Still, it reads like a YA novel, and I don't mean that in a bad way. We get the sense that the character is in high school, and the people in the book rings true. There's not much about cliques, no overt stereotypes. We get the teenaged attitude without the "oh my god I want to strangle the characters NOW" feeling. It had just the right amount of angst and childishness that teenagers of that age would portray. Told primarily from Monica’s POV, as she finds clues about the deaths of the girls, perspective shifts to Jen in the weeks that lead up to her death. Monica’s character is dynamic; she’s appropriately angsty but at the same time sincere. I thought Thomas did a good job of painting a realistic picture of a high school junior struggling to find out who she is and what she stands for, while at the same time capturing small-town dynamics. I don’t know why I thought there will be a a killer chasing characters who’d fear for their lives, because that was not even promissed in the blurb. Anyway, because of my wrong expectations, the story for me was just… slow.

cheerleaders in a small town die, in 3 separate incidents, within a month’s time. Is it a coincidence or is there something sinister going on in the town of Sunnybrook? Overall, this has a Pretty Little Liars vibe at times, but it's also a captivating mystery with some heartbreaking, dark undertones. It will keep you guessing and engaged. Plus, there's that wonderful, twisty ending. 4 stars. In The Cheerleaders, the main character, Monica, had a summer fling with a guy in his mid-twenties, and Monica gets pregnant. The book begins right after she has an abortion, and it’s causing her a lot of physical and emotional grief and trauma. The guy is a capital-D Douchebag. I do too," Mrs. Ruiz says. "But after a while, searching for answers felt like grasping around in the dark. At some point, you have to choose to live in the light." As for my suspects, people were just way too shady or had something mysterious about them. everyone had secrets and dots were missing in these investigations. I need to know who was the common factor and once I got that answer - I was shook! I had no idea how much this one person was involved in some of the drama that happened between Monica's older sister Jen's friends.

Writing was fine; I enjoyed Thomas’ writing style but here it felt a little disjointed with certain events jumping unevenly from A to B. And it felt very YA; more so than her other books. The other books had a more grittier and realistic tone about them; this book read more so straightforwardly and less like a thriller. Probably would categorize this as a mystery drama. There’s been no cheerleading squad at Sunnybrook High for the past five years, following three separate tragedies involving cheerleaders. Bethany and Colleen were the first to die, killed in a car accident when their car hit a tree. Then, Susan and Juliana were murdered – strangled by Susan’s neighbour (who was stalking her) while the girl’s were home alone – the neighbour then subsequently shot by police. Finally, Jennifer (who was supposed to be at the sleepover the night Susan and Juliana died, but fell ill at the last minute), unable to come to terms with her friend’s deaths, commits suicide. If you've enjoyed Thomas's books in the past, I can't see you feeling any differently about this one. I had pieces of this one figured out before the reveal, but man if Kara didn't get me on that last one. The tiny details she chose to use to connect various aspects were so clever and engaging that it's easy to see how much she grows as an author with each book she writes. Highly recommended! I'm off to grumble and complain about having nothing good to read until her next novel is published. All hail the queen of the YA thriller! That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it's not that easy. After she discovers the letters in her stepdad's desk, unearths an ancient phone, and meets a strange new friend at school, Monica can't just move on.

I used him. I was tired of being numb and I wanted to prove to myself I could feel something.’” and I’m just like jfc I can’t freaking breathe without y’all shoving this victim-blaming crap down my throat can I The story is written in two perspectives, one from Monica, written in first person, and second from Jen, written in third person. Monica has never believed that Jenn committed suicide. The sister she knew just wouldn't have done that.As one can imagine it’s been a rough few years for Monica and now that she is in high school and on the dance team since cheerleading is no longer an option Monica lives with the memories every day. While searching for some pain medicine Monica finds letters sent to her step father insinuating there was more to the girls deaths than mere coincidence so Monica couldn’t help but begin to look into the past and try to find some answers. This story touches some really important topics like statutory rape, suicide and abortion, but I wish more attention was paid to them. I feel like they were mentioned and that was that, the story moved on. I mean, their part of the story was huge, but they were almost… glossed over. Reading The Cheerleaders made me both excited and scared at the same time. I mean, hello, a book about cheerleaders suddenly found dead days within each other? Anyway, safe to say, this book did not disappoint. She made her alliances clear for the game, wearing a bedazzled version of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniform including tiny white shorts, and a revealing blue shirt that barely stayed in place during her energetic performance. Throughout the whole book I was straight-faced and uninterested. Monica gets a bit of information here and there in every chapter, and not once was I excited. I tried so hard to get into the mystery groove, but I was so bored sometimes I had to rewind the audiobook as my mind simply wandered to other things without me noticing. I didn't even try to guess the ending, that's how done I was.