Meredith Adamo’s <i>Not Like Other Girls</i> is one of those books that you don’t realize the true depth of its importance until you’ve read it. It’s the sort of story you ensure your teen has read and understood. It is a conversation starter, an inherently important piece of education I think we all should have had growing up. If this book had been available to me as a teenager, I certainly would have grown up with a better head on my shoulders.

There are a slew of important and yet tough topics tackled in this book, many which I am sure will be essential for just about any teenager to learn from. And you see, this is the space in which I would prefer them to learn it, rather than being forced to go through such hardships in reality. I think we are becoming a much better world for addressing these issues and this is certainly something I know I will share will my own children one day.

The other nice thing about <i>Not Like Other Girls</i> is that it doesn’t fully hit you on the head with these topics and the discussion starters. Everything is mixed into a rather enticing mystery—where did this ex best friend disappear to? What happened to her? Why is she gone? And why did she ask for help before she vanished?

I was quite pleased and impressed with this book overall and I certainly hope that aids and educates many more down the road.

The narrator did an excellent job of bringing these characters to life and keeping the story engaging.

NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS is an absolutely incredible debut novel. I loved Jo and her voice, the romance between her and Hudson, and the themes this YA novel tackled so much. Meredith Adamo could definitely be one of my new favourite authors!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Audio, Bloomsbury YA, Meredith Adamo, and Georgina Sadler (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of Not Like Other Girls in exchange for an honest review.

Jo-Lynn used to be the smart popular girl who got great grades. After some events at a party, including six personal nudes chiming their way to every phone, she is now seen as and outcast and perceived as "easy" or "slutty" by many of her classmates. Other things happened too that affect Jo's motivation in being successful. If only her own family would listen to what she has to say...

When Jo's former friend, Maddie, approaches her one afternoon saying she might be in trouble, Jo wants to help. But then Maddie disappears. What happened to Maddie? Most people in the town think she just ran away, especially after not getting into her dream college. But Jo knows there is more to Maddie's disappearance. Their confrontation haunts her, and now Jo must get back in with the in-crowd, the friends she once had who are also Maddie's friends, to help sold her disappearance.

Hudson, someone she dated in the past, proposed that he and Jo "fake-date" so they have an excuse for being seen together, when in reality, they seek answers to Maddie's disappearance. As Jo looks for clues, she also looks into her own past trauma's, exploring who she is and how to use her voice not just for others, but for herself too.

A thoroughly enjoyable debut novel. The pacing was excellent, and the fake-dating trope goes as one would expect, adding some extra drama to the already intense situation at hand. I enjoyed the characterization and the schemes within the student body that just continued to unroll like toilet paper. The mystery aspect is a bit flat, but still fun to see how everything happens. Perfect for lovers of high school drama and the contemporary high school experience.

If you're a fan of superb storytelling, smartly narrated POVs, important themes, and realistic characters then you NEED to read this powerful book.

Perfect for fans of The Way I Used To Be, NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS, is an exceptional YA novel with serious heart. The audio was excellently executed and engaging and managed to keep my attention from start to finish.

Full of mystery, grit, and lots of spunk, I cannot recommend this hard-hitting story enough. An absolute must-read.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Bloomsbury Books for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

There is so much going on in this book. That will either excite you or discourage you. Yet, this is more realistic of a teen girl going actually through such things: bullying, harassment, sexual assault, lying, and the drama/trauma of high school relationships. Jo is the only one who cares that her former best friend is missing. So appreciate the realistic characters.
VERDICT: A good teen mystery/coming of age addition for readers who enjoy weaving of flashbacks.

I want to read this in paperback because I kept getting confused by the audio. I had to keep rewinding it and i ultimately had to DNF. I am going to purchase the paperback version and give it another chance because it has potential and it was definitely a me not the book kind of situation.

Excellent, excellent, wow! I thoroughly enjoyed Meredith Adamo's young adult novel Not Like Other Girls. I'll admit both the title and the beautiful cover caught my attention right away, but the tropes of high school, former best friends, and a missing person mystery held me captive from the very first page.

Adamo does a marvelous job capturing the turmoil of this high school senior's world and also includes some scintillating family drama, mean girl and boyfriend issues, academic pressures, and some great "adults vs. teens" dramatics as well. Not Like Other Girls is a terrific story.

I enjoyed the audio version of Not Like Other Girls, and Georgina Sadler does a fantastic job with Jo. I think Sadler does a good job with the other young folks in the novel, however her voices for most of the adults didn't work for me. It wasn't enough to detract from the story and I'd still 100% recommend the audio version.

This book held my attention and showed the importance of telling the truth. So many lies created problems. Also being blackmailed and having photos stolen and shared of your body is not ok. It would be empowering while also teaching lessons to teens. I really liked the dynamic characters and consistent details about their lives that made all the difference. It has a happy but realistic ending.

3.5 Stars overall

While I was invested in story, and in this character, there's a lot going on in this book.

When Maddie Price goes missing, Jo-Lynn feels like her ex-best friend is in trouble and wants to find her. While I really enjoyed the mystery plot of the book, the rest of it kind of got in the way. BUT what was really important throughout the many subplots is the way young girls aren't allowed to make mistakes. Girls are held to impossible standards, especially in high school...date too much, and you're a slut. Don't date at all, and you're ignored. It's about the importance of consent, that it's important to teach young girls to look for red flags when it comes to dating, it's about privilege, and that everything comes at a price.

I liked Jo's journey and would read this debut author again, hopefully with a much tighter story.

I really liked the narrator for this audiobook. Amazing job keeping the characters engaging and different enough to distinguish who was talking.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC/audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This one was tricky for me. The writing is truly exceptional and I'll be eagerly following Adamo's career. The narrator seemed like a mismatch and the voices for the supporting characters were very strangely done. The discussions of consent and recovery from trauma are where this book most shines.

I am rounding up from 4.5 to 5 stars. This story was more than I expected from a YA mystery debut. Meredith Adamo did an excellent job with character development, dialogue that felt true to the characters' high school years, and dove into relevant teen issues (bullying, sexual harassment, assault, anxiety of meeting expectations, etc.).

In terms of the mystery component, it was like a modern day Veronica Mars, especially when Jo brought others into solving what happened to Maddie. And as the mystery further evolved with twists along the way, she remained on the mission of finding out all the ins and outs of what happened.

Another thing to note is the narrator did an excellent job with the audio version. She easily brought you into the story - mystery, drama, teen angst.

I highly recommend this story for those looking for a YA that has characters you root for....and against with a side of mystery. I'm looking forward to future books from Adamo!

Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo: do yourself a favor and read it. Definitely young adult. But so good. Great characters. Great plot. Great story. Five stars. I’d read it again!

"Not Like Other Girls" by Meredith Adamo is a gripping debut novel that blends YA mystery and social commentary. The story centers on Jo-Lynn Kirby, a high school student ostracized after her nude photos were leaked, who gets embroiled in the mysterious disappearance of her former best friend, Maddie Price. Jo-Lynn's journey to uncover the truth forces her to confront past traumas, toxic friendships, and the fallout of betrayal and slut-shaming.

this book was not what j thought it was going to be and i liked that about it. it follows jo as she discovers her ex best friend maddie is missing and jo is drawn to the mystery and starts to solve it on her own. but slowly accepts help from others. i loved that her character grew so much and that she slowly let the other people in her life in and stopped blaming herself for all the things that happened to her. i did have some isaues with the pacing of this book and the writing style a little but i think that was a personal preference. i would rate this ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 rounded up.

This was a touching, difficult, wonderful story. It explores a lot of really tough topics while also piecing apart a mysterious disappearance of a former best friend. I loved the layers to this story, the characters and their struggles and I really appreciated the look at consent.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

You knew this girl in high school or maybe you were her.
Jo-Lynn is confident, popular, and well… perfect, that is until she isn’t. It only took one fateful event to turn everyone against her, leaving her emotionally devastated and unable to trust anyone around her.
When a past best friend goes missing, Jo struggles to work her way back into her crowd of former friends to get answers? 

Her former friends are just being cruel, including “Pretty, Nice, Maddie Price.” Then there is a breakthrough when Maddie desperately asks Jo for help one afternoon and then she goes missing. Jo knows the “friends” of her past know more than they are telling police and Maddie’s family. Will Jo be able to help Maddie, before it’s too late?


Not Like Other Girls is a well written young adult novel concerning the case of a missing teenage girl, but it’s so much more than that. The story delves into relevant issues facing young people today, including friend break-ups, sexual assault and harassment, and just bad and reckless behavior. 

As an audio listener, the large amount of back-and-forth story lines I found to be confusing at times. I did a lot of rewinding to understand what was going on.

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Although a bit complicated, the author presents a good message of self-worth for those who are not like other girls.

This is a very mature YA read.

I listened to the audio book for this and it was so good!
This story is a YA mystery novel that I surprisingly connected with and enjoyed more then I expected. YA can be a hit or miss for me but this one was a hit :)

Jo is struggling. Her ex-best friend comes to her claiming to be in trouble and then she disappears. Jo has that gut feeling that something is not right and sets out to find the truth. This book is all sorts of teenage drama! There wasnt a dull moment in this one and the ending was wild.

This story is told from Jo's POV and it was really fun to listen to on audio because it felt like she was having a conversation with you not exactly telling a story.

This book revolves around some heavier topics and has some trigger warnings so make sure you check them out but if you are into YA books with some mystery and some drama -- This one is for you!

This book draws on experiences of so many teens, especially those that have suffered at the hands of a cell phone. Students will be drawn to Jo because of the difficulties she’s had, but feel stronger and grow with her on her journey to find herself again. With the awareness around cell phones and social media, this book will resonate in high schools.

When Jo-Lynn Kirby ‘s former best friend—pretty, nice Maddie Price—comes to her claiming to be in trouble, Jo assumes it's some kind of joke. After all, Jo has been an outcast ever since her nude photos were leaked—and since everyone decided she deserved it. There’s no way Maddie would actually come to her for help.

But then Maddie is gone.

Everyone is quick to write off Maddie as a runaway, but Jo can’t shake the feeling there's more to the story. To find out the truth, Jo needs to get back in with the people who left her behind—and the only way back in is through Hudson Harper-Moore. An old fling of Jo’s with his own reasons for wanting to find Maddie, Hudson hatches a fake dating scheme to get Jo back into their clique. But being back on the inside means Jo must confront everything she’d rather forget: the boys who betrayed her, the whispers that she had it coming, and the secrets that tore her and Maddie apart. As Jo digs deeper into Maddie’s disappearance, she’s left to wonder who she’s really searching for: Maddie or the girl she used to be.

❤️ This story was so much more than I expected. I thought I was just going into a high school mystery. I did not expect the emotional dipiction of how girls are treated when they've experienced trauma. It was so bang on that I found myself nodding through a lot of the story. 

❤️The narrator for this story was the perfect voice for Jo. 👌🏻👏🏻

❤️ The characters were well flushed out and acted exactly how high schoolers would act. Jo-lynn was witty, likable, and real! Maddie was an annoying overachiver in the most believable, non highschool musical sort of way. Hudson was the perfect love interest for this story. He seriously could not have been written any better. The fake dating aspects were very well done, and the sleuthing was on point!

❤️ The story did drag a bit around the end, which is the only reason I can't give it 5 stars, but it did pick back up with a force I wasn't expecting! 

❤️Thanks to @netgalley and @bloomsburypublishing for allowing me to listen to this audio ARC!

I didn’t finish the book on time but what I listened to was very enjoyable. I will most likely buy it and finish reading it. I was half way done with the book. I really enjoyed the characters. I can’t wait to finish reading the book. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me listen to the story.