had to face the consequences of those decisions. It definitely went a lot deeper than I had anticipated and explored a lot of themes. The ending caught me by surprise, something that surprised me considering a lot of the book was somewhat predictable, and I am really hoping there will be a sequel.  Otherwise, I definitely recommend this book if you like well-developed characters and an interesting plot.