The Cheerleaders

Author: Kara Thomas   Genre: YA Mystery, Thriller   Age Rating: 14-15+

Summary (goodreads.com):

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident—two girls gone 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 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 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.

Review:

The main character in this book is Monica. She is a teenage girl and she's almost the same age as me and I just really didn't think she stood out to me. In this book she was going through something really hard but some of the choices she made in the past were really heavy. There are many trigger warnings for this book but the sensitive themes were shown in a careful way without naming them explicitly for most of the time. I think Thomas did a great job in not glamourizing the heavy stuff in this book.

Plotwise “The Cheerleaders” didn't wow me. I am a huge fan of the good girls guide to murder series (Holly Jackson) and i was told this was similar to that. There were some things that were the same but the investigation wasn't anything special. It was more focused on the thinking and solving of the murders rather than doing something dangerous or adventurous to solve the mystery (except for one scene) which I personally think is the fun part of a YA mystery and thriller. There is also a lot of high school drama and her struggling with friendships but no active romance sub plot. 

I enjoyed that there was a lot of texting and messages in the book which made it a fast read. There were also chapters in Jens (the dead sisters POV) which I thought added a bit to the book and even though we had a lot less about her I liked Jen more than Monica. 

Buchbuzz Rating:

3/5 stars - nothing special and pretty forgettable (I finished the book a week ago and couldn't remember the main character's name and how she was described to look).