Scan barcode
camiclarkbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I received a digital ARC of “Tell Me What Really Happened” by Chelsea Sedoti through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Chelsea Sedoti’s “Tell Me What Really Happened” is a gripping YA mystery about a five teens who go on a last-minute camping trip. But only four leave the woods because just after midnight, one of them disappeared.
Chelsea Sedoti’s “Tell Me What Really Happened” is a gripping YA mystery about a five teens who go on a last-minute camping trip. But only four leave the woods because just after midnight, one of them disappeared.
The remaining four are taken into police custody and are interrogated separately to find out exactly what happened the night before. As the hours tick by, the teens’ lies and truths are slowly revealed. But is it too late?
“Tell Me What Really Happened” is told entirely through the first-person police interviews of the four high schoolers that made it out of the woods. The characters are separated and are sharing their side of the incident during their interrogation. We don’t see the detectives that interview the characters and the only dialogue we hear from them are at the very beginning of each chapter. Other than that, it’s only what the teenagers reference in their interviews.
The first-person interview format gives the book an interesting hook. It also increases the stakes by allowing the reader to intimately see what the other characters are feeling about their missing friend. As the story progresses, the reader has a chance to solve the mystery as the characters share their memories of the night before.
Each of the five characters represents a specific high school stereotype—an academic overachiever, a conspiracy theorist, a social outcast, a control freak, and a wannabe social media influencer—and those stereotypes really drive the plot. The characters were fairly diverse, which is so important in YA books.
“Tell Me What Really Happened” is a solid YA mystery that relies on tried-and-true tropes presented in a very unique way. The first-person police interviews heighten the tension of the story. It won’t be long before the reader is biting their nails to figure out what really happened in Salvation Creek that fateful camping trip.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
beckyremillard's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Five teenagers are planning on a one-night camping trip at Salvation Creek. It’s not smooth sailing from the beginning, but gets worse when one of them goes missing. Everyone has their own theories about what happened and what they think needs to be done.
I wasn’t prepared for the story to be written in this format. It was different than anything I’ve read before. The prologue confused me but I got it once I was actually in chapter one.
The premise of the story is that the four teenagers are being questioned by police about the missing girl. We get the perspectives of all four, responding to a question posed by police, which is at the beginning of the chapter. Otherwise, there’s no dialogue from the police. There are a lot of context clues, but the only direct police comments are at the beginning of each chapter.
It’s a formatting you’ll like or hate. If you don’t like the way it’s written after the first couple chapters, you will probably feel that way throughout. But I thought it was a neat way of writing.
Regarding the actual plot, it was decent and fairly quick moving. I didn’t get bored throughout and I read it pretty fast. Don’t expect to like the characters, but they were written well to understand their background.
I guess there were kind of plot twists but they were anticlimactic with the reveal. It tied everything together and shows how one action can have a domino effect, but the reveal of Maylee’s death and how she died wasn’t shocking.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for a chance to read and review this book!
I wasn’t prepared for the story to be written in this format. It was different than anything I’ve read before. The prologue confused me but I got it once I was actually in chapter one.
The premise of the story is that the four teenagers are being questioned by police about the missing girl. We get the perspectives of all four, responding to a question posed by police, which is at the beginning of the chapter. Otherwise, there’s no dialogue from the police. There are a lot of context clues, but the only direct police comments are at the beginning of each chapter.
It’s a formatting you’ll like or hate. If you don’t like the way it’s written after the first couple chapters, you will probably feel that way throughout. But I thought it was a neat way of writing.
Regarding the actual plot, it was decent and fairly quick moving. I didn’t get bored throughout and I read it pretty fast. Don’t expect to like the characters, but they were written well to understand their background.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for a chance to read and review this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Racism
More...