Tell Me What Happened by Chelsea Sedoti would be the perfect audiobook! The book is told 100% through interviews of four teenagers who went camping and returned with one less.

Petra, John, Nolan, Maylee, and Abigail each had a reason to go on the trip, but when Maylee disappears and the other four panic, they find themselves sitting across from detectives drilling them about what happened.

The interviews are short and therefore it made for a fast read. However, in the beginning I felt myself confusing all the characters names and struggling to keep track of who said what, which is why I think this would make for an excellent audiobook with multiple narrators.

The overall story was interesting, but the ending felt disappointing to me. I would happily read another novel by Sedoti and I hope to try out the audiobook when I can to see if I like it more!

A very compelling story told in the first person of the four surviving teenagers who went on a camping trip.
Each chapter starts with a question posed to the individuals by the investigators. The answers don't always align with each other and that adds to the mystery of where Maylee went and who might have killed her.
The atmosphere of the forest where they camped is almost its own character. The buildup to the reveal and conclusion was filled with tension and suspense. Overall, this is a well crafted story that's perfect for the YA audience it's written for (adults will enjoy it just as much though).

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advance copy for me to read, review and enjoy.

This was told entirely in police interviews - I really liked this! The ending was slightly climactic, but still very fun and entertaining!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Five friends head into the local woods for a weekend camping trip and only four come out…Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedoti is a fast paced YA thriller. The story is told as first person police interviews after they leave the woods and call 911 to report their friend missing. Each has a different viewpoint and a different motive for being a suspect. What are they each hiding and what is the truth?

This story kept me guessing until the end! I liked the interview structure of the story and how it went back and forth between characters. I could have done without the kid with the conspiracy theories but it was a different twist and ultimately it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for this ARC!

Thank you to #NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedotti. This YA mystery will be published April 3, 2023. All opinions are my own.

Five teens go into the remote woods near Salvation Creek for a weekend camping trip but only 4 come out.

This book is told entirely in interviews. Each chapter begins with a question from the police and then proceeds with the various teens’ accounts. It’s a really interesting way to tell a story. All 4 of the narrators are unreliable. You don’t really know who to believe or if you’re getting the whole story as each of their accounts are slightly different. I really liked the way the story unfolded. This may sound strange but it’s both complex and simple at the same time. I’ll admit that there were times when I thought the information being provided was superfluous and didn’t need to be included, but in the end it all kind of tied together. There were twists and turns. It has action and some moments move very quickly. It’s difficult to describe as you’re not really in the moment since the main events are being retold as the police try to answer the question: what really happened? It is a solid story and I’d recommend it to those who are fans of Diana Urban and April Henry.

This was my first book by this author and it very well might be my last. While the book is not horrible and the right person may enjoy it much more than I did, I felt cheated or betrayed that after investing my time reading nearly 400 pages that I was given an ending like THAT. It was so predictable and anticlimactic that I was just disgusted.

The story is told from multiple points of view, all of which are teen "friends" that have set out on a camping trip that no one really wants to participate in except for Maylee. All of the characters are unreliable and the accounts of what happened that night are so repetitive and that became annoying very quickly.

Maylee is selfish and manipulative. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants, even if that means putting people in danger and hurting the ones that genuinely love her and care about her. Nolan's whole bigfoot theory and story line was a real turn off and completely ridiculous, and was it really necessary to put blood on the hands of the only black character? SMH

Special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Tell Me What Really Happened is a story about group of teenagers that go camping. When one of them goes missing, the remaining 4 are questioned to find out what happened. Each of them has a different understanding of what happened, so, as the reader, it’s an interesting puzzle to sort through.

There are a couple things I liked about this book. I liked that each character was very different, so putting together who’s who and how they fit in is part of the mystery of the book. I also like that it is in the format of police questioning and the responses to that.

However, I found the overall plot to fall a little flat. The Bigfoot component just seemed silly. I don’t want to get to spoil anything, but the circumstances around her disappearance was frustrating (in my opinion) and the ending was honestly just kind of confusing.

When a camping trip goes awry for five teens and only four come out, we get to listen in on their interrogations. This whole book takes place in the interrogation room and we get to see how the four teens react to the questions they are asked as they spell out what happened the night before. This is a very fast paced and quick to read YA mystery. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first picked this up and saw the formatting of the book, but I quickly fell in love with the style. I liked how there wasn’t all of the detailing and descriptions you get in traditional books, this book just gave you the dialogue which made it a really quick read. I enjoyed this book and seeing how the story unfolded from the four different viewpoints. This is a creative approach to a typical mystery and it was really well done. I would definitely recommend giving this YA mystery a chance!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

This is one of those books that I know will be passed from student to student. It’s going to be a hit with my serious readers & I suspect that an audio edition will win the acclaim of my reluctant readers. It almost makes me a little mad when I have an emotional reaction to a character because it makes me feel like I’m easily manipulated… well, I guess that must be true because Sedoti does it to me every single time. And in this one? Gah. She nailed it. The mystery will keep kids reading & the shifting voices will make it a good one for SSR because it is easy to pick up & put down without losing momentum.

This was a really unique read based on the writing style. It suited my background perfectly but at some points I had to check realistic procedures at the door. I love a good who-done-it meets a police investigation and after a few chapters I was fully invested. I bet it will be a fabulous audio listen with a full cast. Thanks to NetGally and the publisher for the ARC. I thought it was a perfect teen read.

*My review will be posted on Instagram within a month of the publish date (slated for 3/21/23); this review will be updated with the appropriate links once live. -- ETA updated links 3/24/23

I really liked the basis of this book: Different and competing POVs set within a police interrogation... But, it felt very heavy handed to drive home each character's respective tropes. However, the format did make for a really fast read, keeping you hooked and turning pages. It was also very fun trying to guess the twist, and ultimately whodunnit, it was set up really well to mislead you at any given point.

I do think a lot the book moved slowly and a lot of time was spent with characters rehashing the same moments/scenes, which felt repetitive and I was skimming over some pages to get to the point. It did pick up A LOT at around 60% of the way through, with some edge-of-the-seat thrills.

I LOVED the bigfoot representation... My favorite cryptid 😂

Thank you to #NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! The storytelling was so unique and I like the different formatting. I did miss the scenery descriptions that usually come with a mainstream narrated book, but I don't think it took anything away from the story, because I imagination filled in the gaps. I did predict the "twist" pretty early in, so that did take away some enjoyment for me, but overall, the idea of this book and the way it was executed was great! I would definitely read more by this author.

I like the concept behind this teen mystery novel, but I didn't feel it was an overwhelming success. I was interested enough to keep reading for the most part, but by the last quarter it was losing me. I just felt like it was going round in circles and there were no great developments. A decent twist or two could have really boosted the suspense levels.

2 and a half bumped up to 3 stars.

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Tell Me What Really Happened was a perfect example of the “unreliable narrator” trope, with four specimens.

Four teenage witnesses are in separate interrogation rooms and are asked their version of events on the night that Maylee went missing. The pacing is a little slow at the beginning, as it was the same story regurgitated through four different characters. But you soon see the characters’ personalities develop and more of the story begins to unfold.

The mystery was interesting and I was definitely hooked. Maylee…was not an easy character to care about, so by the end I was more interested in the facts and less about her.

Petra was my favorite character. She was loyal, pragmatic, and the star of Tell Me What Really Happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the review copy.

Definitely a five star read. I’d give it more if I could. I could not put this book down! A high school group camping trip goes bad. Maylee is missing. The story is told through each persons point of view, interview style with the police. It’s so interesting to see the story unfold through each ones eyes. To see how what is going on in one persons life or how they’ve grown up influences their outlook on what’s happening at any given time. Bigfoot, woods, a mysterious cabin. Friends and enemies. Family. You won’t see the ending coming!

The description of this book intrigued me as I enjoy mysteries and psychological thrillers. The novel is told from the perspective of four teenagers--Petra, her brother Nolan, John, and Abigail--and centers upon what happened to their friend Maylee during their weekend camping trip that has gone terribly wrong. Each chapter begins with a question that is posed by the police, who are interviewing each teen separately about what happened at Salvation Creek, their remote campsite in the woods that has a creepy reputation. Other than the introductory question at the beginning of each chapter, the reader does not "hear" what the police say during their interviews; however, the police's questions can often be inferred from the characters' responses. Little by little, the events of the weekend as well as the characters' motivations, personalities, and relationships are revealed and the suspense increases. I found this structure to be very similar to Daisy Jones and the Six (which I loved)--the story unfolding from various characters' perspectives in an interview format and revealing the different ways people can see the same events.
When I first started the book, I was not sure I would like it; it seemed too YA for my taste; however, since the characters are all in high school, their way of speaking soon seemed more natural than it did at first. I teach high school, and the characters in the book reminded me of some of the students I have encountered. Another reviewer commented that they did not feel the conflicts/issues the characters discussed were realistic--that they were more middle school-ish. However, while I know some high schoolers may be dealing with more traumatic issues, the problems and conversations of these characters seemed realistic for many of the students I've taught. I did find the way Petra spoke to the police to be a little over the top, but I can definitely see how a teenager who perceives herself to be an expert and to have some privilege because of her father's position may feel at liberty to speak in such a manner. The rest of the characters' dialogue seemed realistic, even if sometimes eye-roll-inducing.
For much of the book, the reader tries to figure out what happened to Maylee, and even when that is revealed, the questions of how it happened and who is responsible remain. The reading is fast-paced, and while I hesitate to call it a "page turner," I did want to continue until the end. The end, however, was somewhat disappointing. I felt like the last quarter or so was unnecessarily drawn out and repetitive, and then at the epilogue, it was rushed to bring things to a simple and somewhat unsatisfying resolution. Toward the end, one character says, "That's it? I can leave?" Those words capture my feelings about the end of the book: That's it? It's over?
So, I debated on 3 or 4 stars, but overall, I did enjoy the book; it was a quick read that kept me reading and had enough suspense and twists to round up to 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for providing an ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

I'm usually intrigued by books that employ unusual narrative styles, but alas, this one didn't work for me, so I threw the towel early on. The story is told via a series of statements given in an interrogation room by four suspects, each of them answering a question (when not rambling LOL), or following a prompt from the authorities in charge. It got old fast, and I found it was distracting me from the plot/whodunnit, which I guess wasn't the intended effect - not to mention, it made it difficult for me to get emotionally attached to the characters. Also, I didn't buy that real teens would be that snarky and articulated when questioned by the police (Petra, I'm looking at you). I applaud the author for trying a different (and risky) format, but as I said, it ended up not being my thing.

It’s not often that I stay up late into the night to read the last 100+ pages of a book because I want to know what happens next. However, that’s exactly what I found myself doing with this book.

I really enjoyed the story progression through interview notes. It felt like the story moved quickly and I really got who each character was based off of their own recounting of events. I think it started rather slowly but picked up pretty quickly. I was confused as hell and definitely did not guess the ending, which was a bit disappointing.

Overall, I enjoyed the twists and turns and don’t regret losing sleep over this book.

I was a little hesitant about this one at first because of the format- I was worried that it may get confusing with the police interviews but it ended up being my favorite part of the whole book! I thought the way it was organized with everyone's answers to the same questions in one chapter made it really easy and it was a really great way to build the suspense and the story. I loved that there were so many different theories as well- it kept me guessing and I genuinely didn't know how it was going to end. I probably could've done with a little less of the Big Foot theory- I liked it at first but it got a little annoying by the end. I also felt like the ending overall was just a little disappointing, but I still had a lot of fun with the whole story and really enjoyed it.

A group of friends decide to go on a camping trip when one goes missing. The story of what happened leading up to the disappearance is told through police interviews. Does anyone really know what happened to Maylee?

I know I’m not the target demographic for YA but I still like to read them every so often. This book is the first YA in awhile to grab my attention and not make me eye roll too much (I mean, I am in my 30’s soo) at the characters. This was a really surprisingly good thriller for the younger crowd. I also really enjoyed the misdirection for everyone. I mean, was it Bigfoot who took Maylee? Her boyfriend? Is there a killer lurking around the woods? Are the police being honest? Who knows! Keep reading and figure out the twists!