Member Reviews
I love a YA thriller, and ended up just flying through this one! More of the YA thrillers I read clearly need to be this queer :D
I really liked Sid's story and their struggles with everything in their life. The different relationships with Mavis and Sally were lovely to see come together. I also liked the ghosty element, felt very odd but also fun? It's not really explained, and I'm not sure it needs to be? It added to the vibe of the book and worked well for me.
Basically, this is what I wanted Holly Jackson's latest two books to be! 4 stars.
Have you seen this girl?’ By Nita Tyndall is a prime example of a well written, enticing thriller for young adults dipping their toes into darker genres for the first time. Difficult to put down and easy to want more.
A great transitional novel for mood readers this time of year!
Characters could have benefited from more development but overall the plot was engaging and well paced for a younger audience.
This was such a good book! I flew through it because I could not put it down! I thought the fact that the author made Sid non-binary was very interesting & added to the book. I was a little disappointed by the reveal at the end but not enough for it to lower my rating.
We've seen this basic set-up before - the child of a convicted killer questions the parent's guilt. This one doesn't stray too far from the pattern. Sid happens to be non-binary, contributing to their isolation, but the rest is what we expect. New murders happen and Sid investigates. Sid is an interesting character, but otherwise the plot here is fairly forgettable.
Have You Seen This Girl follows Sid, a non-binary teen who is ostracized from their town for being the child of a convicted serial killer. When girls start to disappear again, the town doubles down on them as hysteria builds. But then there’s Mavis, a girl who just moves into town and carries her own traumatic past- but to Sid she’s a chance to connect with someone who doesn’t know the grisly family history. Add in a supernatural twist, as their father’s victims can’t seem to leave Sid alone, they fight to solve the new disappearances in the hopes it’ll bring some kind of peace. This was a young adult thriller that impulse requested on NetGalley and honestly I was pleasantly surprised. It definitely reads YA, but in a good way, with brisk pacing and an engaging small town mystery. I read this in a day, and I found Sid’s character to be both heartfelt and heartbreaking, haunted by a family legacy they can’t escape but desperately seeking connection. I recommend!
This review will post on my instagram @boozehoundbookclub
I should first apologise for this review being a little late. Unfortunately real life got in the way of my reading.
I think this is the first novel I have read with a non-binary lead character. This added a deeper layer to the story. Sid is a fantastic character if not one that goes through a lot in the before and during the novel. Not only are they struggling to be accepted for who they are in a small town that isn’t exactly welcoming to what they consider not normal and on top of this dealing with the fact their father is a serial killer who targeted young girls. As if navigating this wasn’t enough more girls begin to disappear and later show up dead, but worse still is the ghosts of those girls begin to appear to Sid. Convinced that it is because they need to solve the copycat cases Sid begins to investigate.
This was my first novel by Tyndall but I have to say I will be looking at the others. The writing was fantastic and pulled you into Sid’s world and worries. The characters and dynamic of them was fantastic. I loved Sid and while the others made me mad at times it made sense to the ‘small town’ setting. I will have to say I did guess at one point who the copy cat might be but dismissed it so was surprised when my original guess was right. A testament to Tyndall’s writing.
The pacing of the story and mixture of crime thriller with elements of supernatural and psychological was executed fantastically. All in all this was a fantastic read and one I will recommend to fans of thrillers with a touch of the supernatural to it.
After reading the summary of this I thought it would be up my street. I haven’t read any books from the POV of a non binary character so that was also intriguing to me. This book wasn’t the greatest, most suspenseful mystery I’ve ever read; but I did enjoy reading it.
Sid was an interesting character, I liked their relationship with Mavis. I did sometimes find it hard to connect to Sid as they were very stuck in the guilt and self loathing over everything that happened.
I wouldn’t say that there was a lot of investigating on Sid’s part, you’re under the impression that it’ll be a little like Pip investigating in AGGGTM, however I don’t feel that was the case here. It felt more like things dropping into Sid’s lap rather than them extensively searching. There weren’t loads of details regarding the ‘search’ it seemed like more of a thought that Sid had then ran with if that makes sense?
The idea of the ghosts of the dead girls following them drew my interest into reading this one. I wish we got more in depth appearances from them. I also think that if the writer had flitted back and forth between the murders then and now it could’ve been a little more entertaining. There were little throw backs but I would’ve loved to maybe have had Sid’s dad’s point of few whilst committing the crimes. I feel like there was a fair few unanswered questions for me at the end of this one. I initially liked the pace, but I think that sometimes it went too fast it missed things out. For example:
why did the original killer shave their heads?
did the dad love Sid?
did the grandma really believe sid’s dad did it?
how was the dad found out??
I just feel like I wanted more…
the ending was slightly predictable. However, I’m glad that the three of them had each others backs and came through everything together. I feel like this review has been more critical than I had originally wanted it to be, I just feel that so much more could’ve been added to this to make it a five star read.
I enjoyed this mystery and will be purchasing a copy for my library. It was a complete surprise to me when the murderer was revealed. I believe my students will enjoy this book. It was nice to see a good YA book that was less than 300 pages.
Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.
This story is about Sid whose father killed 5 teenagers and now 10 years later someone is coping those murders. Sid must figure out what is going on and whether they are in danger too. This is a fast paced YA thriller that will have you intrigued, we get very little clues as to what is going on and that did make the reveal of the killer less hard hitting. But this was an enjoyable read that I read all in one sitting. The writing is enjoyable and I had a great time reading this story. The main character Sid was a great POV and Mavis was a great side character, the rest all felt very brief. This is a fun quick read perfect for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder.
Thank you to Harper360YA and NetGalley for providing me a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I will start by saying I picked this up on a whim one evening, and couldn't put it down. It's a fast-paced thriller based in a small town, with a copycat serial killer. This book is from the perspective of Sid, whose father was a serial killer, and someone is copying his MO. This book felt claustrophobic at times, with it being based in a small town that Sid can't escape, and everyone hating them due to their father being a serial killer. At times I couldn't stop reading this as more girls got murdered, while Sid was trying to solve their murders. While this book was short, the ending felt too short for me? It felt that all the things that led up to the end fell flat, and the story was concluded too quickly. While the ending didn't meet my expectations, I enjoyed my time reading this, and would recommend it if you're looking for a quick thriller!
(*3.5)
This was really good, the missing girls, the investigation, all mixed up with someone who was working out that they weren't a girl and struggling with that in a small town where people had very fixed ideas about things. It was just so well written and compelling and a bit heartbreaking. Loved it.
Ten years after the murder of five girls, another girl, June Hargrove, has been found dead in Cardinal Creek in a similar way. Sid’s dad was the one who committed the heinous crimes before, but with him locked up in prison, there’s no way it was him again. With all eyes now on Sid as another girl goes missing, the past is dredged up, and the sins of the father are definitely visited upon the child.
Not only does Sid have to deal with the whispers and the stares from townspeople, but they’re being haunted by their dad’s victims, and now June Hargrove has joined them in haunting Sid. Unable to keep out of the investigation, Sid needs answers from their dad, in the hopes of saving more girls from being murdered.
As a YA standalone thriller/mystery, I went into this a little hesitant, but that hesitation quickly left as I flew through this. It’s a quick read with great elements of suspense and mystery, but not only that, I really enjoyed how it dived into Sid’s experience of what happened, and how it’s effected them. Sid was a great MC, and I found myself absorbed in the story and their character.
The pace is just right, never dragging and giving that even amount of character development with the story. The side characters felt a little brief and not quite all fleshed out, but Mavis had more than enough page time for me to love her as a character.
Without revealing any spoilers, one thing I wasn’t keen on was the reveal. Not in how it was done, but who it was. It lacked the surprise and satisfaction the ending of a good mystery novel has, but this aside, and I still loved the book as a whole.
Did I like the book? Yes.
Did I love it? Yes.
Would I recommend it? If you loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – yes. Or if you’re looking for a quick mystery/thriller read – definitely.
A captivating YA thriller that will have you enthralled from start to finish. I can't wait to share this one with my students
There were a lot of good things going for this book. However, the characters seemed two dimensional. I never felt like I really knew Sid. Everything seemed like it was just glossed over. I think this book had the potential to be really great if it were about 100 pages longer. It could have delved more into Sid's identity, information about the town, the victims, etc.
It also seemed like the climax happened within 2 pages and then it was over. I was disappointed by this book.
Having read three of Nita Tyndall's books now, I think it's safe to conclude they're a really good writer. Especially since all of their books have been so different from each other.
This is their first YA thriller and I was drawn in from the start. The writing is so engaging, making me finish the book in almost one sitting. Sid is such an intriguing main character, because at points, you're really not sure if you can trust them, but you also sympathize with them so much.
Nita Tyndall is an author to watch, with characters to which young adults can relate. Have You Seen This Girl was a compelling read that I’ve recommended to several YA readers.
Have You Seen This Girl follows the life of Sid, a non-binary teen whose dad killed five girls in their small town and now on the anniversary of their deaths a copycat killer is on the loose.
Sid struggles with their identity and wants nothing more than to be removed from the shadow of their fathers crimes. Unfortunately we don't really learn much about them outside of their fathers crimes and their consumed guilt of the victims.
Sid tries to investigate the copycat murders but I don't feel like this was explored enough and came to quite a rushed conclusion.
I liked that the story was told from the pov of a family member who also suffers the grief and after affects of having a parent who's a serial killer as I haven't read any other books like this.
The supernatural elements were also a nice touch but ultimately the story as a whole fell a bit flat for me as I would have like more time spent with the new investigation.
Big thank you to Harper360YA and Netgalley for the arc.
Thank you so much to the publisher for the eARC!
In recent years I fell in love with YA crime/thriller books, so as soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read it. I think it was my first book featuring a nonbinary main character, so it was a huge plus!
Sid’s father is in prison after he murdered 5 girls, but now someone is back and copying him. Sid decides to solve the case, before the mysterious person kills more innocents. The story was interesting and had a good pace, but I really wanted more investigation. When I read a crime book, I like having multiple suspects, but here we didn’t really have anyone. Everyone was focused on Sid’s father and his potential partner, that there was no space left for others.
I loved the characters, Sid and Mavis relationship felt real with all their issues. I also loved Sid’s grandmother and Sally.
It’s a quick read, less than 300 pages, so if you like YA thrillers it would make a good addition to your TBR!
Firstly I read this in almost one day and found it really hard to put down. Sid is a non-binary teen who is living in the shadow of their serial killer fathers past crimes. Navigating life as a teen is hard enough as it is but then another girl goes missing and Sid knows that this time their father didn't do it. Did he? Sid is determined to find out or they might just be haunted forever.
I really enjoyed this book and instantly connected with Sid as a character and genuinely felt like I cared about the journey they were going to have to go on. This was mysterious and thrilling but also emotional. Not just focusing on the mystery but also Sid's personal struggles with expressing their identity while also dealing with the many difficulties of living in a small town, the same town that their father terrorized years before. This was a moving story with many believable characters. I just really enjoyed this and thought the mystery/thrill and personal journey was balanced well. I would definitely recommend this.
Some of the links I have provided reviews on are waiting approval