Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. I am not the intended audience for this book. I love YA fantasy, but YA in general is tough to read, this far removed from highschool. These characters were just nit likeable. I really didn't care about the outcome of the mystery or the podcast or thier small lives.

Cam and Blair have a high school assignment they have to pick a subject. Their subject is a girl, Clarissa who goes missing 20 years earlier. Cam and Blair start a podcast and hope to solve the case! I really enjoyed this YA book and couldn’t put it down. I look forward to more books by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published March 2023.

𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝙽𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚢 𝙳𝚛𝚎𝚠’𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚃𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚍𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚝. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚞𝚗 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙲𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚞𝚗𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚛𝚋𝚊𝚗 𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗?

🔖: mind baffling. Those in the light tend to be overexposed which hides their darkness. It was a slow start in my opinion, but it has a good plot, so I stuck to it and it didn't disappoint. The friendship dynamic and suspense kept me guessing and I was shocked at the ending I can usually guess where the ending is going. LOVED the way it was all wrapped together in a bow. Some topics were brought up (parentage) but no end result so I guessed for peace of mind. all in all I liked Cameron's Mother scenes and the way she fought for her child. Overall a thrilling read and plot.

i thought this book was just very deeply fine. the mystery, while at points compelling, felt rather predictable. the writing was confusing. and the narration jumped around a lot, making it difficult to understand who was talking. it took my about a month to read, which is a long time, especially for a thriller, and while i enjoyed it while i was reading it, i never felt particularly compelled to pick it up. the best part about this book was the characters, who read like actual teenagers for the most part. however, the ending of both their character arcs and the mystery felt very rushed and unfinished. lastly, this book felt like it wanted to make a statement about the flaws of the prison system in the united states, but it felt sort of haphazardly thrown in there, and like it had no actual bearing on the plot. it read less like a part of the narrative and more like something that was added in order to make sure it was addressed.

Well that was a fun story! Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC. This story definitely puts you in mind of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. There is one major difference to me that I kinda preferred in this book. In this book, our main characters Cam and Blair are simply students…they know nothing about how to do a podcast or how to research or even how to be journalists. They ((mostly Cam)) were just trying to get a good grade in a class. While in AGGGTM, the main character was basically a professional. This felt more realistic. I knew who the killer was but I did enjoy the ride! I gave this one 3.5 ⭐️

For their high school journalism project, Cam and Blair decide to do a podcast about the disappearance twenty years ago of Clarissa Campbell, recent high school graduate, after a party in the woods. Her disappearance made national news, was a hot story for quite a while, resulted in made for TV movies, and is still a topic of interest on Internet forums, as her disappearance is still unsolved.

Cam and Blair will solve the mystery, but not without placing themselves in peril and disrupting multiple lives. Their podcast will gain a following but also sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom, as neither girl knows how to produce a podcast and Cam is not patient enough to figure out to do it correctly. They are able to talk with a number of people connected to Clarissa, including her high school boyfriend (who was a prime suspect at the time) and her best friend, and these people share a surprising amount of information with the girls. However, their investigation also uncovers some rather significant and damaging secrets.

Cam is extremely intelligent, except when it comes to people. She is also very headstrong and impetuous, doing what she wants/thinks is right without considering the consequences or how it will affect others. Her actions will land her family and Blair's family in legal trouble, almost destroy her friendship with Blair, almost destroy her very new relationship with her girlfriend Sophie, and almost cost her her life.

Some of the best moments in the book are Cam's interactions (often flustered) with Sophie. Although the central story focuses on solving the disappearance of Clarissa, a major aspect of the story is the realizations that Cam and Blair reach about themselves and others. Clarissa was portrayed as an All-American Girl, but there was a lot about her that others did not know, or few people knew, and no-one really understood her. Blair dreams of being a published author but has never shared that dream with anyone and has convinced herself that there is nothing particularly special about her, including her writing abilities. However, through the course of the story, she will develop a greater sense of self-worth. Cam will come to realize that she can relate better to people than she thinks, but also that her headstrong nature needs to be reined in at times.

I didn't love or hate this, I think I just was not the target demographic for this book. I found the main characters to be incredibly immature, and I had a hard time connecting with them as a result. I didn't agree with many (if any) of the choices they made along the way, which naturally left for an upsetting storyline and ending for me. The other aspect that bothered me was how unrealistic it was for these two teenage girls with absolutely zero knowledge or skill in the niche to start a podcast that essentially blew up into an overnight success.

I will say that the actual story of Clarissa was interesting, but unfortunately this story focused too heavily on other aspects that bogged it down and left me uninterested as a whole. That being said, I think this will be a big hit on pub day for young adult readers!

Clarissa Campbell disappeared 20 years ago from a party in the woods after graduation so of course, someone is making a podcast about it! I really did like the characters and felt they seemed real. I didn't quite like the mystery aspect. It seemed messy and rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out! Really solid read.

I wasn't super impressed at first, but I stuck with it. Cam is a deeply flawed character and she could be grating, especially since I'm now a decade removed from being a teenager. But she grew on me. She was arrogant and impulsive and witty and naive and innocent. I wish we'd gotten a little more Blair, but her development was amazing. This turned into the kind of thriller I'd put up there with Truly Devious and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - it was smart and dark and funny. There was a lot of love in family, in all the ways it comes, and there was a queer love story that was delightful without ever taking away from the primary plot. I highly, highly recommend this one.

This is a young adult mystery, two high school best friends start a podcast about a missing girl from 20 years ago. Along the way to attempting to solve the cold case, they learn more about who they are and what is important to them. They are likeable characters, opinionated, struggling with self esteem, impulsive and naive at times. We root for them to grow, to understand their relationships and the world and to solve the mystery. Themes of racism, the prison system, the missing white girl/pretty white girl syndrome and coming out are explored.

I think my students will really like this engaging tale of two friends trying to solve a 20 yr old case of girl gone missing. The best friends were likeable and realistic, struggling with real issues that were handled with sensitivity. And the mystery will keep their attention. All in all a good read for students and adults

I usually enjoy YA Thrillers as for adults they are like the cozy mysteries of the genre. They are usually fast reads too.

Missing Clarissa was overall engaging and fun to read, but at times I felt a little too long-winded and overly descriptive. It seemed to jump all over the place too, but that could easily be attributed to the teens attempting to solve a cold case.

I would still recommend this for fans of YA Thrillers and podcast style formats. I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was recommended if I liked A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. I really enjoyed this book! It was a great read. Ya mysteries are my favorites.

Blair and Cam are best friends for many years. When they get an interesting school they decide to do a true crime podcast. About 20 years ago a young girl from their small town of Oreville went missing....never to be found again. The case has been cold....but the townspeople all remember this event. Some of the people who knew
Clarissa Campbell still remember searching for her and still wonder what could have happened. When the two girls begin their search they uncover things that will change lives ..but will they be able to discover the true identity of the killer or will they end up endangering their lives and the lives of others. This book kept me reading to the end. Their back stories were interesting and the characters were well developed. Definitely worth a read....

This book just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t relate to the characters and the frequent change in point of view was annoying.

I loved this book. From beginning to end. This was definitely the sort of book I enjoy. Mystery and a fresh pair of eyes trying to solve it ! I loved that this was written in a format showing the process of the podcast the characters were working on for a school project.

Blair and Cam have decided that they want to do a podcast about a missing girl from their high school who graduated 20 years prior, Clarissa Campbell. She was never found, she basically just up and vanished after a party in the woods and nobody was ever arrested because they didn't have enough evidence to place on any of the suspects. Which as it turns out, the police ONLY looked at the boyfriend.

The two girls couldn't be anymore different. Blair is soft spoken and not nearly as confident in her capabilities as Cam is. But Cam is overly committed, loud, and has no filter. Does she even think before she speaks ? Ha I really enjoyed this book and I killed it in one day. I would recommend it to people who like mysteries. Or if you're a fan of true crime podcasts, this book is right up your alley.

Missing Clarissa was such a quick read for me. I needed to know what happened to her and why! Cam and Blair decide to create a podcast about Oreville high school cheerleader Clarissa who went missing in 1999. The dynamic of Cam and Blair reminds me so much of the dynamic many of us have seen in our lives when a friend starts dating and the other feels left behind. Or when a friend is confident and you're still second-guessing where you're heading and who you want to be. When your voice feels quiet but your friend's sounds loud and clear. These two are going through many of those plights when Cam jumps head first into the podcast while Blair is hesitant. When the podcast goes viral, Cam is obsessed with finding out what happened to Clarissa. Whereas, Blair sees in Clarissa a girl with many identities. Did anyone really know her? Missing Clarissa is a play on words, people are missing Clarissa emotionally, she's also physically missing, but in addition, it's like people missed seeing who Clarissa really was.

The plot twists are fun, but a tad predictable at times. As far as debut books, I think it's worth giving a try! I look forward to reading more by Ripley Jones. Definitely give this a shot if you enjoyed The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson, which was one of my favorite YA thrillers of 2022!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/ Wednesday Books for the ARC!

I expected something completely different from this book which is probably the biggest reason for my disappointment while reading MISSING CLARISSA. So, sadly, I’ve decided to DNF it since I’m not vibing with the characters at all.

I wanted to like this one but ultimately ended up disappointed.

It started out promising and very very much like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (probably too much too be honest). Two girls trying to discover what happened to a missing girl in the past start a podcast.

There were quite a few fun red herrings which was okay, but the way the ending unfolded was not even a little bit realistic. It wrapped up so fast and didn't give close to enough explanation about what happened at all. I feel jipped by the ending and wouldn't recommend overall for that reason.

I wish this author success and hope many still enjoy this read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the chance to read and review this prior to release.

2.5 rounded up to 3 for GR