Not my favorite YA read lately. I didn't find much "thriller" in this YA thriller. Nicely written book, I liked some of it. I wasn't a huge fan of Ivy, the main character. Might just be me though. I would still recommend it.

This was...not good. This supposed “ya thriller” is missing any and all thrills, which is a bummer. The premise was good, I loved the setting and the beginning was strong. But then 90% passed with just the MC, Ivy, going around and asking other characters what happened on one fateful night. Absolutely nothing of any significance happens until the very end. And even then, it’s not exciting or surprising in the least. There’s some heavy themes in here (like consent and sexual assault) but it felt out of place. This book doesn’t know what it wants to be.

I didn’t particularly like Ivy, who could be quite dense and unsympathetic, which made this book tough since we are forced to read her thoughts the entire time. It was often repetitive and boring. I wish I had stopped reading it earlier, but I was convinced it would pick up and get better. I was so very wrong. It really shouldn’t be marketed as any kind of thriller, but it’s not really a standard contemporary either. It’s a very light mystery, with a dark coming of age contemporary theme, mixed together around an amusement park background.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Thus book really flat, and was not what was expected. This really isn't a thriller, the "mystery" is solved about halfway thru the book, and after that it's more so exploring mental illness and dealing with heavy topics.
While the writing was good, the story just lacked for me. Especially since only about half of it was remotely a thriller.

This book's synopsis made it seem like much a bigger ordeal than it was. It was really lacking in the thriller/suspense area and I wasn't really shocked by the ending. It was really predictable. I didn't like our MC. She let her dad run all over her and stuck her nose in lots of business that didn't concern her. She came back from a vacation and suddenly became a detective to figure out what happened to a boy she admitted she didn't really know nor care about. I didn't like anyone in this book. They were all extremely selfish and only cared about themselves and what they wanted out of life. That paired with the really predictable and lame "mystery" makes the novel a big pass for me.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Delacorte Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Its seems like I am not the only one who was a little disappointed in this book. I was also a little disturbed in the book. I was expecting a thriller mystery taking part in an amusement park (which alone would have been awesome) but its not a mystery. It deals a lot with heavy issues that I wasn't expecting which may have been why I didn't like the book as much, because I wasn't prepared for it.

All The Pretty Things is a fast paced thrill ride. I read this fairly quickly so it was definitely interesting but I just felt the ending fell flat. We had a ton of build up for this big reveal and then book end. Theres minimal fallout for parties involved. I wish it would have had an epilogue or something. I feel like the last 100 pages were very rushed. However I did enjoy this book just wish there was a little more of it to tie up the ending.

Unfortunately, this book didn't contain the twists and turns I was hoping for. Everything is revealed early on in the story so seeing the characters run around looking for answers when we already know them was a let down. I will say though that the author has the ability to write something strong as it's shown through her writing style so I will be on the lookout for more in the future!

Ivy comes back from vacation to find her small town in turmoil. An acquaintance and fellow Fabuland co-worker has died, and Ivy's best friend, Morgan, had the misfortune of finding his body. Even worse, Morgan has barricaded herself on one of Fabuland's rides after hours, and is refusing to get down.

It's up to Ivy to get Morgan down from the ride, and then solve the mystery of what really happened to their co-worker, Ethan.

The atmosphere in this mystery is exactly right. Fabuland (which happens to be owned by Ivy's father) is sparkly and filled with families during the day, but beyond the surface feels creepy as heck. Her own family also feels unstable, with Ivy's parents divorced and her brother staying far away during his first college summer. Ivy pinballs between her parents' houses, clutching memories of happier times.

Digging through the events leading to Ethan's death means interviewing co-workers and acquaintances, and even getting her long-distance brother involved. Ivy's psyche as she works her way through what happened is fascinating. I only wish the novel kept going - but hey, I'd be happy with a sequel!

I wouldn't quite agree with the blurbs or synopsis of what this book is meant to be. I expected a full fledged mystery set in an amusement park with lots of twists and turns. What I got was... a whole book with Ivy questioning everyone about the death of Ethan, the twist revealed in the beginning of the book and just a general lack of thriller. I was a huge fan of Sadie and The Cheerleaders and I do not feel like this book was in that category at all nor did it live up to those books. Maybe billing this as just a YA book would of gone better. Anyways, on to what it was about.

Ivy looks forward to spending the summer with her best friend Morgan at the amusement park. Then Morgan finds the dead body of their classmate Ethan and ends up in the psych ward. The death is passed off as accidental but Ivy doesn't believe that and spends the whole summer trying to uncover what really happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I wanted to like this book. It's billed as a mystery, but in actuality it's a halfhearted attempt to tackle a completely different, very serious issue.

Ivy returns home from vacation to discover that her best friend has found the body of a local boy. His death is mysterious, and finding him has messed with Morgan's mind. Ivy sets out to find out what really happened to Ethan, in order to help her Morgan recover. Sounds like a cool mystery, right? It would be, if that was what this book was about. Instead, Ethan's death is just a vehicle to a totally different topic.

There are two separate stories here, and they clash horribly. It's frustrating when a book claims to be one thing, but turns out to be completely different.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an E-arc copy of All the Pretty Things.
I am not sure if I liked or disliked this book. I enjoyed certain aspects of the plot while I had a huge issue with the mental health depiction of Ivy. I don't want to get "preachy", but we want to encourage mental health awareness and at times I felt like the actions in this book were stereotypical judgements. As a parent and youth librarian who works with mental health challenged kids, I am not sure I would recommend this to them.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it.

I thought the premise was super interesting and the first 3/4 of the book really drew me in. Then I felt like the resolution to the mystery was sort of anti-climactic and was really overshadowed by the fact that <spoiler>Ivy's dad was a sleaze bag who was basically sexually assaulting his female employees and had been abusive to her mom AND THEN forced another employee to cover up the accidental death that Ivy was trying to investigate</spoiler>.

I didn’t hate this book, but there was a lot in it that I thought was very disturbing and poorly talked about.

The story deals with the mystery around the death of a young man with down syndrome who worked at the local amusement park. The daughter of the owner takes it upon herself to start asking around and to solve the mystery of his death. Unintentionally, she uncovers more than she thought possible, and more than she can handle.

The way the author writes about mental health in this book I personally thought was disgusting. It is 2020 and no one should be referring to mental health as something to hide and or be ashamed of. The start of the story deals with a young girl who ends up in the hospital due to some issues. There are crude jokes made about the mental department of the hospital like “don’t take sharp objects” and things of the sort. I honestly wanted to put the book down. It would be wise of the author to rethink those pages and write it in a way that better reflected a more positive outlook on mental health in this day and age.

As well, I know the father was incredibly cringey and that was a big part of the story line and mystery but I couldn’t stand reading about him and watching the daughter ignore it all and brush it off.

All together the mystery was surprising but wrapped up incredibly fast at the end. I would have enjoyed a more cohesive ending and less cringe full material throughout the story.

I liked the books concept, but I'm hoping some revisions have been made as I noticed a discrepancy in the story that didn't make sense pertaining the character Reggie. Very interesting, but it felt kind of choppy or rough around the edges if that makes sense as well. Like some of the foreshadowing felt out of left field and didn't really "hint" to me at what eventually does come out as what happened. Felt a bit forced for me.

When I saw the blurb for this and it said for fans of Sadie and The Cheerleaders, I was sold! Two books I really enjoyed so I wasn't going to to pass up on the opportunity to request this. It did keep my interest throughout but it was lacking in a few areas.

I'll start off with the positives. The one thing I like about mysteries/thrillers is that you don't have to connect with the characters. The book is mostly plot driven. This book was engaging and I was quickly swept into the mystery surrounding Ethan's death. I felt like Ivy who was trying to piece everything together. To be honest, I never saw the ending coming. I had suspicions of people it could be but the author does a great job of reverting your attention away.

My biggest complaint would be that the premise feels different than what I had read. I guess I understand the title now after dwelling on it for a bit. I also felt that, besides most of the characters working there, the amusement park wasn't as big in the book. I know others have felt the same so it isn't just a me thing.

The ending was fine. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I think that it takes away from it being a thriller and the only mystery is the death which I can't say much about because of spoilers.

Other than that, the writing was great! The pacing was also nicely done. I will definitely be watching this author for more books.

This was a really great read! I really enjoyed reading this book, would definitely recommend. This is a good book for all ages.

Pretty good YA mystery. If you are looking for a mystery without lots of gore or sex, this would be a good choice. Don't discount it because it is YA- it's from the perspective of a teen but well written and interesting.
Ivy is a normal teenage girl whose father owns Fabuland amusement park. While she is out of town, another teen with Downs syndrome is found dead near the park. Ivy tries to find out what really might have happened when her best friend is greatly affected by the tragedy. Along the way Ivy makes friends and sees people she works with and her family in a different light.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I would probably not have found this one on my own and it was good.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

TW: death, overdose, sexual harassment and assault, suicide thoughts

Ivy Cork is the daughter of the owner of Fabuland, the amusement park in her city and during summer she usually takes care of the spinning cotton candy machine and she hangs out with her best friend Morgan. But when Morgan finds one of their former classmate and coworker, Ethan, dead, everything changes and Morgan has a mental breakdown, refusing to talk to Ivy. So Ivy decides to understand what exactly happened the night Ethan died and why Morgan (besides finding his body) is so upset she wouldn't talk to her. Set in the amusement park, the reader follows Ivy while she talks with her coworkers, trying to piece what happened, who saw Ethan last, how was the boy, trying to solve the mystery surrounding his death, getting herself involved into a investigation that will uncover ugly truths about people she loves.

All the pretty things, told in first person, is a dark thriller, beautifully written and plotted, an intricate mystery that led the reader to read the book at once, because he/she feels the need to know what happened to Ethan, to Morgan, to Ivy. Through Ivy's eyes, we get to see her relationships with her parents and brother, with her friend Morgan, with her coworkers, thinking about her role in her father's "empire" and job. Asking questions, discovering relationships and secrets, Ivy is a brilliant main character, curious, inquisitive and ready to do anything to understand the situation, even when it will hurt her.
Skillfully, bits are revealed through each "interview" Ivy makes, leading her and the reader to piece everything together, or at least to try to, until the shocking and brilliant ending.

This was a well written, intense story once you got to the end. Many heartbreaking moments within, even though the author lays them out so that you don’t know exactly what they’ll be. Well written, character development was amazing, and it was important when you got the full story the author was conveying! Definitely worth the read, but prepare yourself for some tears, shocks, and chills!
Will make sure I buzz up on all the different platforms!

Following our main character, Ivy, we spend a lot of the book in the very atmospheric amusement park that her dad owns and runs. This set up naturally gives access to a ton of different characters and opportunities. When a boy who works at the park dies, and her best friend falls into a depression she can't seem to climb out of, Ivy takes it upon herself to ask some big questions. She steps on a lot of toes and brings up a lot of hard issues for a lot of people. The biggest fault I had with Ivy was the way she abrubtly ended conversations by fleeing from the scene when she gets overwhelmed. Unfortunately that seems to happen right as we're getting some answers. In the end though, she uncovers more than she bargained for and we realize our story is more than the tragic story of a boy's death. Trigger warnings for sexual abuse and harassment should be recognized before reading this novel.