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lily_grace7's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, and Murder
samantha_is_reading's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Rape, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Xenophobia, and Suicide
gabyngaway's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A fun murder mystery with twists at every turn. Satisfying ending with everything revealed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Car accident, Death, Child death, Murder, Abortion, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Rape
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Death of parent
In the very beginning of the book, the main character is going through a medical abortion. She is 15 and the father of the child is in his late 20s and works at the school.thatsssorachael's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I had fun with this book. Was it spectacular? No. Was it enjoyable? Definitely.
I did like Thomas' other book, Little Monsters, a lot more. It pulled me in way more than this one did. But I don't have any strong feelings about The Cheerleaders. It was a fun YA mystery, nothing more and nothing less.
I did like Thomas' other book, Little Monsters, a lot more. It pulled me in way more than this one did. But I don't have any strong feelings about The Cheerleaders. It was a fun YA mystery, nothing more and nothing less.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Gore, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
itsmeyseniab's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I'll start by saying that YA mysteries and I don't always get along. The plots always seem pretty generic, and being YA they don't tend to get into weird "what-the-hell" territory all that often. Reading the synopsis of this one really intrigued me, so I thought I was going to enjoy this but...
it was a whole lot of yikes from me.
The plot itself was fine, and I appreciate how Kara Thomas was not afraid to showcase some of the more intense issues that some teens/young adults face, but MAN did it feel yucky at times. I hate when authors add triggering things for "shock-value" or as plot devices and I felt as though Kara did that a LOT. For example important topics were included such as abortion, suicide, bullying, and domestic violence, but I just felt like they weren't handled well. They were just sort of "thrown in" at times and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Another issue I had was some of her word choices - for example, the phrase "real dad" was used on more than on occasion to distinguish between the main character Monica's biological father and stepfather who raised her practically her entire life) and it really irritated me. Just say biological? (I know this is such a minor complaint, but it's a pet peeve what can I say).
Monica was extremely unlikeable, and honestly all of the characters were pretty unmemorable. It was even hard for me to distinguish between the five cheerleaders throughout the novel and their deaths were the main conflict! I don't have much else to say simply because they gave me NOTHING to work with. I said what I said.
Overall this just fell really flat for me, and took me WAY longer to get through than it should've. There are plenty of other YA mystery/thrillers that I would recommend before I recommended this one. I applaud Kara Thomas for including hard-hitting topics in this (and I know that she does this in every book she has published) but I'm just not sure I feel the desire to pick up another.
it was a whole lot of yikes from me.
The plot itself was fine, and I appreciate how Kara Thomas was not afraid to showcase some of the more intense issues that some teens/young adults face, but MAN did it feel yucky at times. I hate when authors add triggering things for "shock-value" or as plot devices and I felt as though Kara did that a LOT. For example important topics were included such as abortion, suicide, bullying, and domestic violence, but I just felt like they weren't handled well. They were just sort of "thrown in" at times and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Another issue I had was some of her word choices - for example, the phrase "real dad" was used on more than on occasion to distinguish between the main character Monica's biological father and stepfather who raised her practically her entire life) and it really irritated me. Just say biological? (I know this is such a minor complaint, but it's a pet peeve what can I say).
Monica was extremely unlikeable, and honestly all of the characters were pretty unmemorable. It was even hard for me to distinguish between the five cheerleaders throughout the novel and their deaths were the main conflict! I don't have much else to say simply because they gave me NOTHING to work with. I said what I said.
Overall this just fell really flat for me, and took me WAY longer to get through than it should've. There are plenty of other YA mystery/thrillers that I would recommend before I recommended this one. I applaud Kara Thomas for including hard-hitting topics in this (and I know that she does this in every book she has published) but I'm just not sure I feel the desire to pick up another.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Abortion, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Rape, Mental illness, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Mass/school shootings
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