Through a whirlwind of trying to be a good thief to save your parents and yourself while maintaining a normal life with the other exchange students, this book was wonderfully put together and I really enjoyed the suspense.

I loved this book! It was not what I thought it was going to be and it very quickly took a shocking turn. I was absolutely unable to put the book down and read it in about one sitting. A fantastic YA with a twisty thriller at heart. I was rooting for Tess the entire book.

If the film Taken was a book, this would be it! Jody Feldman’s No Way Home is a twisted version of Taken, but the kidnappers seem to be a little closer to home.

The story follows Tess as she travels abroad for a program, only for her host parents to be insane. That’s the nicest way I can put it. While that is given away in the synopsis, most of the story follows her journey to try and earn her freedom from them and save her family back home.

This story had such an interesting plot, I was excited to read it. I wanted to see how a young girl could get stuck overseas and the parents not being suspicious. The story had a nice flow to it and moved along enough to keep me interested. Feldman got to the high stakes part of the story early on, which I appreciated to hook me as a reader into the story. It was fairly quickly I realized people around her were not who they said they were.

While the overall story flowed nicely and kept me interested, I had a few issues. The first is that I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. I kind of connected with her friends she made at the school program, but not on any crazy level. I feel like I enjoy books more when I connect with the characters and I didn’t feel that pull. Second is I found the story to be slightly unbelievable and that was hard for me to really feel into the story. I just felt it was too far fetched at times and that usually makes me struggle.

Overall it is a good story and I enjoyed it enough to want to finish it. I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy fun mysteries where you are trying to figure out how the people are going to get out of the situation they have found themselves in. This is not the first book I’ve read by Feldman and while it isn’t my favorite, I look forward to reading another.

Scrolling through my kindle this book caught my attention with the cover and I have also been participating in a Netgalley reading challenge, trying to clear my NetGalley books. Sourcebooks Fire is one of my favourite publishers for YA Thrillers. No Way Home introduces us to Tess who should have been having the time of her life when she was chosen to be part of a student exchange programme in Rome. Ever since she was little, Tess has always felt a bond with Rome and wanted to go back and research her father's family. She just never dreamed that it would happen like this and that her trip and experience of a lifetime would turn into a living nightmare with lives hanging on the line. Turns out Tess's family in Rome has some dark secrets including a hidden piece of treasure worth billions, years ago the patriarch of the family got sick of the arguments and decided to split up the map of the treasure and each family line - their were 5 got a different piece of the map. The patriarch's view was the family members would reunite and share what they had and live HEA. Of course, things are never that easy and turns out that Tess's host family is related to her and wants the treasure and now with Tess in their back pocket, they can manipulate her to do the thieving for them. Otherwise, Sofia, who is back home with her parents and friends will kill them if she doesn't do what they say. Now Tess is stuck in Rome, with no money and a fake passport? Who can Tess trust especially in a country where she doesn't know the language perfectly and her parents' lives hanging by a thread? Can Tess make her way home to the US or will she be stuck in Rome with No Way Home? Find out in this fun YA scavenger hunt-based thriller by Jody Feldman. Fans of Maureen L Johnson, Natalie D. Richards, and Natasha Preston will enjoy.

Verdict: This mystery will keep you on the edge of your seat, questioning who you can trust, and rooting for Tess to stop the bad guys.
Tess is savvy, but the bad guys are way ahead of her. She wants to trust her friends at school, but any one of them could be a spy for the Rossis. The Rossis were supposed to be her host parents in France, but they are actually criminals. Their daughter Sofia is with Tess's parents in the U.S. and she is threatening to hurt them if Tess doesn't do exactly what the Rossis say. Tess is all alone and terrified. But she finds one person she thinks she can trust and from there, she will try to find a way to defeat the Rossis.

I read this book back in May 2022, but I can’t find a written or posted review anywhere. So here it goes, keeping in mind that I don’t quite remember all the details of the story.

Seventeen-year-old Tess is caught in a crazy situation. She’s supposed to be a foreign exchange student in Rome focusing on learning Italian, only to discover that her host family has taken away her phone, money, credit cards, and passport with an ominous threat: do what they say, or their daughter, who is staying with Tess’ parents, will kill them.

I think the premise is excellent and I think that the beginning of the book is quite strong. It’s a book that is meant to be a Da Vinci Code meets Fun Summer, but I do wish that the plot had been honed a little more before publication. The end became a little confusing at times, as too many characters were added to the plot too close together with no discernment in the text to help us keep track.

The reason for everything was a lot more complex than I expected, but that the explanation was a little garbled and complex; I would have liked for it to be explored more in depth. But I liked that the reason wasn’t simple. But despite this, I do think that No Way home is a good read and I will pick up future Jody Feldman books.

I adored this book.

It was not what I thought it was going to be and it very quickly took a shocking turn. Leaving me unable to put the book down. A fantastic YA twisty thriller

I loved the travel experience and exchange student set-up that served as a background for a family mystery and page-turning thriller. While the mystery wasn't very complex, there were enough supporting characters and red herrings to cast doubt. Teens will love the premise and relate to the idea that things aren't always as they seem, and friendships are the key to survival.

I'm not a young adult so it's hard to rate this but wow. This one was just....
You have to suspend slot of belief and reality. It was too over the top and cheesy and unbelievable. I had to stop reading because it just was not what I expected and I couldn't get into it

The premise of this book was exciting and gave me true crime vibes, but I just didn't enjoy this story. I expected a lot more tension and stakes, and this just didn't deliver the punch I wanted. While the premise led us to believe this book would be very high stakes and dark, it ends up more like a fun investigating adventure that reads like a young YA. That said, I did end up liking the unexpected turn it took despite a lack of twists. The characters were likeable, I enjoyed the Italy settings, and it was a quick read with lots of action.

Her parents' lives are at stake and she can only do so much across international waters...
Tess is stoked to be chosen for the summer exchange program in Rome. Sofia will stay with Tess' family in the United States, while Tess is off exploring the beautiful sights of Rome and tasting the authentic food, which has always been a dream of hers. The biggest obstacle she faces is the language barrier, with her host parents barely speaking any English, but they seem cool enough. Or so she thinks... One night Tess discovers her host parents on a video chat with Sofia, and to her horror, Sofia is holding a knife over her parents while they sleep. If she wants her parents to live, she will do exactly as they say. Without her credit cards, passport, or phone, Tess must successfully commit a series of crimes that all add up to a bigger plan. Will she find a way to outsmart these criminals or will Tess and everyone she loves wind up dead?
This was an unputdownable YA thriller! I flew through this, dying to solve each piece of the puzzle alongside Tess. No Way Home is jam-packed with twists and turns, I was impressed that the author left not a single thing unanswered. This is a definite must-read; It's so fun and nerve-wracking. Add this one to your TBR!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and Edelweiss+. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. As improbable as some of the situations seem, this would make one heck of a movie. Stunning Italian scenery, the pressures and stress school, not to mention the sheer terror of having some international criminals threating you and your family if you don't do exactly what they say... and you're also trapped with them? Not ground breaking literature by any means, but one wild ride that comes with a side of gelato and cute British boys.

This is definitely a book for younger readers who are just getting into the suspense genre. If you already like and read suspense novels, the book is going to be a let down for you.

This novel follow Tess who enters into a study abroad program only to learn that she is being used as a criminal by her abroad family to try to find the hidden treasure. To begin some of the things that they ask her to do seem too easy for her to pull off without being noticed, but I also found it unlikely that she became smarter than the criminals threatening her.

A great concept that just needed a bit better execution.

Um this is definitely a YA thriller in that you really have to suspend disbelief in reading this.
These are easily the stupidest criminals I've ever read about....
I wanted to enjoy this more but unfortunately I couldn't get into the over the top cheesiness of this "thriller"
Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy

No Way Home by Jody Feldman (out August 2) follows Tess as she embarks on a study abroad program in Italy. Her host family turns out to be not so nice, threatening Tess’s loved ones unless she commits a series of crimes for them.

What I liked:
-the setting. Before the danger sets in, Tess visits famous landmarks, shown here, and eats lots of Italian food and the descriptions really made it feel like I was there.
-likable characters. Tess finds a group of friends who will help her out, no questions asked.
-the mystery and the puzzle aspect. Once we got into why Tess needed to commit these crimes, the story really started to come together. I liked being inside her mind as she pieced together the clues and solved the various puzzles that would ultimately lead to the conclusion.

You may have to suspend your belief at times to think a teenager could sneak in and out of places easily without getting caught, which made everything feel a little bit too convenient. The book is also marketed as a thriller, but I felt it was more of a fun quick young adult mystery that gave me National Treasure vibes.

I was looking forward to this one since the blurb sounded really interesting and nothing like I have read before. Although it had the unique aspect going for it, I just didn't like anything about it. It felt very rushed and I didn't find myself connecting with the characters.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Tess. She is on her way to Rome for a summer exchange program. I didn't really care either way what happened to her or her family. It felt so out there and the writing style just wasn't for me either. So with those two things, it was just hard to connect to anything in the book.

I'm not even sure what else to say about it, lol. I guess I will just leave it at that!

3.75 stars- I enjoyed this book, but parts were predictable, I guessed what "the chalice" was about 1/3 of the way through the book. Also, why do all mysteries now seem to leave it open for a sequel? I did like the characters and most of the ending. Overall it was a good book.

I wanted to like this so bad but unfortunately I had to dnf. At one point I just couldn’t care less what happened anymore and just stopped reading.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publishers for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Tess Alessandro has been selected to participate in an exclusive student exchange program in Rome. She is delighted to finally be able to participate in the culture, sights, and food of Italy. Her host parents seem very likable, though they don’t speak English well, and Sophia’s Italian is not up to par. Tess’s parents are very happy to host Sophia as their exchange student and Tess’s counterpart. In the morning, however, Tess’s host parents insist that she join them for a FaceTime video call, where she sees Sophia standing over her sleeping parents, holding a knife. She is told by the host family that as long as she does everything they tell her to do, Sophia will not murder her parents. However, they take away her money, passport, and credit card so that she is unable to leave the country, go to the police, or tell anyone about their secret arrangement, and they have hidden cameras, trackers, and microphones picking up her every move. They can also see every message and hear any call coming in or going out on her cell phone. She does everything she’s told for the safety of her parents, but must also figure some way out of this arrangement; but who can she trust with her own and her parents’ lives when it seems that just about everyone she encounters is involved?

“No Way Home” paints a thrilling psychological picture and is compulsively readable right from page one. I was hooked immediately by the descriptions of Rome and all things Italian, and glued to the pages after Tess is shown the knife that Sophia wields over her sleeping parents. It’s dynamic, exciting, and witty, and Tess as the female protagonist is enthralling.. The vivid descriptions along with the smartly-written prose make readers feel as though they are right alongside the characters, watching their every move. The tension is palpable throughout the book, and it continues to build until the reveal, and it most definitely has something for every person who is a fan of psychological thrillers. I believe the ending is fitting and gives me closure, while also leaving the door open just a crack for a possible sequel? I hope that it’s not just wishful thinking on my part and that a sequel will become reality!

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire, and Jody Feldman for the ability to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A young adult mystery based in Rome...a bit of an unlikely premise with this teen blackmailed to protect her parents. I appreciated the solving of this story but a bit too much teen angst for me.