“But after a while, searching for the answers felt like grasping around in the dark. At some point, you have to choose to live in the light.” – 3.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: cheerleaders, investigations, secret notes, and hidden cell phones.

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school… Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.

I’ve had this book on my TBR List for a very long time because the synopsis seemed interesting: 5 cheerleaders are killed suspiciously in a short amount of time; and a few years after the school decides to do a memorial to celebrate their lives – and that’s when Monica, one of the cheerleaders’s sister decides to start investigating the deaths on her own. So, needless to say, I had high hopes… but I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the reading experience.
This story had the potential to be engaging and thrilling, but the plot felt flat to me. There were a few revelations here and there, but I can’t say I was surprised at any of them. Also, the story has little action to keep you interested.
If you’re interested in reading this, I would point out the trigger warnings for sexual assault and substance abuse. I will say I appreciate how realistic the story felt because of these topics – the characters and their experiences felt real most of the time.
Not a terrible book, just okay – it’s not a very memorable book. Personally, I needed more action and a wow factor to make it a good young adult mystery.