I really wanted to love this! I really liked the concept of this book, and that a supposed disappearance or possible murder took place in a theme park. However, I felt like the pacing was off and the twists and reveals were somewhat disjointed and not as exciting or as suprising as I had hoped.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Veronica Bane’s “Difficult Girls” is a compelling YA thriller that seamlessly blends mystery and personal growth against the backdrop of a quirky amusement park. The book follows Greta Riley Green, a girl with a troubled past who hopes to reinvent herself with a fresh start. But when a co-worker disappears, Greta is pulled into an unsettling mystery that threatens both her plans and her safety.

At its core, “Difficult Girls” is an exploration of identity and self-acceptance. Greta is an awkward, self-conscious, and often frustratingly naïve protagonist, but she is also relatable—especially for younger YA readers navigating their own insecurities. I thought it was possible that Greta is neurodivergent, though the book never explicitly confirms this. Her tendency to idolize people she finds attractive, her trusting nature, and her struggles with self-esteem make her feel realistic, even if she occasionally makes exasperating choices, just like any other teenager. Fortunately, she has a strong support system, including her co-worker Ivy, a true friend who isn’t afraid to call out her problematic behaviors, and Liam, a kind and patient love interest who helps her grow in confidence. Their romance is sweet and genuine, and the found-family aspect among the amusement park employees adds warmth to the story.

While the book starts off slowly, taking time to introduce its cast of characters and establish the atmosphere of the amusement park, the second half accelerates into a thrilling ride. I found the first half to be a bit slow and confusing as a lot of different characters were introduced, including the characters of the fictional amusement park. However, I really enjoyed the mystery in the second half. As Greta pieces together the mystery, the book transforms into a suspenseful page-turner, delivering unexpected twists and a satisfying conclusion that ties up all loose ends. Bane’s writing balances teenage angst and tension, making “Difficult Girls” an engaging read that captures both the innocence and anxieties of young adulthood. There were some aspects of the mystery that were genuinely surprising and unexpected to me.

Fans of YA thrillers, especially those who appreciate character-driven mysteries with a touch of summer nostalgia, will find much to love in “Difficult Girls.” I can’t wait to read more from Bane in the future.

Difficult Girls is a fantastically well written book! The twists and turns were wonderfully unpredictable and the characters are easy to invest in! The book was hard to put down!

This book had me laughing before I finished the first chapter. It quickly brought me back to those awkward teen years, when you have a crush and can't quite keep it together, inevitably making a fool of yourself instead of being suave.

The focus of the story seamlessly shifts to the main character, Greta, as she becomes entangled in a murder mystery while making new friends along the way. Greta is able to confront and escape the demons of her past - a struggle many of us can relate to during the tumultuous high school years.

At her new theme park job, Greta meets people who accept her for who she truly is, flaws and all, and love her because of them, not in spite of them. Bane offers a diverse cast of characters that many readers will relate to. The first half of the book provides insights into each character, allowing readers to truly get to know and care about them. In the second half, the pace picks up, taking readers on a thrilling ride (pun intended) as Greta pieces everything together. The ending is surprising, even for seasoned mystery readers.

Overall, this is a fantastic book for middle school and high school readers, as well as adults who enjoy YA thrillers.

I want to start by saying that I really did like the concept of this book. The idea of a main character who seems to be neurodivergent,although that’s never fully or clearly established, and has had some difficulty with things in the past and is now trying to get a fresh start working at a amusement park. The amusement park itself has kind of a dark backstory and when one of the main cast members goes missing, she gets pulled into investigating the situation.My main problem with it was that nothing really happened in the first 50% of the book. It took a really long time to get the book going, and there was some repetitiveness in the writing. That was a little frustrating. She describes the character’s “fluffy hair” way too many times and it just took a really long time for the story to get going.

Also, some of the ways that the author described the girls affection for boys was cringey and I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to represent the fact that she was neurodivergent so she looked at the world a little bit differently or whether this was supposed to be how the author perceived teenage brains to work. I know that the author is a teacher and so I’m assuming spends as much time as teenagers as I do as a teacher and I’m not Convinced that that was the most accurate depiction of the way that they see the opposite sex. I did love their connection and their love story and the sense that he really understood her and accepted her despite her past and her awkwardness, it just seemed a little strange and its delivery.

A fun YA thriller with lots of twists and a compelling theme park setting! Kept me guesstimated right up until the end. Great addition to a MS or HS library.

I did not finish this. It was so slow I lost interest around page 50 or so. I skimmed through the rest and just really disliked the pace.

Disturbed Girl by Veronica Bane is a YA thriller set against the backdrop of mystery and a young girl attempting to reinvent herself, only to find herself and those she knows plunged into a life-changing mystery. Filled with razor-sharp, tongue-in-the-cheek humor, and hints of young love, the book is a perfect summer-time read for those who are into YA thrillers.

The main character is Greta Riley Green. Greta finds herself and those she is beginning to care for, threatened by a co-worker's disappearance, the angst of trying to escape the past, and a mystery entangling Greta every moment.

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Difficult Girls can be found at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org

Each chapter opens up with a journal-like entry and with a mix of first-person and third-person perspectives, Disturbed Girl reads like a roller coaster ride leaving the reader going through a whirlwind of emotions while caught up in both the innocence and angst of being a young adult trying to grapple with starting over. The plot makes the book a great summer read and has the balance of thrilling mystery and turns, while also capturing the emotions of a summer romance. 

In some places, the pacing may feel slow, but then it quickly picks up, almost capturing the feel of a thrilling roller coaster ride where every turn and drop surprises the reader. As a result, readers will find themselves in some areas of the story, holding their breathe as they experience the world through Greta’s eyes, as she tries to make sense of what is going on, and dealing with the realization not only is this interfering with her plans to try and start over, but finding her time caught up in suspense and concern. 

Veronica Bane captures the awkwardness and angst of being a young adult and both the good and bad memories of working a summer job. Add a mystery and the disappearance of a co-worker, and Greta’s summer job becomes more than about grappling with her past but also about her safety. 

The character's conversational style captures the nuances of the intended age group. Reading through Disturbed Girl, the setting is distinct as everyone has memories of being a young adult and teenager working in a theme park of some setting or attending one. Add a thriller, and it is easy to see how a theme park is the perfect setting for intrigue and friendship.

The cover for the book is eye-catching and makes it difficult (use of word intended), to forget about while staying up late to see if all will end well for Greta, her attempt to move on from what happened to her while solving a mystery, as well as the unique chapter divisions. The book as a whole read both as a personal memoir of Greta and at the same time as revisiting a case breaking down the events that occur in Greta’s life.

Disturbed Girl is a unique YA thriller and is recommended for teenagers, young adults, and those who still remember how life seems to always happen at an amusement park or theme park. 

Currently, I am using the same rating system as NetGalley, and I would have to rate this book as a 4. The basis is taking in characters, plot, and setting, I felt for Greta and found myself feeling for the frustration, the curiosity, and the hope she exhibited throughout the book as she struggled to make sense of the situation she was dealing with, and hoping to use the summer to move beyond her past.

 Normally, I don’t read YA thrillers, yet with Disturbed Girl, I found myself going back to previous chapters with a sense of having missed something or wanting to re-read before moving forward, which speaks to the book drawing in the readers, versus simply reading through the chapters. The use of the first-person is appealing to those who enjoy becoming a part of the character and lends itself to a feeling of sneaking a peek into someone's diary journaling a substantial event in their life. The b