This started out great. A young girl is discovered in the middle of the forest and can't remember what happened the past few days. Oh yeah, also, her friends are missing from their weekend getaway. Since she was the last person to see them, she immediately becomes a suspect, except she was attacked wasn't she? Told from multiple perspectives and jumping timelines, slowly we are invited in to learn what really happened that weekend. I was all for this novel, until the very last part. The twist, the conclusion, were all garbage. I really wish they had taken the plot in a different direction. Still worth reading for the build up.

Kara Thomas remains my favorite YA thriller writer. I just love how she crafts grounded, messy characters whose emotional turmoil feels so real, and it's a page-turner every time. I really didn't know what to expect from this one, and went in completely spoiler free--though I was aware that there was a twist in it that was love or hate for people. So in that sense, knowing that did lead the read a bit, but it added a really fun guessing game component for me. Suspense-because-amnesia is a trope I really enjoy, and this was no exception. I felt Claire's frustration and I too desperately wanted to know WHAT HAPPENED ON THE MOUNTAIN. Speaking of Claire's frustration, I am a sucker for a messy love triangle, and one of my favorite aspects in this one was the thorniness of Claire's feelings about Kat and Jesse--and how it always sat in the back of her mind and mine that well... could she have done something?

I also enjoyed the delicious suspense of the rumor mill in Claire's home town, the media frenzy, the NANCY GRACE KNOCK OFF. I was just living for that. I love that kind of social tension aspect of true crime. The very real consequences of a leak to the press, becoming the media's scapegoat, the wrong photo from your social media circulating and painting you as the kind of person you're not, seeing what your "friends" are saying about you on social behind your back. This created that claustrophobic feeling as a reader.

(rest of my review, with spoilers, on Goodreads)

This is a wild ride!! I honestly felt like it got a little slow in the middle (although I personally was interested in the part of her dealing with her trauma), but then the last 1/3 or so was INTENSE. I definitely enjoyed it and would hand it to teens who like Karen McManus and similar YA mystery/thriller fare.

I was reading this for YALSA's Quick Picks for Young Adults list, so I wasn't able to post a review on social. We voted it onto the final list.

I recommend this one. It's a good book and everyone should read. Of course I would love to have this book in my bookstore.

Three best friends, a lake house, a secret trip - what could go wrong?

The premise of That Weekend immediately piqued my interest. What I thought would be a straightforward story had some plot twists that completely blindsided me. From the very beginning, I became quite invested in the three main characters and the mystery behind what really happened "that weekend." The main characters were friends for years and years but because of secrets all of their lives were now changed forever. Claire, Kat, and Jesse go for a weekend at Kat's grandmother's lakehouse, without telling any of their parents. They decide to go camping one day and stay overnight. Claire is found with a head injury not remembering what happened. Jesse and Kat are missing. Dealing with the loss of memory and two friends who are presumed dead, Claire goes on a mission to discover what happened that day. She is so clever as she finds out more and more information slowly revealing things that she could not have imagined. She seems always one step ahead of the police. As a reader, I got completely engrossed with Claire's grief over her two best friends. Where are they and are they still alive? It was suspenseful as Claire got closer and closer to the truth. One of the police officers tells Claire that knowing the truth sometimes does not make the ending any better by knowing. Maybe she even discovers her friends weren't the people she thought they were. There were some great themes in this book-bonds of friendship, love, loss, and starting a new. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and inhaled it in just a few sittings.


Thank you @Netgalley and @St. Martins Press for a digital arc of That Weekend in exchange for an honest review.

This book was good enough, but then I got to the twist and it lost me. The characters made choices that weren't believable and I lost interest in the story.

I’m sorry I finished this book in September and forgot to leave a review, and i read so many that it’s too late. I gave it a 5/5 on goodreads though

Kara Thomas has a way of taking a simple premise that keeps you wanting more and more as you dive further into the book. I am a huge fan of Kara Thomas and have read all her previous books, in addition to this one. While this story was more predictable for me than her other books, it was still exciting and full of misdirection. I loved the way she created strong female characters that wanted to better themselves. Her depiction of trauma and grief was very well done and relatable. Thomas manages to write a YA novel that feels like it was meant for adults while still keeping the content appropriate for it's intended audience. Yet another fantastic read from Kara Thomas.

An enjoyable read but the end went a bit wonky. Perhaps more even pacing would have made this stronger. Kara Thomas always hooks me in quickly with her novels.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lots of twists and turns in this one. Some parts were predictable but some things made my jaw drop. A pretty good plot and well-developed characters. This is a YA book but even as an adult, I enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this books from the twists and turns to the character dynamics. I was on the edge of my seat for days!!! Can't wait for everyone to enjoy this book

I enjoyed this mystery-thriller! Quick read, but that’s not a bad thing. Some of the twists were more or less easy to see coming, and others absolutely were not. I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying but that could be because two major shake-ups happened within 10 pages, and my head was spinning. No character was particularly likeable but I suspect teens will be able to relate to Claire’s tumultuous emotions.

Are thrillers your thing?

Pick this book up. Halloween season would be a good time to spend an afternoon curled up with this one!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

When Claire wakes up in the hospital after a weekend hiking trip to the mountains and her friends are nowhere to be found, you know you are in for a wild mystery ride. This is a solid thriller for the YA crowd.

I sometimes think YA is the most difficult genre to write. But the characters were true to the genre. The opening scene grabbed me immediately as Clare woke to confusion, wandering with a brave purpose, I love mountain settings which are always a bit creepy in a thriller..The age of the characters rang true. And although a lot of the twists and turns were a bit predictable the ending took me by surprise. It was a bit of a stretch, but I still enjoyed the suspense which kept me finishing the book in two sittings.

A strong, captivating beginning and middle is undercut by an improbable, non-sensical ending that I struggled to suspend my disbelief for. While it was shocking and entertaining, I struggle to believe that the truth of what happened couldn’t have been easily pieced together by any competent adult in the book. Despite my issues with the ending, engaging writing kept me hooked and turning the page; recommended for teens who want a fast-paced mystery with absolutely crazy plot twists.

I was really enjoying this book until the plot twist at the end. The mystery of what actually happened to the main character and her friends had me gripped from the beginning, but my enjoyment went downhill from about halfway though. I'm definitely going to go back and read other books this author has written!

3.5/5 Stars

Claire and her two bestfriends were supposed to spend the weekend away after prom at a lake house in the mountains. But when Claire wakes up bloody and alone on a hiking trail, with no memory of what happened the previous 48-hours. Everyone is turning to her for answers, and she is unable to provide them. As the hours tick on, she begins to worry that something terrible happened to her friends.

I was super into this book and was really digging it...until the end... resulting in my 3.5 instead of the 4.5 it could have been (SERIOUSLY, what was that ending?!). It was a bit predictable plot wise, but I still had fun reading it and found it hard to put down. I liked the past and present POVs, I think it helped move the story along and allow us to have a better backstory on these characters and their relationship dynamics. I really liked seeing Claire's perception of Kat and Jesse shift as the story continued and she tried to remember what happened. Claire was a tad annoying at times, but its understandable why she became so obsessed with figuring out what happened to her and her friends. I also enjoyed how we got chapters from another character later on in the story as well, as I hadn't expected that.

I do think that this is a story you should try going into knowing as little as possible.