Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebook Fire for allowing me to read a digital ARC of Chelsea Sedoti's "Tell Me What Really Happened," with a publication date of April 2, 2024. Please forgive my delay in reading and reviewing this novel.

"Tell Me What Really Happened" is a tale of five teenagers - an influencer, an overachiever, a heartthrob, an outcast, and a conspiracy theorist - who go camping in the woods around Salvation Creek, and only four return. Each chapter in this who-dun-it begins with a detective interviewing each survivor, asking questions such as Why was their friend killed? Who do they think did it? Why? and their reason for these beliefs. There was even a random Bigfoot sighting immersed in this saga.

The survivors, with their relatable issues, were not likable at times. The conclusion reflects today's theme of the adverse impact of misinformation. This novel was engaging, but I could not connect with the characters.

2.5/5 stars

I liked how this was set up as a police interrogation, with almost every chapter featuring the characters responding to a police prompt. This was a unique format that worked well in the audiobook version. However, some narratives were unrealistic and revealed too much or unnecessary information about the characters. Sometimes, I said, "You wouldn't be saying that..." There wasn't enough nervousness or fear among the characters; all teenagers who were talking to the police. The conclusion was a little underwhelming, but overall, it kept my attention. This was a good, fast-paced YA mystery.

I received this as an ARC and also listened to the audiobook. Thank you to the author and publishers

Five stars! Love how this one was told completely through police interrogation dialogue. Missing girl YA is everywhere these days, but Tell Me What Really Happened had me encountering some truly unique elements! I was entertained and addicted from the beginning!

I love any book that is told in an epistolary or otherwise untraditional style. I find that I fly through them and end up wanting more. This was no exception.

Even though this is categorized as a YA book, I believe it could still appeal to an audience of all ages, as long as they love a well written twisty story. I tried my best to guess what was going to happen at the end, but I was still blindsided. This would be a great book to read this month to start off cold spooky season!

There is a special place in my reading heart for YA thrillers and this book made that spot so happy. I truly enjoyed everything about this book. Even the random Big Foot story line. I was a bit confused by it at the beginning but the way it tied in with the ending was so unexpected and made it really all come together in the end.

This book has a grest story, format, and pace. You won't want to put it down. If you are a fan of Holly Jackson I.highly recommend checking this one out.

These characters were insufferable! I get that that's the point; in high school, we're all a bit selfish and self-centered, but my god, someone should have hit this girl over the head.

the story was very well written, and the format, being an interrogation setting where you can't get the entire story until the end, was very well done. each turn made me dislike the missing girl more and more while also wondering how she even had friends, to begin with.

Too late in the story, the author is trying to make a statement about social media and fame through the lens of teenagers. I found the pacing and writing compelling, but I found the bigfoot subplot odd. He could have been afraid for any other reason, and it would have been better.

Thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks for the eARC of this book

This YA mystery kept me guessing and had a unique format, which I appreciated. The story follows five teens who go camping, but only four return. Through a series of police interviews, Petra, Nolan, Abigail, and John recount what happened, revealing that everyone has something to hide. Petra is Maylee’s best friend, John is her boyfriend, and Nolan is Petra’s stepbrother. Abigail’s inclusion in the group is a bit of a mystery itself, and Nolan’s obsession with Bigfoot adds an interesting, though sometimes overplayed, element to the story.

While I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the conclusion, it made sense and felt realistic. The teens are unreliable narrators, sometimes even to themselves, which kept things interesting. I enjoyed the police interview format, though it did stretch believability at times with the level of detail provided.

The characters were complex, and my feelings toward them shifted as the story unfolded, which I appreciated. The way the characters’ perceptions of each other changed over time added depth to the narrative. I had my suspicions about what happened to Maylee early on, but the final resolution still managed to surprise me.

Wasnt a fan of this one. Only good thing about the book to me was the short chapters that made it for a quicker read. I think if you were up for a YA thriller then this might be a good one to read with missing people and getting interviewed by the police, who is telling the truth etc etc.

This was okay. I expected a lot based on the plot, but it fell short for me. I would have appreciated more dialogue from the officers to make it seem like a real interview/interrogation. It just sounded like the characters were talking to and arguing with themselves. The main character's reasoning for wanting to go camping was just so dumb. It shows how social media influences people though.

Going into this I was really excited because the premise sounded really good. I was drawn in pretty quickly by the characters and thought we were in for a wild ride. I was not wrong. This was fast-paced and full of suspense. I didn't love the ending but did find it to be pretty clever in some ways. There were a lot of twists and turns along the way and I really was shocked by what was revealed. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this a lot. It was pretty good and I enjoyed the whole mystery and writing.

Essentially this is about 5 friends, Maylee, Petra, John, Nolan and Abigail, who go camping and then one goes missing and now the other 4 friends are in an interrogation room being questioned.

One of the reasons I loved this book was the writing. its set up like an actual interview having the questions as the chapter title and then having the 4 povs, in the same chapter. it made it very easy to read and keep track of what was going on. The whole mystery with the way it was written was executed really well, and, at least for me, it almost feels like your interrogating them. The characters are also not boring and you can kinda tell how their feeling.

As much as I liked this, the only thing about this book I didn’t really like was how anticlimactic it was at the end. I was able to figure out most if it when it came to what happened, but I was still expecting it to be a bigger thing especially from the plot twists during the book.

So, overall it was pretty good and the mystery was executed really well, it was just a bit underwhelming to me. I would 100% recommend this book though! I think it would be a great read for anyone getting into mysteries or reading in general because of how easy it was to read.

Thank you to SourceBooks Fire and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book to read and review!!

Who doesnt lovely a creepy camping story? Throw in a group of teens, a scary monster and some misbehaving. I couldnt put this down til the very last page.

"Tell Me What Really Happened" by Chelsea Sedoti is a thought-provoking exploration of truth and perception in a small town shaken by a mysterious event. Sedoti's narrative skillfully navigates multiple viewpoints, each offering conflicting perspectives on the truth, morality, and community dynamics. The characters are deeply flawed yet compellingly human, their secrets and motivations gradually revealed through nuanced storytelling. While the plot unfolds with gripping suspense, Sedoti's exploration of ethical dilemmas and the consequences of secrets adds layers of depth to this contemporary mystery. Overall, "Tell Me What Really Happened" is a compelling read that challenges readers to question their own perceptions and judgments.

This was such a great book! I could not put it down, I had to know what happened. I did read it in one sitting! I would definitely recommend this book.

Tell Me What Really Happened was a very fast read. It is told in interviews which helps to make the story very interesting. Fans of young adult mystery/thrillers will enjoy this one for sure.

*Review will be posted 7/10/24

I. Loved. This. Book! The author chose to tell the story through an interesting format and it definitely paid off. It was so easy and fun to get totally wrapped up in the story. I got sucked in so fast. The story is told exclusively through police interviews so it feels like you're investigating right alongside the cops. You get the thrill of trying to pick apart their story and connect statements to other interviews. It was so fun!

Each character played a bit of a stereotype, but in a good way. I could tell them apart and each of them had a unique lens that changed the way certain events were seen. It made it that much more interesting to try and put the facts together. What was true and what wasn't? 

The ending was a bit anti-climatic. In the end, it was so simple, but I really hoped for something more. At the same time, I think it was interesting to look back on everything and see how each character's memories had been a little flawed and influenced the way they looked at things. It added to the confusing and made it harder to untangle the mystery.

Though I wasn't a huge fan of how things ended, I still had so much fun reading this book that I would still highly recommend it to anyone who wants a quick mystery/thriller to get through!

My favorite part of this book was the framing device: each chapter was a different member of the crew speaking to the police about their perspective on the night their friend went missing. The ending was a bit anticlimactic, but otherwise a great read.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire, NetGalley and to Chelsea Sedoti for the advanced copy of "Tell Me What Really Happened". My unsolicited review is as follows:

Initially, I found the narrative structure of this novel to be very jarring. The "Police Interview" style and the rapidly shifting, first person, narratives made the story difficult to follow. I found myself going back and rereading portions just to remember who each character was supposed to be and what their relationships were with one another. About 7% in, I was very tempted to just give up and leave this book unfinished. However, I steeled myself to push forward and soon found myself growing comfortable with the interview style narrative. It actually kept the story moving at a strong pace, and the author wasted no time in introducing intriguing/tension building elements to the story. By 15% I was happily reading the story without any issues and looking forward to seeing where things were leading. A fast read, this is an excellent novel for young adults. I believe it will keep them entertained, throughout, and well stimulated by the social media commentary and spooky narrative.

Ultimately, I still think this story would have played out better as a traditional novel, rather than relying on the police interviews. At times, the narrative device seemed like it was being used to stretch out a very simple premise to be a bit longer than necessary. Not a bad summer read, though, and one that I'd recommend to a younger reader!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

Five friends go into the woods, four return. Told only through the perspective of police interviews, we learn how Maylee disappeared and all the crazy circumstances that followed.
Very interesting format, definitely worth the read.