The Thrashers

Since second grade, Jodi Dillon, a senior at Sacramento New Helvetia High School, has been best friends with fellow student Zack Thrasher, the charismatic and charming leader of their school’s exclusive, popular friend group, the Thrashers. Jodi, who considers herself short and plain, is a longtime member of the Thrashers, along with cheerleader Paige Montgomery; “pretty badass,” brown-skinned Lucy Reed; and gorgeous print ad model Julian Hollister. After sophomore Emily Mills makes a concerted effort to join their group—and the Thrashers rebuff her advances—she’s found dead on prom night, which sets an unsettling series of events into motion. When Emily’s diary turns up as evidence that implicates every Thrasher but Jodi in her death, Jodi endeavors to find out the truth. A prologue seemingly from Emily’s first-person POV establishes immediate tension, which Soto (Not Another Love Song, for adults) carries throughout the novel to devastating effect. Examinations of self-worth are smartly interwoven into push-and-pull depictions of the Thrashers and their effect on their classmates in a fresh and clever mystery that puts a new spin on the popular kid trope. Ages 12–up. (May)