Title: Little Monsters
Author: Kara Thomas
Genre: YA, Mystery, Thriller
First published: July 25th 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Finished reading: July 11th 2017
Pages: 336
“There’s only so much people are willing to forgive. That’s the truth the trumps everything else.”
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
I’ve been wanting to read Little Monsters ever since I first heard about it, so I was over the moon when my request was actually approved. I admit I mostly read adult psychological thrillers, but reading a YA version of one of my favorite genres was a nice change of scenery. Because there is no doubt I very much enjoyed reading Little Monsters and I found myself literally flying through the pages. The first thing that stands out is the writing style, which is very engaging and draws you right in. I only had to read a few pages to find out I would probably going to love the story and these feelings didn’t change until the very end. The plot is quite interesting and packed with plot twists and intrigue that will make you wonder what is really going on. Little Monsters is high school drama and teenage manipulation at its best! Things change direction so many times that you start wondering what truly happened and the ghost/urban legend twist is a nice touch. Broken Falls is a town with a history an you are quickly trapped in its web of lies and secrets… And Little Monsters is without doubt an excellent psychological thriller. The only thing that made me lower the rating slightly was the fact that I didn’t particularly like the main characters and some of the drama started to annoy me. This might just have been me and my allergy for high school cliches and drama though! Because there’s no doubt that Little Monsters was a highly enjoyable and positively twisty read.
Kacey has had quite a few rough years living with her volatile mother… Until it was impossible for her to stay there any longer. She moved in with her father she hadn’t had contact with before, and her new life in Broken Falls is strangely normal and almost charming compared to her life in New York. She know has a stepmother, stepbrother and a younger half sister who adores here… In fact, people seem so nice in Broken Falls and she even found herself two new very close friends. Bailey, Jade and Kacey do everything together and that’s why it’s so strange they don’t invite her to one of the biggest parties of the year… She never gets to ask why, because the next day Bailey is missing. What happened to Bailey? Has Kacey something to do with it?
I found myself really looking forward to Little Monsters and I had a great time reading this story. The writing style draws you right in and with its fast pace I found myself flying through the pages. The intrigue around Bailey’s disappearance and the many plot twists helped considerably as well and Little Monsters is without doubt a great psychological thriller. I wasn’t sure about the main characters and some of the drama/cliches started to bother me, but that is my only complaint of an otherwise highly entertaining read.
You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.
A book that actually lives up to the hype! Woot! I’m not quite 1/2 way into this, but so far I’m really enjoying it. Did you read the prequel Yvo?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know right? Good to hear you are enjoying it so far! And I didn’t even know there was a prequel haha; I really have to check that one out…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice to see your review. It gives me some valuable information because I just received a copy of Little Monsters yesterday. I don’t typically read YA, and am not sure I’ll be making an exception with this one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I personally really enjoyed Little Monsters but then again I do read YA as well… It has some typical teenager scenes and high school drama, but the plot itself is quite interesting.
LikeLike
I’m on the lookout for another great YA read after One Of Us Is Lying and this one sounds great too. I’m a bit worried about your mention of paranormal horror but still added it to my wishlisht since it seems just so wonderful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Little Monsters definitely has that One Of Us Is Lying vibe! And I’m actually changing the paranormal horror mention because it could give the wrong idea… It was mostly a reference to an urban legend in the town: a family murdered a long time ago and the wife haunting the place now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s even better, I can live with a urban legend reference :-). I’ve put it on my list!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Here’s the link to that prequel Yvo. Fingers crossed that it works. http://www.getunderlined.com/perks/underlined-exclusive-wrath-an-unpublished-short-story-by-Kara-thomas/
LikeLiked by 1 person
It worked! Thanks for the link. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay!😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great review Yvonne and I agree with you on everything. I don’t usually read YA but I liked this one although the teen drama got to me a little bit too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s great to hear! I like YA as long as it’s not too heavy on the drama… Although I do normally prefer ‘adult’ stories.
LikeLike
I’ve seen other reviews and I don’t usually read much YA but this one sounded super interesting, despite the clichés!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This one is definitely worth making an exception for! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, this sounds interesting.. some YA psychological thriller drama! 😀 haha… I can see how the high school notions can get to be a bit too much, though… but look at it this way- at least you know you’re mature to recognize bullshit drama 😀
The book sounds interesting- there’s nothing better than to be sucked in from page one to the end.. I’ll mark it into wishlist 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha very true! I’m not a big fan of high school drama, but I guess reading about them in small doses is still ok… Plus the rest of the story was definitely very good. And I can’t say no to a fast and entertaining thriller in the first place. 😉 I hope you will enjoy it if you decide to get a copy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think the same- if the plot really pulls you along then a bit of dramatics is sound out. It’s that perfect balance that’s needed 🙂 I shall defo keep this one in mind 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I toyed with the thought of reading this and then saw a couple of readers talking about the cliches, so I passed on it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and letting me know I made the right decision. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you don’t like cliches it might be for the best… They were tolerable in Little Monsters, but still stood out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This one sounds wonderful. 😮 Teenage manipulation, if done in a believable fashion, must be pretty interesting too. Is it just me of this genre in YA is a bit more.. rare? Great review!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree! Most YA stories I see around are either contemporary, romance or fantasy… I’ve read only a few mysteries and Little Monsters was definitely one of the better ones.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fantastic review of what sounds like something I could really sink my teeth into. I might have missed it otherwise. Thank you so much for sharing this one. I love YA thrillers and mysteries when done well 😉 Slapping it on the radar.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay, that makes me so happy! I hope you will enjoy it when you decide to pick it up. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person