I’ve been following Julie Soto since her early days. Her writing is fire and she can weave a story that you will not put down. Thrashers is right there with her best. This is a thriller that will keep you turning the pages until late in the night. Highly recommend anything Julie writes!

I loved this book so very much. A YA thriller about the danger of cliques, or is it?

The book opens with the death of Emily Mills. The remainder of the book explores the popular kids, the Thrashers, named for Zack Thrasher, the New Helvetia heartthrob. Did they cause Emily’s death by suicide? Is everything really as it seems? Is Emily still around and haunting them?

This book drew me in from the beginning, and I really enjoyed it.

Wait... wait... wait.... I need more! you can't end such an awesome story like that! I never knew what to expect or how this book would go. I definitely have a book hangover! I love the way Julie writes and the landmarks from my hometown of Sacramento. It made the book easier to visualize and connect with. Definitely recommend!

Fun!!!
Julie Soto can really write a fun book (and it's her debut YA novel!) I had a great time reading THE THRASHERS and I love an ambiguous ending. Once I got to about the 50% mark I could not put the book down and flew through the second half.

- YA teen drama
- thriller mixed with some paranormal activity
- complex, flawed characters
- a mystery element

Now I need Julie to write a romance book starring Jodi and Julian. I love him!!!

Absolutely loved this YA debut thriller from Julie Soto! This was so fast paced, had all of the secrets and drama that come with high school friend groups, and kept me on the hook the whole time. I really liked that we got to see Jodi grow into herself throughout the book too. The clips of evidence interspersed throughout the book made me feel like I was a part of the trial and trying to piece it all together. I highly recommend this for a fast and thrilling YA read!

Julie Soto has quickly become one of my “must read” authors. My first Soto experience was with Not Another Love Song, and I was immediately hooked. I was curious to see how her YA thriller would be in comparison.
The Thrashers did not disappoint! Think of the 80s cult classic Heathers mixed with the vibe of Final Destination. Many students hate the popular group, The Thrashers, and have stories to tell about being thrashed. Some people, however, are dying to be a part of the group. After one student takes her life while attempting to connect with her idols, questions arise about the group’s connections to her and to their classmates. Were they the cause of her mental wellbeing? Or did she carefully construct plans to lead to their demise?
The level of tension for this ya thriller was chef’s kiss! Who can I trust? What’s the real story about the friend dynamics? What kind of Final Destination haunting is happening next? Soto threw in a gentle kindling of a slowburn, which I was definitely here for. Enemies to Lovers anyone? It was such a gripping read that I had a hard time putting it down. The ending, however, is what made this a 5 stars read for me. To be able to completely shift the possible motives within a couple relationships, left me with so many questions…in the best way possible. I absolutely loved the ending!
Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, MacMillan Audio, NetGalley, and Julie Soto for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Julie Soto has done it once again.

At this point, Julie Soto can write a book in any genre, and it’s going to be a banger. Her writing style adapts so well, and she’s able to immerse herself in a way that feels so organic, like she’s been writing in this specific genre for years.

The Thrashers follows a group of friends (nicknamed "The Thrashers" by their peers) after the death of one of their classmates. When they are accused of being involved in her death, we learn more about each of the characters and the secrets they’re hiding, even from each other.

This book was so addictive, I quite literally didn’t want to put it down. I was always itching to keep reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Throughout my time reading, I was constantly coming up with different theories about where the story was going and when certain plot points would be revealed. It kind of felt like I was playing Clue, but I was playing against Julie.

This book was written in such an intentional way. The pacing wasn’t too slow or too fast and emphasized all the right details to help further the plot along. The time jumps, flashbacks, and journal entries were all used expertly, and it never felt confusing or out of place.

I’ve never seen such a perfect depiction of high school teenagers. Sometimes you’ll read a YA book and the teens are acting like full-grown adults, but not here. Julie Soto captured the insecurity and awkwardness that perfectly encapsulates the teenage experience. I spent most of the book being like, “Oh, that was so me,” any time these characters did literally anything.

Julie, are we getting a sequel? That ending definitely makes me think we are and thank God, because I really want one!

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for gifting me an early copy of this book before its official release.

A JS book I enjoyed?! Color me shocked since her romance books are not my jam. The Thrashers was definitely a pleasant surprise.

If you’ve read any other JS books, it won’t take you many pages into this one to know it runs on an entirely different wavelength. It’s sort of a juvenile mystery. It had a lot of character names right off the bat which confused me. I don’t mind reading YA but I did find this one pretty juvenile and it didn’t hold my interest. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

Every high school has a small clique of rich kids that lacks self-awareness of their impact on their teen peers, but most of them don’t result in the death of a classmate and a police investigation into their treatment of others. Rife with impulsive, devil-may-care teen actions and attitudes, friends doubting friends - and themselves, and accusations galore, this book is a wild ride. Jodi’s introspection leads her to an awareness she never wanted; will it lead her into danger or just distrust? It won’t take you long to find out because you will not put this book down until you are done.

Just as an fyi in case you are not into it, there was a surprise supernatural element in the book that does not detract from the overall story telling but does play a role.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, Netgalley, and the author for early access to this thriller.

Amazing work! Julie does a great job with her books. This is her first YA book and I absolutely loved it. Great story line and sucked me right in.

The Thrashers are dramatic and isolating. It’s an elite group that doesn’t want to be elite at all. Or so Jodi thinks.

This was a super fast, fun read for me. I had some things figured out early on, but it didn’t deter my enjoyment of the book at all. I enjoyed the mystery that was happening and the touch of supernatural. It bordered just on the edge of wondering if something truly supernatural was happening at all. This was such an addicting read that I read it practically in one sitting. Overall, a super fun read.

3.5 Stars

I was lucky enough to review a copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio and Netgalley. This is my first Julie Soto book and I enjoyed it. It was a quick listen and it kept me engaged through out for the most part. When paranormal things happen I tend to not enjoy it as much because it wasn’t sold as that, I like my paranormal and thrillers separate. It was a bit of a roller coaster but I didn’t find the ending to be as shocking as I wanted it to be, I had a few ideas early on that didn’t happen.
I did enjoy our main character and her story and the stories of the other Thrashers. But I didn’t like how they all worshipped Zach, he sucked hahaha. I really liked Julian. The girls were decent. I could tell from a mile away how Emily really was.
The audiobook was good, I enjoyed the narrator, I did have to have it on 2.0x because they did talk a bit slow for me at a 1.0x speed.
I would recommend this read for older YA readers.

amazing I love this one I can’t wait for more Julie Soto this one was very engaging and suspense was off the charts i loved all the characters

Julie Soto's first foray into YA literature is a slam dunk. She weaves a fantastic mystery and completely captures the angst and yearning of being that age. I can't wait to read more from her in this space and continue to be a diehard fan of her adult romance!

What would you do to keep from being “thrashed”. Jodi has been friends with Zack since they were in second grade, she was never suppose to be a thrasher, but since she was his best friend she was automatically in. When a new girl tries to enter the friend group they don’t agree. Emily is very pushy and trying to impress. Everything was going well until Emily dies and the Thrashers are under investigation. This book takes you an interesting ride, and draws you in really quickly.

This YA thriller kept me at the edge of my seat from start to finish! I liked how it had plenty of relatable high school elements, from feeling insecure and wanting to fit in to navigating friendships and crushes, and the focus on the popular clique made it really interesting too. I was definitely creeped out by some of the supernatural incidents and the way freak accidents kept happening. I loved how every question I had was answered by the ending, and it was all so surprising and satisfying. Definitely recommend!

What was that epilogue?!? I’m so confused. There were a lot of really interesting and good things I liked and then there were some unnecessary parts in my opinion. But as always Julie Soto’s writing is fantastic.

2.75 stars.

I didn’t love this. I feel like Julie Soto should stick to romances. I’m sorry, I said what I said.

There was absolutely nothing thrilling about this “thriller”. I felt no suspense or need to keep flipping pages to find out what happens next. I hated all the characters, they were just so bland and one-dimensional and I just didn’t care what happened to them honestly.
I am partly to blame for the reason why I didn’t like this book. I really dislike the presence of supernatural in a crime/ thriller. It’s a “cheap” way to write a thriller. The ending was predictable and I’m just disappointed because I have really liked Soto’s books in the past.

Will I read another Julie Soto book? Absolutely, I loved her romance novels but thrillers, no.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press/ Wednesday books for this e-arc in exchange for a review

The Thrashers by Julie Soto is a young adult thriller following a group of friends, who are the most popular group at school, and how that group falls apart when a character adjacent to the group dies.

I think this book will be an easy pick up for fans of Holly Jackson & 13 Reasons Why. This is Julie’s first young adult & thriller novel, so it’s definitely a left turn if you’re expecting another sweet romance from her.

As a fan of Julie Soto, she continues to deliver characters that are easy to love and are extremely relatable. I was such a fan of the main character, Jodi, throughout the book. I think she was a great vessel to tell this story.

One thing I struggled with throughout the book was the point of view, sometimes the specification of “she” instead of just using I was confusing for me. I am a regular with a third person books but for some reason this was challenging at points.

While I enjoyed reading the book, it got to a point where I just feel like the plot was so messy and not in a way I liked. I find it hard to put to words other than just saying “messy” honestly. This book has so many twists and turns that it will keep you turning the page though.

Overall, I liked reading the book. I would absolutely read another thriller or young adult book from Julie Soto, but this book didn’t hit my expectations for that genre.

Thanks so much to the publisher & NetGalley for the ARC!