You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
You don’t have to have read the first book to read this one but I do think it helps. They reference the events of the first book a lot with some appearances from some of the characters including the MC and even though I read the Cheerleaders it's been some time so I honestly forgot a lot and didn’t understand all the references. Another problem the book has is that there are SO many side characters and it’s hard to keep track of them all and you have to in order to understand half the story. A big twist reveals something terrible happened to this one girl and I honestly couldn’t even remember who she was
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-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:
Complicated
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Am I out of my reading slump?? I would say so. I finished this in one day.
Kara Thomas for the win AGAIN. This was a great follow up to Cheerleaders—same world, different time.
It was the deaths of five cheerleaders that made the town of Sunnybrook infamous. Eleven years later, the girls’ killer has been brought to justice, and the town just wants to move on. By the time Hadley moves to Sunnybrook, the locals are more interested in the Tigers, the high school’s championship-winning football team.
Hadley couldn’t care less about football, but shortly after she gets assigned to cover the team’s latest championship bid for the school newspaper, one of the Tigers is poisoned at a party. Almost immediately after, Hadley starts getting strange emails warning her to stay far away from the football team.
It’s becoming clear that Sunnybrook’s golden boys have secrets, and after a second player is mysteriously killed, Hadley’s beginning to suspect that someone wants the team to pay for their sins. Or does this new target on the football team have something to do with what happened to the cheerleaders all those years ago?
As an outsider in Sunnybrook, Hadley feels like she’s the only one who can see the present clearly, but it looks like she’s going to have to dig up the darkness of the past to get to the bottom of what’s happening now. Luckily, there are still some Sunnybrook High grads who never left—people who were around eleven years ago—and if she can just convince them to talk, she might be able stop a killer before another Tiger dies.
Kara Thomas for the win AGAIN. This was a great follow up to Cheerleaders—same world, different time.
It was the deaths of five cheerleaders that made the town of Sunnybrook infamous. Eleven years later, the girls’ killer has been brought to justice, and the town just wants to move on. By the time Hadley moves to Sunnybrook, the locals are more interested in the Tigers, the high school’s championship-winning football team.
Hadley couldn’t care less about football, but shortly after she gets assigned to cover the team’s latest championship bid for the school newspaper, one of the Tigers is poisoned at a party. Almost immediately after, Hadley starts getting strange emails warning her to stay far away from the football team.
It’s becoming clear that Sunnybrook’s golden boys have secrets, and after a second player is mysteriously killed, Hadley’s beginning to suspect that someone wants the team to pay for their sins. Or does this new target on the football team have something to do with what happened to the cheerleaders all those years ago?
As an outsider in Sunnybrook, Hadley feels like she’s the only one who can see the present clearly, but it looks like she’s going to have to dig up the darkness of the past to get to the bottom of what’s happening now. Luckily, there are still some Sunnybrook High grads who never left—people who were around eleven years ago—and if she can just convince them to talk, she might be able stop a killer before another Tiger dies.
3.75
I don't read mystery much so idk what makes one good or bad but I liked this one. I always like mysteries set around a high school or towns and how their history affects the students of today. It was a smart choice to make the narrator an outsider so we learn the history of the town and the people in it. I'm glad there wasn't some crazy plot twist that would ruin the book and make everything confusing. The only thing that's difficult is keeping track of names bec there is a lot but I prob only had trouble bec I read the bulk of it late at night. We don't know much about our narrator or Peter but that's okay I liked them anyways.
I don't read mystery much so idk what makes one good or bad but I liked this one. I always like mysteries set around a high school or towns and how their history affects the students of today. It was a smart choice to make the narrator an outsider so we learn the history of the town and the people in it. I'm glad there wasn't some crazy plot twist that would ruin the book and make everything confusing. The only thing that's difficult is keeping track of names bec there is a lot but I prob only had trouble bec I read the bulk of it late at night. We don't know much about our narrator or Peter but that's okay I liked them anyways.
I love Kara Thomas’s books. I’ve been reading them since her fist one published many years ago and whenever I see she has another one coming I get excited! The Champions is her latest release. If you’ve read The Cheerleaders (not necessary but it does enhance this one) then you’ll definitely find some similarities. I think this one reads just like that one but with different characters and a few more plot holes. For some of it you DO need to suspend belief (who talks to a new kid and tells them all their dirty secrets like this LOL) but its fiction and it gets us to where we need to be. I do recommend that readers check the books trigger warnings though because this one deals with some heavy topics. I don’t think it’s suitable for a younger crowed but upper young adult (those at least in HS) may enjoy this one.
I liked this one a little more than The Cheerleaders. Although I wish there was more of the characters from the original one making appearances in this one, I liked this storyline a little better. It still the same mystery and same town vibes. And I did not expect the ending!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5⭐️
honestly i just love the small town vibes and the connections to the first book, i loved peter !! he didn't have that many scenes but he was such a cute addition to the whole story. I liked the story and the mc a lot more in the first book, wich is why it's roughly a 3.5 stars for me, but it was fast paced and high stakes just like the first one so I wasn't bored at all! a really enjoyable read :D
honestly i just love the small town vibes and the connections to the first book, i loved peter !! he didn't have that many scenes but he was such a cute addition to the whole story. I liked the story and the mc a lot more in the first book, wich is why it's roughly a 3.5 stars for me, but it was fast paced and high stakes just like the first one so I wasn't bored at all! a really enjoyable read :D