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reedandright's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Violence
Minor: Racism, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Sexism
haley49's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really really enjoyed this book. Ya thrillers are very hit or miss and this hit the majority of its beats. I enjoyed the story of sisterhood and how women are often perceived a certain way and it impacts how they are treated by the men in power. I liked the brief inclusion on how this perception of women impacts races differently.
However, it did slip up in the end and the cause-effect did not seem to add up for certain characters and the ending was a but abrupt.
However, it did slip up in the end and the cause-effect did not seem to add up for certain characters and the ending was a but abrupt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexism, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
eyeofthestorm's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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
5.0
I loved this book and read it in one day. it's a story focused on two sisters who even though they are not perfect people I actually found very likeable. The story is about the pressures girls face particularly
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism, Addiction, Pregnancy, Racism, Abortion, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Death
bethany_grace's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
RAVEN???!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Medical content, Bullying, Child death, Gore, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Murder
emily_mh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was such an improvement from They Wish They Were Us, which aside from problematic books I read, was probably the worst book of 2021 for me. They’ll Never Catch Us was more enjoyable, the message on misogyny and sexism shone through, and the conclusion was much better. I also liked how Goodman didn’t sanitise how teenagers act. I did have three major criticisms, though. The first is that Ellie and Stella’s voices were incredibly similar. I sometimes had to check halfway through a chapter whose perspective I was reading from. The second is that the inciting incident didn’t happen until 37% through the book, so it was quite a slow start. The third is spoilery: essentially, I wished the cold cases played a bigger part in the mystery. Because they were already technically solved before the book began, I would have liked a more definitive statement that X person definitely did do Y but the police screwed it up, rather than X person probably did Y but the police screwed it up. Regardless of these criticisms, this book has shown me that They Wish They Were Us was probably a one-off bad book, so I’m interested in what Goodman writes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Murder, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Infidelity
Moderate: Cursing, Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, and Drug abuse
Minor: Bullying, Sexual assault, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Blood, Alcohol, Mental illness, Racism, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Body shaming
lottie3126's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
They'll never catch us by Jessica Goodman was definitely interesting. I will say that murder mysteries aren't really my 'thing' but I read it anyway since it's about running. I didn't love the writing style and sometimes I felt that it was doing a lot more telling rather than showing and it made the novel feel kind of bland. Although it was like this majority of the time, there was definitely a lot of detail and thought gone into the running scenes and I could really relate to it. This book cover lots of really important topics and themes and did so pretty well. I wouldn't necessarily outright recommend this book to anyone, but if somebody asked then I would say that it was a good read and to definitely give it a go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Racism
colleensreadingadventures's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Welcome to Edgewater High. A school where fellow track mates will do anything, and I mean anything to make it to State and that coveted number one spot.
I was a runner in high school, so as I was reading this I was thanking my lucky stars I never attended a school quite like this. But also in reality my passion was short lived so I probably wouldn’t have been on any crazy competitive persons radar! 😂😂
I was highly anticipating They’ll Never Catch Us after being hooked on Jessica Goodman’s last novel, They Will Never Be Us. I really freaking enjoyed that book and was hoping for some of the same magic. I have to be honest friends, sadly…it did not live up to my expectations. 😢
The Steckler Sisters are promising high school track stars in a rural New York town called Edgewater. The town was nicknamed Deadwater after several of the residents young runners were found murdered in the span of a year right near a secluded trail. All killed in the same way and with the laces removed from their shoes. All of the sudden after murder number 3 the killings stopped, but are not forgotten with an unknown murderer still in the loose. The sisters will do whatever it takes to come in first place and obtain a coveted scholarship to a good college and leave this small but morbid city behind. To add to their pressure and give them even more competition, Mila who is a top scoring runner, has transferred in from another school and is a new edition to the track team. Both Stella and Ellie, who are at first wary seem to start a friendship with their new teammate. And even though they make like her they always have to remember at the end of the day Mila is another top competitor and has to be held at arms length.
One morning Mila doesn’t show up for school, or work. The next day her Mom and the police are at the school questioning who had seen her last and does anyone know what happened to her. Mila was on her way to an early morning run that she never came back from. Both of the Steckler sisters are suspects, but Stella is suspect number one after what happened between her and Allison Tarley last year. Are either of the girls capable of doing something to Mila to secure the number one spot on the team? Or is it possible Mila could be a new Deadwater victim?
𝐏𝐫𝐨’𝐬
-Even though most of the book was predictable The author pulled some punches and surprised me with some of the characters (can’t say more or I will ruin the book)
-I liked that there was character diversity.
-One of the themes I noticed in this and JG’s prior book is about the problems that a lot of women, especially young ones face in a world that still caters more to men. Kudos JG for addressing some important issues!
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬:
-Didn’t care for any of the characters. I hate to say it, but even Mila, the girl who goes missing.
-Took too long to get the story actually going. That was my biggest problem. It just felt like I was waiting for something to happen for most of the book.
-As stated above this was for the most part extremely predictable.
Although They’ll Never Catch Us was not what I anticipated I am optimistically and expectantly waiting on Jessica Goodman’s next book.
On to the next adventure friends!
𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲, 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞..𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.
I was a runner in high school, so as I was reading this I was thanking my lucky stars I never attended a school quite like this. But also in reality my passion was short lived so I probably wouldn’t have been on any crazy competitive persons radar! 😂😂
I was highly anticipating They’ll Never Catch Us after being hooked on Jessica Goodman’s last novel, They Will Never Be Us. I really freaking enjoyed that book and was hoping for some of the same magic. I have to be honest friends, sadly…it did not live up to my expectations. 😢
The Steckler Sisters are promising high school track stars in a rural New York town called Edgewater. The town was nicknamed Deadwater after several of the residents young runners were found murdered in the span of a year right near a secluded trail. All killed in the same way and with the laces removed from their shoes. All of the sudden after murder number 3 the killings stopped, but are not forgotten with an unknown murderer still in the loose. The sisters will do whatever it takes to come in first place and obtain a coveted scholarship to a good college and leave this small but morbid city behind. To add to their pressure and give them even more competition, Mila who is a top scoring runner, has transferred in from another school and is a new edition to the track team. Both Stella and Ellie, who are at first wary seem to start a friendship with their new teammate. And even though they make like her they always have to remember at the end of the day Mila is another top competitor and has to be held at arms length.
One morning Mila doesn’t show up for school, or work. The next day her Mom and the police are at the school questioning who had seen her last and does anyone know what happened to her. Mila was on her way to an early morning run that she never came back from. Both of the Steckler sisters are suspects, but Stella is suspect number one after what happened between her and Allison Tarley last year. Are either of the girls capable of doing something to Mila to secure the number one spot on the team? Or is it possible Mila could be a new Deadwater victim?
𝐏𝐫𝐨’𝐬
-Even though most of the book was predictable The author pulled some punches and surprised me with some of the characters (can’t say more or I will ruin the book)
-I liked that there was character diversity.
-One of the themes I noticed in this and JG’s prior book is about the problems that a lot of women, especially young ones face in a world that still caters more to men. Kudos JG for addressing some important issues!
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬:
-Didn’t care for any of the characters. I hate to say it, but even Mila, the girl who goes missing.
-Took too long to get the story actually going. That was my biggest problem. It just felt like I was waiting for something to happen for most of the book.
-As stated above this was for the most part extremely predictable.
Although They’ll Never Catch Us was not what I anticipated I am optimistically and expectantly waiting on Jessica Goodman’s next book.
On to the next adventure friends!
𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲, 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞..𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Pregnancy, Abortion, Racism, and Alcoholism
Minor: Eating disorder
rs22's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Death, and Drug abuse
Minor: Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Racism, Gaslighting, and Cursing
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