This was an interesting and unique thriller read.

I received an e-ARC of the book from the publisher.

I think the synopsis of this one sounds really interesting and definitely hooked me with its potential and I was super excited to read an ARC of it. But I think that after reading the first little bit of it and looking at reviews, I don't think its gonna end up working for me unfortunately. Im not a big fan of the characters personalities so far and thats a big thing for me in books even over plot and again based on reviews it doesn't seem to change or get better. It seems from goodreads like this book either works for you really well or it doesn't at all and i'm sad that i'm in the second camp. Regardless, I think that the idea of the book was super cool and would have made for a good mystery had the characters worked better for me. Plus i'm still a fan of the cover, props to those that designed it, and I thought the chapter titles were a nice touch and one of my favorite rare details to find in books. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of course!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me this book to read and review!

This book was INTENSE. The beginning was a bit slow, but once things got going it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Yet another book that has a lot of popular aspects. Boarding school students, trapped setting, mysterious deaths. I knew I had to read it and I did enjoy it, I just didn't love it. The writing wasn't for me, it felt like it was trying to be "too high school" if that makes sense. There were just some really cheesy lines and plot lines that made it hard to love. I also got mad at the main character a lot. For a bit, there was a whole love triangle in the midst of people dying and I didn't like how she dealt with it. She also was so quick to point fingers and when she did, she was hell bent on that person being the one who did it. It just drew me out of the story a bit. BUT I still did find myself enjoying the story, even if I didn't always love how it was told. I devoured this book because I just had to know what was going to happen. I needed to know who was behind it all and how it ended. There were also moments that were just funny, even among this mystery. Some lines and characters just made me laugh. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy YA mysteries such as One of Us is Lying or All Your Twisted Secrets, it was very similar to the latter while having the secrets aspect of the former.

A classic young adult locked-room thriller unfolds on a private jet filled with cutthroat boarding school students vying for a chance to win a coveted scholarship. Through riddles and challenges, the teens have to solve puzzles to prove their character and worthyness for the scholarship. A sinister plot soon unravels after a student experiences a severe allergic reaction, leaving everyone shaken. Layers of betrayal start to unfold, leading to a dwindling number of students with no means to communicate with anyone off the plane.

<b>This story delivers a deliberately fast-paced, high-stakes narrative that keeps you on the edge of your seat.</b> Parker did an excellent job making you question the identity of the villain, with loyalties constantly shifting. <i>I was shocked by the gruesomeness of the deaths and some of the details</i>, considering this was a YA novel. The content and themes were somewhat disturbing. The book serves as an important reminder to young adults that you never know what other people are going through. The exploration of respecting others and their struggles was gently presented, avoiding a feeling of being forced.

I was disappointed that one of the biggest conflicts and betrayals happened with an off-page character, Emily's best friend. This subplot remained unresolved, and we never heard from that character despite the great opportunity it presented, aligning with the author's overarching goal of helping teens navigate difficult conversations with their loved ones. We spent a <i>significant</i> amount of time with Emily contemplating how and when she would address the conflict with her friend, so it was jarring not to see it on the page. This left a significant plot hole and left me feeling a bit empty and disappointed.

This heart-pounding narrative is perfect for fans of Diana Urban, Karen McManus, and Jessica Goodman, keeps readers on the edge, questioning who to trust before the next victim falls.

<b> Thank you to Razorbill/ Penguin Teen for a finished copy of THIN AIR </b>

I found the premise of this book to be very exciting. It didn’t live all the way up to the hype that I had built up in my mind, but I did make it through the book without DNF and I am proud of that.

I find the construction here frustrating. We see this too often - a teen gets a fantastic opportunity that gets co-opted by someone intent on revenge. Its privileged kids being held accountable in heinous and inhumane ways. Interesting once, maybe, but tiresome very quickly.

A massive thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!! I really enjoyed this book; definitely something I will tell my friends about!

Locked room murder mystery on a private jet en route to Paris- what's not to like?

Turns out, the characters, twelve boarding school teens vying for a scholarship are mostly despicable, as we find out in a game of two truths and a lie. As the body count rises, the stakes get higher as well. Is it just part of the game or is someone truly unhinged?

3/5 stars, concept was more fun then this actually was

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group & Razorbil for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Flying is something that always scares me before I actually do it, so the concept of a thriller and murder mystery happening on a plane, especially for a competition sounded exactly like something that would get to me. I was really hopeful that it would be creepy and interesting, but unfortunately it just overall fell flat for me. The concept ended up being much more interesting than what happened.

One of the biggest things that disconnected me from this story was my inability to connect with the main character, and also remember all the side characters. The main character was never very compelling to me, she also didn't seem like the best person for most of the book. I am all for having unlikeable main characters with complex motivations, but I just didn't end up really liking her and some of her actions in the beginning, which made it hard for me to enjoy her later on. As well, I think there were too many side characters to really allow the story to shine through. With competition stories, this can be difficult to manage, but I wish there were fewer.

As well the story just didn't keep me as invested as I hoped, while the prologue chapter had me interested right away, this quickly waned away as the story progressed. This was very disappointing as I was intrigued to see a closed-door romance on an airplane. This unfortunately just wasn't a book that connected with me as much as I hoped it was going to.

[TW: blood and gore, murder, cancer mentioned, homelessness mentioned, anaphylactic shock]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙-𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙔𝘼 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧.

Lately, I haven’t been enjoying YA thrillers as much as I used to, but I still wanted to give this book a try. The synopsis had me so intrigued and I always love a locked-door thriller.

This book focuses on twelve contestants from different elite boarding schools who were all competing for a scholarship. With there being so many characters I had to make a chart to make sure I didn’t get confused.

None of the characters were too likable with their secrets being revealed, but I also think they were interesting to read about. Also, I loved the idea of this taking place in a place - and the characters dying off one by one.

While I thought the story was fun, there were a few things that didn’t work for me. I felt like the story was so predictable and not as thrilling as I was hoping. I also didn’t care for the romance subplot, and these characters made some decisions that had me annoyed.

Overall, the book is suspenseful and enjoyable. I liked the setting and idea behind the story, there were some missing pieces here and there, but I would still recommend this to those who want a YA version of And Then There Were None.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

Eight hours. Twelve contestants. A flight none of them may survive.
✈️
Emily Walters did some pretty unforgivable things to have this opportunity to compete against other prep school students for a scholarship. With her and her mom currently living in their car, it’s the only way she’s making it to college. She, along with eleven other contestants, board a private jet to Paris and from the beginning there are rules and games to play…until people start dying.
🛩️
This was a fast-paced YA thriller that had me hooked from the beginning. @kelliemparker did a great job creating tension, unreliable characters and a twist I didn’t see coming. Fans of Jessica Goodman and Diana Urban will love this new voice in the genre.

CW: blood, death, murder, homelessness, suicide (recounted), cheating, alcohol, hospitalization, cancer (mentioned), knife violence, fire, abortion (mentioned), drugging, drug use

You all know I love a locked room mystery, so how could I pass up the chance to read one with such a unique setting? A luxury plane filled with teenagers competing against each other…sold!

Right from the start there is a sense of tension and unease as readers get to know our main character, Emily. She’s got some serious secrets that she wants to keep hidden and it seems like someone is out to get her on this plane. It’s not just Emily who has earned herself a spot on the killer’s radar, however, so the readers are treated to getting to know our secondary characters in quite a bit of detail. There are a few standouts that we get to connect with on a deeper level, who plan a vital role in helping Emily put together the clues to our mystery.

Parker manages to connect the reader fully to the situation at hand, while building a fantastic sense of anxiety, by keeping the pacing of the story at a relatively quick rate. I loved guessing what was going to happen next, who would fall victim, and who I could trust. Parker even throws a bit of romance into the story, which normally isn’t my cup of tea, but I felt like it lends itself to the story and the actions of our main character.

If you enjoy YA reads and locked room mysteries, this is definitely one to check out!

A huge thank you to Penguin Teen for my gifted copy!

2.5 stars!

I was excited for Thin Air because I love a locked room mystery, I love the idea of a reality competition, and the cover of this book is absolutely incredible. However, where I think things really fell apart was the actual mystery. I love a mystery where the clues are laid out and I could have theoretically figured it out. I don't even mind suspending my belief sometimes, but this was doing absolutely too much. It also just read a little too young and I can't say I liked the relationship between her and her best friend's boyfriend (and this was just unresolved??)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I thought this was a fun quick read. I like the plane setting. It's claustrophobic and everyone is trapped inside. Locked room mystery but better if you ask me. Though I will say I had a hard time picturing this plane. It sounded unrealistic to me but I don’t get out much 😅

Many times I thought I knew who the killer was but it took me a while to figure it out. I’m usually much quicker!

The storyline was interesting and I loved that we couldn’t trust a single person. It made the book that much more fun.

Overall this was a good YA mystery. Just what I needed.

Emily Walters boards a plane for Paris, expecting to compete with eleven other kids for a prestigious scholarship. It starts out that way - but that's before people suddenly start dying, and everything points to her. Emily is about to learn that everyone on this flight has secrets, some worse than others, and someone knows all of them and intends to use them to kill. If she doesn't figure out who the killer is fast, Em may end up taking the fall.

This book was so much fun, so fast-paced, action-packed, even scary in places that I had to devour it in three days. To me, the book hearkened back to "Red Eye", another thriller with a killer set on a plane. I also saw a bit of Hitchcock in the claustrophobic setting no one can escape, the suspicion of other players causing people to unravel, and the constant suspense and raising of stakes.

Ms. Parker has done a thoroughly excellent job with this novel, and aside from some minor typos, I have very little to critique here. Five stars. I'm recommending it to friends and excited to see her next book. Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group, Razorbill, and Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy. This is my voluntary review, left honestly without compensation of any kind.

When a group of competitive teens are stuck together on an airplane, the results may be deadly. Each year, the Bonhomme Foundation offers a college scholarship to one deserving boarding school student. This year, Emily is competing for the prize. Along with eleven others, she boards a plane for Paris. As the competition begins, it soon becomes clear that something isn't right. Everyone on this plane has a secret, and one of them is a killer. Will Emily survive this flight, or will she be taken down over the Atlantic? Pick up Thin Air and find out.

This was an enjoyable YA murder mystery. I like the plane setting. It's claustrophobic and everyone is trapped inside. Though I'd imagine it wouldn't be the easiest to sneak around in. None of these characters are saints. They've definitely all made mistakes (some worse than others), but as they get to know each other, you get to see them open up emotionally. I also enjoyed the romance between Emily and Liam. Emotions are high in this tense situation, and the romance was a nice positive element amidst all the stress. The mystery was twisty; lots of blame tossed about and several red herrings. I didn't see the ending coming. It was a bit out of left field though, so how could I. I did enjoy the read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This will be a popular one amongst my thriller readers in my high school library. I'm not a giant fan of locked room thrillers, but I think this one will be a hit amongst my readers.

This was a chore to get through, mainly because Emily is a train wreck and an all-around unlikeable character; she doesn’t even get pity votes for her situation with her family. The story itself started out well but falls apart for me when people are dying and all Emily can think about is hooking up with one boy or the other (again, completely unlikeable). About the only thing I liked was when they’re told they all deserve what’s coming. I have a difficult time believing that all these teens would have free reign to run around a plane with no supervision and that these tasks would have even been assigned on a transatlantic flight. Just not for me.

A locked room murder mystery only on a plane! I'm all for remote location murder and this one started off promising but I must confess, I did get a bit confused with the characters. There's a lot to keep track of and I spent a bit of time going back and forth on character refreshing.

The premise gets a little bogged down by the MC who's on a quest to win a scholarship competition. She's both highly driven (yet not enough to get their honestly) and wholly preoccupied with boys. So, there was a bit of duplicity I was having a hard time reconciling with. Along with this, things took a turn for the outrageous towards the end when the big reveal occurred.

All in all, entertaining and fun.

This book started so strong. I was so excited only to be let down at the end.

First things first there are a ton of characters. I think fifteen? 12 of them are the students that are competing and the other 3 are the stewardesses.

Our main character is a 17 year old who is on some seriously hard times. I felt so bad for her. Even after learning some of the things she did to secure her position in the competition. I was like “well, she’s in such a bad spot.” But as the story wore on, the wore thin.

Bodies start dropping. It’s bad, a girl dies and now everyone’s on edge. Especially after a twisted version of two truths and a lie. It gets everyone rattled.

Tell me why this girl is so focused on boys? Relationships? She is here to get a position at the college of her choice with money that will make tuition not a problem and fix her and her mom’s lives. So why is she so absolutely obsessed with boys>

I was a 17 year old girl once. And yes, I did focus on boys but not when stuff was on the line. And that was just public school. I had a job, my parents and baby sibling and serious health issues. But this girl? Boys. Any time she sees them it’s wondering about relationships, etc.

It got on my nerves so bad. And the boy who came with her? Got on my nerves as well. Can’t lie.

This was a locked room mystery so I fully expected a great ending. And it let me down so hard. It did the one thing that I absolutely can’t stand in mysteries. Who was this character at the end that handled it all? What was the point of the other characters at all then? Also the killer does the movie thing. Just starts monologuing and won’t shut up. It was annoying.

Oh, and there’s cheating. Insta-love and cheating. Yeah, I can’t.

This book gets 2 stars from me for the beginning because it was so strong but the rest? I couldn’t stand it.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and the publisher.