Thank you Kids Can Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book by Nicola Dahlin.

If We Tell You is about twin siblings Cameron and Lewis Larsen who finds themselves in a sticky situation where they have to run from their neighborhood barbecue. Their parents just killed two people and they have no idea who they are. They make their way to Edinburgh where they find an old friend of their mother. Now they have to find out what is going on and where their parents are hiding.

This book left me guessing throughout the whole thing. I had no idea who I suspected most, everyone was a suspect and no one at the same time. In my opinion and with my book taste it had a bit of a slow (but not so slow) start. It took me a while to get into it but when I did, I didn´t wanna put it down.

I definitely recommend this book to everyone who enjoys Young Adult mysteries. It comes out October 1st.

I rated it 3 stars.

At the begging of the story, I wasn’t really sure what was going on. It took me a couple of chapters to get a handle on the dynamics.
I loved that most of the book takes place in Edinburgh. The motel, the castle, the rainy days created such a beautiful setting.
The story is told from the point of view of two twin brothers. It was difficult for me to tell them apart on the first chapters, because even though they were described as two completely different people, their thoughts and feelings were pretty similar.
I really enjoyed the plot idea. It is a book filled with secrets and lies. However, it was a little slow pace and repetitive from time to time.
I didn’t love the ending, but it left room for a sequel, so we will see!

It was an enjoyable read with some enjoyable characters!

The concept of this book was super interesting, and throughout it there were plenty of turns I found exciting. I did have some fun reading it, and wanted to pick it up again after I put it down. Overall, my biggest issue with the book was the writing and our main characters. I had a difficult time getting into the story, and I think it was because there is very little description in the writing. It is all telling and very little showing, making it hard to feel attached and interested in the story. An example is this quote from the beginning, “The dog barked. We heard Margaret Ross telling it to calm down.” Another issue was Lewis and Cameron’s personalities. I had the most difficult time keeping the two of them separate, and am still not sure who was who. The story was told from both of their perspectives, and unfortunately their sections sounded the same and I couldn't keep them straight. Although, a stand out of this book were the themes about identity and how we define ourselves. As a twin myself, I really liked how the boys compared themselves to each other, as that was very relatable. To sum it up: the writing was flat and I found the main characters difficult to keep separate, but the twists were exciting and the themes added great depth and heart to the book. (Also Padma was the absolute best, she had great dialogue and characterization— my fav)

This book starts out really well and captures your attention pretty quickly. I think the last 50 or so pages make it hard to finish just because all the tension that builds up isn't really solidified in the end--- at least for me. Yes, questions are answered and the whole scope of the story is revealed, but for some reason it just felt unsatisfying.

This was a good beginner thriller and it was okay despite it being in the YA genre. This was just unfortunately not for me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters or the plot.

This book was somewhat predictable for an adult reader, but it would probably work for a teen who likes mystery/suspense and doesn't read a lot. It was slow starting, but I loved that it has male protagonists.

This was a hard book to get into and I don’t think I ever got fully engrossed in it. A book that was longer than it needed to be and was quite repetitive , I felt that after reading the synopsis that this book had so much potential and I was actually excited to read it. For how many pages there were, not much happened.

I found it challenging to become engrossed in "If We Tell You" by Nicola Dahlin. The characters appeared somewhat lackluster and lacked depth. The novel had great potential, but unfortunately, it didn't quite meet expectations in several respects. This was evident from the onset of the book. The description, which was quite engaging, led me to anticipate a different beginning—specifically, one set during the party, rather than after, when the twins are already fleeing. The concept of the story unfolding from the viewpoint of the twin brothers was intriguing, and I appreciated the evolution of the narrative from their perspective. Dahlin skillfully captures the twins' interdependence and the robustness of their bond. The use of alternating perspectives throughout their journey adds layers to their personalities, showcasing their unique strengths and weaknesses. However, I felt that their individual voices and personalities were not as distinct as they could have been.

Pfft.
Where do I even start?
IF WE TELL YOU had so much potential, but it fell short...in a lot of ways. It started with the way the book started. After reading the books description, which ultimately drew me in, I was expected a different starting point---during the party, not after when the twins are on the run. That's when I should have decided this book wasn't for me, but I read another hundred pages---and nothing happened. Where were the thrills?
It started feeling like a chore to read, so I this book was a DNF for me.

Amazing book . Love character development. Will definitely recommend to friends bd family . amazing job.

I had a difficult time getting invested in If We Tell You by Nicola Dahlin. I felt the characters were a bit flat and seemed one-dimensional.

If We Tell You is a YA suspense with some good twists, but it was slow in parts, which I struggled to get through. The ending seems to indicate there may be more books ahead.

This story may be interesting and intriguing for some readers, but, for me, it missed the mark a bit and wasn't as interesting or page-turning as I would expect from the synopsis.

#NetGalley @kidscanpress

I thought this was such a clever premise and loved seeing the story evolve from the perspective of the two male teenage twins. This firmly grounded the book in the YA genre, but I enjoyed it even though my Y years are well behind me. Yes, some of it is pretty far fetched but I think the fact that we are seeing events from a younger perspective makes more sense - they react so instinctively and without the layer of analysis an adult perspective might bring,

If We Tell You has a great premise, and a decent execution. While multiple perspectives normally bug the heck out of me, I actually really liked how it was done here. A classic frustration for mystery and thriller readers is feeling like the characters are making poor decisions purely to further the plot. Dahlin utilized the twins' perspectives to have them talk out their options — and, yes, make the sensible choices — to not only avoid that frustration, but to keep the action going. (As you might suspect, the sensible choices don't always help the twins, but at least they tried!)

Where the story loses me is in the uneven pacing and volume of under-developed characters. I kept having to pause to try and figure out why a certain character was in a scene or where we were in the timeline. Between that and the slower stretches of plot, I DNF'd this about 30% of the way through. I'm sure many other readers will be more invested, but it just wasn't a complete pageturner for me.

Likeable characters, interesting premise. Twins are always fascinating to read about, but the plot lacked some action, some suspense.

A perfect read for teenagers just starting to explore the thriller genre, in search for a character-driven plot and a simple storyline.

I liked this YA novel and thought the plot was very unique and different. I found the main characters to be like able and the story to be fast paced.

Sending only as feedback for the publisher- I attempted to read this book but the formatting of the file made it very difficult to follow/read for me. I plan to borrow from the library when possible and will not post a review on Goodreads as it wouldn’t be complete and would be an unfair review. Thank you!

3.5 stars rounded up. This was a fun, fast-paced popcorn book. It reminded me of Spy Kids at times. I could see this being made into a movie or TV show, probably for Disney.

I liked the twins well enough, even though I didn't really think they had very distinct personalities/narrations. The ending isn't a total cliffhanger, but it gave me the feeling there's more to come. This story was entertaining enough that a sequel wouldn't be an absolute must read for me, but it would be on my radar.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

This was actually quite good. It is YA in the sense that the characters are twin 15 year olds, so it is told through their viewpoint. The plot itself is pretty intriguing. Perhaps it's a bit easy to deduce what is ultimately happening, but that takes nothing away from the story. It was fun and interesting to watch this unfold and refreshing to see a viewpoint/characters I wouldn't normally read. I think teens would absolutely love this book, and this old fart did too!!

I really don’t like rating a book so low, knowing the blood, sweat and tears that go into writing something and getting it published. But this one just wasn’t good. Not all that much actually happened and the events that did were either confusing or so unrealistic that it was hard to buy into the plot (even for a YA novel). I also didn’t care for the main characters of Cameron or Lewis- here they are on the run and I just couldn’t bring myself to root for them. The novel is split up into both of their perspectives, and for twins that are supposedly so different, I found myself forgetting whose perspective I was in too often. The one thing I did like about this book were the secondary characters, it’s honestly what saved it for me. I kept reading wanting to know what ultimately was going on with the twins parents, but I also found that unsatisfying. Ultimately not one I would buy for the library or recommend, it would definitely be a DNF for too many readers.

I’m rating this as an adult reading YA….because that’s what I am, but I think this was pretty nice suspense for a YA reader…though I did want to drink every time Molly was mentioned. Which, if you were me, was also an older YA thing to do, but hopefully your kids are better behaved than I was.

Cameron and Lewis Larson (why do most YA characters have the most vanilla last names? Is this required? Let’s see some nice Polish names or something. This is a melting pot, dammit. Oh, correction. This actually starts in Canada. Well, then, in, carry on, I guess. I don’t know.) are identical twins living with their parents enjoying a backyard barbecue with neighbors and friends. Suddenly two gunmen rush in and grab the boys. Their parents kill the strangers and in the confusion before the police arrive their parents make a run for it, but not before sending the boys off, together, but without them, handing them previously packed go bags with clothing, money and passports. So, you know, they’ve had a day.

They follow their parents instructions to Edinburgh where they meet up with a friend of their mother’s. Since twins will be memorable they pretend to be just one person, taking turns going out to try to figure out what’s happening and where their parents are. Of course there is time for a little romance because they are only CHILDREN ON THE RUN FOR THEIR LIVES.

Like I said, I think kids will like it, and unlike most YA I read, this one works for guys.