I loved this book. I really enjoyed how obvious clues did not sail over the head of the protagonist - she was sharp without having to be overly detached from her emotions. A perfect balance.

Wow! Kara Thomas is proving herself to be quite the phenom in YA mystery/thrillers. The Cheerleaders is everything readers will want it to be after loving The Darkest Corners and Little Monsters. Or if you enjoyed One of Us is Lying.

The characters are very well-developed. The writing is fast-paced and strong. The whodunnit aspect will keep readers turning the pages. The suspense is well done adding just the right amount of intrigue to the story. Readers who enjoy twisty mysteries or thrillers will definitely want to check out The Cheerleaders July 31st!

There is so much going on in this book that I don't know where to begin!

A word of warning: this is not your average YA novel. There are some pretty hefty issues being addressed - murder, suicide, ptsd, statutory rape, abortion, mental illness - so the target audience is should be upper high school or mature 14-15 yr. olds. Just sayin'.

Now for the good stuff!

The story follows Monica, sister to one of five cheerleaders who all died within three weeks of each other five years before the story begins. Monica, however, doesn't believe her sister committed suicide, and she's suspicious of the murders and car accident that killed the other four. Fearing that her stepfather and the rest of the police are part of a cover-up, she begins her own investigation and uncovers some mysterious details that don't add up.

I really like Thomas's writing style: fast-paced, not too much description, great use of flashbacks to fill in the backstory, and every chapter has a mini cliffhanger. The characters are well-developed, especially Monica - she's gritty, driven, and determined to uncover what really happened to her sister Jen. Her voice and actions are pretty authentic - even Monica's interactions and conversations with her mom and Tom serve a purpose in furthering the plot - not that inane, stilted dialogue just to prove the character has parents.

With her friend Ginny's help, Monica not only investigates her sister's apparent suicide, but she also delves into Susan and Juliana's murders and the car accident that killed Bethany and Colleen uncovering more secrets that raise even more questions.

The story is just dark and twisty enough to keep you flipping those pages as fast as you can read just to find out what happens.

When 5 cheerleaders die in quick succession, there has to be a connection........ What is it and how will the little sister of one of the fallen figure out the answer??? Really good, with a plot twist or two.

There were so many things I liked about this book. From the pacing of the clues, to the complex and damaged Monica as our protagonist to the two perspective storytelling, Thomas has once again written a suspenseful and surprising thriller. I loved following Monica and her new friend Ginny (something of an outcast at the school) as they hunt for clues in a noire-style mystery. I may have had an inkling or two of where things were going, but I ultimately was taken in by red herrings and twists and turns and didn't solve the mystery until Thomas wanted me to. I really liked Monica, because her anger, sadness, and resilience made for a very compelling main character. Also I want to give major props to this book for portraying abortion as a valid choice when faced with an unwanted pregnancy, and how realistic it seemed to me without being on any kind of soapbox. I love seeing that sort of thing in YA literature.

This thriller had an interesting premise and a good twist. The main character was strong and relatable. Although entertaining, sometimes the flow and timeline of the book did not make sense to me as a reader.

If you liked The Darkest Corners, you'll probably like Thomas' latest mystery about a teen whose sister died, one of several cheerleaders who all died within a short time. Monica finds her sister's old cell phone and starts asking a lot of questions when it turns out that some new information doesn't agree with what she's been told. Thomas knows how to pace a book to keep readers engaged, but if I have any issues it's that too often in books like this the world of characters is just too small. Within a few chapters you've met anyone of any importance and just have to reconfigure things to find out what really happened. Review from e-galley.

This is a good ya thriller with great characters twists and turns. Monica is searching for the truth of what happened five years ago when her sister and four of her cheerleading friends died She starts to find clues from the past and questions what she knew about that time period . I like the alternating time line but did feel the pace of the book was a little slow in spots. Over all a good read. Thank you netgalley for a chance to read this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Cheerleaders is a page turner indeed. Told in multiple perspectives and in present time and 5 years prior, it follows one teenager's quest to find out the truth regarding the deaths of five cheerleaders five years prior. One of the cheerleaders was her older sister and her stepfather was part of the investigation into the other cheerleaders' deaths. I definitely thought I had this book figured out but each new clue Monica found only brought up more questions. Didn't see it ending the way it did so that made me like this book even more.

I think this was a fun mystery/thriller for teens who enjoy that kind of story and aren't sensitive to topics of murder, suicide, and mentions of sex. The Cheerleaders tells the story of Monica who's sister killed herself after two of her best friends were murdered about 5 years prior. The town is reeling from a series of deaths involving young women who were on the local cheerleading team in a relatively short period of time ,though seemingly unconnected. I admit that I was hoping for more of a mystery and more of an interesting concept behind the deaths of local cheerleaders. I don't think it was bad, I just don't think it turned out as exciting as I wanted it to be either. The mystery was entertaining and I flew through this book very quickly because I wanted to keep reading but the twist ending and the different story lines of the different deaths that occurred just fell a little flat near the end. I liked the friendship that we see between Monica and Ginny but it seemed kind of forced at times and I struggled to really believe any of the relationships that were happening.
I do have to say that near the beginning, I was very upset about the stereotypes that were used and perpetuated with the storyline involving Ethan. Everyone, including teachers which is just not okay in my mind, saw him as an outcast because he was quiet and wore dark clothes and listened to music all the time and because of this they treated him like he was something to fear and it all seems to be mostly just based on his appearance at the start. I hate this and I hate that this book acts like this an acceptable way to look at others and judge them based on their looks. Even if the story itself isn't following these stereotypes to the conclusion, I just don't like seeing them mentioned so casually and believed by many characters throughout.

A gripping YA whodunit replete with surprising plot twists. Monica Rayburn is still trying to find out the truth about the horrific events that took place 5 years before. This is when Sunnybrook stopped having cheerleaders — because they all died within a month of each other. One of the cheerleaders was Monica’s beloved older sister, Jen. (As an aside, what is it about towns with “Sunny” in the title — Buffy’s Sunnydale was not a happy place to be either!)

It had just the right amount of suspense — not so much that I couldn’t get to sleep at night, but enough that I could not put the book down. Full of realistic confusion, false leads, and the impact that suspicion — whether warranted or not — can have on relationships.

Great for fans of One of Us Is Lying.

This book had been so well-reviewed and I just couldn’t see why. But, yeah. I get it now! It was a cool mix of teen angst and hard-core mystery. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the twists and I liked that the chick at the center of the story kept her edge throughout.

I could not put <b>The Cheerleaders</b> down. This book was riveting, kept you on the edge of your seat and had the easy ability to segue into the chapters into the past without making you lose your place in the present. The ending didn’t totally catch me off guard, but it kept me guessing until about 70%, which is still pretty great, in my opinion!

The Cheerleaders were 5 girls that died 5 years ago in different ways. 2 were murdered, 2 died in a car accident and 1 killed herself, some said because she couldn’t handle the grief of losing her friends.

The story begins with Monica, who’s sister Jennifer was the cheerleader who committed suicide. Monica doesn’t believe her sister could have actually taken her own life and it haunts her, still 5 years later.

With the help of a new-found friend, Ginny, Monica begins looking into the murders, the car accident and her sisters past, searching for clues, even though the case has been closed by her police officer step-father.

I have read Mother book by this author after meeting her at my local library,and i am so glad! I really enjoy Kara Thomas' mystery writing. This book did not let me down.

In a town where 5 high school teenage girls were killed within a month's time, one of the siblings tries to figure out what truly happened at the expense of her friends and relationship with her parents.

This story was dark, twisted, and utterly fantastic! It's not often that a book can keep me guessing as long as this one did. The Cheerleaders had strong mystery, thriller, and crime drama elements all mixed together in a YA world. It was a page turner that I could not put down and would highly recommend!

Kara Thomas has done it again. I am absolutely floored by how she has managed to completely trick me again. I was on the edge of my seat for this one trying to figure out if the deaths were connected and if so how. There were two really big twists in this one that had me shocked, but not as shocked as Little Monsters.

I had to retract a star, however, because of the fact that Monica is made to feel like the sexual encounter between her and the 27-year-old who became a coach at her school. She even became pregnant and chose to get an abortion over this relationship. I think that Monica blaming herself isn't all that uncommon and neither is her dialogue. It's believable. However, there should have been stronger challenging on page. It ends with a victim blaming herself with no real change in her opinions on the matter. He was a 27-year-old predator who took advantage of a young girl at the club he attended. None of it was okay and I really think this was a missed opportunity to show a different outlook on sexual assault.

Other than the aforementioned problem, the pacing was amazing. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and I was trying, to no avail, to put the pieces together. Thomas is a pro at keeping us on our feet and giving just enough away to keep us hooked but never enough for us to figure it all out on our own.

Wow. That was a surprise. I've been obsessed with this book for the past 24 hours and absolutely couldn't put it down. It isn't a perfect story, I didn't 100% think everything was logical or plausible, but it certainly kept me engaged. I think my library patrons will like this one so we'll definitely purchase a copy for the popular reads section.

I actually couldn't put this book down until I finished it. It has been a while since there was a book that I couldn't figure out the ending prior to it spelling it out for me, this was an exciting and well put together timeline and I really did enjoy reading it. I will be recommending.

Kara Thomas presents another very interesting mystery story set in high school life. The cover is so well done. I know it is going to grab the attention of readers in my library. As you open the book, the immediate mystery is a strong anchor to encourage readers to dig in. As the story unfolds, well, it wasn't what I was expecting. From the cover and description, I was expecting more "thriller" in the story, and it didn't deliver on that expectation. However, from a mystery standpoint, it follows through on that.
There are some sensitive issues presented. I don't want to mention them all here, but they are in no way graphic.
Ultimately, this is a good mystery book. I didn't bond with it as I did with Kara Thomas's other books, but that's just me. It was fun to read, but I am not really passionate about it or blown away by this particular book.

I had a hard time rating this book, it is on the verge of 4 stars. I think the reason I didn't give it more stars is because parts of it dragged on. I loved all of the twists and turns but was hoping for more suspense.

One major issue I had with the book is that it only touches lightly on the subject of rape and abortion. I felt that these topics should have been dealt with more in dept. The book starts off with an abortion, I kept thinking that at some point Monica was going to have to open up about it (maybe by telling her friends) but instead it is rarely mentioned. I did appreciate the fact that there was no shaming about Monica getting an abortion. Also, anytime statutory rape is brought up Monica blames herself. I wish these difficult subjects were dealt with better and explored more.

I found the book to be enjoyable enough and enjoyed some of the relationship dynamics (especially between Monica and Ginny). I also really enjoy a book where I have a difficult time trying to guess the ending. I would recommend this book to older teens or new adults who enjoy mystery novels.