The Cheerleaders Book Review
The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas book review and recommendation with NO SPOILERS
Date: 3-08-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 5.0/10
Book Cover Rating: 6.2/10
(My personal opinion)
Title: The Cheerleaders
Author: Kara Thomas
Pages: 370
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Mystery
Subplots: Thriller
Series: The Cheerleaders #1
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: 2018
Number of Editions: 31
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audio
Awards Won: Rhode Island Teen Book Award, Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction
Goodreads Rating: 3.75
# of Goodreads Ratings: 50,866
Amazon Rating: 4.3
# of Amazon Ratings: 3,622
Movie/TV Show?? : No
Book Type: Standard
POV Type: Single, First Person
Pacing: Mid-Fast
Generally: Five deaths five years ago, thrilling, dark search for truth
My Review
Going Into It:
Going into this book, I was excited for a thrilling mystery. I had just read A Good Girls Guide to Murder, and was hoping for a similar type of book.
Main Characters:
Monica Rayburn- Monica is the main character in this book. She is a popular high schooler. Her sister was one of the five cheerleaders who notoriously died five years ago. Monica is not a very good decision maker, and struggles with grief and doubt over her sister’s death.
Ginny- Ginny is a very unpopular high schooler. She is quiet, but smart and loyal.
Jenn Rayburn- Jenn was Monica’s older sister who supposedly killed herself. Jenn was also a popular high schooler when she died, but had a lot of harmful secrets.
Um…. To be completely honest I didn’t love these characters. They were okay…. I guess. The main character was clearly going through a hard part of life, but other than that she felt a little bland to me. In my opinion, none of the others really stood out. There was some character development, but nothing impressive.
Character Rating: 4.5/10
Setting:
This book takes place in a fairly small town called Sunnybrook.
Like with many realistic fiction books I’ve read recently, completely average setting. It didn’t change much throughout the book, and there was very little focus on it (which I’m not saying is a super bad thing, as long as the rest of the book is good enough that you don’t notice it).
Setting Rating: 5.0/10
Plot:
Okay, this plot was super interesting. It had a great idea behind it, but I’m not sure if it came through. There wasn’t too much action, and it was more about figuring out who the criminal was through information gathering.
Plot Rating: 7.2/10
Writing:
This was decently written for a YA book. Nothing special but not a disappointment either.
Writing Rating: 5.4/10
Ending:
Nooooooo!! This is what really tipped this book into the ‘I don’t really like’ category. This ending felt super abrupt and unsatisfying. It left me feeling like there were a TON of other YA books I’d rather read.
Ending Rating: 3.0/10
The Overall:
Overall, this was an average YA mystery book with limited action, right up until the end which RUINED the book for me 😭. The idea behind this book had a TON of potential, but I feel like it wasn’t all used up.
Overall Book Rating: 5.0/10
I would not particularly recommend this book
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Kara Thomas lives on Long Island
She lives with her husband, son, and cat
She writes young adult, and adult books
Her books have been nominated for International Thriller Writers Award.
For more information, view Kara Thomas’s website: kara-thomas.com
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