This is definitely a YA book!! I liked how the story was told strictly through police interviews. The story was out there though. It was just an ok read for me.

This YA novel is told from multiple perspectives by the teens who were camping in the woods with Maylee when she disappeared: stepsiblings Nolan and Petra, who is also Maylee’s best friend; John, Maylee’s boyfriend; and Abigail, a classmate who is invited by Maylee, despite the fact that she really isn’t friends with this group.
It took me a while to get into the book (which has happened a lot lately, so it could be a “me problem”), but the action and surprises picked up and hooked me. I wasn’t thrilled by the ending, but it was a solid, twisty mystery and worth my time!

The format of the narrative was interesting and unique, completely in the form of interrogation transcripts after a teen was reported missing at a local campsite. The story takes a long time to unfold, and the characters seem to discover a lot about themselves as the book continues.

This was a fast paced thriller that I finished in just under 24 hours. The police interview format kept the story moving quickly and short chapters made it easy to keep reading. The way each kid's answers were intercut was helpful to the reader in a chronological sense, but sometimes it was hard to remember what information the kids knew since they weren't hearing each other's answers. Overall I liked how it all unfolded and it felt like a real high school camping trip gone wrong.

I enjoyed the story and couldn't put it down, but there was something about the conclusion that left me unsatisfied. Everything was neatly tied up as far as plot points, but I can't quite put my finger on why I felt that way. Overall a good, quick thriller though.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review

3.75⭐️ Rounded up

I really liked the way this was formatted. The start of the chapter was a question from the police and then it rotated between each person’s answer. It made for a quick read, and I was surprised how much information we got to know about the teens and their surroundings without the long-detailed scenery descriptions. There were “pauses” where the police would talk and the way it was answered I had a pretty good idea of what the question was, but sometimes I wish we got to know what was exactly asked. Each teen knew information Maylee that the others did not, so while some parts of the interviews were a smidge repetitive getting everyone’s perspective it was different in the way they disclosed those facts. I got a really good sense of each teen’s personality, and I enjoyed Abigail’s interview the most. By the end, Nolan’s perspective and how he was so hyper focused on Bigfoot got really old and a little annoying. I did like how everything was wrapped up in the end, but it was a little lack luster after the build up and suspense leading up to it.

Thank you @sourcebooksfire and @netgalley for the gifted copy.

Tell Me What Really Happened is an originally told young adult book. I liked the police interview style of writing. Sometimes it made the characters say things that seemed really awkward for a person to say aloud, but it was necessary because every line of the story was told in this way.

Six “friends” go for a camping trip that none of them seem to want. On that trip, Maylee goes missing. The suspects/witnesses are:

Petra-Maylee’s best friend since Kindergarten. She is the only one ready for this experience. She has survivalist training, was the only girl in her boy scout troop, and he daddy is a cop.

Nolan-Petra’s brother and Bigfoot expert who believe Bigfoots are behind all of the disappearance in this. He is extremely unreliable.

Abigail-A few people are confused as to why she is on this trip. She is also capable in the outdoors, thanks to her survivalist father. She is there for a reason, though.

John-Maylee’s boyfriend. He is on guard from the start. That could very well be due to being the only person of color in the group.

So, what really happened? It is a kind of disappointing truth when you get to it. And the motives of some characters can be outright ridiculous. Influencer is not an occupation!

Anyway, Petra says something about getting resolution without closure. I feel that. I wanted more closure. I wanted a more interesting motive and a more interesting crime. It’s really sad in the end. I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars and rounded up.

3 / 5 ⭐️‘s

"Tell Me What Really Happened” by Chelsea Sedoti

This YA mystery is told entirely through first-person police interviews of four teens, the story unravels over the course of several hours, as the truth behind a disappearance at a camping trip in the woods becomes increasingly elusive.

The story starts with five diverse characters: an influencer, an overachiever, a heartthrob, an outcast, and a conspiracy theorist, who embark on a camping trip at Salvation Creek. However, their trip takes a dark turn when one of them vanishes mysteriously around midnight. The remaining four are left under suspicion, and as the clock ticks, their conflicting accounts of the night's events only serve to deepen the mystery.

With its unique format, well-drawn characters, and plot twists, it made for a fun read.

Out now: https://amzn.to/3GJk459

This ARC was provided by @netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Five teenagers go into the woods, only four come back out.
This book is written as if you were the investigator and all the victim’s friends (so…suspects) are telling you their version of what happened.

It took a minute to get into the story style - it almost reads like a script, and I actually think it would work *excellent* as a show. At the start I had to remind myself who was who, but pretty quickly I had enough background to fill in the kids’ personalities. Once I hit that point, the story flowed well for me making it easy to get into and start actually figuring out ‘what really happened’

There are definite Breakfast Club vibes - this group doesn’t quite seem like they belong together, even though they all have connections to each other. And while I can’t exactly say they’re likable - at all - they are *definitely* interesting.

I did think the majority of the ‘twists’ were easy to puzzle out, but I still enjoyed the ride so I’m calling it a win. Plus, I have the advantage of it being a YA book, and not being even close to YA myself 😆

Thank you to NetGalley and sourcebooks fire for the arc!
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This group of friends(?) is pressured into camping in one of the local "haunted" spots by the friend each has the most in common with. When she is missing with no clues to her location, the four remaining friends are questioned by the police. The format of the book revolves around the interviews and the responses of each teenager. Through the very different responses, the reader begins to get a picture of this group's like or dislike for the missing teen. The clues are there, blink and you'll miss them. A really fun twist on the usual ghost story around the campfire book.

A group of friends takes a weekend camping trip. Little do they know that they will exit the woods with one less member of their party. Is one of them responsible or did an unknown person stalk and murder one of them?

This YA thriller is told interview style. Each of the survivors tells their version of the story to police. It was an interesting concept, but kind of fell flat for me overall.

Five teens entered the woods…only four came out. What the heck happened? Chelsea Sedoti’s Tell Me What Really Happened grabbed me right from the start. I absolutely loved the way the story unfolds via police interrogations. Who is telling the truth? It’s completely unique and I can’t recall ever reading anything quite like it, though in a way I suppose in reminds me a bit of the original Blair Witch Project and how the found footage story delivery method was so fresh and original at the time. Fast paced and uttering engaging, I read this one in only a day and a half. Thanks so much to SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an ARC of Tell Me What Really Happened.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tell-me-what-really-happened-chelsea-sedoti/1141459543?ean=9781492673057&bvnotificationId=57aee2c6-d3d4-11ed-a0b0-0af1b1159667&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/245017446

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the way it was written. It was written unlike anything I have previously read. The chapters were short, the timeline easy to follow and it kept me interested. I had a difficult time putting it down.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an eARC of Tell Me What Really Happened in exchange for my honest review!

As a fan of books like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and One of Us Is Lying, I had a fairly engaging experience with Tell Me What Really Happened. Is this the most layered and memorable YA mystery I've ever read? Nah, but I got some nice entertainment out of its quickly paced plotting and its ensemble of teenage characters, most of whom belong to varying levels of unlikability. I appreciate how the book tries to weave in racism and the major aspect it can play in police investigations, but it does come off as superficial. Once the plot enters its third act, though, that's where it really gets enthralling. I can understand why the ending was too abrupt for some readers, but it was satisfying enough for me.

All in all, I'm giving Tell Me What Really Happened a final rating of 3.25 out of 5 stars.

I'm a big lover or True Crime and one thing I really like is getting to see police interviews. And that's exactly what this book gave me, which I thought was very interesting. The book did a brilliant job putting readers into the story and it had me feeling like I was personally invested in the crime and the outcome.

After five kids go into the woods on a camping trip and only four return the book opens up with police interviewing Petra, Nolan, Abigail, and John about the disappearance of Maylee. I thought it was a unique format of story telling and it had me so invested from interview to interview. It was interesting to see the same question answered by four very different individuals and how their accounts of the night all differed. It had me guessing who was telling the truth, who was lying, and who was just too confused to be accurate.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book for mystery lovers. It's a captivating story told in a new (to me at least) way and did a great job feeling very realistic.

Wow! This book was so intense! I loved how it was written interview style and you went through the whole process with them. I was kept on the edge of my seat just waiting to see what was gonna happen next. All of the characters were so interesting. They each had their only personality and I loved how they interacted with each other. Super fast paced and action packed. Fantastic read! Highly recommend!

This book is written by a new-to-me author, so I wasn’t sure if I would like it. But that’s never stopped me before. And with such an intriguing premise and POV format, I was convinced I should immediately dive in. I love romantic suspense, so I decided to try it even though it’s not my typical read. I have to say the format was pretty genius as it had me hooked from the outset, and it kept me intrigued and curious enough to continue to turn the pages as more of the characters’ personalities were revealed and the unreliability became more and more evident, which led to the question of what really happened. There were some twists and turns I didn’t see coming (a big plus), but as much as the author mentioned other missing people throughout the story, I felt the ending fell a bit flat. Going into the last few pages, I honestly anticipated the end being more mysterious and twisted than it turned out to be. That little bit of emotional letdown took it from a 5-star read to a four for me.

What could possibly go wrong when five teenagers go on a camping trip near a lake, where people have previously gone missing? They are just there to get away from their parents, steal kisses, share secrets and have some fun.

When one of them goes missing, the remaining four are under suspicion. What really happened that night in the woods? What are they hiding and who is lying?

Told in first person through police interviews, I could not put down this book down. I loved the unique writing style of the book and I think it would make a fun movie.

This was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to know what happened out there in the woods.

I loved this novel and would recommend it to anyone who likes YA mysteries.

A recent rainy Sunday activated my 'sloth mode'. Which is comprised of lazy day, a comfy couch, sweat pants and a YA novel.

I've been looking forward to Chelsea Sedoti's new book - Tell Me What Really Happened. One of my favorite styles of storytelling is epistolary. In this case it's a series of police interviews with each member of a group of teens.

Five teens who went camping:
- on a rainy night
- in an area where young women have died or gone missing
- one of the group does go missing
- and every police interview with the remaining four points the finger of blame on someone else

Who is telling the truth? Can you ferret out the whodunit before the last chapters? I have to say that I didn't see Sedoti's ending coming - it's nice to be surprised.

The cast of campers are well defined, giving us six very different personalities. Sedoti captures the joys of high school angst. She also throw in a number of horror movie tropes that add to the overall feel of the book. Seriously- what's the first rule? Uh huh, don't go into the woods

Tell Me What Really Happened is just plain fun to read.

Tell Me What Really Happened is a captivating and suspenseful thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. With unexpected twists and turns, this page-turner will leave you guessing until the very end.

This book was a lot of fun to read and due to the format allowed for the book to be easily devoured. The characters were dynamic, for teenagers, and as the reader you learn a lot about each of the individual characters. Maylee has gone missing on a weekend camping trip with her boyfriend, John, her best friend, Petra, and Maylee’s secret friend, Abagail. Petra also brings along her Cryptozoology obsessed brother with her.

The format of this book allows for an interesting perspective since it starts with the group of four being interrogated on what happened as the police search for Maylee, who is missing in the woods. Throughout the story bits and pieces are disclosed to show that this camping trip was not just a group of friends enjoying the woods together. Secrets that were hidden are beginning to come out about hidden motivates, a gun being brought, and strange footprints and noises around the campsite. Where is Maylee? Is she alive or did something happen to her?

I personally love when authors are not afraid to create characters that are not necessarily going to be loved and I think that was the purpose of Maylee. Her character was not someone that I would have wanted to be friends with as a teenager, but I see it as being realistic for her being a popular, self-absorbed teenager.

This book also had an important message about the use of social media and technology for youth. In our society a lot of people’s self-worth is based off how they are seen on social media and by people that they might not even know. This story tackles that idea about how social media should not be the world to someone especially teenagers, who are finding themselves and learning how to be functioning people in the world.