Name: lua's review of They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman
Item: They'll Never Catch Us
Rating: 4
Author: lua

Jessica Goodman

An utter page-turner. Goodman's voice is razor-sharp and keenly precise. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn! —Tiffany D. Jackson NYT Bestselling Author of White Smoke and Grown From rising star Jessica Goodman, author of They Wish They Were Us, comes a new fast-paced thriller about two sisters vying for the top spot on their cross-country team—until a teammate’s disappearance throws their lives off course. Stella and Ellie Steckler are only a year apart, but their different personalities make their relationship complicated. Stella is single-minded, driven, and she keeps to herself. Cross-country running is her life and she won't let anything get in the way of being the best. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she also lets herself have fun. She has friends. She goes to parties. She has a life off the course. The sisters do have one thing in common, though: the new girl, Mila Keene. Both Stecklers' lives are upended when Mila comes to town. At first, Ellie and Stella view the new star athlete as a threat. But soon Ellie can't help but be drawn to her warm, charming personality. After her best friend moved away and her first boyfriend betrayed her, Ellie's been looking for a friend to share her secrets. Stella finds herself noticing the ways she and Mila are similar. Mila is smart and strong--she's someone Stella can finally connect with. As the two get closer, Stella becomes something she vowed she'd never be: distracted. With regionals approaching and college scouts taking notice, the pressure is on. Each girl has their future on the line and they won't let friendships get in their way. But then, suddenly, Mila goes out on a training run and never returns. No one knows what happened, but all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.

They'll Never Catch Us

From rising star Jessica Goodman, author of They Wish They Were Us, comes a new fast-paced thriller about two sisters vying for the top spot on their cross-country team--the only way out of their stifling small town. But their dreams are suddenly thrown into peril when a new girl threatens to take away everything they've worked for... until she disappears. Stella and Ellie Steckler are only a year apart, but their different personalities make their relationship complicated. Stella is single-minded, driven, and she keeps to herself. Cross-country running is her life and she won't let anything get in the way of being the best. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she also lets herself have fun. She has friends. She goes to parties. She has a life off the course. The sisters do have one thing in common, though- the new girl, Mila Keene. Both Stecklers' lives are upended when Mila comes to town. Mila was the top runner on her team back home and at first, Ellie and Stella view her as a threat. But soon Ellie can't help but be drawn to her warm, charming personality. After her best friend moved away and her first boyfriend betrayed her, Ellie's been looking for a friend. In a moment of weakness, she even shares her darkest secret with Mila. For her part, Stella finds herself noticing the ways she and Mila are similar. Mila is smart and strong--she's someone Stella can finally connect with. As the two get closer, Stella becomes something she vowed she'd never be- distracted. With regionals approaching and college scouts taking notice, the pressure is on. Each girl has their future on the line and they won't let friendships get in their way. But then, suddenly, Mila goes out on a training run and never returns. No one knows what happened, but all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.

Amanda Autumn Berrey

Once after the pee stick came out positive over the summer. And then another a few days later, when I finally got the courage to tell Noah that I missed a period, that I had taken a test and knew what I wanted to do.

I can’t listen to this anymore. I wrap the rest of my sandwich up in parchment paper and push my chair away from the table. It makes a loud screech against the linoleum floor and I wince. “I gotta go,” I say. “Let’s just pretend it never happened.”

I don’t understand why she hasn’t told her sister or how her sister didn’t ask what the fight was over

But now she knows the truth. She’s the only one besides Noah and I barely know her.

Something red flashes in my peripheral vision and I twist to see what it is. A thin string, tied around her wrist. A bracelet. Just like the one Noah gave me, the one I can feel pressed against my ankle. I’m so dumb.

The pack begins to thin as we trample over roots and fallen leaves, and the canopy of trees narrows overhead. The sky gets darker and the air gets damper as we head deeper into the woods. My heart begins to soar. This is my favorite part, when it’s just me and the dirt and the sound of my own feet on the trail. I know Stella loves it too.

Off on the side, I hear the rest of our team cheering us on. I try to make out Noah’s voice above the rest. “You got this, babe!” he yells, and I freeze. Everyone, including me, knows babe is Tamara. The thin red bracelet I tucked into my sock for good luck burns against my skin and all at once I realize I’m nothing. I close my eyes, pushing everything away. I wait for the signal, the moment to launch.

Also, her French braid is a little off-center, another sign that something in Stella Steckler’s brain isn’t working like it should.

Sarah Slocum 

The world doesn't celebrate girls who take up space, who demand to be heard, who are just a little much.

Jeannette Ordas

This was okay. I liked the characters but the plot was a bit of a letdown...the ending felt tacked on.

I liked this book. I didn’t see the ending coming 

this book was very interesting, and i loved the perspective into the lives of people who were different from me.

giorgia :)

SO this book it is prob one of the best things I have EVER READ the plot and the personages where lovly but the plot I was so shocked I was so touched by the story deff the best ever and the references where sooo cool

Valerie Yvonne Elizabeth Hes 

We’re in this together. 

Ellie and Stella Steckler - the definition of competitive. Cross country runners in a small town that they can’t wait to escape from. Ellie, an extroverted younger sister and Stella, the introverted older sister. 

Mila Keene - the new girl. Befriending both Steckler sisters, joining their cross country team, becoming the new competition for the Stecklers. 

In a town haunted by past cold cases, what happens when a new girl goes missing years later? And what happens when all evidence points to the Stecklers? 

This book was everything I could have hoped for in a thriller/murder mystery. New clues popping up to lead you down a different path, always making sure to leave the evidence for the true culprit, while making sure you will never guess the outcome. 

In the end, this book has some very real points about life as a girl/woman, as well as some very real topics (please check trigger warnings before picking it up). 

This story had me hooked from start to finish, and I loved everything about it.

Holly

Campbell Berry

I honestly thought this book was average. It was a nice mystery but there were no plot twists that really shook me and nothing that jumped out as extraordinary. I did however love the relationship the author gave between Stella and Ellie.

Steffi

Lauren Attaway

One character admits to always wishing for a sister and another character replies that she can have hers. That sentiment sums up so much about the relationship between sisters. The friend and confidant you wouldn’t trade for anything, even on the days when you can’t stand her. Or so I hear, ha!

Stella and Ellie Steckler are cross-country teammates, frenemies, and sisters. Stella is trying get back on top of the cross-country world after an incident cost her a scholarship and the confidence of the community. Ellie is determined to be the faster, better sister. Mila, a new girl joins their team, and becomes entangled with both sisters. She’s also faster, which shakes the power dynamic of the team up. When Mila goes missing, Ellie and Stella find themselves the recipients of the exact type of attention they didn’t want. More importantly, what happened to Mila?

I love stories about the inner workings of sister relationships, the shifts in loyalties and the commitment to one another. I was so surprised to learn the author didn’t have a sister, because she did a great job of capturing the minutiae of that relationship perfectly. The mystery is good, but the drive of the girls is what really made me want to finish this book. I was rooting for them even when I wanted to shake them.

Emily C Peterson

Samantha Bass

Check out my full review on We Write at Dawn!

I used to run in high school for fun, but I was never a long distance runner nor could I ever be. It was interesting to have a murder mystery surrounding a cross country track team, specifically the girls on the team. Our story follows two sisters, Stella and Ellie, both runners who have very different personalities. Stella is more aloof and shy - she's not someone who goes out of her way to make friends or share her emotions. She's very focused on her goals, one of them being the best at track. Meanwhile, Ellie is also a motivated person, but she's more personable. She can be a team player and can ease her way into a group better than Stella. Stella wants to win back the scholarship she lost. Ellie wants to finally beat her sister and be the one to take home the prize, a full ride to college. 

For one, I feel so bad for Stella. Seen as a cold "monster", she is forced to go to anger management after attacking a girl at a race and breaking her collar bone. Misunderstood and unable to communicate how she feels, or what happened, Stella just lives with the assumptions about her. Even her own sister Ellie makes comments about her anger and can be mean to Stella. Not to say she's perfect, because Stella is a jerk to Ellie a lot too. Their relationship as sisters is very realistic and as an older sister, I can completely relate. You would kill or die for them, but god forbid they take the last protein bar and it's all out war. Sisters can be so mean, not just with words, but with physical fighting too, especially as teenagers. 

Overall, I really loved this book. Goodman has a way of getting you sucked into the story and the mystery, stringing you along, waiting for the big reveal. I also loved the fact that we had discussions of different struggles that teenagers face, especially teenage girls. We have Stella, who's possibly neurodivergent (it's never specified) and a lesbian. We have Ellie, who goes through a situation of her own and deals with a toxic relationship. And we have several characters who are the children of addicts, among other things that happen. There's a lot of real life situations in this book and it was something I really appreciated!

Aubrey Erskine

They’ll Never Catch Us is marketed as this murder mystery/thriller and if you go into it with that mindset you’ll be disappointed. The murder doesn’t even happen until around the halfway point, but after that it is definitely a mystery. Who has motive to kill a track star on the radar of many college scouts? When you’re a girl from Edgewater whose only way out is track, the answer is too many. 

The story could have gone down a lot of different ways, more interesting ways. I would’ve liked to have explored the cold cases more, have it been the true murder mystery I wanted. The sisters coming together to solve the crimes. Instead it decided to take the route of a small dead end town where people will do anything to get out. Think Panic but less high stakes games. 

The town of Edgewater is known for two things; the mysterious cold cases and their all star female track team. I do have to say I liked the picture that the author painted about the discrimination girls face. Don’t take up space, stand out but not too much and be cutthroat. That was something that was explored quite a bit along with how the boys in this town were unaffected. Sexism at its finest. 

Stella was intense go say the least but she’s been through some s**t. She’s tough as nails and is covered in barbed wire, but she has to be to fight to get out of this town. Yes she’s overtly competitive but the world of college athletics is cutthroat. Ellie on the other hand seemed like a less intense version of her sister. Sweet, kind and a little needy. She survived on natural talent alone and I got where Stella was coming from sometimes. Ellie didn’t have to try hard everything just was with her. It would’ve drove me nuts too. 

Stella and Ellie had this sister dynamic that was intense to say the least. I remember reading the first chapter and being like “wow how can someone hate their sister THAT much?” That’s just not the case though. They loved each other fiercely but were also each other’s greatest competitors. The sister would do anything to protect each other but could come to literally blows between each other. Typical sister stuff. I loved their relationship and watching it mend throughout the book. It was probably the highlight of the book for me.

While I still enjoyed this book, I was slightly disappointed. The writing was well done and the world perfectly curated, just not what I was expecting. If you’re okay with exploring sexism and small town dynamics with a bit of a mystery though, it’s still worth checking out.

Maureen Carter

Shannon Cullum

Samara

Pillay

Victoria cardillo

Nicole

Erin Nisbet

phoebe

Elise Clark

Sisters Stella and Ellie Steckler are both determined to win a scholarship and escape their stifling small town, but their plans are upset when a new girl joins the cross country team and then disappears.

lua &
They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman

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They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman