This was a good book, the end was surprising..I didn’t see the villain coming. It had some
Slow parts and I got stuck in the middle but it ended well..

This book was really slow for me and likely why I kept putting it down. I am always determined to finish an ARC to give constructive feedback. I liked the premise, but felt it had too much fluff and too many characters to keep up with. I was surprised by the ending. In fact, the book finally picked up around Chapter 30.

Caroline is months away from graduation and harboring secrets. She is desperate to get out of the house and falls in love when she least expects it. When her best friend, Madison, goes missing, she becomes obsessed with figuring out who the dead girl is she stumbled upon a long time ago and why girls wind up missing or dead.

This book magnifies the relationship that Caroline had with her parents and their attempts to rid her of what they considered to be unacceptable behavior and the police not always being upstanding people.

Thank you to Kids Can Press and NetGalley for the ARC of Throwaway Girls by Andrea Contos.

Throwaway Girls is well-written, although little slow for my liking, but it picks up at the end. I enjoyed the ending, was a bit of a surprise.

I'd recommend to fans of mystery/thriller books. Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thrillers are very hit or miss for me and I really didn't like this. The main character was self-centered and annoying and it was boring and hard to follow. It felt more like a contemporary about the main character instead of a mystery/thriller about her missing best friend.

THROWAWAY GIRLS is hands down one of the best mystery/thrillers I’ve read in a long time. The writing, down to the line level, is stunning and I was completely captivated by the characters and the story. Caroline and her fierce, loyal heart. The queer rep. Classism. Mental Health. The author dealt with such important topics in a way that never felt heavy-handed. It all made me feel deeply while keeping me guessing till the very end.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

"We creep through the passage of time so we can take in the details, constructing the size of our stage, our main characters, our antagonist. By the time we assume our role, the lights are down, the curtain set to be drawn. Once we’re in the play, it’s too late to change the stage."

Throwaway Girls is a novel written by a talented writer. Every sentance was smooth, every emotion palpable, every scenery vivid.
But even though I appreciated the writing style in the beginning, I soon got tired of it.
It just didn't work for me. I wouldn't necessarily call it pretentious, but it was definitely too much.
Let's not forget this is a mystery novel. Something that's supposed to keep me at the edge of my seat, flying through pages, while my brain is having a meltdown trying to put pieces together.
What I got insted was a story filled with lines like these:

"Thankfully his long strides get him to my table quickly, and the wind draws a burst of mountain-fresh fabric softener and starch from his shirt as he hoists the other chair and sticks it next to mine."

And that's only one example. Believe me, I could find a quote like this one on every page.
Sometimes less is more. Sometimes we don't need to know what characters smell like, we simply want to find out what happens to them. And in majority of this book, that's nothing.
Because while author was making sure to write beautiful prose, she forgot to actually tell the story in an interesting way.

Now, I would've been ready to ignore everything I just wrote and rate it higher, if only the ending blew me away.
Unfortunately, just like the rest of the book, it was underwhelming (I figured it out) and it didn't make me feel anything.

When Caroline's best friend goes missing, she will do anything to find her. Soon she discovers that Madison isn't the only girl that has disappeared.

I wish I could say I liked this book more. It had promise, but overall it left me underwhelmed. The first half of the book is really slow. I am an avid mystery reader, and this plot just didn't do it for me. At times, it was a confusing with the different characters and narrators; and overall, it just didn't wow me. It was a solid 3 stars--Contos' writing style was very enjoyable, but the actual storyline just didn't hold my attention.

Sadly my phone which I was using to read this book screen had broken and so sadly I couldn't finish the book because it was past the archive date and I couldn't download it onto a different device. I only got a chapter or so read but the storyline was hooking, I really wished I could of finished this book.

This book was so slow. I could barely get through the first bit of the book. But when I did, the book did pick up and it became a better book. Just stick with it

DNF @30%
Unfortunately, this is another thriller that doesn't work for me. I have been trying to read this book for well over a month. I am just so bored with the plot. I feel like nothing substantial has happened yet. I didn't care for any of the characters, especially the main one. Caroline is a character who we should at least empathize with but, all I feel is an annoyance. Granted, I would never wish what she is going through with her parents on anyone.
At this point, I am just not interested enough in the mystery or characters to keep going.
TW: mentions of conversion therapy (the main character described her experience and it came up in a conversation)

This book started of so slow. I normally don't like that in thrillers, I just want to get straight to the action or mystery! The plot is what made me finish it.

The cover of this book is beautiful, that’s what initially caught my eye! Additionally, a thriller involving best friends - sign me up! However, the book read SO SLOW for so long. Typically I dnf a book that isn’t bringing me joy (thanks, marie) but since this was from NetGalley, I knew I had to push through it. The story was good, the characters and POV could be confusing, but I will definitely be picking up more form this author.

"Here's the thing St. Francis ought to teach: none of us are safe – some just have better odds."

Caroline is determined to keep her head down and finish out the last few months at her prestigious prep school. After graduation, she can finally escape the parents who sent her to conversion therapy, but everything explodes when her best friend, Madison, goes missing. Caroline has been living half her life in secret, and she’s still heartbroken over the recent breakup with her girlfriend Willa, but it’s nothing compared to the secrets Madison has been hiding. When Caroline looks closer, she realizes that her best friend is only the most recent in a long string of disappearances, the rest “at risk” teenage girls that no one is looking for. If she wants to find her friend, Caroline needs to start with the body of the girl she found the day she met Willa. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Kids Can Press. Trigger warnings: death, rape (off-page), torture (off-page), abduction, fires, guns, poisoning, homophobia, conversion therapy, bury your gays (some, not all).

This is a YA thriller in the style of Malinda Lo’s A Line in the Dark, and I would recommend it for fans of the genre who are looking for a fresh take and a new voice. It’s a little long and a little cluttered for what it is, but those are basically my only complaints about it. Otherwise, it’s a dark and effective murder mystery that takes a particular interest in the way no one looks for teenage girls in “at risk” populations and doesn’t flinch away from the grim consequences of that issue. For those looking for quick and easy endings, this isn’t the book for you. Contos makes it clear that the girls left standing at the end will be dealing with the events of this novel long after we’ve turned the final page.

Caroline is a solid main character with a complicated backstory (maybe a little too complicated at times), who is trying to carve out an acceptable life for herself under the thumb of her homophobic mother and oblivious father. She’s much like a lot of teenage characters trying to chase down a mystery on her own: ill-equipped and full of wrong turns, so that at times it feels like we’re not making much progress on the mystery. Her relationships with her ex-girlfriend Willa and her missing best friend Madison are fraught and complex, no less for the fact that we rarely see them on the page together. In terms of books that examine complicated female relationships, it’s very well done. Much like for Caroline, her friend Jake, who occasionally helps out with the investigation, is a mere blip on the radar, a paper cutout of the rich, handsome prep school boy (with maybe a fraction more empathy).

I have mixed feelings about the chapters from our mystery narrator, which greatly slow down the pacing of the novel and don’t add a lot to the plot. On the one hand, I like having a mystery narrator, and it does eventually fill in some blanks on various characters’ histories. On the other hand, the writing is a lot more flowery and reflective, and I rarely felt like I was getting much out of those sections. It’s cool in theory, but will likely take more practice to really work in practice. At times, it feels like there are a few too many components of the mystery for them to all come together neatly, especially when I called the killer the first time I saw them (partly, I think, because I read a lot of novels like this, and partly because I’m a woman and I know where the usual threats are). But then, this isn’t the kind of book where things are neat and tidy. Like a lot of first novels, it’s a good effort with room for improvement.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

Throwaway girls follows Caroline Lawson as she struggles to piece together the mystery behind the disappearance of her best friend, Madison. The plot delves deeper when Caroline discovers that other girls have met the same fate as Madison, and the answer to this mystery may be closer to home than she thinks.

The book is amazingly written; leaving you on the edge of your seat until the last page. The characters are also very well fleshed-out and include some diversity.

This was an interesting YA thriller. For a change I went in blind and was surprised with the story. Pleasantly so.
Although it starts off a tad slow and I did wonder whether I should keep reading it but I persevered and I'm glad I did because it does pick up and also engages you.

Caroline, the protagonist is a likeable character. She has layers to it which make her real and relatable.
Despite little ups and downs in the story, the ending was really satisfying and which made up for the little plotholes.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a weird book for me to review. I liked the book overall, but it was hard for me to get through. It’s a who-dun-it thriller with not a lot of action. Contos did a good job of hooking me early on, though, so I was invested in finding out what happened to Madison even when the pace fell to a crawl.

Throwaway Girls tells the story of Caroline Lawson, a high school student at a prep school whose life is full of issues. She is dealing with being bisexual in a family that doesn’t approve, the recent breakup with her ex girlfriend Willa, and the disappearance of her best friend Madison. She doesn’t feel that the police are doing enough to find Madison or the other host of girls who have gone missing over the last several months, so Caroline takes the investigation into her own hands.

The biggest problem with this book is that it’s simply not believable. Caroline is a senior at an affluent prep school, yet she runs all over town at all hours of the day and night without any adult noticing or caring. She is able to talk her friends Jake and Aubrey into repeatedly getting into dangerous situations with her even though she isn’t particularly nice to either of them. Also the storyline with her teacher, Mr. McCormack, has a ton of potential but is not fleshed out. I was left with a lot more questions than answers.

In terms of writing, the first several chapters start off strong. I was hooked from the beginning, but the pace slows down considerably in the middle. There are some incidents sprinkled throughout the middle, but nothing that advances the plot significantly. I also didn’t love the mini-chapters that are told from a mystery person’s point of view. It is an interesting twist when this person is finally revealed, but I don’t know that it was necessary. It mainly just confused me because for most of the book I didn’t understand how these mini-chapters fit within the story. The ending is strong and serves justice in a fitting way. There is a major plot twist that I never saw coming, and I always appreciate a thriller that doesn’t give away the ending early on.

Overall, I think this book is worth reading if you enjoy this suspense or YA. Thank you to NetGalley, Kids Can Press, and Andrea Contos for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Blog review will be available October 8th.

Trigger warnings: conversion therapy, suicidal ideation/planning, kidnapping, murder, discussion of statutory rape, ptsd depictions, police corruption/incompetency, non-consensual drug use, abuse of power.

Throwaway Girls is an interesting and complex thriller that did actually keep me guessing most of the way through. I was piecing things together but I still didn't quite manage to put everything together before the reveal unravelled in a high octane race to the end of the book. I read the last 45% of this book in an hour, because I just couldn't put it down until I knew what was coming next. This book covers some dark topics, but that's not a surprise for a murder mystery thriller, and I think Caroline's anxiety, PTSD and the way she handles the conversion therapy she was forced into is all portrayed with sensitivity but without softening the pain that she's been through. There's scathing commentary on the way that marginalised groups are treated, but I liked the awareness that Caroline had for her privilege and her acknowledgement of the classism inherent in her and her classmate's lives - though it wasn't as though she was perfectly woke. It made me like her a lot, because while she was inherently a good person, she didn't suffer from protagonist perfection. She lied and manipulated and when it came down to it she'd be the first person to tell you that she'd been a bad friend. But her loyalty and commitment to do better was heart-warming and made me fall in love with her.

The narrative was split in two parts, with most of the chapters from our protagonist's POV and some from another POV that's not revealed at first. I wasn't that keen on the alternate POV. By the end of the book I understood why it was there, and it did lead to an excellent moment partway through where I was struck by a sudden realisation, but I found it kind of boring at first and didn't engage with it that much. I think I probably missed little clues because of that. Caroline's POV was super engaging and interesting though, and I loved the way she was characterised throughout. By the end of this book I honestly just want to read about Caroline burning the world down.

This book jumped around way too much for me. Every chapter I was getting whiplash and I had to make sure I was reading correctly and wasn’t missing pages.

I was highly confused about 80% of the time.

The language and humor in the book for me was trying to hard, it was roll your eye cheesy and any person in the real world would never talk or act like that.

I don’t know if I could describe it to anyone because I am still trying to wrap my head around it.

If I hadn’t read SADIE yet I would have loved this book because it had all the elements but SADIE was perfected before this book and it felt like a retelling almost which I don’t think the author was going for.

Something just didn’t click with this one! I was overjoyed with the premise but the execution just didn’t do it for me. I liked the diversity which is hard to find in thrillers and the back stories I just felt like the characters didn’t really click. I didn’t really believe the friendships past and present.

I really didn't love this as much as I thought I would. I loved the plot itself and I think this book could have been phenomenal and heart wrenching, but I just didn't like the main character at all or the writing style.

Rep: bi mc with anxiety, wlw mc, side character with depression, Indian American side character

Triggers - mentions of conversion therapy (brief descriptions, not graphic), discussions of statutory rape, implied suicidal thoughts

And then we come to the culprit. I mentioned before I clocked who it was well before that was actually revealed, but on top of that. There is no motive. Unless it was supposed to be “he was a psychopath and got pleasure out of killing”. But that’s a pretty weak motive, if we’re supposed to believe Caroline is the one linking everything together. So really, what started off as a mystery with a lot of potential, ends up being fairly weak.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of Throwaway Girls! All my thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.*

This story was a little slow to begin, but I really liked our main character, Caroline. She is the best friend of Madison who goes missing and we end up finding out that several other girls have also gone missing over the past few years. Caroline is not your typical teenage heroine. She's unlikeable in someways and rash, but she's incredibly loyal and is true to herself no matter what. She's flawed and the author doesn't shy away from uncomfortable situations. Showing us the gritty things that happen to children if their parents can't cope with who they are turning out to be.

The story picks up about 30% in and we end up meeting a bunch of side characters that help unroll the plot. With each new characters the stakes are raised and the tension is bubbling. As a reader, I really enjoying learning of events as the main character does so it's a mystery to us as well as her as we truck along.

I think for a debut author, this book was well thought out and taken seriously. I would love to see a tighter mystery with a few more connecting breadcrumbs so the ending has a little more UMPH to it. But all in all, if you enjoy YA mystery, this is for you! Fans of Amber Lynn Natusch's HOMETOWN ANTIHERO series will love this book!