Ok Veronica Bane, you win. You wrote a story with a mystery that I couldn't even come close to solving.
This book can be ranked up there with the best mystery writers. There are so many twists and turns - but all logical and possible - that it kept you guessing to the very last.
But that's not the best part! This story was also about facing your past, making new friends, and even had a boy girl romance thrown in. The relationships and dialogues were so on point. Sometimes funny, many times snarky but always sounding like you character in your mind. Really well done.
Having never worked at an amusement park, this setting was all new to me. It was interesting to see the back rooms of these places as well as the staff that inhabit them.
Great read.
Enjoy!

This amateur teen detective mystery is elevated by classic thriller tropes (why hello, creepy amusement park with unsolved murders!) and feminist themes. A bevy of cagy characters quickly turn into suspects while the protagonist's desire for social self-preservation buckles beneath her sense of justice when she realizes that another girl may need saving from abuse. The plot will satisfy thriller readers while thematic content provides fodder for book clubs.

Thank you Veronica Bane, NetGalley , and Delacorte Press for the eARC!

Difficult girls is a promising YA thriller debut for Veronica Bane! Set in a campy theme park, Greta’s hopes to restart her life with a new job get sidetracked when fellow employee and actress Macy goes missing.

Bane does well in building the cast of characters, specifically Greta. You can see her work ethic, anxiety, and teenage-prone responses and interactions. I liked learning park lore from her. Greta presented neurodiverse to me, wasn’t sure if that was intended. My one wish for this novel was for it slow down a bit. Some situations, I felt like we were thrown into the middle without explanation (her lust for the popular lead actor at the park) and others I wanted to several more scenes to fully flesh out. Liam and Greta’s relationship, is one such area. I liked their dynamic and personalities. Maybe a few more scenes between Macy and Greta before the disappearance too. I think this is a fun read for younger readers that love A Good Girls Guide to Murder and Nancy Drew. I look forward to Bane’s future releases!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TL;DR: this is an interesting YA mystery with a well rounded main character/narrator who honestly, I really liked. The story is well paced, and the mystery is fun. The ending wasn't my favorite though.

I will keep an eye out for more stuff by Veronica Bane. I loved Greta to be honest (although I'm not sure everyone will) and the characters as a whole in this. The story is about Greta working at an amusement park to escape something from the past - and she stumbles upon another dark past and a mystery while there.

The story is well paced, although there were some loose ends (I wanted more about certain side characters who had hard to describe relevance to the plot). There were a few areas where the plot did lag here and there with what felt like odd overexplaining, but on the whole I felt really motivated to keep reading the story. I can see teens really enjoying this.

I couldn't quite figure out how old Greta was (I thought she was 15 but she's driving, and working almost full time it seems, so maybe she just graduated? I tried to figure it out by figuring Liam was a year younger than Ivy who is graduated so 17 maybe? I have no idea). The ending was also a bit wild for me - but I didn't see the twist coming and I think teens will enjoy the wildness of it. I'm just not the the target audience.

Difficult Girls was a classic YA thriller delivered brilliantly.

This has a great concept - theme parks are wonderful places of escapism and thrillers, but have plenty of secrets. It’s that timeless thing of wanting to know how the magic happens, how the trick is pulled off. Hyper Kid has that slightly cheesy feel - a mix of nostalgia and shameless cash grabs. It is bright and overwhelming, you can instantly picture it and practically smell the popcorn. Bane takes us behind the curtain to expose an underbelly of lies and a dark history of murder. I liked how following Greta gave us an entry point into the lore of this place and the unsolved cold case that still haunts it. Bane includes some chilling scenes around this, including an incredible opener that still replays in my mind. There is a deft handling of both cases and timelines, slowly weaving this web around the central characters. It feels layered and interesting with something new to discover around every chapter. In short, it is a brilliantly delivered YA thriller with stellar pacing.

Greta was a fantastic protagonist - she is running from events she’s trying to bury in her past. This makes her constantly on edge and feeling like an outsider, especially in the shiny showbusiness of this theme park. She is kind and smart with a steel edge beneath her smile. Life has been a rollercoaster and we start to learn how much this has affected her as the pages turn. Through her storyline, Bane is delivering an important message that will resonate with readers. Her voice is captivating and relatable - we’ve all been that fish out of water. However she is fiercely loyal and has a keen sense of justice, leading to this investigation.

Difficult Girls delivers the fun and scares of a good fairground ride in this larger-than-life thriller that delves into topical issues with care and heart.

Thank you Toppling books and the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! If you want to keep up with the rest of the tour head over to toppling books website! https://topplingstackstours.com/#DifficultGirls #TopplingStacksTours

5🌟stars for Veronica Banes debut novel!!!! I am not normally a thriller/suspense reader but this book had me hooked from the first page. I loved the setting and the backstory of a girl trying to start over. I think we all remember being that age and wanting to fit in and be accepted and hyper-fixating on the mistakes we made in the past and this definitely brought me back to my high school years. Being from San Diego I love the Easter eggs that Bane dropped to show they the story was influenced by San Diego and socal life. My favorite character ? LIAM. Loved him so much. He was kind, funny, patient, understanding and so supportive. Yay for a great male lead! The plot twists were great too! Kept me on my toes and thinking what might happen next. Overall, I loved this and can’t wait to see what Lee Veronica has in store for us!

Greta's summer job at an amusement park quickly spirals into something darker. especially as secrets start to surface. With characters who are complicated, flawed, and impossible not to root for.

I liked Greta from the moment we met her, she comes off as a bit timid, and eager to please. Wanting to reinvent herself after something that happened to her recently, that's alluded to, and we learn bits and pieces about throughout the story. I thought the setting of the park itself was pretty cool, with its different themes like Jungle Jam and the Rocket theater were pretty cool, and a great setting for what's about to go down.

When the star of the Jungle Jam show, Mercy, sees Greta at a party and tells her to meet her the next day to show her something, Greta kinda feels special and of course agrees. Only Mercy doesn't show, not for the meeting, and not to work at all. She doesn't show up for days, and Greta overhears some of Mercy's coworkers at Jungle Jam saying some very suspicious things that make her think something has happened to Mercy.

Right off the bat, there were characters I loved and ones I thought were going to be involved in what happened to Mercy. Greta has made a couple of friends, who are among the people I liked, and while I thought she could have opened up to one of them sooner, due to what we learn happened to her, I understand why she was hesitant.

There are some great twists and turns, a great plot that kept me guessing, and characters I could root for. I had a great time, and read this in one sitting. I will absolutely read whatever this author puts out next.

I was so excited to read this dark humor, thriller debut.
Difficult Girls by Veronica Bane kept me engaged and entertained throughout the entire novel.
From the very first chapter, I was completely hooked. It kept me guessing the entire time.
The author did an incredible job of pacing the reveals and weaving an intricate plot. I was on the edge of my seat until the last page!

difficult girls is a twisty roller coaster from start to finish, following greta as she begins to reinvent herself at her new job as an usher at a theme park, only to find herself working to solve the disappearance of her coworker. i had such a fun time reading this book!! i was LOCKED IN trying to theorize one what happened. while i predicted one twist, the other caught me by surprise!

i loved the blossoming friendships and found family greta had with everyone at hyper kid! and of course her friendship with liam!!! it was so fun reading about their reluctance to work with one another, but then becoming closer through it all!

this was such a thrilling mystery debut and i’m excited to see what else veronica has to offer!!

This book took a while to get into, but once the mystery kicks off it was hard to put down. Greta was a likeable character but I really like Liam and the romance was sweet. Once the pace picks up the story gets good and by the end I couldn’t wait to see how it all played out. This is definitely a book to check out. Give it time to get good and really immerse you in the characters and story. 3.5 stars rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

I love thrillers and this didnt disappointment! Veronica Bane’s Difficult Girls is darkly funny, sharp-edged thriller It's Fast-paced and unsettling, and a definite page turner. This book explores how far girls will go to fit in—and what horrors might be waiting when they do.

*Actual rating is 3.5 stars*

Difficult Girls follows a teenage girl trying to reinvent herself by working at a theme park. Things are going great until the star of one of the shows at the park, Mercy, seems to have disappeared after a party, and Greta was the last one to see her. Cue Greta entering her teen sleuth era in search for answers in a place where darkness loomed in the past.

The mystery was interesting and overall very engaging. It gave clues to not only Greta, but also the reader, in order to try to figure out what happened to Mercy as well as solving the murder mystery of the past. Greta was also a fun character to read, but I will never understand her borderline obsession with this guy - treating him like he can do nothing wrong despite having no real reason to do that. Especially when she’s being pretty rude to an actually kind guy. It was just frustrating to read. Even more so considering what Greta had to deal with in the past with teenage boys.

The ending was alright. Maybe a bit underwhelming considering the build-up throughout the book. With just some more pages to cook and it could have been great. But overall it was a quick and fun read, that would be good for a palate cleanser or a nice in-between more demanding books.

"Difficult Girls" is the debut novel from Vanessa Bane. It was a solid YA thriller and a quick, fast-paced read. The story is full of tension, suspense, and teenage drama. The bulk of the plot takes place in an amusement park, which is such a fun and unique setting. It took awhile for the action to really get started, and some of the story was a bit predictable, but there were still plenty of twists to keep me interested. I loved that in addition to the present day mystery, the characters also try to figure out an unsolved murder from twenty years earlier. Overall, a fun murder mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley, TBR & Beyond Tours, and Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Content warning: murder, assault, cursing, blood

Omg, omg this book hit the spot with the thriller and mystery part. Veronica did a fantastic job. I love the book; it kept me on edge. Who has done it?! I will be reading any of Veronica's books again. However, I wish the book gave more details about the rest of the members, like Gene and Silvia. Overall, this book kept me on my toes, and I finished reading it at 2 in the morning because I couldn't stop reading it.

This book had as many twists and turns as a roller coaster and was twice as fun! And you'll never see that ending coming.

I can't wait to purchase this book for my high school library! My students are going to absolutely love it!

This was a cute YA mystery thriller. It was interesting enough to keep me going without demanding all of my attention. However, it was very slow in parts. Greta’s inner monologue drove me crazy at times, but that could be a me problem. I kept trying to figure out who was behind what, and honestly, I didn’t figure it all out before the reveal, so that was nice. I really enjoyed the theme park setting, as well. Felt very summer time, ya know? Like I could picture myself walking around as a teen going through all of these things. So that was pretty interesting. But sometimes it just felt like too much time lapsed between developments.

Short Summary:

🩶 A teen girl hiding from her past must choose what’s more important to her when her coworker goes missing: keeping her past a secret or finding out what really happened.

Best Parts:
🩶 Liam
🩶 Ivy
🩶 The idea

Worst Parts:

🩶 Grey
🩶 Detective Jerkface

Difficult Girls follows Greta as she begins her new life after an incident at school last year. Her new job is at Hyper Kid Magic Land and she works hard to make new friends while ensuring her past stays buried. When she’s pulled into the most popular actress’s orbit, Mercy confides in Greta and has a secret she wants to share. However, Mercy doesn’t show to their meeting and keeps calling in “sick” to work. Greta is concerned and suspicious, especially with the park’s dark history. As she starts investigating, her past threatens to surface and destroy her new friendships as things turn deadly.

This was a fun, enjoyable mystery thriller. I really enjoyed that it was set at a theme park—it just makes everything so much fun and amusing. The author did a great job of weaving sinister vibes and suspicion. It was quite fast-paced and kept me interested the entire time. I did find it a bit predictable but still enjoyed the ending.

Greta is a very interesting character and complicated character. I didn’t love reading from her perspective, but I do think a lot of other people will. For me, it just didn’t work fully. I enjoyed the side characters and found everyone to be very distinct and had believable motivations. I quite liked Ivy and Liam and Gene. There was also a lot of humour that was amusing.

Overall, if you love ya mystery thrillers with a fun settings and interesting characters, I’d definitely recommend checking Difficult Girls out!

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for the arc