The Thrashers by Julie Soto

The quick cut: An elite friend group gets the negative spotlight when someone who wanted to be a member dies - and their journal brings criminal intentions. 

A real review: 

 There isn't a high school without a popular crowd. Whether it is due to talent, smarts, money, or time, each one has a bond that holds them together. Many others will want to be a member but fail to. For Emily, she desperately wanted to be a member of the Thrashers but ended up dead instead. 

 The Thrashers are known as the elite friend group at New Helvetia High that everyone wants to be a part of. Julian, Lucy, Paige, and Zack (of whom the Thrashers are named after) all come from rich families with plenty of resources. The final member Jodi - is decidedly not rich and a member seemingly only for her long-standing friendship with Zack. When an outsider named Emily believes she can become a member, she goes to great lengths to try and make it happen... until she shows up dead instead. Then a journal written by her appears and suddenly criminal charges are being filed against all the Thrashers - except Jodi. Are these friends truly one group? Or is something going on when Jodi is not around? 

 This book is twisty and dark all the way to the end. Between the drinking, partying, dangerous games, and sexual assault allegations, the content of the story is decidedly higher up on the young adult scale. If you are on the higher end of the age scale and enjoy a thrilling story, this one's for you. 

 The Thrashers isn't a unique concept from the elite friend group perspective. There have been many elite friend group stories told. What makes this one unique is seeing the one member who clearly never belonged there - and how the cracks in the friend group are deeper than they appear once criminal charges get involved. Is Jodi truly a member? Or is she left out on all the points that lead to the cops getting involved? It's all questions that you are led to ask as the story progresses. 

 It's a mixed bag by the end of the story, but it is a satisfying one nonetheless. No one is truly happy and lives are never the same. Everyone has definitely left feeling changed though. If there was one complaint I have, it's that I never really connected to any of the characters. I felt the closest to Jodi, but sometimes she seemed ignorant on purpose and that's something I'll never understand.

 An exciting thriller that highlights toxic friendships and their impacts. 

My rating: 3.75 out of 5