This was a great YA thriller, it was always keeping my guessing! I would talk out loud in frustration when some of the characters would do something I didn’t like or when something I didn’t expect to happen.

Tanvi and Mimi were not only cousins, but best friends. Indian American girls, they’re living in both cultures while also trying to find themselves as all teenagers do. Beth is the popular it girl, and once she claims Mimi as her friend tanvi is left behind, awkward and isolated, even though they live together due to tanvis parents dying. Mimi, once a protector is swayed into Beth’s bullying ways, and tanvi is a perfect target. Tanvi decides to get a incriminating picture of Beth at her party to prove to everyone she’s not who she claims to be, but the photo incriminates Mimi too, Tanvi decides she can’t hurt her family like that and instead heads to bed ready for the first day back at school. Only when Tanvi wakes her head has a bump, her legs are scratched, her clothes are muddy and her memory is fuzzy, missing. Worse yet, Mimi is missing. Tanvi must try to fill the gaps in her memory, she has to find out what happened to her and more importantly to Mimi. Could Tanvi have hurt Mimi? It seems inconceivable, Tanvi must investigate what happened and question mimis friends and bf, but will the truth be too much to bare?

This book had a very promising story but unfortunately the delivery was lacking in many aspects for me.

We follow Tanvi, who after losing both of her parents in a car accident, was adopted by her aunt. She and her cousin Mimi were very close until one day they just started to drift apart after Beth came into the scene.

Beth is the popular mean girl at school and Tanvi doesn’t understand why her cousin would ditch her for popularity.

Tanvi is considering retaliating and seeking revenge against her cousin, when Mimi goes missing.

As we learn more and more of what happened the night that Mimi went missing, we will uncover all the secrets the girls are hiding.

Unfortunately even though I was really invested at the beginning, the book started to get repetitive too quickly. It was rehashing the story, the dialogues were a bit stiff and it lost a lot of steam really quickly for me.

When things finally started happening in the later parts of the book, it was slightly better. Letters and journals provided some intrigue.

While this book might not have been for me and it was too predictable, I am pretty sure many other readers will enjoy it. I considered DNFing it but even though the book was repetitive, it still was fast paced so I was able to push through.

I did enjoy the end reveal but at that stage the book had already lost me.

When Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar

Rating: 3 Stars

When I picked up When Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar, I was drawn in by the promise of a dark, twisty YA mystery centered around the splintered relationship between two Indian American cousins, Tanvi and Mimi. The story kicks off with shy, nerdy Tanvi, who has always looked up to her cousin Mimi as more of a sister figure, especially after Mimi's family took her in following her parents' tragic passing. However, their bond is tested when Mimi starts hanging out with Beth, the rich classmate who also happens to be Tanvi's biggest bully.

In a moment of desperation to prevent another torment-filled school year, Tanvi takes an incriminating photo of Mimi and Beth at a party. But when Tanvi wakes up with mysterious injuries and no memory of the night's events, Mimi has vanished. As Tanvi embarks on a quest to piece together her fragmented memories and question everyone connected to Mimi, the narrative twists and turns into a gripping search that soon escalates into a murder investigation. The tension ramps up when the police announce they suspect foul play, leaving Tanvi to confront the terrifying possibility that she might be involved in her cousin's disappearance.

The mystery had me guessing at every turn, and I found myself eagerly trying to piece together the clues. The twists were genuinely surprising, and the ending left me reeling—definitely not what I expected! That said, despite the thrilling plot, there were aspects of the book that didn't quite hit the mark for me. The frequent rehashing of events felt redundant at times, slowing down the momentum just when it should have been quickening. Some of the dialogue came across as stiff, and the plot relied on a few too many predictable plot devices that detracted from the overall experience. Additionally, I felt the characters could have been more fleshed out; they occasionally fell flat, which made it harder to fully connect with their journeys.

Overall, while When Mimi Went Missing kept me engaged with its unpredictable storyline and shocking conclusion, it could have benefited from tighter editing to smooth out its rougher edges. It's a solid three-star read that will appeal to those who enjoy a good mystery but might leave some readers wishing for a more polished execution.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

When I saw this book was recommended for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson, I was in! Plus I was excited to see South Asian characters. Unfortunately, two things made this difficult to really engage with: 1. There's such a focus on concussions in high schools this days (maybe it's just CO, but it exists) that I could not believe the main character would not consider that she might have a concussion until almost half-way through the book. 2. The characters and story felt very opaque at the beginning; it felt like there was a big wall between the characters and me as a reader. I do want to read more work by Suja Sukumar, but this novel didn't live up to its description.

Another really fun YA mystery! The story follows Tanvi, trying to figure out what happened to her cousin Mimi…while not remembering herself that fateful night.

I really loved how unreliable and messy the story got, at times, keeping me hooked on the mystery from beginning to end. There were some twists and turns I didn’t really see coming and the story was fast-paced enough for me to be captivated by it. I really enjoyed the main character, even if sometimes she was a bit unreliable -missing memory and all. Overall, it was a really entertaining YA mystery I’d recommend for fans of the genre.

Didn’t get a chance to download the ARC but I did end up grabbing this from the library after it came out and it’s a DNF from me, bud.

I literally don’t care about any of the characters, there’s so much suspension of disbelief between “oh I have memory problems when I have anxiety attacks” and “where did these bruises come from?” and “dirt on my clothes that wasn’t there last night” for me to even remotely believe this narrator has any sense of self. And I really wanted to be into this book, I love reading books from diverse voices, I love a good YA thriller, but what the fuck even was happening in this?

DNF at 24%, I really wanted to like it more but I honestly couldn’t care who has the track team captain armband or any other plot elements if the narrator doesn’t have the wherewithal to think critically. And I don’t think it’s a YA problem, I think it’s a writing problem, and I just can’t suspend that much disbelief when I am being beaten over the head by answers.

The premise of the book sounded interesting and I did enjoy the twist at the end. However, the issue I had with the book is that I wasn’t invested in any of the characters. Mimi seemed like a mean girl and even Tanvi tells us she was her protector, it didn’t really work for me. Maybe if the author had included some flash backs that showed their relationship rather than having Tanvi, who was an unreliable narrator, tell us about their relationship.

This book had me on the edge of my seat!

I feel like it had a good amount of action packed moments.

Oh This book!!!! will read more from this author.

I would recommend this to everyone that asked me for recommendation. This will be on the top of my list to tell all readers about.

If you love mystery and thriller you need to pick this up. Action packed and just great writing.


Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Thank you to Soho Teen and Netgalley for the eARC!

I loved the little flashes of Indian culture that we got to see in this book as well as the theme of mental health awareness. However, I am not a big lover of thriller books that are only a mystery because there is memory loss of the protagonist. It was also extremely predictable (at least to me). I think the thing that redeemed this book the most is that it was very fast placed.

This book is amazing. I would recommend to friends and family. If you're a lover of thriller and the mystery genre you won't go wrong with this book. Hope y'all enjoy it!

I was provided an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a fast paced YA thriller with a sprinkling of family drama. When Tanvi lost both her parents in a tragedy, she is taken in by her aunt and cousin Mimi. Tanvi and Mimi have always been like sisters, except this year. Mimi has a new best friend, Beth, who seems to hate Tanvi. As Beth's influence insidiously takes hold of Mimi, Tanvi is feeling more and more alone, and the bullying she had experienced previously is happening again. Then, one night, Mimi goes missing. Tanvi wakes up with a huge bump on her head but no memory of the night before. The police seem convinced that Mimi has run away and will return soon but Tanvi is worried as flashbacks of the night are coming back to her. I enjoyed this book and will read more by this author.

At first I found this a bit slow to read and struggled to get into it. As the book progressed it really got exciting and I couldn’t wait to read what was happening.

Over all it was well written and I enjoyed the book. 3 and a half star rating from me

I was not too sure what to expect when I requested When Mimi Went Missing. It did not disappoint; if you are a fan of Angeline Boulley, then this is your book. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing. Sometimes, it seems predictable, but it is still a fun and exciting ride. I am pleased to see more diverse books entering the world, as growing up to see myself in books would have been empowering.

Y’all know I have never met a YA thriller that I won’t try. And of course, when I saw this one, I knew I needed it immediately. And the way its filled with all the things I love about thrillers, I knew this was going to be a winner for me.

Ok so the mystery in this one was unfortunately predictable. I knew where it was going as soon as the person showed up. And they don’t actually do anything to make it seem like they didn’t do it? Idk. it was weird. It was like they had a siren light on top of them the whole time and they weren’t doing anything to guide people away from that thought. Even the clues and the red herrings didn’t sway me.

But that’s why the mystery got me. I was still so into it. I really was enthralled in it. Even knowing from the beginning who did it, I was still really into it. I had to know what was going on with her mom? And it didn’t come to light until the very end, so I’m glad I waited it out. The writing style just got to me and I got sucked into the story.

I also really liked the way the flashbacks were too. It was never info-dumpy and I loved that. And they actually gave some new info with every one. That’s one thing that always annoys me about flashbacks. They repeat the same scenes with only a few things turned different. The flashbacks gave a really good background to the whole story and it really worked well.

The ending was good af tho. I had to listen twice because girl, how did you catch the rope? That’s all I’m going to say lol But even I didn’t believe that one. I didn’t care for it at all. It just wasn’t believe able. I know this is fiction, but still. It IS set in the real world, so I was hoping for a little more I think.

This was a really good story, but I do wish there was some more mystery in this mystery. But it was really fun. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but I did still really enjoy it. I will definitely still be giving it to those that ask for recommendations.

After the death of her parents due to a murder suicide by her mother, Tanvi moves in with her Auntie and cousin Mimi. Tanvi and Mimi are like sisters, until suddenly Mimi drops Tanvi completely for her new friend Beth. Then Mimi goes missing, and Tanvi has no memory of the events leading up to her disappearance. As the memories slowly (achingly slowly) come back to Tanvi, she wonders if she is taking after her mother and hurt her beloved cousin. This was an interesting mystery with compelling characters. But I found it extremely distressing, and not in a good way. It kept me drawn in and reading, but only because I was so stressed out about Tanvi's memory loss. It also explores post partum psychosis, which Tanvi's mom suffered from due to a miscarriage causing her to kill herself and Tanvi's dad. I appreciate seeing this topic, but I am not sure if a Young Adult novel is the best place to explore it. Or perhaps I am just sensitive as a person suffering from post partum depression.

I had gotten this book as a ALC AND an ARC. I just couldn’t get through this book. I just did not understand the premise of the book.
I did like the narrator Rita Amparita.

I found this one hard to get through, The protagonist made so many silly decisions, and I'm not one for mental-health-blackouts stuff. That being said, I think students might appreciate how action-packed this book is, and the great representation. The writing's not great, but the plot is exciting.

Interesting premise--I liked the idea of the story, and the twists and turns kept me engaged, but I wasn't a huge fan of the main character, which led it to feel more like a hate-read. However, it kept me reading, so, maybe I'm off-base.