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.

The twist at the end of this book left me shocked.

A teen wakes up bruised and beat up on the side of the road, she can't remember anything about herself. A seemingly nice man who claims to be her father takes her home and tells her that her name is Mary, but something doesn't seem quite right. At the same time, teenage Lola has gone missing. Local authorities presume she we murdered, but her friends believe she is out there somewhere and are determined to find her.

I loved how the book alternated between two separate stories. I was waiting on the edge of my seat for them to clash.

Mary's story is so unsettling. As the days go on, she keeps noticing little things about the life she is told she's lived and her father that just don't add up. The author did a fantastic job not necessarily making her blind to all of the red flags, but instead reacting how you would expect a teenager would.

The story of Lola's friends and the search also keeps you engaged because her boyfriend is the main suspect in her disappearance and things feel tense because they are running out of time.

Although this is a YA book, be warned that the ending gets pretty dark. I can't say enough about the plot twist at the end. I thought I knew exactly what it was, but it caught me so off guard that I actually gasped, and then felt for all of the characters.

This was an easy 5 star read, and I thought the author was so talented in taking a YA book, where authors can be looser with the plot holes, and creating a brilliant storyline.

This was better than I thought it was going to be and it was not predictable, most of the time. My main issue was that many of the characters were so unlikeable, it was hard to feel empathy for them. The feeling I had for this book made it, " just ok." It was not even the fact the book was supposedly YA suspense/fiction. I just did not like the characterization.

IMO, cannot recommend it. But I have no issue with other readers enjoying this book. It was just not for me.

Thanks to Netgalley, Megan Lally and Sourcebooks Fire for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 1/2/2024

There truly is nothing better than a YA thriller to get you out if a reading slump. This action-packed wild ride of a book is short, crazy, and totally bingeable.

A missing girl leads to uncovering secrets so gruesome that it’ll have your hair standing on edge. I totally thought I knew where this book was going and then 50 pages from the end I realized I was very wrong and didn’t care because it was so good.

I think if you’re looking for a good thriller that is short, easy to read. and isn’t too gory this is the one for you. I couldn’t put it down it is literally 1am while I’m writing this so if I’m staying up to read it, you should 100% give it a try.

Starting with a young woman waking in a ditch with no memory of who she is or how she got there who then gets picked up by the police. Not long after a distraught man arrives at the police station looking for his teenage daughter. He has pictures of the girl on his phone, a plausible story, and all the right paperwork. Mystery solved? Not even close! This one hooked me immediately and I blew through the entire book overnight. This is a tense, wonderfully twisting and twisted thriller that kept me fully engaged from start to finish. This is the first book I’ve read by Megan Lally but I’ll definitely be checking out her next one. I’d like to thank SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of That’s Not My Name.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3T7HI1VWW3USH/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Wow! What a ride! I could not put this book down! Please don’t let the YA label keep you from reading That’s Not My Name! It doesn’t have the typical YA feel.

Lally’s debut is a twisty crime novel for young adults and adult readers. The novel follows a girl found without her memory and called Mary by Wayne. Wayne poses as her loving father, but Mary begins to doubt his stories. The second story line follows Drew who is looking for his missing girlfriend. Drew goes on a long twisty trip looking for clues to Lola’s disappearance. Although the reader believes Mary is actually Lola, Lally throws in another twist that completely changes the story!

This was the best thriller I have read in a long time. It was gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat. I consumed it in one day because I simply could not put it down.

Thanks so much Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley.

Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on a dirt road. She can't remember her name. The police send her home with someone who has a birth certificate and family photos.

Drew and his girlfriend, Lola, have a fight. Then she goes missing. The police are accusing him of murder so he's determined to prove his innocence.

This is a YA thriller that had me anxiously waiting to find out what happened. I didn't anticipate the twist at the end. The writing will definitely keep you engrossed until the end!

NetGalley Review — my rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“That’s Not My Name” by Megan Lally is a debut thriller that isn’t quite what you’d expect.

A teenage girl wakes up on the side of a country road, bruised and bloodied, with no memory of who she is and how she got there.

A teenage boy has spent the last five weeks tirelessly searching for his girlfriend who has gone missing and clear his own name.

This was a great debut read by Megan Lally. Easy to follow, a little twisty, likable main characters.

Can’t say much else without giving it away so make sure you snag it this Tuesday, January 2, 2024!

Big thanks to @sourcebooksfire for the ARC!

#netgalley #thatsnotmyname #meganlally

A teenage girl wakes up in a ditch on the side of the road with no memory of who she is or how she got there. Luckily for her, a police officer passing by sees her and takes her back to the station to try and figure out what happened to her. Not long after they get there, a man shows up saying he is looking for his missing daughter, and he has the documents to prove the girl that was found is his lost girl, Mary. Together, they return back to their cabin in the woods, where Mary tries to put her memory back together.

Drew’s girlfriend, Lola, is missing, and the whole town, including the sheriff, believes he had something to do with it. After all, Drew was the last to see Lola alive. When it seems the sheriff is no longer exploring new possibilities, Drew takes things into his own hands to prove his innocence and does everything he can to find Lola and bring her back home.

WOW! This book had me hooked from the beginning. It was a super fast-paced read and a great YA thriller! I liked that the author included different POVs and timelines, flipping back and forth between Mary and Drew. I could not put this book down due to the building suspense, and I found myself always having to read just one more chapter. That’s Not My Name is Megan Lally’s debut book and I can’t wait to read what she writes next. I easily gave this book five stars on Goodreads and would highly recommend adding it to your TBR shelf!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.