This tells the story of a growing war between two families in the aftermath of an accident that happens at a sleepover for a sweet sixteen party. I gave this three stars because, while It was engaging and kept my interest, I found it lacking in some aspects of the story. They say it's similar to Big Little Lies, and I'll admit it has a similarity, but I just don't see it. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for that moment when people will learn their lesson and it never came. The only thing that saved this for me was how it ended.

Still a pretty good story though, so I'd still recommend it.

great read awesome writing i really enjoyed this author and this book i would reccomend to other for sure

Public Service Announcement!

It is OKAY to not finish a book you aren't enjoying!

The Party by Robyn Harding sounded fascinating. A Sweet Sixteen party-gone quite wrong. Four friends are sleeping over at Hannah's house to celebrate her birthday. As teenagers are wont to do, rules are broken, an accident occurs, chaos ensues. Who is to blame for the damage done? The girls? The hosting parents?

It sounded interesting, but I just couldn't finish it. I did try to give it a fair chance; I read to 34%. I think that's pretty fair. It started out interestingly enough, alternating between different points of view, some adult, some teenage girl, but what made me crazy was that I just didn't like any of the characters. I can't stand to read a book knowing a character is about to make a really stupid decision. I don't want to be irritated by the people in books I read and that is all this was. Sure, teenagers are going to make stupid mistakes, but the adults should know better. And if, as adults, you don't like the person to whom you are married, or the people with whom you associate, move on! I know not every marriage is perfect and not every friendship is a best friendship, but these people are insufferable. And so I decided to go ahead and cut ties with this book, I to leave The Party early.

This book has mixed reviews on GoodReads. Some people really enjoyed it so maybe I'm wrong, but I'm okay with that. Now it is time to move on to something else, hopefully something better.

This author is new to me, but I am definitely looking to read more of her books in the future. What is supposed to be a funfilled milestone, that being a sweet sixteen party, goes horribly the opposite direction. This is definitely a page turner and will keep you wanting more up to the very last page!

I had a hard time with this book. The characters ranged from downright unlikeable to gratingly irritating. However, there are some thought-provoking themes for both teens and parents, and I could recommend it to YA readers in my library. The suspense just didn't hold up to the hype, though

This was a very compelling story that captured my interest right away. There were so many different factors that went horribly wrong. So many poor choices and miscommunication that the story could have had a very different outcome. Sad but this is a true reflection on today's society.

This book had so much going on and it was such a fantastic read. It was dark and full of twists, turns, and all the things you love in a suspenseful novel. I couldn't recommend this enough!

This kept my attention from the very beginning. I love seeing behind the doors of perfect family lives. You know they are always not what they seem. This sweet sixteen party opens up those doors and we get to see all the juicy details of what is a NOT so perfect life. I was guessing til the end!

What was intended to be a simple Sweet Sixteen celebration for her daughter, Hannah, turns into a nightmare for Kim when she is awakened in the middle of the night by Hannah covered in blood. Soon Kim's carefully constructed life with her husband Jeff begins to crumble.

While this book was marketed as a suspense novel, it's really more of a fast-paced family drama in the vein of Herman Koch's The Dinner , full of unlikable characters and melodramatic in the style of a Lifetime movie. On the surface this book delivers on the promise of a tragedy involving self-absorbed teens and their parents, the type that are obsessed with organic homemade energy bars for soccer practices and Instagramable homes. It's not as suspenseful as I expected, however, as the details of the story are laid out plainly for the reader and the book focuses mostly on the aftermath of this party. That would still make for a great story if the book started out with strong interpersonal relationships and a close-knit community, which it did not. I wanted a *lot* more from this book and it unfortunately did not deliver. Good premise, poor execution, earning it more of a 2.5 from me.

Three and a half stars: An evocative book with deeply flawed characters that will haunt you long after you finish.

Jeff and Kim Sanders are throwing a small slumber party for their daughter, Hannah, on her sixteenth birthday. Hannah is a smart girl who has never been in trouble, so neither parent is worried about hosting the party. That night, Kim lays down the rules for the girls: no drinking, no drugs, no boys. She retires to bed without further thought only to be awoken hours later by her daughter covered in blood and crying. A tragic accident occurred under their roof that will irrevocably alter lives, friendships and expose dark secrets. Who is to blame?
What I Liked:
*The Party is a thought provoking book that will open your eyes and start discussions. This is a book that will haunt you for days to come after you read it.
*The story features a cast of unlikable characters, which is often hard for the reader because more than likely, you will not connect with a character, but in this book it works. The characters are all deeply flawed, and they make plenty of mistakes. Yet there are ordinary people who are affected by a horrible tragedy. Each and every one of the characters is compelling in their own way.
*I liked that this one was all about the fall out and the secrets that come to light after the accident. Everyone makes mistakes, some are far worse than others, but who is really to blame? It was interesting exploring all the angles, and learning the motives behind everyone’s behavior.
*I appreciated that the author took on a troubling topic. Who is to blame when teenage drinking goes horribly wrong? This is a book that will make you sit up and take note and think twice about things if you are a parent. Grab this one, read it, and talk about it.
*I enjoyed the story, and I liked all the developments and the turn of events. It was unsettling, frustrating and it even made me angry to read this book, but in the end, it was a good life lesson.
*I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Cassandra Campbell. I thought she did a wonderful job with the characters.
And The Not So Much:
*The end left me wanting more. It does close most of the major story lines, but a few things are left undone. I wanted to know the fate of one particular character. I also didn’t like that certain characters never had to face the consequences for their behavior.
*As I mentioned, this was hard to read because I didn’t like any of the characters. They are all selfish, sometimes hostile and nasty, and none of them handle the situation appropriately. It was hard to stomach their behavior. Still I have to hand it to the author for writing interesting characters who were deeply flawed.
*I didn’t like that the mystery of what went on at the part was revealed so early on. It would have been more suspenseful without the early reveal.
*There are some horrible and ugly bullying incidents in this. It bothered me that not one of the adults, or anyone in the school did anything about the bullying.

The Party is one of those reads that will stick with me for a long time. This is a raw, horrible and disturbing book that exposes what happens when a night of teenage drinking goes wrong and ruins lives. Who is responsible? The characters are unlikable and they make terrible choices, but you will continue to read this train wreck to find out what happens. I promise, this one will make you sit up and think. It is a great life lesson. Read it and talk about it!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

For some reason or another I seem to be in the minority opinion on The Party. At the time of this review, Goodreads has this ranked at 3,4 stars with just over 1800 ratings. I gave this one two starts and mostly that's only because I was able to finish it.

This should truly be classified as a Young Adult novel. If you are a thriller/mystery thriller novel lover, like me, then this one is going to disappoint. I feel if this title was reclassified then it may rank a little better as expectations would be more realistic.

This is about a group of 16 year old girls who find themselves in a whole lot of trouble when a birthday party goes wrong. One of the girls is badly injured and the families involved are thrown into a downward spiral. It kind of has afternoon special written all over it, in my opinion. It's a real "life lesson" type book that examples what happens when bad girls break the rules.

Sadly, I truly hated all of these characters. Entitled, spoiled teen girls with entitled, spoiled parents. I could not connect with a single character in the novel. I couldn't even feel sorry for the girl who was horribly injured as she was such an unlikable girl! The story moved very slowly and I though a lot of the sub plot did nothing to contribute to the actual story.

It was not for me. AT. ALL.

A sweet sixteen sleepover birthday party of 5 girls sounds innocent enough but the evening goes off the rails. 1 accident ripples out to affect everyone at the party and their parents, with far reaching repercussions. Stephen King isn't really my type of horror story, but holy shit this book was!

Jeff and Kim host a sweet sixteen party for their daughter, Hannah, with some rules: no alcohol, no drugs, no boys. However rules are broken and the party turns tragic. In the aftermath, relationships are tested, secrets are revealed and nothing will be the same.

I found this one absolutely unputdownable; I binge read it over the course of a couple of hours. Harding has an uncanny ability to captivate her reader with quick prose and eloquent story telling. I loved the way the book was narrated; quick chapters told through the eyes of alternating characters (both teenaged and adult).

Do I feel like this was a traditional mystery thriller? Absolutely not; I could understand why The Party would throw off people if that were what they were expecting. This novel is much more of a contemporary fiction and really reminded me of Liane Morarity’s novels. A novel that opens up with an incident and the journey is more of an inside look at the ramifications and the changes that occur in their community.

If you are looking for a tension filled, twisted read, then yes, you will be disappointed. However, if you enjoy a character centered, focused plot with wit and emotion, then I think you will be pleased.

I had the hardest time reading this book due to the setting and the way the characters spoke.

I like the twists and turns in this book. You never knew what was going to happen next, or what happened in the past.

This was a compelling book because you could imagine it happening to anyone. A sweet sixteen party goes terribly wrong when sex and alcohol become involve and one party goer gets injured. Secrets are revealed and friends become enemies as accusations and extortion come into play. The book is cleverly written so the readers can empathize with both sides of the issue. A quick and easy read that will keep your interest.

Can a birthday party destroy lives? One wealthy San Francisco family is about to find out. Hannah is turning 16 and her parents agree to a sleepover party with four guests. The girls arrive. The pizza and cake is delivered. Jeff and Kim go to bed assuming that the girls will watch movies and talk all night, safely ensconced in the family basement. What happens in the wee hours of the morning will completely alter the lives of this model family and their guests forever.

This is a great story about relationships and family dynamics and how one small choice can change a person forever. The characters are wonderful and perfectly suited to their roles. I couldn’t help but love Hannah, a girl on the cusp of adulthood who just wants to explore what it means to be alive. I totally sympathized with Mom Kim and her frustration with her teenage daughter, while at the same time I completely got why Hannah felt so restricted by her mom’s presence. Jeff was a little harder to like as he seemed at times to be trying to ignore that he had a family, but at same time wants to be the cool Dad in the eyes of his teenage daughter. I also really enjoyed the interplay between the main characters and the side players. I think the author really hit the nail on the head with how she portrayed the ever changing landscape of the character’s social circles. There is a message here about how variable “friendships” can be. This book also has a lot to say about bullying, both amongst the kids and the adults that surround them. I found this story to be brilliantly conceived and executed and I highly recommend it.

If you want to read about domestic drama with some extremely unlikeable evil teenagers and rich selfish adults, that's not a thriller in reality, than this is the book for you. We follow Hannah, who's planning to go wild on her Sweet 16 birthday party, but she doesn't want to seem "uncool" next to all of her "cool" friends, so she starts doing things against the rules of the law and her parents. Needless to say, there is a serious injury that will change their lives forever, and make this party one of dark memories and regrets.

The story is told from four POVs, which I thought was necessary because this family doesn't know how to communicate with eachother and they each hold and hide their own secrets. There's Hannah, her parents (Kim and Jeff), and one of the mother's of a daughter that was at the party.

Kim Sanders is a very strict and hands-on mother, who stays at home, and is very involved in her children's lives. She thinks that she has the most well-behaved rule-abiding children in town, even though she fails to recognize that her two teenager's are growing up and growing apart from the way in which she has led them their whole lives. Her eighteen year old marriage with her husband is falling apart, in which she feels like she needs to treat Jeff like a child after last years unspoken "incident". Even Hannah and her brother notice the tension within their loveless relationship.

Hannah is a sophomore, pushing herself up to the ranks of the popular girls, which includes the controlling Lauren Ross, and her childhood best friend Ronni Monroe. As she explores her various relationships, like that with her new boyfriend Noah, she gets stuck in knowing what's right and wrong and actually doing the right or wrong thing in various situations.

When the party starts in the early evening, the girl seems to be having "clean" fun, gossiping about their classmates, eating pizza, watching their favorite movies, playing some fun games. At least, that's Hannah's parents think they're doing, until Hannah comes upstairs with blood on her hands, crying and screaming at her parents to do something, to help them. It becomes a question of "what actually happened that night?" which is the repeating question that we (as readers) are trying to piece together.

The plot was entertaining, I breezed through this book in one sitting, however the substance was a trainwreck, and the ending was ultimately a letdown, from all the action and buildup that was going on. Sure, there was a clear resolution, just not the type of climax that I was expecting to happen, which is what sorely dissappointed me.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**

This book will be known as one of my favorites of the year 2017. I love the sly writing of the author, the easing into the story. I highly recommend this to everyone.

Really enjoyed this novel, a quick, easy read. I felt the characters were all well drawn and realistic