Member Reviews
Loved this one! Ella is starting a new school year without her BFF, Hayley. Hayley and Ella got into a car accident months prior. Hayley is dead and Ella blames herself for the accident. Ella feels alone without her best friend but finds some comfort in Hayley's boyfriend, Sawyer. Their relationship turns into something more than just friends and just when Ella is finally feeling like herself again, she finds Hayley's diary and she starts questioning everything about Sawyer.
I thought I predicted what was going to happen and while I was kind of right, I was also way off with a couple of the characters. This book touches on domestic violence so proceed with caution. There was one prediction I was hoping for that I did end up being correct on and really loved that twist.
Overall, this is a good YA thriller that has some romance, suspense, and mystery!
This was a quick, romantic mystery read. It was fast paced and I enjoyed it overall. The reason isn't a 5 star read for me is I felt the plot was very easy to figure out, the twists in the story weren't very mind blowing. This is still a book a would definitely recommend to my friends. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!
If you are looking for a quick read that pulls you in pretty quickly, this is a great one for you. It has many twists and turns that had me hooked and plowing through pages because I had to know what happens next.
I thought that Sloan Harlow did a great job of exploring grief, especially as a teenager navigating the loss of a friend in high school. While at times it could be predictable, it was very enjoyable and thrilling.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
If you like a YA thriller/romance, then I think you will enjoy this book! I liked the layout of the story with reading from the different character perspective and Hayley’s diary entries. I was so anxious to know the details of what happened that terrible night. There is a major twist towards the end that I absolutely didn’t see coming. This is a quick read and I really enjoyed it!
Thank you so much Penguin Group and NetGalley for the arc!
As a YA thriller, this book was a fun quick read. The beginning started off slow and had a big romance aspect mixed in, but I'd say the best part was three-quarters of the way through the book.
Wow. I'm impressed. Everything We Never Said may be Sloan Harlow's debut novel, but it didn't feel like it. Harlow crafted a well written, dark, and twisty romance/thriller that I didn't want to put down. The only reason I did at times was because I had to take a break from the suspense. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.
Senior year is just beginning for Ella and the students of North Davis High. This year there is no excitement or happiness in the new year for Ella. She is consumed by the grief and despair of losing her best friend Hayley in a car accident last year. Ella blames herself for Hayley's death and knows she's not the only one who does. The only person who seems to understand what Ella is going through is Hayley's boyfriend, Sawyer. When he unexpectedly steps in to help and comfort Ella, she can't help but start to feel things for him she knows she shouldn't. Now she has even more to feel guilty about. Ella becomes even more confused when she finds out Hayley didn't tell her everything about her relationship with Sawyer.
Everything We Never Said was one of those books that felt like it was a living, breathing thing. All of Ella's feelings were palpable. Her thoughts and feelings moved the story in a captivating way. Just when I thought life was improving for her, big things started happening and the intensity of the story grew. I was constantly on edge waiting for the next thing to surprise me. I felt constant concern and worry for Ella.
Ella wasn't the only POV in this book. Sawyer also gave insight into what was going on. I liked some of his chapters more than others, but that is understandable if you have read this book. There are also chapters from Hayley's diary that give insight into her thoughts and feelings prior to the accident. Both of these POVs add different aspects to the story that make the twists and turns even better than they would have been without them.
I can't really say more without giving too much away. There were some things I guessed were coming, but I could never be 100% sure of anything and there were some big surprises. This story is a ride you will want to experience all on your own. I don't know that I have been this impressed by a YA thriller debut since Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Lying.
A quick YA read consumed in one sitting. It is the summer of her senior year and Ella Graham has just lost her BFF, Haley Miller, in a car crash over the summer. Part of the plot is what happened to her friend, and waiting in the wings to comfort her and help her figure it out is Hayley's boyfriend, Sawyer. Also in the cast of characters are lots of other "S" names: Scott, Sean, Seema, and a high school counselor Mr. Wilkens who leads the support group where Sawyer and Ella connect.
Positives:
The last third of the novel was the most exciting-though also the least plausible.
Dealt with serious subject matter like abusive relationships and parental trauma fairly well.
The right amount of spice for a YA novel
Forbidden romance, teenage drama, family dynamics, and sensitive subject matter.
Negatives:
The "twist" was fairly easy to figure out despite the author trying to include multiple red herrings.
Much of the writing-especially Haylet's diary entires were very wordy and slowed the novel down a bit.
In the end-it was a wild ride and I will read more by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a fantastic debut book from Sloan Harlow. I was pulled into this story right away and it took me a long time to catch the main twist. Very well-written!
The story is told in alternating viewpoints from Emma, high school senior and best friend to Hayley, along with Sawyer, who was dating Hayley. But, at the start of summer, Hayely died in a car accident, while Emma was driving, leaving Emma not only grieving her very best friend, but grappling with the guilt she feels. Sawyer, is much harder to read from Emma's point of view, but as more of his story is told, we find that he has feelings for Emma that she definitely returns. However, this is taboo because of their connection to Hayley.
As the story unfolds, we get excerpts from Hayley's journal, telling a completely different story than what Emma knew about her best friend's life. So much so, that she is shocked at what her friend dealt with and doesn't know who she can trust anymore. The more Emma learns, the more danger she is in.
The details that the author reveals are done so very well and keep the reader guessing until very close to the end. Multiple twists that I didn't see coming. This story might be labeled as teen book, but I still really enjoyed it as an adult. Perfect for high school and beyond. I'll be looking forward to the next book by Harlow.
Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I did like ella and appreciated the approach from her grief standpoint, I really just didn't care for any of the characters. They felt one-dimensional and I wanted more out of the story.
Ella is returning to school a few short months after the death of her best friend, Hayley, in a car accident. An accident in which Ella was driving. Not only does she feel that the accident was her fault, but she has survivor's guilt.
She is asked by Hayley's mom to clean out Hayley's room because she "can't handle it," and finds her diary. She takes it so her mother won't find it and read it. She doesn't intend to read it, but does. She finds out she didn't know Hayley as well as she thought she did.
I enjoyed the book, but it makes me wonder if I know the people I think I KNOW as well as I think I do. I know we all have secrets, but are they being held to help them or to keep them from facing feelings or events.
I really enjoyed this book and have recommended it to some of my friends and students, (more mature students) to read.
I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 rounded up. A YA dark romance thriller. I somehow missed that this was a thriller and I think that skewed my reading experience. I enjoyed Ella’s voice and I think the author did a good job with her grief and exploring the friendship between Ella and Hayley, as well as the rekindled friendship between Ella and Seema. Seema’s feeling were intense, but I think true to what a young girl experiences with a friendship break. Sawyer’s relationship with his mom and younger brother was too cute. One of the twists you could see coming, but the tension along the way and just how it would play out was well written. The final conflict and scenes were a little wild. Overall, I felt like the writing was stronger than the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.
This book kept me guessing and I thought I had it figured out but then it threw me for a loop. It was hard to stay interested except I wanted to know who did it so I kept on reading .
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3T_ByrgrTF/?igsh=bm5pcHptdmZ3djJj
i was pleasantly surprised by this book. it kept me on my toes, i couldn’t put it down. at first i wasn’t too much of a fan of ella dating her dead best friend’s boyfriend, and the insta love gave me an ick, the story ultimately grew on me.
i loved dual point of view, and how even though sawyer does have a pov it’s very limited compared to ella’s. i think the topic was well written, and i think it did a really good job of explaining the effects of the different types.
i wasn’t a big fan of the side characters and i wished i’d gotten to know characters like scott better, but ultimately i do think this is a well-written fast-paced book.
Fans of CoHo, Emma Scott, Mia Sheridan, or Tessa Bailey, I have found the next read for you! This book focused on grief after a loss and provided a blanket of emotions right from the beginning. I found the characters likable and I believe audience members from teen to adult will be able to connect with this story. The plot was well thought out, the different POVs were easy to follow, and clear from chapter to chapter. I did pick up on the twists fairly quickly BUT was not 100% sure until it all played out. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly this book pulled me in and I will definitely be recommending it to my followers.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Sloan Harlow, and the publisher Penguin Group for the advanced copy of this book. It was well worth the read!
Wow! I was not expecting that ending at all! Usually, when a character does not remember what lead to a major plot event of the story you never know what can happen. Well, after reading so many thrillers, I thought I had figured out the "twist". Boy was I wrong and pleasantly surprised! Great and quick read!
I really wanted to like this book. It honestly started out super strong for me, and I was really feeling Ella's pain at losing her friend (not a spoiler, it's the whole premise of the novel). The writer did a great job bringing us into her grief and perfectly describing her despair. Once the book took a turn in the plot, it started to go downhill for me. Too much happened and it was all a bit unbelievable, especially a key plot point towards the end.
I am so grateful I was chosen to read this as an ARC. I truly enjoyed this book. Although I figured out who S was about halfway through, I never saw the ending coming. I think this would make for a great YA book. I also think there should be some kind of warning about the DV content. Some parts were difficult for me to read, but I'm happy I did. I'd recommend this book to others. I know this doesn't say much about the book itself, but I feel anything I'd say would give away things that shouldn't be given away. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Everything We Never Said is a young adult, romance, thriller by Sloan Harlow. I absolutely devoured this book. I was so hooked and did not expect the ending. I had my suspicions but nothing like what occurred! There were so many twists and turns my jaw was on the floor. I went into this book thinking it would be like A Good Girls Guide to Murder (which I didn’t really like) so I was expecting to not really enjoy the book but I was proven SOOOO wrong. The only thing I didn’t really like was the beginning part of the book was a tad boring but once you get to over halfway the action really starts and I could not put it down.
Glimpse into the plot: Ella is entering her senior year after the death of her best friend, Hayley. She has to deal with her grief while also being bullied by her peers for blaming her for the accident that killed her best friend. She is mostly scared of facing her best friend’s boyfriend, Sawyer, so she spends countless sessions with the schools psychologist. However, this backfires and she ends up spending more time with Sawyer and complicated feeling arise between them along with her guilt. Things then take a turn when she helps clean Hayley’s room where she discovers her diary. What will Ella learn through reading her dead best friend’s diary??
Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
A Fun YA thriller / mystery with a bit of romance thrown in. The clues throughout throw the reader off, and you have several suspects by the end of the story.
Ella has just lost her best friend, Hayley, the summer in a car wreck while she was driving. She feels as though it is all her fault but she cannot remember anything that happened that night of the wreck. She goes back to school, still in despair over the loss. She begins to see the school psychologist. She rekindles a past friendship with Seema, but also begins to find a relationship in Sawyer, Hayley's boyfriend. The find comfort in each other while dealing with the loss. Ella goes through all sorts of feelings of wether or not being with Sawyer is ok.
While cleaning out Hayley's belongings, Ella finds Hayley's diary. With clues to a dark relationship Ella doesn't know who to trust and finds out that Sawyer may not be who she thought. Then the twists, clues, and turns begin.
This is a fun read, appropriate for grades 10th and up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this Advanced Readers Copy for my honest review.
You know I thought this novel was very intriguing and made me think. It was filled with drama and sadness but kept you hooked the whole time. Sloan Harlow did a great job at bringing the characters alive on the pages.