3.5/5 Stars

TL;DR - A twisty-turny thriller with a bit of cosmic(?) horror, a story of unbreakable bonds and the lengths to which someone will go for the ones they love. Not wholly my cup of tea, but an interesting and creepy book that did keep me engaged.

Big thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review!

***Trigger Warnings for: traumatic death of a parent, illness and death of a parent, mentions of suicide, underage alcohol consumption, self-harm with a blade, mentions of pedophilia with a power imbalance element, mentions of child pornography, implied sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor, homophobia, implied school shooting plans, bigotry from Christians and Christian ideals, murder, mentions of asphyxiation, on-page alcohol consumption, mentions of an alcoholic parent, on-page assault, possession, and drowning.***

‘The Bad Ones’ by Melissa Albert is a contemporary YA horror-thriller set in the suburbs of Chicago in what’s presumably the present-day. It follows mostly one POV, that of 17 year old Eneanor “Nora” Powell, whose best friend Rebecca “Becca” Cross has just vanished into thin air one frosty January evening, interspersed with POVS from Becca from vary points in the near past. Becca isn’t the only one to disappear that night under strange circumstances, and Nora is left to follow the breadcrumbs her lifelong best friend left her - and things only get weirder and spookier from there.

I have mixed feelings about this book, but that’s for purely personal reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the book itself.

Stories about possession make me physically, viscerally uncomfortable for reasons I won’t bore you with, and for this reason, I vehemently avoid them at all costs. I wouldn’t have requested this book if I knew that the crux of the creepiness came down to possession, and I only finished the book because it’s alluded to and not actually revealed until almost the 90% mark. I’m not mad, I know it’s a really specific trigger, I just needed to get that out of the way.

That said, if you can or like to read about that stuff, I think you’re going to love this book.

I honestly felt like I was back in high school reading this book, and I haven’t been there for 15+ years. That’s how real and true-to-life this book feels - the angst, the cliques, the drama and rumors. I also had a very close relationship with a lifelong best friend in which we got up to some pretty weird shit, and the similarities between Nora and Becca and me and my best friend were straight up spooky. I count this as a plus in the book’s favor because it was so spot-on to the borderline unhealthy devotion and semi-toxicity of having one friend so ride-or-die that you’re almost the same person. Reading this messed with my head and I didn’t hate it.

(On that note, this is a YA that actually *feels* like it’s written for teens, and I mean that in a good way. The language is accessible and the characters feel like real teenagers. Or, at least what I remember being like as a teen, which is admittedly very little.)

The book is paced well, with things sort of rolling downhill and snowballing as everything keeps getting weirder and the mystery keeps deepening. I was worried that the POVS from Becca would slow down the pace, but they never did, only kept adding more and more tension and mystery and never fully revealing what happened to her in a way that added to the overall spookiness. There is a definite horror element to this book, more so as the story moves along, but I think it reads more like a thriller with supernatural flavoring than straight horror. I’m not disappointed by any means, but I would have liked to see a bit more spookiness than we got. More of the mythos, if you will.

All the characters felt like real people, and I feel like the author really captured the essence of all the different types of people you go to high school with, good and bad. I felt really strongly for both Nora and Becca, the messiness of girlhood and being a teenager in general, and how friends can move away from each other in those years when you’re trying to figure out who you are. Overall, kudos for all the messy, complex characterization.

(Also, props for the great queer rep!)

The prose itself is pretty good. I only highlighted a few passages out of the whole book, but I would say from a craft standpoint, the writing is above-average.

I gave it 3.5 because, mainly, it’s not the kind of horror I like to engage with, and because it wasn’t quite exceptional enough to net a full four stars. It was good, don’t get me wrong, it just wasn’t “me” enough to make me rate it any higher.

Final Thoughts:

I think this would be a good intro for teens looking to get into horror, as it deals with a lot of relevant topics in a down-to-earth, relatable way, without being overly graphic. Really not my cup of tea horror-wise, but I think this book has a large potential audience of people who will really enjoy it. I won’t be buying a physical copy.

Features:
Slow burn supernatural thriller
Strong (if somewhat flawed) female friendship
Small town setting and urban legends
Chilling vibes

“Goddess, Goddess, count to one, who will you pick when the day is done?” With a story centered around local urban legends and a double dutch rhyme, this book really delivers on the creepy vibes. Despite being a bit of a slow burn, I found I just couldn’t put it down. An uncanny feeling pervades every page from beginning to end as the mystery surrounding 4 disappearances unravels. Though I wasn’t a big fan of Nora or her missing BFF Becca as people, I think they were pretty well developed and provided an interesting lens through which the story is told. There are definitely some odd wording choices and some of the story elements don’t quite hit home. However, these didn’t prevent me from eating through the pages!

Summary

Nora and Becca have always been inseparable. At least…they used to be. Nora is trying to pick up the pieces after their big fight and figure out who she is without Becca while still hanging on to the hope that they will eventually be able to patch together what has been broken. Then, after 6 months of almost no communication between them, Nora gets a text from Becca in the middle of the night. The next morning, Nora wakes to discover that four people, including Becca, have gone missing under mysterious circumstances. Though the other victims left no trace, Becca has left a series of clues for Nora tied to an urban legend and a childhood game that they used to play. But where will these clues lead?

Creepy and tense, but not nightmare inducing

This book is very atmospheric and definitely delivers on the uncanny vibes of a supernatural thriller. It is both a story about a complicated friendship shaped by loss and a mystery with an urban legend turned playground rhyme at its center. Though not the most unique, the use of the rhyme and how all of the pieces start to connect is brilliantly executed. That being said, it is definitely more of a slow burn.

I found that there was just enough tension to keep me reading, but there weren’t many moments that made me want to eat through the pages to find out what happens or make me pause to lower my heart rate a little. There are plenty of impactful moments that have stayed with me even after putting the book down. However, none were due to being scary or disturbing. Though I personally appreciate the lack of real nightmare fuel, it might be disappointing to more avid horror/thriller readers.

Solid characters, odd choices

Though we spend a lot of time getting to know Nora and her BFF Becca, there is a fairly large cast of characters that we are introduced to over the course of the book. Even though we don’t get to spend a lot of time getting to know all of them well, Albert does a pretty good job making them feel unique and authentic on the page. Even though I didn’t like Nora or Becca as people, their personalities were well illustrated and I was able to get invested in their story. This development made it all the more obvious when it gets undermined by some odd writing choices. Whether it’s an odd dialogue exchange or awkward descriptions, there are many small moments that either made me pause or just didn’t fit quite right.

In addition to a few odd details, the ‘romance’ element didn’t really work for me. I didn’t mind it being there, but it also didn’t really add anything to the story. I think if there was a slightly different approach to the relationship and how it develops, it might have fit a little better.

Overall

This was a solid read that kept me turning the pages. It is just creepy enough to give you the chills, but there is nothing extremely horrible or terrifying in this book. I love that it commits to being a supernatural thriller, but this also means there are some things left unexplained/unresolved. I personally loved being left with a little brain food when a book is done, but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. If you are looking for thriller vibes without going too deep, this is a perfect book to pick up and enjoy. However, if you like things a little spookier, spicier, and/or neatly tied up in the end, this book may not tick all of your boxes.

Melissa Albert knows how to spin a tale. This book with captivate you and keep you on edge from beginning to end. This is a great suspense novel with a dash of horror.

A creepy, atmospheric, supernatural YA horror-ish thriller that kept me turning pages far too late. The beginning is perfect, the small town legends vibe is spot on, and the magical supernatural elements are woven in so well that they just creep up on you. Nora is a great main character and her friendship with Becca is written so well. Would be an interesting book club read with discussion on what makes someone bad and do they deserve to be punished before their actions have been manifested.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

“The Bad Ones” is one of those books that you need to read at the right time and in the appropriate space to become invested in the story. It demands a lot of attention and focus. At its heart, this story is a mystery, fueled by childhood friendship steeped in dark mythological lore.

People in the town are missing, and the mc’s bestie is one of them. She unravels the mystery of what happened and all this entails through multiple flashbacks from the mc’s childhood and flashbacks of past adventures prior to the disappearance. I would have enjoyed the story more if the pacing was a little better. It took me quite some time to become truly invested in the story. Then, about 70% of the way in, I fell out of interest again.

Overall, I enjoyed the spooky vibes and supernatural elements, but the reading experience wasn’t what I hoped it would be.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the chance to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

This book has *serious* vibes. Dark, creepy, sinister threats right within your suburban neighborhood. When Nora's best friend, Becca, disappears one night, she is reeling from her loss. But when she also learns two additional teens and a teacher from her school have also disappeared, she suspects something sinister at play. Her suspicions are escalated when Becca seems to have left behind cryptic clues that only Nora can understand. By closely analyzing the clues and reexamining their semi-toxic and co-dependent relationship in the weeks leading up to her disappearance, Nora uncovers a dark magic seemingly tied to local lore and potentially linked to decades of disappearances. With few people to trust and in a race against time, Nora works to solve the mystery. I was hooked from the opening chapter, and really enjoyed the slow burn of the mystery. Each chapter builds on Nora and Becca's childhood game of creating a goddess to serve retribution to the 'bad ones' who hurt them and other vulnerable ones in their community. However, the closer Nora gets to revealing the truth, the blurrier the lines between past/present and good/evil become. Unique, dark, and propulsive, I really enjoyed Albert's newest YA Horror release!

Thank you to Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copies in exchange for my review.

Some of The Bad Ones was really good. The characters were well done and the overall mystery was really compelling. The main issue here is the pacing. I see lots of reviews disliking the slower start but for me this built the mystery of things nicely. My issue was more the last quarter or so of the book, when the reveals happen. It’s pretty fast and felt out of place compared to the rest of the book.

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review

I thought this book was a mesmerizing blend of horror and fantasy, woven with dark magic and eerie atmosphere. It explores the potent influence of childhood imagination and creativity, and the blurred boundaries between reality and fantasy.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I read it practically in one sitting. Melissa Albert is one of my favorite fantasy writers, partially because her prose just zings off the page. She uses such good turns of phrase and I couldn't help smiling throughout by some of her word choices.

THE BAD ONES is a fine addition to Albert's stellar catalog. It's genuinely spooky, unique, and very centered on girlhood and female friendship. I loved how complicated the friendship between Nora and Becca was portrayed and loved how much the two girls love each other in spite of their growing pains. Albert seems particularly attracted to that niche of girlhood that doesn't get written about very often--the nursery rhymes and old urban legends, for example--and how the darkness they might have originated from continues to influence the gals of today.

If you like YA horror or mystery, please grab THE BAD ONES!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC.

THE BAD ONES is Melissa Albert's latest novel. Known for her fantasy worlds, Ms. Albert changes things by setting this story in the un-fantastical Chicago suburbs. She doesn't abandon her roots, however, which means there is more than meets the eye as you progress through the story.

Unfortunately, THE BAD ONES is not up to the same standard as Ms. Albert's previous stories. For one, it suffers from pacing issues. The novel starts WAY too slowly; I couldn't get more than five pages before falling asleep, no matter what time I started reading. And this lasted well into the halfway mark. Once you reach that midway point, the story becomes a race to the end. There are few explanations for the supernatural element, which Ms. Albert introduces towards the last third of the novel. The rush and the last-minute introduction of something that dramatically changes the story make for an unsatisfactory reading experience.

However, I do like how Ms. Albert portrays Nora. She doesn't shy away from showing Nora's inner turmoil. Friendships are tricky, and Nora must maneuver through the emotional aftermath of a long-time friendship that abruptly ends and the guilt that ensues once Becca disappears. We see Nora hesitate to seek potential love while experiencing a loss. Because of this, we know that Nora is more vulnerable and fragile than most teens. It makes her a likable character, even if her relationships are questionable.

The main message of THE BAD ONES is one we've heard before and often. Ultimately, we know that people experience things we cannot know, and we should be mindful before criticizing them. Ms. Albert doesn't just remind us of this fact. She hits us over the head with this idea of secrets that are not just shocking but also life-changing. It not only makes you question what someone might be experiencing, but it changes how you look at other people. Because you never know.

I still love Ms. Albert and her writing even if I wasn't enamored with THE BAD ONES. More than anything else, the pacing is what makes THE BAD ONES such a disappointment. Her characters remain strong and well-developed. The plot is good, albeit it suffers from too much exposition in the first half and not enough in the second. I'm going to chalk this up to a one-off and expect good things from Ms. Albert in the future.

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert is a deliciously creepy story!

The book follows 17 year old Nora as she attempts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her best friend and 3 other people, all gone in one night. There isn't much to say without spoiling the plot but Albert does such a good job of building up the tension and keeping the twist too murky to figure out. All the characters are unique and are well developed, even in the short amount of time some of them are on the page. Already have this book on order for the library!

Thank you to NetGalley and FlatIron books for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Decent 4 out of 5 for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm not usually one for thriller-esque mystery books, but the concept of this one pulled me in. There are a lot of "vibes" in this story, where you know something is off and weird but can never manage to put your finger on it. Definitely kept me guessing throughout.

At its core, the story revolves around a town and the so called Goddess Game that has become part of its lore. I wasn't a huge fan of the MC Nora or her BFF as characters (or people tbh). They can be very codependent but at the same time, they are also each other's ride or die, which I can respect.

While I think Albert is a great writer, I don't think this book was for me. It is a very atmospheric story at its core. As your reading, there's always this feeling that something is slightly off but you can't tell what exactly it is. It explores how small town urban legends are made and how easily they can go off the rails. There is a lot of building up the town and the legend within the first 2/3 of the novel and Albert succeeds in making the place feel real and flawed. Unfortunately, there is barely any plot moving the story along within this portion. It was too slow to fully engage me and I had to push myself through a lot of it before I finally reached the ending, which I quite enjoyed and saved this book for me. Readers who love 'vibes' over plot will definitely enjoy the eerie feelings this book stirs up. While I liked this aspect, it couldn't carry the entire book for me.

I did appreciate the ending of this book overall though. I read a book recently that also heavily hints at supernatural themes but decided to explain everything away with plausible explanations. It was so unsatisfying and not at all what I wanted when I decided to pick up a supernatural thriller book. I'm so happy that Albert decided to lean fully into the supernatural elements she created with the Goddess Game. The final third picks up quite a bit and captured my attention until the end. I just wish that the rest of the novel had been just as interesting and incorporated a faster plot.

I will be fully honest, I requested this book because of the cover. I did however think the synopsis sounded intriguing. When I started reading it, it was very dark, way more than I imagined.
Because fo this I DNFed around 20%. It was just too much for me personally.

This is a great YA mystery novel that centers around the disappearance of four people, including the FMC's estranged best friend, Becca, on a winter night. The story explores themes of friendship, childhood games, and the blurred lines between reality and the supernatural. I was particularly drawn to the suspenseful elements, dark magic, and nostalgic childhood memories that drove the story forward. The well-developed characters, especially the FMC's evolution and complex relationship with Becca
Honestly, the book was a little eerie and atmospheric. I really enjoyed it. Thank you Melissa Albert and NetGalley for letting me read this book.

Loved this book! It was fun, creepy, and exciting! It also felt fresh and like something that I haven't read before. The sinister vibes while being in a suburban setting makes it hit home and makes it relatable as well. Overall I loved this book, and look forward to reading more from this Author.

This is the first book I've read by Melissa Albert (even though I have had The Hazel Wood on my TBR for years now), and I really enjoyed it. This book had contemporary spooky vibes with great fantasy and mystery elements that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire book! When Nora wakes up on her estranged best friend, Becca's porch, she finds out that four people have vanished without a trace the night before. Desperate to find her friend, she tries to untangle the mess of clues in front of her. But as she struggles to trust the clues Becca left behind, the local folklore of a legendary goddess woven throughout their childhoods seems to play a bigger role in everything in their lives. This book was spooky (I'm a wimp about scary books, so if I can read it, anyone can) and really dived into the darkness inside everyone and how toxic friendships change how you view the world. But even as it read like a contemporary mystery/thriller, it had interesting fantasy elements. It made me question if this was truly a fantasy or if it was just all in Nora's imagination, which is always fun in a fantasy thriller. I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a spooky YA contemporary fantasy.

Thank you to Flatrion Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this!

Short/simple summary: Several high school students and a teacher go missing on the same night. A best friend follows the clues left for her in life, her dreams, and local myths to discover the truth behind the disappearances.

This book is a cool blend of mystery, supernatural elements, and relationship dynamics. The character development is so good! The way the main character navigates her grief, guilt, and love towards her missing friend feels real. We get info throughout about their lives and friendship before the disappearances. And it’s complicated! Because they are high school kids working through loss and figuring out who they need to be for each other and themselves. The multiple POVs and flashbacks in this story lead to a satisfying slow-burn reveal. I recommend this book to YA horror fans and those who like mysteries with a supernatural twist.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert is the first book I have read by this author. The premise of the book hooked me immediately. A small town, tragedy and mystery around every corner and missing people. But why and how were they missing and what was at the center of their disappearance. The ones who are missing seem to be 'bad people' in some way, except for one, and her best friend is determined to find out what happened to her. Nora's best friend is missing and they had a terrible fight right before she was gone. She is led back to her childhood when they became best friends, and what connected them all of those years ago. They used to play a game known as the Goddess Game, where a Goddess fought for the injustices and got revenge. The book is a great mystery and explores toxic friendships as well as diving into old myths and legends, and often times would go back and forth between time periods. However, there were areas that I felt rushed and at times I felt lost as to what was going on. There also is no real explanation as to where the 'missing bad ones' went to, and sometimes the mystery tottered between reality and fantasy. The idea of a Goddess seeking justice for wrongdoings before they happen appealed to me greatly, especially in the light of so much tragedy that is happening today. The book is definitely a mystery with SCI-FI components which help in understanding where the book will go with the plot. I suggest to anyone that will read this to go with that in mind and not expect a easy conclusion or understanding of what is happening in this small town, as the SCI-FI mystery is big in this story and will not fit any neat box of why things are happening. Thank you to #NetGalley and #FlatIronBooks for the ARC in exchange for fair and honest feedback.

Melissa Albert is an auto-read for me and phew did this book deliver. Perfectly spooky, well thought out mystery, and I’ll be thinking about this plot for some time to come. I even started listening to music I haven’t listened to since my own high school days to set the atmosphere. I will absolutely be recommending to all my horror reading friends and I can’t wait to see what’s next from this excellent writer.