The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

     Kara Thomas has done it again. Can that be my review? I think that's good enough. I don't have words to tell how much I enjoyed this. I finished it at work during my lunch break and I spent the last half trying to wrap my brain around what happened. But that's Kara Thomas for you.... You follow her blindly.... and then it all blows up in your face.

"I just have so many questions, still. I do too. [...] But after awhile, searching for the answers felt like grasping around in the dark At some point, you have to choose to live in the light."

pg. 132

     Five years ago, a black force settled on the cheerleaders of Sunnybrook High School. Five of them passed away, all in horrific ways: two in a car accident, two were murdered in a house, and one was rumored to have killed herself. The the cheer squad was disbanded. The students have moved on, but not forgotten about them. But Monica finds something that her parents have been hiding from her, and her world starts to unravel. Everything she thought she knew, she had no idea. Readers will be just as shocked as Monica was to learn all the new things about her family, friends, enemies, and even herself as this mystery keeps getting messier and messier!

"Grief makes people lose their shit."

pg. 184

     Little Monsters was my favorite of hers for a LONGGGG time, but after finally reading and loving this one, I have been changed over! The reason being, I was really intrigued by the mystery in this one. It seemed so strange that all those teens girls had something happen to them back to back to back. But as the mystery is explained it makes more sense and its chillingly believable.

"Everyone goes through shit, and there's always someone somewhere who has it worse. It doesn't make what you're feeling any less real or any less shitty."

pg. 261

     Thomas' writing style is also one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the way there is flashbacks that give information on what happened those years ago. It was an interesting and kind of creepy way to get some clues and help people make their "theory" on what happened. It helped me make mine, but I didn't get the entire thing right. Just like a really small piece of it. And even that makes all the difference for me. I love being wrong when it comes to a mystery.

"If you look hard enough, you'll find something that'll make you wish you hadn't."

pg. 228

     What I didn't like was something super small. As a huge fan of thrillers, I read them all the time, and my number one pet peeve is how easy it is to get their hands on evidence. I KNOW its to move the plot forward, but sometimes I just think its too unbelievable. And in this one, there is a small instance that's not too unbelievable, but I just feel like a Diet Coke wouldn't have made that big a distraction. But that's just me and my opinion. I know it was heat of the moment, but  as someone who was in a profession  with something that's that important, I don't see that happening.

"Decency went out the window long ago."

pg. 243

     As for the characters, I really fell for the characters. I had a soft spot for Monica and felt bad for all she went through. And then there was her mom who I also felt really bad for. For it to be a thriller, I spent alot of this book feeling sad for so many of them. You will understand why when you read it!

"I need to know what happened to my sister."

pg. 310

     This thriller is not your average. It tugs on your heartstrings and the creepy parts you'd associate with thrillers are actually within the twists and turns that come up throughout the story. Its definitely my favorite of hers and that's saying something when you have a thriller like her last! Well done Thomas, I already can't wait for your next book!