Now She's Dead

I got the chance to read an early version of this book and you guys!!! Prepare yourselves for your new FAVORITE read!!We have a cozy, slightly creepy lakeside resort. Mandy, very reluctantly returning to the resort after…*events* last year (see title hehe)…and someone who knows what happened and is ready to expose her. This book is masterfully written, keeping tension high and pages flipping throughout. I loved Sara and Mandy’s dynamic and the dual timeline setup, I loved the tension, I loved the complicated friendship dynamics. I can’t wait to scream about this book with the rest of the world. Highly recommend!

Clarke’s work starts strong and remains so throughout the book. Stick with the back-and-forth in time; Clarke uses this technique to build context and intrigue. Although new on the scene, Clarke demonstrates a sense of maturity that plays to her benefit in the YA market.

What happened to Sara Ellis last summer? Mandy is desperate to make sure that no one finds out. But it seems like someone else knows that Sara's death wasn't an accident, and they are determined to torment Mandy until the truth finally comes out. In this fast-paced thriller, Mandy has to keep one step ahead of her pursuers while quietly drowning in her own guilt and grief over the loss of her best friend.I love the way the past and present timelines are woven together in this book, revealing new complications and calling into question the reliability of Mandy's memories. Highmark, the isolated lake resort where Sara Ellis died, is a delightfully atmospheric and creepy setting. Most compelling and heartbreaking of all is the relationship between Mandy and Sara, best friends enmeshed in a complex tangle of admiration, jealousy, attraction, and contempt. Their magnetic and toxic codependency is so alive it breathes on the page.This book is packed with clever puzzles and satisfying twists, but it's a fast read with tension on every page. After this incredible debut, I can't wait to see what Roselyn Clarke has in store for us next!

A must read book! From the beginning you get drawn into the narrators internal world. And keeps you wanting to read to find out what really happened last summer at Highmark resort!!

This YA thriller had me up all night—I NEEDED to know what happened to Sara. Seriously, I couldn’t stop turning pages. The journal- like writing was so different, with alternating timelines? So smart, so addictive.And the characters? Wildly well done. Some of them I loved. A couple made me want to throw the book across the room—they had me fuming. Like, actual chest-heating rage. That’s how real they felt.The story follows Mandy, who used to spend summers at Highmark Lake with Sara—until last summer, when Sara turned up dead. The cops ruled it an accident, but Mandy knows more than she’s letting on. Now she's back at the lake, and someone clearly wants the truth out… no matter what it costs.There’s guilt, secrets, lies, and a slow unraveling that keeps you guessing right to the end.If you’re into thrillers with messy emotions, high stakes, and serious tension, Now She’s Dead should 100% be on your radar.

Now She's Dead by Roselyn Clarke is a nail biter of a YA thriller! This is Roselyn Clarke's first published book and I can definitely say you don't want to miss out on it!Last summer at Highmark, a lake resort, Mandy and Sara were inseparable. For just a few short weeks a year during the summer, the two tried to soak up every ounce of fun, sun and friendship they could. But when Sara was found dead by the lake, Mandy's carefree summer turned cruel. Barely coping, Mandy has tried to move past the incident, but her haunted memories of that last summer will not let her be. Now that Mandy has returned to the lake that has been terrorizing her thoughts, she begins to hear the whispered rumors.. "Someone killed Sara". Trying to hide from her own uncomfortable truths about what happened that night, Mandy has no choice but to relive the nightmare. Because someone knows that what happened to Sara was Mandy's fault, and they want to make her pay.With some YA novels I worry that they will be too juvenile for me, but that is definitely not the case with Now She's Dead! A taut and compelling read, I was drawn right in to the action and binge read this in a day! There are a few sensitive topics that are discussed including: anxiety, death, blood/violence, toxic friendships, alcohol and some disordered eating. With dual timelines you are able to jump back and forth putting the puzzle pieces together that make up a picture of betrayal, lies and messy and broken friendships. Awesome twists, amazing representation and a vivid and atmospheric setting, Now She's Dead is going to be a great summer read!!Thank you to NetGalley, Roselyn Clarke and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC!! Available now!!

Now She’s Dead is a great addition to the YA thriller genre! It explores the pains of outgrowing friendships, the complexities of sibling bonds, and how our choices and secrets can weigh us down. I furiously flipped the pages to solve the mystery behind Sara’s death.I loved the author’s writing style - with Mandy’s self-editorializing happening on page through the use of crossed out lines and thoughts, I truly felt like we were in her head. Mandy’s coping skills were also brilliantly on display as she listed flowers to manage her growing anxiety. You know she’s hiding something, but she’s buried the truth even from herself. Such great characterization!The dual timelines gave great insight into Sara’s personality (from Mandy’s perspective) and shed just enough details on the events leading to her death to keep me engaged and guessing. I think this story will resonate with younger audiences (those going through those growing pains) and older audiences (reminiscing in hindsight) alike. Highly recommend!Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the e-arc.

Thank you for letting me be on your street team for Now She’s Dead. I consumed this book! Mandy’s parents are requiring her to return to Highmark for their annual summer vacation. The thing is after Sara died that is the last place she wants to be. Not after what she did to her. It’s been a year and Sara’s death was ruled an accident but Mandy knows the truth. And she’s been living, barely, with that guilt. The only thing she wants is to get through the trip, return to college and maybe get her sister to not be made at her for not communicating over the last year. But when she arrives Kelsey is not alone, she’s got her friend Natalie with her, Natalie who runs a true crime channel. The two are determined to dig into what happened to Sara, something Mandy cannot allow. But things go from bad to worse when it’s clear that someone else may know what happened to Sara that night. Can Mandy stop her sister from finding out the truth? Will she finally be able to put Sara’s death behind her? Fast paced and completely addictive! The draw for mysteries is usually figuring out the who and why, with this one you have the who but you need the why and you hope to god there is more to the story! Had me on the edge of my seat and kept me turning the pages! You feel the intensity and anxiety with Mandy as she works to keep her secrets and deal with the guilt! An unputdownable mystery!