Today I’m excited to be sharing my review of The Thrashers by Julie Soto. Since I read an extract of this in the mega HarperFire sampler bundle last year, I have needed to know what happens.
This review originally appeared on The Nerd Daily.
Jodi never asked to be a Thrasher – a member of the high school elite. But Jodi has been best friends with Zack Thrasher her whole life, and like it or not, that means she’s branded a Thrasher by the rest of the school. And different as she feels to the other four Thrashers – all talented, privileged and beautiful – she can’t help appreciating her social status, especially compared to her violent home life.
But being a Thrasher isn’t worth dying for – except, apparently, it was to Emily Mills. Sweet but intense Emily, whose fixation on Zack brought her close to the in-crowd, but never close enough. Emily, who took her own life on prom night.
When a detective finds a copy of Emily’s diary, there are whispers that she was ‘Thrashed’ – bullied to death by Zack and his gang. They are arrested, charged, and ostracised, their once bright futures extinguished. Then begin the texts from unfamiliar numbers, inexplicable light flares, the run of bad luck that becomes a string of near-fatal accidents… and the constant dreams of Emily.
Publication Date: 8th May
CW: death, alcoholism, addiction, manipulation, gaslighting, bullying, grief
My Thoughts:
The Thrashers was an entertaining YA thriller that delves into toxic friendships, trauma, the reinforcement of social hierarchies and bullying.
This is Mean Girls for the modern day with potential murder thrown into the mix. It is a classic tale of the impact of bullying, ostracisation and peer pressure in a high school bubble that mimics the realities of the larger world. Julie Soto has constructed a layered and complex story where not everything is as it seems. It is very well paced and plotted with some fantastic surprises in store. I love a bit of unreliability in my narratives and you are constantly wondering exactly who is telling the truth and to what extent. It creates a paranoid and claustrophobic atmosphere, right from the initial interrogation scene. The way that is resolved ties in with Soto’s thematic exploration of privilege.
The Thrashers are an incredibly wealthy and privileged group with the exception of Jodi and then Emily. Soto has a lot to say about class in this book with some nuanced conversation about truly being accepted by the elite and how much cushioning can surround certain people. It exacerbates the social status and power this group already wields because, given the nature of their lives, they are likely to emulate that success beyond high school. They simply cannot fail because the system is set up to protect them. That is precisely what this book is interrogating. The whole way through, you’re questioning what really happened. This is such tense reading with the excerpts from Emily’s diary contrasting Jodi’s present-day story.
Soto writes such authentic and believable characters. They’re three-dimensional and full of flaws. None of these people are exactly as they seem on the surface. I loved getting to peel back these layers and get a glimpse of who they really are. In a meta way, it is like the popularity that they thrive on – it is precarious and the crowd is bloodthirstily waiting for them to fall. As a reader, you’re looking for the cracks in the façade and hoping to discover every last secret they have buried. Within this, we focus on Jodi as a protagonist. She is smart, loving and fiercely loyal, having grown up with Zack as childhood best friends and becoming a part of this group by association. Her feelings towards Zach have evolved too, which complicates the dynamics further. However she is also dealing with an abusive and alcoholic father and a constant worry about money hanging over her head. She is not fully part of the group, though it may feel like this at the start. Her position in life is just that further away from the gilded spires of their palaces. That may be why Emily finds a kindred spirit in her and so starts a tragic and destructive spiral. Jodi’s guilt and some other factors make her start this quest for the truth, however upsetting it may be for her to confront.
I also want to touch on the way this book plays with genre. There is another interplay that you are questioning throughout that brings elements of another genre into this YA thriller. These are deftly handled with an edge that makes you question precisely what you are reading and how far Soto is willing to go. It is fascinating and ups that sense of compulsive readability that characterises the book. That ambiguity is brilliant. Without spoiling anything, I love how it factors into the denouement and the ending.
The Thrashers is a modern parable about toxic friendships, bullying and the never-ending quest for popularity and an assured social status. As they say, it’s tricky at the top and often extremely precarious.
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