Five of the Sunnybrook High cheerleaders mysteriously and eerily died within days of each other five years ago. Colleen and Bethany were killed in a horrific car accident. A few days later, Susan and Juliana were murdered at a sleepover. Last was Jennifer, who committed suicide soon after the deaths of her teammates. The cheerleading squad was disbanded after the tragedies, and Sunnybrook High hasn’t had one since.
Monica Rayburn, Jennifer’s younger sister, was in middle school at the time of the deaths, but was greatly affected by the loss of her sister. Now a junior at Sunnybrook, she is on the dance team, which takes up most of her time, but her life takes a different turn when she starts looking into the deaths of the cheerleaders. Did the girls really die in a freak, random fashion, or are the deaths connected? Monica is determined to find out what happened to her sister and the other girls, no matter what the cost.
Reading Kara Thomas’ The Cheerleaders is like peeling away the layers of an onion. The protagonist, Monica, doesn’t believe her sister died by suicide, nor that the deaths of the other girls are coincidental ... and she is going to get to the bottom of this mystery. Readers are taken on the hunt as Monica uncovers clues, and tracks down people who were in her sister’s life, much like a modern day Nancy Drew. Intermingled with the suspense are vignettes on self-worth and friendship, making The Cheerleaders more than just a teenage thriller.
If The Cheerleaders has a fault, it lies within the last quarter of the book. Things begin happening at a rapid pace, leaving the reader puzzling over how they got to this point. Furthermore, not wanting to make the book longer in order to investigate these plot points, Thomas lets the characters explain them away, which is a personal pet peeve of mine. Lastly, Jennifer is brought to life through flashbacks, and we get a first-hand glimpse into the weeks leading up to the deaths of the cheerleaders. However, we don’t really get a clear, detailed picture of her emotional state at the time, and the waters there are left kind of murky about her perpetuated suicide.
In all, The Cheerleaders is a well-written psychological thriller for young readers, which will also appeal to adult readers who don’t mind going without the tightly woven twists and turns and heart-stopping revelations that are often worked into adult suspense.
- Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH? DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS!
GENRE: First-Person Narratives; Multiple Perspectives; Psychological Suspense
STORYLINE: Non-Linear TONE: Disturbing; Suspenseful
SUBJECT: Abortion; Cheerleaders; Death; Grief in Teenage Girls; High School Students; High Schools; Secrets; Sisters; Statutory Rape; Stepfathers; Survivors of Suicide Victims
BROOKE GAVE THIS BOOK 4/5 STARS, WHICH MEANS THAT SHE REALLY LIKED IT! IF YOU LIKE IT TOO, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY THESE TITLES:
