Absolutely thrilling. That's Not My Name is such a great thriller with plenty of twist and turns. I couldn't seem to put this book down. Such a great "debut" novel.

Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a road with no memory of who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station when a frantic man arrives. Her name is Mary. Or so he says. When Lola stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the whole town is convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads to follow… and the more danger they both are in.

THAT’S NOT MY NAME is a tense-stricken tale between Mary and Drew’s alternating POVs that lead to a down-spiraling roller coaster of emotions! Mary wakes up on the side of the road with no recollection of who she is until her father finds her at the police station. Mary was an easy character to connect with, regardless of her memory loss. I instantly wanted to protect her, especially since something unsettling was in the air.

This book was fast paced and kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat all the way through! I think the twist may be controversial, but for me, it made the book even better! I really really enjoyed it and can't wait to read more from the author!

This was such a fantastic read! The synopsis had me hooked, I wanted to know what was going on with her, whether her name was Mary or Lola or something else was going on, I had to know! I couldn't get enough of this story!

I really enjoyed following both "Mary" and Drew's perspectives. Mary not knowing what was going on, but that something was off with the man telling her to call him dad. Drew, because he's looking for Lola, and I had such a great time following the both of them, putting the pieces together.

A big question connected to which girl she was, was what happened to either Lola to become Mary, or Lola and Mary, because either both of the one did go through. something violent, and I wanted to know what and who did it to her, because it had to be a who.

Wow, but the way things came together and the secrets were revealed and questions was answered, yeah, that was so fantastic! It was so well done and pretty gruesome and thrilling to read, because that ending did not come easy, but I loved where it left us!

Loved reading this book and I'd love to read more by Megan Lally!

Soooo creepy and well written and omg???
The plot twist. The writing. Everything was so so good I adored this. Definitely was pulled right in and felt immersed.
Thank you for providing me with an arc :)

You know that sinking feeling you get in your stomach when something doesn’t quite add up? That gut feeling that something is wrong before there are any red flags? This book starts out that way and that pit in your stomach never truly goes away. Weird coincidences turn into red flags into wtf why has no one figured this out yet. I didn’t want to put this down. It was a good thriller with some great twists.

She doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a ditch. The cop that came across her called the paramedics and they said it looked like she had been in an accident, but there is no car. She goes back to the police station with him until they can figure out what is happening. When a man comes racing in and claims she is his daughter, she has no reason to not believe him. He has a birth certificate, school id, everything. But she has no reason to believe him either.

Oooo chiiiiile this was an edge of the seat thriller for me. The writing was gripping and the storyline was great. All the characters were well developed and everything wrapped up accordingly.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

TLDR: Anxiety inducing, emotionally charged with a little bit of teenage whininess; plot is solid; ending comes out of nowhere

I’m going to start this review off with a confession. I didn’t expect much from this book when I first started it. What I assumed I would be reading was a YA thriller. And, it is a YA thriller, but the plot of the book is definitely a horror in origin.

The book is told in two alternating points of view. One is from the girl who can’t remember who she is. From the start, the reader knows this girl is a victim, and every time something happens involving her, it is tremendously anxiety inducing. It is similar to watching a horror movie and yelling at the character on the screen to not open the door.

The other point of view we get is from Drew. Drew is a high school senior who’s girlfriend went missing five weeks ago. Everyone in his small town thinks Drew killed his girlfriend Lola, and Drew feels guilty about things that happened the last night he saw Lola. But, the reader is kept wondering what Drew has to feel guilty for.

The plot setup, the tone, the story-telling, and the characters in this book were all extremely well-done. The points of view of both the girl and Drew were emotionally drawing and impactful. My only hiccup with the characters is the way the teenage characters are shown to emotionally support the parents. This is a teenage farcical fantasy. This isn’t the first book I have seen this in, but it feels like a false representation of reality everytime i read it.

Other than that though, this was a solid gut-wrenching debut

4.5/5

I was completely sucked into this book. The characters were very well developed and the twists were mind blowing! Definitely would recommend!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. What an amazing YA thriller! The story kept me guessing and hooked until the very end. Looking forward to more from this author in the future

This book kept me turning the pages! I was sucked in right from the beginning, which is honestly the best thing I could ask for with a thriller. I can't wait to see what Lally writes next.

I am kicking myself for not picking this book up sooner! It will haunt me forever. The fact that this is a debut is even more mind-blowing! I listened to this and I will say that the narrators are both good. Drew's chapters were absolutely heartbreaking. The girl's chapters were heart pounding. You are on the edge of your seat, trying anxiously to piece together the same puzzle Mary is. You could not figure out what was happening but just knew it was not good. I won't spoil anything but the ending was shocking and painful. The epilogue in particular brought me to tears. This will be a thriller that I will not get out of my head anytime soon and you can bet I will be shoving this book into everyone's hands I can! Cannot wait to see what this author writes next!

A truly gripping YA thriller that will keep you turning page after page right until you reach the end of the book and are gasping for this author's next book.

I managed to guess where this book was going fairly early on however I think that is when you truly get to see how good an author's craft is because it takes a really talented author for the reader to know what the twist is going to be and still love it. This was such a propulsive story as I needed to know what was next for each of our characters. I also really enjoying picking up all of the subtle clues that this book laid out for us.

A missing girl, a town in suspicion, and two lives about to collide. When Lola vanishes after a heated argument with her boyfriend, Drew, the entire community turns on him. Accused of the unthinkable, Drew must navigate the suffocating small-town whispers while maintaining normalcy for the sake of appearances. All the while, a gnawing fear for Lola's safety consumes him.

Meanwhile, a young woman named “Mary” awakens in a disorienting haze, her past a complete blank. Found wandering by the side of the road, she's identified as Wayne's missing daughter. Though a sense of unease lingers as fragments of memories resurface, Mary attempts to acclimate to a life she doesn't remember.
Narrated through the alternating perspectives of Drew and Mary, this gripping thriller hooks you from the first page. Compelling characters, a supportive cast of friends, and a plot brimming with unforeseen twists keep you guessing until the very end. For the vast majority of the book, I clung to a theory, absolutely certain I'd cracked the case. The pacing, however, was masterful. Even with my (mistaken) belief, the story remained relentlessly captivating. And let me tell you, the actual twist? I never saw that coming!

Note: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

this was chilling, interesting, and lowkey really sad. I was gripped from the start and loved reading! will definitely add to my classroom library.

THAT'S NOT MY NAME by Megan Lally knows exactly what it's trying to do as a story about a local girl gone missing. Unfortunately, everything it's trying to do has already been done before, over and over again, and much better. I appreciate the themes that are in this book and that's its an approachable thriller for an older YA audience, but I didn't find anything remarkable about it. The writing was fast-paced and quick, and the suspense was definitely there, but ultimately it was just too cliche of a story for it to stand out in any meaningful way.

Loved this book!

I loved the dual POV. A girl wakes up in the forest with no memory of what happened. She’s picked up at the police station and told that her name is Mary. A boy named Drew is searching for his missing girlfriend Lola…who the (incompetent) investigator believes he killed. Split between these two perspectives, we see two stories unfold.

For 85% of the book, I was thoroughly convinced I knew the twist. Absolutely positive. The pacing throughout was excellent—even though I thought I knew what was happening, it was quick enough to hold my attention. And I’m glad it did, because did I actually guess the ending in advance? No. The twist was excellent. Absolutely heart-wrenching.

Read if you like: YA thrillers, YA suspense.

A 2024 YA fave right here! I know it is categorized as YA but, it reads more like a true adult thriller to me. I love a well written dual POV and was completely captivated the whole time!

Great character development and it kept me guessing all the way to the very end!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for this free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An incredibly woven story, full of carefully crafted threads and deeply emotional writing. I was enthralled the whole way through, and finished the book extremely impressed by the author's sense for plot and emotional impact. A very dark and heartfelt story that will stick with you.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.