The Thrashers

Publication Date: May 2025

Overall Verdict: Fast-paced and will keep you wanting to read more! A solid thriller about a group of friends and just how far people will go to protect their secrets.  

4/5 Stars

Book Summary: Jodi has been friends with Zack Thrasher since they were kids.  Now that they are in high school, she has found herself in a group known as The Thrashers.  The Thrashers are popular, rich and everyone wants to be friends with them.  When Emily, one such hopeful, dies everyone begins to question the group’s involvement.  As the police investigate the apparent suicide, secrets come out and The Thrashers are accused of harassment.  Emily’s journal comes to light, and strange things start to happen that put The Thrashers in danger, and Jodi must decide which secrets she wants to keep.

My Analysis:  I did not want to stop reading this one once I started!  It was very fast-paced, and I really wanted to know what happened and what the characters were going to do next.  Trigger warning: a teen dies by suicide – it is not graphically explained but is often discussed.  There is also a lot of partying throughout the book, and it is very normalized as teens drink heavily and do some drugs.  Because of the amount of partying that happens, this may lend to older YA readers.  Those warnings aside, this was a solid thriller.  Although Jodi could be slightly annoying at times with how she responded to certain things or seemed totally oblivious when it wouldn’t have been likely, I was intrigued by the characters and their relationships toward one another.  The concept of bullying was well done I thought, and you got to see the introspection of the characters in the aftermath of events.  What they did, how they did it and why are all twisted around into some crazy secrets. I feel like I can’t really do this book justice with an analysis without spoiling too much of the plot! If you’re looking for a thriller that revolves around friendship and secrets, I’d definitely recommend this one.