I enjoyed this book which is about two best friends who share everything until Shade decides to join the cheerleading squad and Jadis doesn't recognize her. Shade is drawn into the three Chloes but one cheerleader dies and she thinks that if Jadis is behind it then so would she. I have read Hayley's past book which I enjoyed and let me say that this one didn't disappoint. I enjoyed the story of this book and the conflicts that were thrown in. The pacing was well done for this book and I enjoyed the setting being mostly at school. I do have to say that some facts about the cheerleading squad sounded very toxic and awful so beware. This book is written from Slade's pov but when I read the summary, I was expecting it to be Slade AND Jadis pov just because of the way the summary sounded. So I was kind of disappointed with that. This book is all about friendships, betrays and family love that brings the whole book together in an amazing way.

I enjoyed the main character Slade in the way she changed throughout the book but I have to say I was confused about her relationship with her bestie Jadis. For someone who has been best friends with her for a while, it was weird to see her forget about her for most of the book until the murder happens. The side characters were well done and I enjoyed all of the Chloe's characters as they were all different and have secrets. There is no romance in this book as this book is mostly about friendships and betrayal.

The ending was well done and I loved the mystery in this book. It was well done and I kind of didn't expect it to happen. Overall this book was very well written with very minor problems. I will for sure be reading more from this author in the future. I'm so glad that the publisher sent me an early copy to read. I recommend this to fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Foul Girls.

Shade and Jadis have been best friends for years and they do everything together and promise that they'll never leave the other behind. When Shade decides to try out for cheerleadingJadis feels like she's losing her bestie. Shade quickly becomes a star and friends with Chloe Orbach, one of three Chloes that are on the team. After Chloe unexpectedly dies at the homecoming dance and foul play is suspected, Shade becomes suspicious of Jadis and the other two Chloes.

The Falling Girls examines the toxicity that can exist when you're young and trying to fit in. Krischer examines how different friendships can be: from the toxic relationship the Chloes have to the co-dependent relationship Shade and Jadis have. The threat of exposing secrets and the lengths that some high schoolers take to fit in made these friendships feel even more real to me. The Chloes reminded me of the Heathers and I did not like them. While figuring out who she was and how to stand up for herself, Shade made some stark realizations that felt very real to growing up and apart.

This was an enjoyable YA thriller that kept me engaged and desperate for Shade to realize what had happened.

CW: drug overdose, drug use, murder

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

NOTE: I've changed my disclaimer because it was too long to keep typing it every single time. What was I thinking?

People of the book world, take my advice. Put aside your pre-judgments before you read books--or at least before you read books that sound slightly out of your interest range. I love YA, and when this got compared to Holly Jackson (love), I couldn't resist. Mainly because I thought, "Oh, REALLY? That's a tall order, person who wrote the blurb."

But I don't usually do contemporary. Lately I've been trying to incorporate different stuff into my literary diet, and I've been enjoying for the most part. (Side-eyes BEWILDERMENT.) So I said to myself that I can deal with this. It's YA, it's thriller, it's dark academia. Shut up and drive. So I drove.

I have no regrets.

THE FALLING GIRLS starts us out with Shade and Jadis--BFFLs and anti-conformists--watching their high school's pep rally for the start of their junior year. Shade is fixated, can't take her eyes off the stunts and athleticism of the cheer squad. She was a gymnast when she was younger and kept up the skills on her own. Jadis is bored and posting TikToks throughout, mocking and casting aspersions on the entire concept of cheer. Then Shade decides you know what? No, I want to do something of my own, outside of Jadis. And she kicks ass in her cheer audition, making it onto the team as a flyer.

Here's where my pre-judgments came in: I was convinced that we'd get a Mean Girls-esque romp through teen Dramaland. Instead, we got complex characters, real-life bouts of envy, and friendships that broke up, changed, transformed into other levels of complicated. Especially when one of the three head cheerleaders ends up dead on Homecoming night.

The relationships are what made this book spectacular. Jadis and Shade are in that enmeshed type of friendship where they can safely say, "We're the same person with different hair." They have to learn what it means to grow apart and become their own woman, and that's a painful process. Krischer writes about this kind of truth in an empathetic and tender, but inevitably painful, way.

Shade's relationship with her mom is also difficult and frustrating and complex, but still filled with love. All these little moments they have in coming to understand each other were sometimes uncomfortable to read; it felt like we the reader were staring in through a window on this private moment of tension, and that was a good thing. Her mom is this free-spirit feminist type, who has artist friends from around the world crash at their house for poetry readings and informal wine tastings (well, drinkings). Then her daughter wants to become a cheerleader, and Shade knows that'll annoy her because it's "serving the Patriarchy," but all Shade wants is to push herself to her physical limits and defy gravity. Their journey toward embracing each other and changing was a hard one, but man, Krischer killed it.

Real characters can also be creepy and frustrating, and in this age of social media, it can be even more so. Krischer says in her afterword/acknowledgements that she based some of the tension in this squad after a real murder case where a 16-year-old girl was killed because the two perpetrators "didn't like her." (I'll leave a link to the fantastic article by Holly Millea right here for your convenience: https://www.elle.com/culture/tech/a22/skylar-neese-disappearance-twitter/.) So the psychology is there, the facts are there, and the execution of it in a novel is fantastic.

I'm so glad I picked this one up, and it's more than likely something I'll be adding to my personal library. Read it!

This was a rollercoaster of a book. It started out about friendship, with the main character starting cheerleading and struggling to maintain her friendship through that. Then this turns into a murder mystery, where a group of people are unsure if and who killed one of them. I love Hayley Krischer’s books because they always make me think about every side to stories and this book was no different. It’s a crazy and great read!

“‘You’re allowed to be a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously,’ she says, and I think about what that means… That we’re perfect and messy all at once. It’s the first time I feel defined.”

Many thanks to @prhinternational #partner & Razorbill Books for the free book! 🧡 The Falling Girls is the perfect thriller to read for fall! It featured a different side of female friendships, especially how toxic and obsessive it can get during high school. (when things go wrong) I finished reading the book yesterday, and I can't stop thinking about it. Highly recommend it if you're looking for an addictive read!

When I started reading Shade's story, I felt instantly uncomfortable about the toxicity in her friendship with Jadis. I know teenage friendships are complicated, but Shade and Jadis and oh my God. The obsession was just...over the top. It seems like I am complaining about the book, isn't it? I'm not. I like to read thrillers without reading the blurb beforehand, and I did the same for The Falling Girls as well. This is exactly why the female friendships in TFG took me by surprise.

The whole premise had an atmospheric vibe from the very beginning. There's a before and after the murder theme to the story, which I really enjoyed. Shade's life and her insecurities were perfectly fleshed out as well. I unexpectedly connected with her more than I thought I would. I wish the author shed more light upon the three Chloes' lives as well. I think that would have made reading the book a lot better.

I really appreciated how the author explored themes of obsession and toxicity of friendships in depth. There's mystery yes, but the main theme of the story revolves around the consequences of taking obsession with your best friend a little too far (even though friendship is the purest relationship in the world) Highly recommend it if you're looking for an addictive read!

To be completely honest, The Falling Girls didn’t have the best shot with me. I just finished reading a book that I completely fell in love with, and the quality of this novel just couldn’t keep up, so my opinion of this may be lower because of circumstance.

The one thing I couldn’t get around was the writing style. It felt very robotic and stiff, there wasn’t much depth to it, and the maturity was not exactly there. It’s impossible to connect to the story if the writing doesn’t make those connections. The entire time I was reading, it almost felt like a news article but with more descriptions. I was just going through the motions instead of being able to really savor and enjoy what was happening. Usually, authors are able to transport me to another story, but with The Falling Girls, I couldn’t really get my mind into it, and that was a bit disappointing. Other than the writing style, the plot also fell short for me. It was incredibly predictable, which is rare for me to say, and this was nothing too out of the ordinary. It wasn’t clever, but just felt like another standard “small town murder” novel.

What I did appreciate, however, was the focus on how the female friendships were the common denominator, and how consumed teenage girls can get with these relationships. It was realistic, I’ve had friendships like this before, and it isn’t a good experience. This novel definitely puts an emphasis on that. The ebb and flow of power in these group dynamics is something that I’ve been through firsthand, you don’t see many accurate portrayals of girls like the ones featured in the novel, so I applaud the author for that.

While this wasn’t the worst novel I’ve read, I do think that with more writing experience and time, it could’ve been much better. Nothing good or bad stands out in particular, but I may stick to just letting this one fade from memory.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Shade and Jadis have been best friends since 4th grade. Claiming to be the same person, except for their hair, the fabric of their friendship is upset when Shade decides to try out for the cheer team at school. As Shade is pulled deeper into the culture of the squad, she quickly becomes close with Chloe Orbach, one of the three Chloes that rules the team. But when Chloe turns up dead under mysterious circumstances, Shade is forced to examine her inner circle and everyone looks suspicious.

The Falling Girls was a wild ride! Perfect for those that enjoyed They'll Never Catch Us, this book shows the lengths that high schoolers go to when they are desperate to fit in, especially in the world of competitive high school sports. Popularity, social media, and the hills and valleys of friendships are central themes throughout the book. It also shines a light on the entitlement that many high schoolers have and how they will do anything to keep their reputations in tact.

I loved to hate the Chloes, the core group of mean girls on the cheer squad. Shade showed tremendous self growth throughout the book. It broke my heart to see how stretched thin her years-long friendship with Jadis was, but this is a very real thing that happens, especially during high school. While there were a few unbelievable plot points (high schoolers giving each other tattoos, similar to girls self-piercing their ears back in the day) and a slower start, the book is a fun YA thriller that left me entertained. Parts II and III really left me turning the pages quickly to know how the story would turn out.

Thanks to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy!

An amazing portrayal of the intensity of female friendships and relationships. Truly addicting. Displayed the potential toxicity in female friendships within high school without going to far to say all female relationships are terrible. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend.

This book has some of my favorite things to see in a story - coming-of-age, friendship breakups, and murder!

Seriously though, this was such a fun read, and perfect for fall! I sped through the second half of this extremely fast, and I loved the constant air of wondering who to trust. I don't know too much about cheerleading, but I also loved the descriptions of the routines, and I found them fairly easy to picture.

My one complaint would probably be that the ending was a bit obvious. I had hoped the murder would've been a character I wasn't expecting, but I wasn't really surprised by the reveal at all.

Overall, this was an exciting murder mystery and a great quick read for the Halloween season!

I was provided an ARC by Penguin Young Readers and NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

A very intense “who done it”. I would definitely purchase this for my library. The characters were well written, they could be students at any high school, the story was very realistic. You don’t have to be a cheerleader to enjoy this book.

3.5 stars
Going into this book, I didn't know what to expect: was it about friendship? Cheerleading? Was it a thriller? Turns out, it's a little bit of all of these things and it made for a really interesting story. We follow Shade who joins the cheerleading team, much to her best friend's dismay. Soon afterward, one of the top cheerleaders ends up dead at a dance and only a few people may know what happened--but do they really? I really loved that our main character was a cheerleader; so often we see cheerleaders being mean girls who only seek popularity but in this book, they are dedicated to the sport and being active and they have such a great bond throughout the story. The group goes through ups and downs but in the end they support each other on and off the field and I really enjoyed seeing that. Another thing, though, is the morality of each character. None of the characters in this book are completely good or bad, they all have pretty gray morals, but it makes them more realistic, especially in high school when teenagers are confused and learning. There is some drug use (and abuse) in this book so be aware of that going in. This was a good book, if you're looking for a thriller that's lower on the thrill level, this is the one for you!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. A riveting, intimate portrayal of just how intense and all-consuming female friendships can be. If you liked the movies Heathers this book is for you. Overall, I did enjoy the book, it was a fast and dark read, if you like YA thrillers this is for you.

This was a really good YA about the female friendships, high school cliques, jealousy, and so much drama. Oooh I liked this one. Fun fun!

High school Bff's, Jadis and Shade are inseparable. But when Shade joins the cheerleading team, and becomes almost obsessed with the cheer captain, and 2 other teammates, The Three Chloes.

Jadis feels left out and doesn't want to let her friend go. Shade is feeling a pull between her old friend and her teammates. Then one of the cheerleaders turns up dead under strange circumstances. Shade is determined to get to the bottom of it, and she wants to know if Jadis is responsible! Would that, then, make her responsible?!

Ya fans are going to want to add this one to your list!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy! All opinions are my own!

Thank you Penguin Teen for sending me this eARC!

This book had potential. The author has a good writing style, and I would be interested in reading her future works. The main problem I had with this book, however, was that it lacked originality. It was basically the cheerleader version of Heather's, except the Heather's were all named Chloe (which was really confusing). I think if the Three Chloe's were perhaps not named Chloe, the book would have been a lot better and seemed more original.

This was a really solid YA thriller/entry into one of my favorite subgenres (obsessive best friends possibly do crimes). I thought the characterization was fairly well-developed, and I loved the riff on 'Heathers' that the 'Chloes' clique played with. Overall, this wasn't my favorite entry into the obsessive friends YA subgenre, but it was a pretty great ride.

This was so good! Thrilling and mysterious, I needed to know what was going to happen at all times and was definitely pulled into the world of competitive cheerleading and friends. I came for the story and stayed for the drama. Definitely recommend.

“‘You’re allowed to be a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously,’ she says, and I think about what that means… That we’re perfect and messy all at once. It’s the first time I feel defined.”
🎀
Shade and Jadis have been friends forever, but things start to change once Shade joins the cheerleading squad. After getting wrapped up in the three Chloe’s, some of the most popular girls on the squad, Shade starts to question the life she’s always known. But when a suspicious murder rocks her life, Shade not only has to fight for the truth… She must also fight to discover who she is and what she wants out of life. Full of relatable characters and enchanted with quick, compulsive style, The Falling Girls is a thoughtful, well-researched read.
🎀
Wow! I don’t read much contemporary fiction, but The Falling Girls was a really great read. It’s a thoughtful look at female friendships, toxicity, stereotypes and more. As someone who really struggled with friendships (especially toxic friendships) and finding themselves as a young adult, I found that I really sympathized with Shade, the main character. Really, I wish this book had been written like 10 years ago, because my younger self really needed to hear and explore some of the themes in Krischer’s newest novel.
🎀
I read The Falling Girls in one day! If you’re looking for a quick, compulsive read, this is definitely the way to go. Everything about it felt so genuine and thoughtful, and I loved that the novel didn’t lose that once the murder took place. There’s no unnatural drama surrounding the murder, and I actually really appreciated that. So often with thrillers I feel like the events start to stray from what might actually happen, but this felt so real from cover to cover. Unfortunately, I think this is a novel that women of any age can relate to, and it is one that will stick with you long after it is over.

Trigger warnings for this book: death, codependency, bullying

The Falling Girls follows Shade and Jadis, best friends that share everything from toothbrushes to secrets. But when Shade decides to join the cheerleading squad at school and begins to develop friendships with some of the most popular girls in the squad, things start to unravel between her and Jadis. When one of the cheerleaders ends up dead, Shade begins to question if she truly knew Jadis at all or if her codependency blinded her to all the red flags that had been there all along.

If you think this book is like Heathers, the answer is yes it is. Except in this case, it’s The Chloes. It dives into the dark side of friendships among teen girls: the codependency, the jealousy, the way everything feels monumental, and yes, the meanness.

This book was written in three parts and personally I felt the first part and the beginning of the second went slow. I also wished there would have been more character building as most of these characters felt stereotypical to every Mean Girl book and movie ever written: The Chloes were Regina George, Gretchen Weiners and Karen Smith; Shade was Cady Heron, Jadis was Janice Ian and all we needed was a Damian. The climax of the book felt rushed and it came in a few sentences: you win some, you lose some.

I will say that I enjoyed the descriptions of what being a cheerleader is about because I was a cheerleader in high school and I was base. Do you know what catching a 100 lb girl over and over and over again feels like? It sucks, that's what it feels like. There is a lot that goes into cheering other than being peppy and smiling and I liked how the author reminded you of that throughout the story. I agreed 100 and million percent: Cheer is a SPORT.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, it was a fast and dark read. As the parent of a teenager myself, there were plenty of moments where my blood went cold and the fear of all fears was staked in my heart. This was a 3.75 stars rating for me and would recommend it to anyone who is into YA thrillers.

Thank you to Penguin Group/Razorbill for the arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shade and Jadis have a friendship that straddles the line of codependency. When Shade decides to tryout for cheerleading, their relationship splinters. Shade is fascinated by cheer captain Chloe’s energy and quickly forms a relationship with this golden girl. But then during the homecoming dance, Chloe ends up dead. Would Jadis do anything to pull back in Shade? Or is there something more sinister laying beneath the female friendships we observe?

Similar to Heathers in the sense that popularity and friendships can often be much darker and twisted than what appears outwardly to others. Darkness, desperation and loneliness motivate most of the characters.

Despite the depravity, the author uses cheerleading as a way to show the strengths of female friendship. Literally, lifting each other up and catching falling girls.

Overall, the characters (that are still alive and not behind bars) show growth and work to create their own identity. Readers beware of the topics of toxic relationships and drug use.

I received a copy of this book as an e-ARC from NetGalley and Penguin Teen. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Shade and Jadis have been as close as sisters for as long as they can remember. They've never really separated from each other, that is until Shade chooses to join the school's cheerleading team and befriending the hierarchy that is the Chloes. Will Shade and Jadis's friendship survive in this near feminist retelling of Heathers?

I should have expected this book to have as much drama as it did. You couldn't go a page without there being some kind of argument or internal debate from Shade about said arguments. And some of it felt really petty, like the ones that girls from high school hold on to for years afterwards. Which leads me to one of the disappointments about this book, that being the dialogue. There are so many moments that build up to be this big, memorable argument or discussion that could really help turn the tides of the novel, but they get cut off halfway through the dialogue like that was the end of it. There could have been so much more development if that were extended longer.

Speaking of longer, this book needed at least 50 or more pages. This story was only 320 pages, and as a result felt like it missed out on a lot of good opportunities to either make commentary about the modern cheerleading world or to develop the characters. In the author's note, Krischer discusses the blatant racism in the sport and how there is also a lot of sexual harassment towards cheerleaders because of what they do. But is any of this featured in the novel? Nope. It's cast aside to make room for, you guessed it, more drama. If the author had more pages, it would have helped make this a more well-rounded novel.

In terms of characters, I was REALLY hoping for two characters to get together and it never happened. There was a LOT of queer-coded language in the first half of this novel that I really wished it would have played through but got severely disappointed when it didn't. Yeah, Jadis is gay herself, but you can't read this and tell me that some of the other characters aren't gay. Otherwise, it was hard to connect myself to them, mostly because of the amount of drama as well as the fact that I have never been a cheerleader.

However, I will add that I think the toxic relationship aspect of this story was done in a decent manner. Wanting to stay with the "friend" even though they hurt you in the most ways possible, still wanting to cling on to what you have, even though it's a thread at this point. I've been in a few of these and it was nice to see it play out this way.

The mystery aspect of this story did need more development and nuance to it, in my personal opinion. The main mystery doesn't occur until 50% through the book, and it nagged at me how simply solving the mystery just ended. It could have had more build-up, and I for sure guessed who the killer was. It was very obvious.

If you like Heathers or just love drama, The Falling Girls is for you. However for me, The Falling Girls ended up falling short.