The Cheerleaders

Kara Thomas

Jul 2018 · Sold by Delacorte Press

About this eBook

"Sharp, brilliantly plotted, and totally engrossing."--KAREN M. MCMANUS, New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying

"A crafty, dark, and disturbing story."--KATHLEEN GLASGOW, New York Times bestselling author of Girl In Pieces

"A little bit Riverdale and a little bit Veronica Mars."--RILEY SAGER, bestselling author of Final Girls

A Goodreads Best Young Adult Book of the Year Nominee

From the author of The Darkest Corners and Little Monsters comes an all-new edge-of-your-seat thriller set in upstate New York about an eerie sequence of seemingly unrelated events that leaves five cheerleaders dead.

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident--two girls dead after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know his reasons. Monica's sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they'd lost.

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. She just wants to forget.

Only, Monica's world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad's desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn't over. Some people in town know more than they're saying. And somehow, Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn't mean anyone else is safe.

More Praise for Kara Thomas:

"Gripping from start to finish . . . with twists that left me shocked."--VICTORIA AVEYARD, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen

"You'll be up all night tearing through the pages."--BUSTLE

"This deliciously deceptive thriller...is a must-have."--SLJ

Ratings and reviews

After reading Thomas' Little Monsters last year, I was eager to dig into another contemporary mystery from her. In this book, a girl starts investigating the mysterious circumstances around her older sister's suicide that happened 5 years ago, a terrible time during which 4 other girls, all cheerleaders, had died. Finding some clues that point to two of those deaths, which were murders, were maybe pinned on the wrong person, Monica starts to dig into the lives of those girls and the days leading up to their deaths, along with her classmate Ginny, who is a loner. Meanwhile, Monica herself is hiding a secret from her own friends, and almost everyone in her life. At the start, I was invested in the story - I truly was - because there were so many aspects of it that had potential. There were three different incidents - an accident, a murder and a suicide - and the question was whether they were related, whether the girls had enemies, whether Monica will uncover something shocking. As the book went on, though, it felt like it was dragging itself all over the place; there were too many plot threads for it to have a main direction to work to. First, she is invested in her sister's suicide, for which she finds a diary and an interesting note. Then she starts investigating the murder, which is the focal point of the mystery as it was what started this whole thing. But the truth is that Monica and Ginny both don't have a personal connection to the murder aside from it being of two girls from their town. Monica's older sister has some POV chapters (in flashback) which is how we, the readers, can piece together the mystery, but she herself does not. There are plenty of red herrings, as well as Monica jumping to conclusions. Moreover, I do feel that Monica herself didn't have much to with the plot, despite being the protagonist. Her personal life doesn't have much bearing on the story and vice versa, and the things troubling her at the start barely make a dent in the plot. The story became interesting only towards the end: the thing I was betting on turned out to be true (like, he had to serve some purpose in the plot!), and the ending was probably the best part of this book. All in all, it was disappointing to me, even though it had potential.

I loved it personally, it was a little predictable but I didn't mind it!

Good suspense. Almost feel cinematic the whole time reading it.

About the author

Kara Thomas has written for everything from her high school newspaper to Warner Bros. Television. She is a true-crime addict who lives on Long Island with her husband and rescue cat. She is the author of The Darkest Corners, Little Monsters, and The Cheerleaders. To learn more about Kara and her books, visit her at kara-thomas.com or follow @karatwrites on Twitter and @kara_thomas on Instagram.