That's Not My Name written by Megan Lally was CREEPY!!!!!! When I first saw the cover it spooked the heebie jeebies out of me, but when I actually started reading this book I was completely shook. I was instantly hooked from the very first page all the way until the very last page, I did NOT see that ending coming at all. That's Not My Name is a YA compelling thriller, but the way Megan Lally wrote this story, it was compelling, heart wrenching, bone chilling, and atmospheric. This was my first book by Megan Lally and it definitely won't be my last one either, I will read ANYTHING this author writes. I literally had goosebumps all over my arms when I was reading this book, I know it's winter, but damn this book actually spooked me. When I heard this book was YA, I was a little hesitant, but after reading the book and giving it some thought, it didn't feel like it was YA at all, it was just that FREAKING GOOD!!!!! I can't recommend this book enough, please do yourself a favor and grab a copy immediately, you won't regret moving this book up your TBR anytime soon. I was completely surprised and loved every single minute of it.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND SOURCEBOOKS FIRE FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!

🎵PLAYLIST🎵
Save Me- Jelly Roll
Son Of A Sinner- Jelly Roll
Wishful Drinking- Ingrid Andress & Sam Hunt
Chasin You- Morgan Wallen
Heart Like A Truck- Lainey Wilson

She thought she had her life back. She was wrong. It was a mistake to trust him.

Lola and Drew are two peas in a pod. One night Drew and Lola were driving around when Lola brought up the thought of spending the rest of her life with Drew. Lola wants to marry Drew, she wants to have kids with Drew, but when Lola brought this up, Drew freaked out, keep in mind these two are just seniors in high school. When Drew freaked out, Lola got out of the car, slammed the door and walked away. Drew thought she just needed some time to cool off, but when Lola doesn't return home the next day or doesn't answer her phone, Drew knew he made a big mistake and now the whole town and the sheriff think Drew murdered his girlfriend. Drew wants to prove his innocence, but no one will believe him, so he sets out and looks for Lola himself. Lola's best friend, Autumn also thinks Drew is hiding something about the night Lola disappeared, Drew never told anyone nor he never called the police. When Drew spills the secret of what happened to Lola, Max, Drew's cousin and Autumn all set out to look for Lola themselves since the sheriff who is also Autumn's dad is beyond sketchy won't get off his butt and look into the disappearance of Lola Scott.

When a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there, who she is, shivering and bruised, a passing police officer finds her and takes her to the police station for questioning. After the teen girl and police officer arrive at the police station, a frantic man arrives. This man says he has been searching for this teen for hours, he has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. This man is her father and this girl's name is Mary, or so the man says. The girl in the pictures looks exactly like the girl standing in the police station, so the officer has no other reason not to release this teenager to her so called father. The twists and turns that just kept coming made me sick, the man who claimed to be this girl's dad is sick and twisted in the head. When the story line kept coming, I felt myself shiver because what this man did to this girl was just heart breaking. I felt myself shiver at the words and what he was doing to her. And it's crazy to think about because this stuff actually does happen in today's day and age. Men take advantage of young girls because they are so sick in the head. That's Not My Name will definitely be a book that I won't be able to forget for a long time coming. Despite how twisted this book was, everyone needs to add this book to their TBR list immediately.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced readers copy of this novel.

This was a fast paced YA thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. I can see where young adult readers would also get caught up in the story and not be able to put it down. I did not see the ending coming at all through the novel which is was shocking!

This would make a good introductory thriller for a younger reader. Not terribly scary, but definitely realistic.

This was a fast-paced read. It kept me engaged the entire time. There was enough character development that you were really pulling for the kids. I really liked how it was wrapped up in the end.

A Girl wakes up on the side of the road. She has no recollection of how she got there, no memory of who she is. When an officer stops and takes her to the police station she can't even answer his most basic question. A man arrives and claims he's her father, and she's his daughter, Mary. He's got her birth certificate, her school ID, photos of her on his phone.

Meanwhile, in a town a couple of hours away, a girl named Lola, is missing. Everyone thinks her boyfriend, Drew, has hurt her and is covering it up. But Drew can't sit by and wait for the police to do something. He decides to find out what happened to her himself.

There is so much tension in this story, culminating in a great twist. A real page turner! Highly recommend.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought it was really creepy and stressful and fast paced. It was also so much sadder than I thought it would be. I felt so bad for "Mary" and Drew the entire time, it was truly a bummer. I also think the actual conclusion was kind of sad, because even though the killer is a bad bad person, the psychological aspect was so heartbreaking. I think this was such a solidly written debut, and I will definitely be interested in reading Lally's next book.
My two complaints are
1. I wish it was longer. I really really liked the dynamic between Max, Drew, and Autumn, and I wish we got to see more of them. But I also think that Mary's POV was super creepy and added so much to the story, so I don't think it should've all been just Drew's POV. I just really loved Max and Autumn and I wanted more of them.
2. I guessed literally the entire plot about 30% in. This one is on me. I read so many thrillers and mysteries that I am rarely surprised by the twists anymore. I thought the entire ending was pretty obvious through out, but I still had a really good time reading it. I knew what was going to happen and I was still so stressed for the last like 40% of the book, and I think that's a testament to Lally's writing abilities.

3.75 stars
Not me thinking I figured it all out, to be left open mouth at the twist.
Megan Lally really said, 'You think you everything that's happening HA WRONG!'

We follow two narratives; one is a young girl who has woken without any memories with cute and bruises & a young man accused of killing his missing girlfriend and desperate to find her. The story follows them as they seemingly connect, or do they?

I had two theories going into this on what was happening, and one was proved right... sort of. I feel like this offered a twist that I didn't see coming and saved it from the usual YA thrillers that I have read, which end up being predictable and repetitive. Unlike others, this offered a good burst of new urgency and heartbreak, and I think it's a good read!

That’s Not My Name is the first book I’ve read by Megan Lally. I was lucky enough to receive an eBook ARC from NetGalley.

It’s a young adult thriller book with an interesting premise. A teenage girl goes missing and her boyfriend, his cousin, and the girl’s best friend are intent to find her. The sheriff in town is a moron and thinks the girl’s boyfriend killed her. This was slightly frustrating, as this premise has been done many times.

This book was a fun read. It was darker than I expected at some points. The ending had a twist that I wasn’t a fan of, which is the reason I rated it 4 stars instead of 5.

This was my New Year’s Eve reading… very good, unexpected, and kept my interest from start to finish.

A girl is missing. Was it the boyfriend? Megan Lally gives us two perspectives as the hunt continues for the missing Lola Scott: Drew (the boyfriend) and a girl we know as Mary. Could Mary be Lola? Has she been kidnapped? It becomes a race against time as Drew and friends pick up clues about a missing girl who looks just like Lola. A heartbreaking reminder of the dangers that lurk in the shadows.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic! Read it one sitting. Will recommend to others.

Positives:
Different points of view of the characters
Well-written and fast paced, one of the best YA thrillers I have read.
Clean-where I could recommend it to students to read


Negatives:
The only negative was the adult detective of the case portrayed as completely oblivious to solving the case-but maybe that enhanced the young adult aspect of the novel

5 Stars. Can't wait to read more by this author.

Oh my goodness, this was the first book in a long time that I could not go to sleep until I had finished. Very well written, excellent storyline, and great twists. I cannot wait for this to be released so I may put it in our library. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

Drew is a wreck. His girlfriend Lola has disappeared and he was the last person to see her. Everyone in town including the police think he killed her, but Drew is not willing to give up on finding Lola.
Mary has been in some kind of bad accident and has no idea what happened. Not only that, she doesn’t know her name or anything about her life. Thank goodness Wayne shows up at the police station claiming to be her father. He has proof: pictures, a birth certificate, and acts like a worried dad. Now all Mary needs to do is to remember her life.
Told from Mary and Drew’s POVs,I spent a lot of time page flipping trying to figure out how these two people were connected. When everything comes together, I yelled, “what”, more than once. I’m not going to say more about that moment when everything made sense, but it was heartbreaking and joyful at the same time. This was such a page turner!
I can’t believe that this book is a debut. Megan Lally,you are now on my list of authors to watch! 4.5 stars.

What a ripper of a read to end my reading year! I was glued to the pages and was happily surprised that this book exceeded my expectations. It was like reading two books at once and they were both gripping. I really enjoyed the use of language and the occasional quip or funny dialogue which was not out of place despite the dark content. There was ample tension and suspense, a clever plot and a shocking twist. I found myself gong through a range of emotions by the turn of the final page.

Definitely an author to watch.

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

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an E-Arc of this book. The following is my honest opinion *

This story is told in 2 POVs: Mary's and Drew's. As you read along, you unravel what the characters mean to each other, and there is a plot twist. I really enjoyed this story. It took me very much by surprise. I found it to be fast paced, and it gripped me in a way that made me read this book in one sitting.

I love the way the author wrote everything and how she didn't try sound smart with her words. It was straight forward, if that makes any sense.

Highly recommend!

Washington Park, Oregon, a small town, is rocked by the disappearance of teenager Lola Scott, and the sheriff believes Lola’s boyfriend, Drew, did something to her. Drew is furious that the sheriff would even consider him a suspect, but he also knows he’s not fully innocent. If he and Lola hadn’t had that big fight, she wouldn’t have stormed off and then gone missing. Now Drew refuses to rest until he finds her, even if all he can do is print up missing posters and hang them all over town.

Miles away, a teenager wakes up in the middle of the night in a ditch covered in bruises and without any memory of how she got there. Worse, she doesn’t even remember who she is. A police officer brings her in, and when a man named Wayne Boone rushes into the police station saying the girl is his daughter, Mary, the girl is relieved. But Mary can’t help feeling something about Wayne doesn’t add up. His furtive movements and contradictory answers leave her on edge. He’s only been kind to her and cared for her, but with her memories slowly coming back Mary starts to question Wayne’s information.

As Drew continues to advocate for Lola and for himself, the missing girl discovers things about Wayne that leave her unsettled. The teens’ situations will get closer until they intertwine in a way that changes everything for them both.

Debut author Megan Lally does a fine job for her first novel. Drew’s love and concern for Lola ring true as does his confusion and teenage short-sightedness. Lally makes Drew a sympathetic character, and readers will have no trouble rooting for him from start to finish.

The bait-and-switch Lally sets up for Mary is predictable, but the twist in the end of the book makes up for the conventional plot device. The novel also uses familiar tropes for a YA novel—nearly nonexistent parents, teens who ignore all well-intentioned advice, and the idea that the adults don’t want to listen to the kids in their lives. Although the conflict takes too long to build, Lally’s potential shines. Readers will definitely want to keep an eye out for future works by her.

{ Quick. Intriguing. Rueful. }

That's Not My Name is a strong debut young adult thriller from Megan Lally. 

The story is told from two perspectives. It opens with Mary's point of view, which drew me in immediately. Her chapters were gripping. 

Drew's chapters felt slower in comparison. However, I still flew through the book in two sittings, and I appreciated the attention the author gave to the ending.

Fast paced five star read! I loved the alternating points of view. As you read the beginning - a young female found on the side of the road, bruised and beaten with no memory of how she got there - followed by what happens next - a small town police officer finds her takes her to the PD where he tries to talk to her but she has no information to give him because she can’t remember. Then a man shows up claiming to be looking for his missing daughter who he describes as the girl sitting there and although she doesn’t remember him he is allowed to just take her. It’s terrifying to think this could so easily happen in real life - whether or not the parent is the real parent.
Anyway sorry for the side track - this story was great with a plot twist you won’t see coming. I expect this to be a big hit! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read an early copy!

I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to read this book by Megan Lally. I loved all the main characters but of course two were the most sympathetic. Roane was of course the most frustrating. While there could’ve been
more in depth character development, the plot development was great. I will say this read way more like a YA novel. This was an easy fast read and I devoured it quickly. It was a very good debut and I can’t wait to see more from this author.

Pros: Fast moving, altering povs, decent twist
Cons: poor character development & some inconsistencies

Overall, good YA thriller!

This was one of my fastest reads of the year - I devoured it in one sitting.

A seventeen-year-old girl wakes up in a ditch in the middle of nowhere cold and covered in blood. She doesn’t know who she is, where she is or how she got there. When an officers picks her up in the middle of the night wandering down a deserted road, he knows something it up. While trying to get answers she cannot give, a man rushes in claiming his daughter, Mary, is missing. At the same time, in a town an hour away, a seventeen-year-old boy, Drew, is being accused of having something to do with the disappearance or murder of his girlfriend, Lola. After convincing a childhood friend of his innocence, they team up and follow clues no-one else is. Could the two events be connected?

The story is told through the POVs of Mary and Drew. There are times when I thought I knew what was going to happen, but there was always a twist! There were some parts that felt unrealistic but that didn’t take away from the overall story.