Kara Thomas

Five girls lied . . . five girls died . . . The Cheerleaders is Kara Thomas' brilliantly dark and twisty thriller that will leave you breathless.

The Cheerleaders

The Cheerleaders is Kara Thomas' edge-of-your-seat thriller about an eerie sequence of seemingly unrelated events that leaves five cheerleaders dead. 'Sharp, brilliantly plotted, and totally engrossing' - Karen McManus, New York Times-bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying 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. Then the murders happened – two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. 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. Her world is starting to unravel. 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. Whatever happened five years ago isn't over. People know more than they're letting on 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.

୨ৎ : 'pain isn't supposed to teach you anything. it only exists to hurt you.”

this book started off so slow, i would read two chapters and then put it down. i did like the main characters though, they weren't annoying or half doing everything. but the pace was just excruciating for me. 

once it picked up around 57% though i was hooked, i didn't expect it to go that way but i kind of did too. brandon is a fucking loserrrrr and if i was in this book id kill them myself. and the like epilogue? added some shock factor but i kinda of guessed it.

i truly hope monica and her family can heal now. those five girls deserved better. and I hope ethan can move on and be happy because that poor baby :( 

୨ৎ : 'pain isn't supposed to teach you anything. it only exists to hurt you.”

— ☆ 2/5

this book started off so slow, i would read two chapters and then put it down. i did like the main characters though, they weren't annoying or half doing everything. but the pace was just excruciating for me. 

once it picked up around 57% though i was hooked, i didn't expect it to go that way but i kind of did too. brandon is a fucking loserrrrr and if i was in this book id kill them myself. and the like epilogue? added some shock factor but i kinda of guessed it.

i truly hope monica and her family can heal now. those five girls deserved better. and I hope ethan can move on and be happy because that poor baby :( 

I picked this up after reading “Little monsters” because it really caught me off guard with its ending, but I think maybe I was expecting too much.

Rio (they/them)

"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

Nicole 

In this book, You follow a girl who is trying to figure out how five cheerleaders (including her sister) die in the same year. While this was a good read, I had hoped for more thrill and suspense.

Normally with YA thrillers I get pulled into the book and finish it in 3 days or less, this book did not meet that expectation, it took me 11 days to finish. It only got intresting for me at page 266 or something close to that.

Katherine

Yasmin H

I really enjoyed this book and I loved how it all came together at the end. I would recommend checking the trigger warnings for this book before you read it.

Five years ago, five cheerleaders died. Case closed. The whole town knows what happened. But what if there’s more to it than the town is aware of?

Monica's sister was one of the five girls, and, as the five-year anniversary approaches, she begins to investigate for herself to see if there was more to it than she had been told, because why else would her stepdad keep his late daughters phone?

My favourite character is Ginny because she stays by Monica’s side and helps her through the challenges of losing a sister, even if she has her own secrets to protect.

Kathy

** spoiler alert **
           I'm not ashamed to say that I cried, mostly about the fact that Jen and Ethan deserved to have had more time. More time to explore the connection between them. Susan deserved better than to be strangled because she wanted to help her friend and Juliana deserved better than to be killed by a guy 7 years older than her who was just using her. To me this book was just full of people who deserved better than the hand they were dealt. Girls who shouldn't have had died when they had their whole life ahead of them. This book emotionally destroyed me honestly. Word of advice make sure you got a box of tissues next to you while you read.

Five years after a series of accidents that left five cheerleaders dead, including her sister, Monica's world begins to unravel after learning that the events of the past are not over.

lulaa

** spoiler alert **
           So when I do this thing when I go book shopping. I'll go in whatever book store looking for the actual books I am looking to buy then I pick a random book based off it's cover. Yes I judge books by its cover, I know I know but with this book it actually worked out. Or maybe it's also because I'm a former cheerleader...hmmm

I bought this book from BAM. It was so freaking good the ending took me for the biggest loop. I had the biggest WTF moment. And I don't know if I'm the only one who does this. But when I'm reading a good book and it's coming to a end and i know for a fact there isn't a sequel I start to slowly read. But I didn't even do that with this book that's how good it was. I just couldn't stop reading. I think this is a suspense/thriller book and I don't read those very often just because I love YA so much but I'm definitely getting back into thriller/suspense. And maybe I liked it so much because it had many element of YA like themes. Whatever it is I loved it. The author Kara Thomas only has three books written from what I can tell and I will be ordering her other two books. Her writing style is amazing. 


 ***** S P O I L E R A L E R T ***** S P O I L E R A L E R T *****




Ok now let's get into the juicy stuff. I love how Kara Thomas includes text bubbles from the characters. She had me hook from jump when Monica (main character) starts talking about her inappropriate summer fling with a older guy AND THEN THE GUY STARTS WORKING AT HER SCHOOL. WOW JUST WOW. And honestly fuck Brandon not only is a pervert AND murder but he also played with my girls Monica's feelings. I'm talking about the part were they're having the memorial for the girls and she has somewhat of panic attack. (This scene kind of reminded me of the scene from "All The Bright Places" when Violet and Finch skips class and go by the lake or whatever) It's just this scene isn't as wholesome. This man kissed her in his car and then proceeds to ask her their relationship meant anything to her. LIKE WHAT. Knowing damn well he was just using her just as much as she was using him. I am really sad that Jennifer (Monica's sister) just ended up being a suicide. Which I feel like Brandon should go down for too because it was in direct cause of her friends being murdered. Now let's get into Ginny. I don't know how I feel about that part of the ending. Like I'm glad her mom and her are safe now but they are struggling. And if Ginny comes forward and says something about the accident then they can get the bail money back. But at the same time I get why she's taking that secret to the grave. But that's a lot of weight on one person. As for Monica I'm glad she gets a boy who likes her for her. I also liked that he stayed consistent, like he always like her throughout the whole story it wasn't just for show. 

I will definitely be reading this story again and I can't wait. 10/10 would definitely recommend.

Amanda Autumn Berrey

four stars

i really love this book. i only took a star away because i wish the endings were more intertwined but over all it was a really good book and i didn’t see any of the twists coming

Erin Russell

Kara Thomas is another go to author for interesting murder mysteries for me. This story was an example of her reliability in crafting compelling mysteries. She’s yet to disappoint me, I don’t think she will anytime soon either. I’ll keep an eye out for her future works.

Zoey 

Candyce Kirk

Kirsty

I don’t know whether listening to the audiobook took away some of the impact of this book but I didn’t feel any tension throughout the story and the twists, although surprising didn’t blow my mind like quite a lot of thrillers. With this book I think it’s a case of ‘It’s me, not you’. However, I did really like Monica as a main character and her relationship with her mom broke my heart a little!

Jordan Heustis

I would give this book 3.5 stars or even 3.75. It was a good book. It wasn't great or anything. I appreciated how real everything seemed. Like nothing ridiculous happened, and there was not any totally out there ending or explanation. I will say that parts of the book felt too quick. I found myself rereading a page sometimes because they had figured something out really quickly. Like there were explanations for everything, but we didn't always see the characters connecting the dots. There was just evidence and then the characters knew something that I didn't understand my first time reading the page. Anyway, I did like the ending. It was not a huge twist or anything, but it was really interesting. The last chapter really pulls the heart strings.

laura

* I gave this book 4.75 for review and I did receive my copy from the publisher for my honest thoughts*
I was super invested in this story and the characters from page one. I found this mystery and the characters to be super engaging and it was hard to put down. I loved the various POV we got and how effective the past and present storyline was told as well as how and when we got this POV. I also thought the story was not only unpredictable but also so honest and realistic in the end. I just flew through this book and really loved the how this story occurred. I felt the ending was a tad rushed but i would def read more by this author in the future!

Anna Wilson

** spoiler alert **
           That last chapter omg! I was sucked in wanting to know what happened! I liked how it switched to the flash backs every so often and we got to see a little bit into Jen’s life. (Side note: loved her and Ethan 😍) the last chapter with Ginny.... omg I couldn’t believe it!

Ruth Parker 

This book had so much potential and I felt a little let down by the reveals. Not the best but I didn’t hate it.

Elaine

This was good, really good. I loved the mystery, the clues, everything. The ending was a bit anticlimactic, but tied everything together nicely. I especially liked the writing, I will definitely check out other works by the author.

Malin Alexander

I wasn't sure what to think at first and whether I liked the main character, but after finishing it (in one day... ooops) I can say I absolutely loved it!

Sofia Pereira

I did really like the book! I enjoyed the aspect of the IM's and such it was amazing! I cant wait to read more of Kara Thomas!

Ionițoaei Alexia

”Majoretele” îmbină ușor și rafinat stilul polițist cu cel thriller, iar rezultatul este nemaipomenit. Această autoare este mai puțin cunoscută, din câte știu, dar operele sale merită să vadă rafturile a cât mai multor biblioteci.
Monica Rayburn, fiica adolescentă, rebelă și totuși independentă. Intratul în necazuri și situații fără scăpare pare a fi un hobby pentru ea, însă cumva...un sertar, un moment de neatenție și... un nou mister îi definesc ultimele noutăți din viață. Jennifer, Juliana, Susan, Colleen și Bethany fac parte din ultima echipă de majorete ale acestui liceu, iar ele...au fost toate ucise până la sfârșitul sezonului, acum cinci ani.
Nenumărate probe, indicii și detalii aparent nesemnificative nu fac decât să agraveze problema și să aducă noi posibile piste ale anchetei. Dar o persoană care a iubit-o pe Jen în toți acești ani care au trecut de la moartea ei o pune pe Monica, sora mai mică a lui Jen, în alertă și pe urmele făptașului. Punctele trebuie unite, dar ce faci atunci când persoana cu care ai fost toată vara, deși nu ar fi trebuit să fii, nu este cine pretinde sau atunci când persoana care a știut cel mai bine ce s-a întâmplat participă la micile tale cercetări, încercând să găsească făptașul împreună cu tine. Dacă nimeni nu este ceea ce pare? Dacă secretele vor ieși la iveală, nu vor fi îngropați cu toții odată cu acele întâmplări oribile? Iar dacă se scufund, o vor face împreună, căci nimeni nu este ceea ce pretinde a fi și nimeni nu este nevinovat.
Cred cu tărie în calitatea acestei cărți, căci întreaga tema a cărții, cât și ideile prezentate sunt originale! Este ideală pentru o zi toridă din vacanța de vară și plictiseală pe șezlong.

Anna V

Didn't quite meet expectations. I found it extremely underwhelming for a book with such a high rating. It's the book that needs a sequel and it's left alone.

Rebeca 

3 stars 

This was intriguing enough but the ending was kinda disappointing

Cecília Amaral

Trigger Warnings: teen pregnancy (inferred), abortion (inferred), statutory rape (inferred), violence, gore, suicide, murder, car accident 

This book kept me on my toes and I couldn't go a day without wanting to listen to it. The story itself has one of the greatest plot twists I've ever read, it is so intense and gripping, you want to know the truth at all cost, even if it wasn't the one you were expecting. I love listening to murder mystery audiobooks and this one is one of my favourites so far. I was focused on the plot more than the characters so I can't say they were as interesting as the mystery but I wasn't annoyed by them either. The ending left me so surprised and upset at me for not seeing the truth, it was smartly written and I wasn't expecting it to be this good.

J.N. van Soest

*3.5 stars* I expected the story to be a bit more high stakes, but overall a very enjoyable read.

The Cheerleaders

Reviews