Ahh this book was so good! I ate this book up. Penguin Teen books have been killing it this year! Normally I’m hesitant on YA mystery/thrillers because I can get annoyed that the teens think they can solve it themselves without the cops at all. But this one was definitely an exception. I was hooked from the beginning, and trust me, if I COULD stay up late to finish a book, I would have stayed up until the wee hours to finish this one. But alas, I’m old now and with two little ones, that’s just not an option anymore. But just know that I WOULD have done that with this book!

The pacing of this book was perfect; never for a second did I start to get bored. I liked all the characters, and I loved the little bit of romance in the story too. (Although it’s hard to really root for anyone when there’s a chance they’re the killer.) This also had my favorite trope: enemies-to-lovers. AND there was even an instance where there was only one bed!! 😄

Definitely pick this one up if you like thrillers. I think this will even appeal to non-YA readers!

"A twisty, pulse-pounding enemies-to-lovers thriller full of secrets, privilege, and murder."

Thank you NetGalley, the publishers Nancy Paulsen Books and the author MK Pagano for this book ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a four star young adult mystery novel you will like this novel Girls Who Burn that releases Monday July 16th 2024. If you liked the book Seven Dirty Secrets by Natalie D. Richards you will enjoy along with being entranced with this novel. This novel take place in the summer before the female main character Addie senior year. Her sister Fiona is found dead at bottom of a Ravine, which her death was ruled an accident but addie thinks it was a murder. Girls Who Burn by MK Pagano is full of twists and turns you weren't expecting. I was captivated from the first page and couln't set the book down until I finished.

"It’s infuriating the way he does that— works me up, makes me want to hit him, then says something to cut my anger down, make me think he might be on my side after all."

⭐⭐⭐✨

Thank you Netgalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I requested this book after seeing it advertised as a "twisty enemies-to-lovers thriller, full of secrets, privilege, and murder". Penguin Teen was nice enough to send a hardcover my way as well! I don't have a good explanation, but my expectations for enjoyment were pretty low with this one. Surprisingly, despite how busy I was, I kept bringing this book everywhere in hopes of continuing it!

Girls Who Burn follows Addie, a girl who just lost her older sister due to a death with plenty of mysterious circumstances. She's caught between trying to hold together her family (now just her father and little brother) and wanting to learn what exactly happened to her sister that night. Unfortunately for her, things get even more complicated when her childhood friend shows up in town demanding to speak to her. Surely it's not because she's been accusing his cousin and best friend of murdering her sister! Can she discover what happened despite the growing odds against her?

Addie and Seth had so much chemistry! I couldn't believe how invested I was in learning what happened to them last summer and if they'd ever manage to work out their issues. My main complaint is that I wouldn't *really* call this an enemies-to-lovers story. It's more of a childhood friends → strangers → reluctant allies → lovers. Don't get me wrong, I loved it! The trope advertisement just felt off.

The writing was okay. There were a few scenes where things were skipped over in a way that seemed like the author didn't feel like doing research. When there was an issue with the car, the MC stated she waited outside so she didn't hear what was wrong with the car, but it was 'probably tampered with'. It had me laughing and did pull me out of the story a little, but not enough to stop reading. I also struggled with the logic of the plot. I wish some of the plots were more tied up by the end.

I did have a great time reading this, though! I also enjoyed the audiobook narration on Spotify Premium. I would certainly read another book by this author and would recommend this to people who enjoy YA thrillers with the vibes of Gossip Girl vs someone like Dan/Jenny and messy relationships.

This book has a great romance built in and a wide cast to keep readers guessing. The author did a wonderful job of dropping in clues and threads along the way, and I especially appreciated Addie's journey of coping with the loss of her sister while she heals from their broken relationship and learns to love herself again. Many teens will love this!

Addie's sister was found dead in a ravine a year ago, which changed her entire world. Now a year later, the boy who loved her sister is also found dead. Addie know it's not what the cops think, so she decides to investigate the mysterious deaths on her own.

This YA murder thriller is wonderful and will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The chapters are short, the story moves at a very fast pace, and the characters are likable and intriguing.

The love story between Addie and Seth is full of angst, will-they/won't-they, and will keep the reader hooked into what happens next. There is a little bit of spice, but nothing is graphic, so it is excellent for an older YA audience.

What I liked best was how Addie balanced her friendships with her life. There was a lot of self reflecting on Addie's part on how she was a good friend vs a bad friend, and I think that is very fresh in a YA novel. The author allows the characters to have their faults, explore their mistakes, and admit when they have a less than desirable trait. I think it will be refreshing to any YA reader to see a reflection of themselves in the characters.

The writing style allows for a quick read and a good understanding of where the plot is going, allowing the reader to make many guesses to where the plot is going. The writing style isn't complicated, but it isn't too simple.

This story reminded me of Jesse Sutanto’s writing style and I quite enjoyed it! The characters were out of high school and of different economic backgrounds, which plays into the overall story. The twists weren’t very shocking, but the storytelling was done well enough to keep me intrigued. I’d recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book hooked me from page one. I was completely immersed and stayed up well into the night because one more chapter always became five.

A delightful debut thriller with a heavy dose of romance and one of my personal favorite tropes, enemies to lovers!

I was shocked to realize this one was a debut. The author did an incredible job weaving romance into the more traditional mystery/thriller elements. All layers were equally propulsive and necessary to the story, and kept me turning pages late into the night. If other authors are doing this mix half as well as MK Pagano, I may have just stumbled upon my new favorite genre blend. Cannot wait to see what this author does next!

A good addition to the YA Thriller line up. But also, typical? The poor girl falls for the rich boy. There's a death, that involved both families, they become enemies... and in the end they have to put away their differences to solve this murder in order to get answers and clear their names.

Oh YES, typical. But I did like the characters of this story, The friendships, and the love side stories. It is cute for a YA. But also kind of predictable with who the villain is.

Enjoy it as a summer thriller. Especially if you go to a small town for a summer, and have made friends there that you only see once a year. It will give you the creeps, and might make you look at them differently. Just saying.

Thank you to penguin teen for my review copy.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and PENGUIN Group Penguin Young Readers Group in exchange for an honest review.

Addie's sister Fiona died tragically one year ago and Addie has always believed she was murdered by their wealthy neighbor, Thatcher Montgomery. When Thatcher dies under mysterious circumstances, Addie is no longer sure what to think. She teams up with Seth Montgomery, Thatcher's cousin and a boy she's had a love-hate relationship with since childhood, to figure out who killed Fiona and Thatcher. There's just one problem: Seth and Addie are each other's alibis for both deaths and the cops seem to suspect they are involved.

This book is a twisty, enthralling, edge-of-your-seat YA thriller that is sure to keep you guessing. There are so many probable and likely culprits that you won't see the twists coming.

One year after her sister's death, Addie is convinced the rich boy in town killed her....until he's found dead as well. She must then team up with his cousin to find the real killer.

This was such a good read. It definitely had me on the edge of my seat and questioning everyone's motives. Lol I loved that it delved into the complexities of friendships and romantic relationships. Deff worth the read!

Last summer, Addie's sister died and she's still not done grieving and blaming herself for all the things she could have or should have done differently. when the Montgomery Family comes back to town for the summer, she homes to get answers, but more murders and mysteries seem to follow in their wake.

This was a good twisty-turny YA murder mystery with lots of angsty moments and relationship drama. You do get a sort of enemies to lovers trope as well as friendships which have fallen out and tense emotions.

I think my only critique is Addie's absolute tunnel vision about who she thinks did it and trying to throw them under the bus. I get it; it was her sister who died and Addie does blame herself so she wants to focus that anger somewhere other than herself. I also get that it's a small town with possible dirty cops who can't be trusted so the teens have to do all the case solving themselves. Just kind of wish it wasn't so trope-ish, but it was still a really good, fast read which kept me interested to the final pages.

Thank you Netgalley and MK Pagano for this early copy!

I loved the setting of the book and the way the characters developed through out the story. I do love a good YA thriller and liked that the characters matched the age range. The story kept a good pace and there weren’t any plot holes that didn’t make sense. I do feel like the romance was a little forced and not natural in some parts and took away from the main mystery.
I would have liked to have seen just a tad more mystery. The ending also fell a little flat in the end and just sort of ended.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a YA thriller so I forgot how heavy they can be on the angsty teen romance. That makes for a lot of the story, which is fine! I didn’t find myself caring about the love story. But I was invested in the whodunit. I also like the friendships that eventually came about. Wish it had happened earlier in the story though, instead of the isolated feeling. But I get why it was the way it was.

If you're looking for another hit in the YA thriller department, look no further. No, seriously. Don't pass go until you've sat down and read this book.

Mystery? Check.
Devastating death? Check.
MC who is determined to solve it all? Check.
Secrets? So. Many.

Addie takes us on a journey motivated by grief and a feeling that something just isn't right. With her sister dead and her relationships burned, Addie turns to Seth, the cousin of the second person to die like her sister did a year later. While Girls Who Burn has an almost formulaic way about it's structure, it did it so, so well.

Thank you to Peguin and Netgalley for the arc.

Content warnings: murder of teenagers, abuse of power, corrupt police, mature adult-teenager relationship, gun violence, abandonment by parent, talks of suspected suicide

Ok first... how GORGEOUS is this cover?! It's what got my attention first and then the synopsis hooked me. Pagano has definitely written a page turner that is impossible to put down, especially as the plot thickens and the stakes are raised.

As the pieces fall together on what actually happened to Fiona and Thatcher, the truth takes a soap opera level turn... and I was totally here for it. The reasoning is bonkers and ridiculous in the best ways possible... but also realistic? SO much drama. I lost the "just one more chapter" game more than once because I HAD to know what happened next.

I liked Addie as our protagonist, though the one thing I wish Pagano gave readers was some chapters from Seth's POV. Being inside his head would have been very interesting and I think would have added even more depth to the overall plot. I will say, for a house with a dog... the dog isn't very good at alerting when non-family members walk around the house.

Overall this was a book I didn't want to stop reading and I'm very excited to be able to get this into the hands of my teen patrons that love mystery thrillers.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, and Nancy Paulsen Books in exchange for an honest review.

“Girls Who Burn,” by MK Pagano

Addie got into a fight with her sister, Fiona, last summer and then Fiona was found dead. The police say it’s an accident, but Addie never believed it. Addie is determined to find out who pushed her sister down a ravine, her suspect is Thatcher. But then Thatcher was also found dead in the same ravine. She teams up with her rival, Seth, who is Thatcher’s cousin.

This book is a murder mystery with tropes like one bed and forced proximity. It reminded me a little of Pretty Little Liars of finding evidence and then it mysteriously disappears, etc. I liked the book, but it was on the slow side, and I didn’t feel like the characters developed very much. 3 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

This book was great read it in one sitting it really hadme on the edge of my seat. Flipping pages so fast i got papaer cuts. The writing was phenomenal.i found my next author to look out for me this year i wanted more nee to.me authors more thrillers and yhis book was just want i needed

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for early access to this title in exchange for my honest feedback!

I found this was the kind of story that was easy to get lost in and seeing the main character go through this investigation alongside Seth as she’s trying to uncover what really happened to her sister was well put together as a mystery and well written in my opinion. I personally didn’t guess the culprit but could see how the reader would connect the dots before the big reveal; I was definitely along for the ride as Addie was putting the puzzle pieces together!