1.28k reviews for:

The Thrashers

Julie Soto

4.23 AVERAGE

marlimead's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

lisbbookshelfies's review against another edition

4.0

mysterious tense medium-paced

keikiqueen's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ashleejlei's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

klcrabill's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

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This was a very entertaining young adult mystery! Jodi is part of an exclusive group of seniors at New Helvetia High, one that is centered around Zach Thrasher. Everyone wants to be a part of “The Thrashers.” When Emily Mills, another student who was determined to be a Thrasher, commits suicide though, the cracks in group start to show. Weird things start happening to Lucy, Paige, Julian, Zach and Jodi and they realize that maybe they aren’t as invincible as they originally thought. 

I thought this was a super entertaining YA book. I really enjoyed the group dynamics, though I personally wanted a bit more characterization of The Thrashers. I did like that there were some paranormal aspects, and the epilogue was pitch perfect. I hope that Julie Soto makes this into a series, because the ending sort of lent it to be the beginning of one. Overall, this was a fast read that kept me wanting to figure out all the twists. Definitely recommend it if you enjoy a little bit of a popcorn thriller with a high school setting. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own. 

 

bethjanereads's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I’m so glad high school wasn’t like this for me 😂 so. much. drama. It was fun but I like Julie Soto’s rom coms better 

whisperingchapters's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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3.5 ⭐️ I devoured the audiobook for The Thrashers! It was totally giving Pretty Little Liars vibes, which I loved. There's drama, there're secrets, there're messy and complex characters that gave a mature edge to this YA Thriller.

What made the story lose its pull for me was the supernatural element—it felt like a cop out to explain away the target that the Thrashers had on their backs. I also wasn't a fan of how it tied to the ending, despite leaving me shocked—Ms. Soto is not being forgiven for that epilogue. Again, I think it was a cop out. If there hadn't been supernatural elements, I believe the story could've been more thrilling and interesting.

Still, it's worth reading! Julie Soto can truly write it all: Contemporary Romance, Romantasy, and now Thrillers!

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anu_ajit's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book was like a slow train wreck - the crash was inevitable, but the way we crash into that epilogue…ufffff.

Anyways, this book deals with a lot of dark themes of life - bullying, suicide, and addiction, to name a few. Emily wanted so badly to be a thrasher that she seems to have gone to extreme lengths. She is dead, however, not without implicating the popular clique that the school lovingly calls 'thrashers' as the reason behind her death. 

Jodi has never felt adequate enough to be a thrasher; she always felt like she wasn't enough and everyone was barely tolerating her presence. The whole Emily situation has her in a position she never wanted to be in - to testify against her best friends or maybe her best friend and his best friends?

Every single adult in this book except for Rosa and Grandma (and Greg Thrasher at the very end) pissed me off! Especially the detective, - there is something so wrong with an adult hell-bent on chasing down and implicating teenagers to the point of even wanting to frame them - just disgusting. 

The genre of this book is very ambiguous - the easiest way to explain it is sort of Riverdale with its explainable and unexplainable supernatural, with a whodunit mystery and a wtf is going on vibe. The atmosphere is very season 1 of that show. 

The last 2 books by Julie Soto I read were obviously her romances, which I quite enjoyed, so I expected this one to have a bit more romance in it, but I was wrong; she gave us just enough, imo. Now I am craving similar vibes.

roseayyy_reads's review against another edition

5.0

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

emma_j_b's review against another edition

3.5

mysterious medium-paced

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I was very intrigued and needed to know what actually happened to Emily and who was involved