That Kind of Girl

by Natalie C. Anderson

In this gripping YA thriller perfect for fans of Jessica Goodman and Amber Smith, two girls from opposite worlds play a dangerous game of cat and mouse when a rich classmate is murdered and they become prime suspects. The race is on to find out which one is a killer.

Sixteen-year-old amateur sleuth Roxie is shrewd, nimble, cunning, and only a little bit damaged. She also has a real knack for finding things, making her the perfect go-to detective for her rich classmates at St. Margaret when they’re looking to retrieve the things they’ve “lost"— no questions asked. So when queen bee Kirsten Montgomery-Wiggins pays Roxie a hefty sum to track down a mysterious blonde who “stole” her phone, Roxie accepts. Although Kirsten and Roxie have bad blood between them, Roxie could really use the cash. But that same night, Roxie finds Kirsten murdered in her mansion, and police zero in on her as a prime suspect.

On the outskirts of town in a trailer park, Inez, a part-time maid and part-time sex-worker, keeps finding blood everywhere. Crusted in her earring, threaded into her shoelace. She should really toss her shoes so there’s nothing to tie her to the body. How could the night have gone so wrong? She really thought she was working her way to a better life, but now she could be headed to jail if the wrong someone puts two and two together.

Roxie doesn’t know who she’s looking for and Inez doesn’t know who she’s hiding from. But all roads seem to lead to Montgomery House, as Roxie works to clear her own name and Inez attempts to stay one step ahead of the law and the men who hurt her.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Ebooks

300 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 24, 2025

About the author

Natalie C. Anderson is a writer and international development professional living in Boston, Massachusetts. She has spent the last decade working with NGOs and the UN on refugee relief and development, mainly in Africa. She was selected as the 2014-2015 Associates of the Boston Public Library Children's Writer in Residence, where she wrote her debut novel, City of Saints and Thieves.

Reviews

[BONNIE SMITH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listed as a YA thriller, this book, it's characters and premise feel rather adult.
Sixteen-year-old amateur sleuth Roxie is our FMC and she is the go-to detective for her classmates, she has a total knack for finding missing things and solving small mysteries.

When the schools queen bee, Kirsten needs Roxie's help, she reminds herself she needs the money and can deal with Kirsten's bully mentality.
Then the strangest thing happens.... Kirsten turns up dead, and Roxie finds herself the main suspect.

This little murder mystery dives into some darker content and again, while young adult, felt similar to my older themed thrillers and never felt too young for my taste.

I really loved this story, it kept me on my toes the whole time. There was a lot of growth for YA characters, I highly recommend.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this one a lot, you can find my full review here:https://allthebookblognamesaretaken.b...

[Korie Yzaguirre · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW: Rape & Substance Abuse

I really liked this book! It was a mystery to solve, a justice severed, a come full circle moment for the characters. A moment stuck in time between the “law doesn’t apply to me” rich people, and the people just trying to get by living their life peacefully.

Roxie finds things. Kirsten has lost something. When Kristen swallows her pride and reaches out to Roxie for help, things go seriously wrong before they even get started. Roxie’s great aunt has left some cryptic poems for her to find a piece of her jewelry worth 2 million, which would set Roxie up for life. But, Roxie is left alone to unravel the mysteries of Kristen’s death and a cold case from generations prior and how these two separate incidences are linked to her great aunts scavenger hunt.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-Arc of ‘That Kind of Girl’ by Natalie C. Anderson.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

I absolutely loved Natalie C. Anderson’s debut when it came out (quite a few years ago now) so I was excited to see another release from her.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this book anywhere near as much as her debut. I had to double check that this was YA right off the bat as one of the POV characters is a prostitute. This is considered to be YA, but I’m not sure I would consider it to be so other than the fact that the other POV character is 16 years old. It was very dark and gritty.

I was also a bit confused at points. It took me forever to figure out what was happening with Pastor just because references to him were thrown in randomly with no explanation until later.

The scavenger hunt was interesting and I liked seeing Roxy put the pieces together. However overall I didn’t really enjoy this one. I was going to round up but I just didn’t like the ending so I chose to round down.

[Wonkyjaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roxie Hunt is good at finding things. So good that her classmates often hire her to find things for them: like that picture they need taken off the internet or a missing puppy. Inez is good at cleaning things and is doing whatever she can to pay the rent. That Kind of Girl follows Roxie and Inez through a murder investigation they both find themselves tied up in.

This book had both a smoky noir feel and a kind of goofy teen movie inner monologue at the same time and I liked that. The plot just didn’t plot for me in ways I don’t think I can explain without massive spoilers (as is the way with mysteries). There are a lot of threads going all at once and they were all engaging, but a lot of it ultimately felt unnecessarily convoluted. The end results were all unsurprising to me and the only questions I had reading were generally left unanswered and revolved around the morality of the situation.

This book feels a little confused about what it wants to be, in general. The characters and setting make this feel like the YA novel it is, but one of them not being within the YA age demographic and also a sex worker makes that confusing. There are several heavy topics and general causes championed in this story but for the most part few of them have any real hold on what the story being told is actually saying or about. Roxie’s entire backstory seems irrelevant and out of place. Nina’s protests feel like generic plot devices that Anderson then took as a chance to educate via infodump rather than centering a novel on the issue. They’re important topics, but some of them felt very shoehorned in or like they could have been replaced without a second thought.

This kind of leads into the characters who are all very vibrant and different and may be part of the issue. They all have very different causes they all want to talk about at one point or another and they don’t really intersect meaningfully on the page. It’s realistic and I did love these characters and their quirks, but they didn’t help with the general confusion the book struggled with. Both POV characters got on my nerves at times, though. Roxie with her general lack of knowledge surrounding her family and community (and lack of curiosity towards them) leading to false dead ends in her case. Inez’s inability to say the word ‘fucking’ and replacing it with ‘pucking’ (which she used a frankly absurd amount in her scant chapters) was beyond frustrating to me.

At the end of the day, I just feel like this could have used some more time cooking. I enjoy the concept and the general vibe of the narration. The characters were vibrant and fun. There’s discussions of important topics. That Kind of Girl does some things so well, it just falls flat where I felt it mattered most.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for this eARC given in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

[♡ A ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

That Kind of Girl follows Roxie and Inez, two girls caught in the crosshairs of a vicious murder. Roxie is an amateur sleuth who is very good at finding things. When her classmate, Kirsten, asks her for help, Roxie accepts only for her to find her classmate dead. With a tense history between the two, the police set their sights on Roxie and Inez, a part-time maid, part-time sex-worker, and the girl Kirsten hired Roxie to find before her murder.

This was a very dark, but gripping book. There’s a very twisty cat and mouse feel to the story and maintains a good pace throughout the novel. There’s a very interesting game/riddle element to the book I wasn’t expecting and I enjoyed seeing Roxie trying to figure it out. I really enjoyed that the story was dual-POV, but I definitely would have loved more chapters from Inez as I found her character more gripping. The ending was really good and I enjoyed the twist.

I enjoyed Roxie and Inez. Both girls are very fascinating and each have intense, compelling backstories. Roxie was really clever and I loved her relationship with her family. It was so sweet how her uncle took her in. I felt so bad for Inez. She’s a character you can’t help but sympathize with.

Overall, if you like your murder mysteries to have a gritty edge and a treasure hunt element, you’ll probably really enjoy this one!

Thank you to Penguin Teen CA and Netgalley for the arc.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

I can see that I am not the only person confused about a) the age of these characters and b) the age level of the book. The characters are all high school students and one is a sex worker. The characters seem about 30, but that's like all the 2010s YA I read, so I didn't mind.

Content Warning: There are depictions of SA

That said, I did enjoy this book, which I'd say has the vibe of a very gritty Inheritance Games, as there is a scavenger hunt element. (I think without this element the author could have aged up the characters and made this an adult suspense bo0k.)

If you like adult or YA suspense books, subscribe to my amazing newsletter HERE at JenRyland.com Let's be friends on Bookstagram!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[emmareadsya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was... fine? I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it either. Fun, very fast paced and I found Anderson's voice compelling. I found the choice to make one character 21 and one 16 strange - it felt like it was straddling a line between YA and adult, and not well. I would have liked more information on the backstories of the characters, and I didn't find any of the reveals that surprising. Particularly Roxie - the idea of her religious trauma from her childhood could have been incorporated to bring more drama, but it's just kind of... there.

I loved the riddle aspect! It scratched the itch of solving puzzles in an escape room. If you're looking for a quick read, you might enjoy this one.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This YA amateur detective murder mystery just didn’t work for me. While it gave off strong Veronica Mars vibes and had a decent narrator, it felt predictable and I wasn’t invested at all.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book read it in one night. couldn't put it down!

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. It was ok. But seriously? It’s 12 and up??? The content with the sex worker and all that is said is, just too much for 12 years old, at least I think so.

[Brittany Sutich · Rating 4 out of 5]

That Kind of Girl by Natalie C. Anderson is a gripping, powerful story about resilience, identity, and fighting for what’s right. With a fierce heroine and a fast-paced plot, this book is both thought-provoking and impossible to put down!

[PeebsReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I didn’t realise at the time of reading that this is a YA thriller, but it makes sense as to why it didn’t quite hit the mark for me compared to the usual thrillers I read! It was a solid 4* YA read. I loved the intrigue with the poetry/treasure hunt element, and really enjoyed the deeper look into race relations, victims of crime who are considered “less dead”, substance abuse, sex work and sexual assault/rape.

All in this was a good and speedy read that wrapped up really nicely at the end.

[Sarah Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨ The Vibes ✨
A fast-paced YA noir

📖 Read if…
✨ Nancy Drew was your favorite series as a kid
✨ You like a book with short chapters
✨ You’re looking for a YA book with a bit of grit

In my mind, summer is THE season to read YA thrillers. They are tense and twisty and the shorter length makes them perfect to devour in one sitting by the pool. That Kind of Girl is one of the newest entrants in the genre and I think it’s a solid choice if you are also looking to plan out your pool reading.

That Kind of Girl starts with a bang and doesn’t let it up from there. It follows two young women — Inez, who is trying to wash blood out of her clothes, and Roxie, a teen sleuth who’s gained a reputation for helping fellow students in tricky situations. To say anything else about the mystery or how they are linked would be a massive spoiler, but I found the way their perspectives were intertwined to be really suspenseful and I was engaged with the story throughout. The story also had a bit of grit to it that I haven’t seen in other YA thrillers which was a nice change of pace.

That being said, I do think the story could have been even better if the author leaned more into some of the POVs, particularly Inez. There is a lot going on throughout the story, but I feel like some of the twists and emotional beats could have been strengthened if we saw more from some characters. Conversely, I think less of Roxie’s backstory would have improved the story as it felt shoehorned in and didn’t necessarily advance the overall plot or her character.

Even with some small quibbles, I really enjoyed reading That Kind of Girl and think mystery/thriller fans should add it to their summer reading list ASAP!

That Kind of Girl hits shelves June 24th. Thanks to Nancy Paulsen Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Nicole Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Nancy Paulson Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“That Kind of Girl” by Natalie C. Anderson is a bold, gritty, and twist-laden YA thriller that flirts with the boundaries of its genre. It delivers a gripping murder mystery wrapped in a tangled web of social commentary, trauma, and survival—told through the dual perspectives of two unforgettable girls: Roxie and Inez. Before going into the review, I do recommend this book for older YA readers as one of the main characters, Inez, is a 19 year old sex worker, so readers should be aware of this before reading.

Roxie, a sharp sixteen-year-old amateur sleuth known for her uncanny ability to find lost things, is drawn into a dangerous case when her classmate Kirsten hires her to locate a missing girl and a phone. But things spiral quickly when Kirsten turns up dead—and Roxie becomes the prime suspect. The missing girl? Inez: a part-time maid and sex worker just trying to survive. Their paths collide in a fast-paced game of cat and mouse, where both girls are being hunted by the truth and the forces that wish to bury it.

Anderson pulls no punches. Though technically labeled YA, this book reads more like an adult thriller, exploring heavy themes such as exploitation, privilege, domestic violence, and class disparity. Inez’s storyline, in particular, feels raw and mature, offering a sharp contrast to Roxie’s more traditional sleuthing journey. While I did find a lot of this book’s content (mainly with Inez’s perspective) more fitting for an adult audience, others will appreciate its unflinching portrayal of teenage girls grappling with adult-sized problems.

Structurally, the dual POV adds depth and energy to the story. Roxie’s character shines through her cleverness and resilience, bolstered by a touching relationship with her uncle. The inclusion of a scavenger-hunt-style riddle tied to a mysterious $2 million necklace (and a possibly illegal will from Roxie’s eccentric great-aunt) adds a fun, puzzling element to the otherwise intense storyline.

That said, the book sometimes suffers under the weight of its many subplots: cult backstories, missing persons, hidden wealth, domestic abuse, and decades-old secrets all jostle for space. Some twists are predictable, and certain threads—like the enigmatic Pastor—feel confusing until clarified much later.

But what anchors “That Kind of Girl” is its emotional heart. It’s a story about two girls caught in circumstances far beyond their control who refuse to go down without a fight. The ending brings closure, justice, and even hope—especially for Inez—making the journey feel worthwhile.

Overall, “That Kind of Girl” challenges expectations of YA fiction. It's not a flawless mystery, but it’s a bold and timely story with strong character work and a satisfyingly dark edge. This story is ideal for readers who like their thrillers smart, layered, and just a bit messy.

[The Book and the Beast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roxies Großtante hat ihrer Familie ein wertvolles Erbe hinterlassen: ein Diamantcollier im Wert von 2 Millionen Dollar. Doch es gibt einen entscheidenden Haken – sie müssen sich auf eine knifflige Schatzsuche begeben, geleitet von kryptischen Hinweisen in Gedichtform.

Als wäre das nicht schon genug Chaos, taucht ausgerechnet Roxies Erzfeindin, die Queen Bee ihrer Highschool, bei ihr auf und bittet sie um Hilfe. Kristin will eine mysteriöse junge Frau ausfindig machen, doch bevor Roxie überhaupt Antworten bekommen kann, macht sie eine schockierende Entdeckung: Sie findet Kristin tot in ihrem Haus – und sie hat den ersten Hinweis zur Schatzsuche bei sich.

Was hat Kristin mit der Jagd nach den Diamanten zu tun? Wie passt die rätselhafte Sexarbeiterin Inez in das Geflecht aus Geheimnissen? Plötzlich steht Roxie nicht nur unter Druck, die Diamanten zu finden, sondern muss auch einen Mord aufklären. Doch die Zeit läuft ihr davon, denn alle Indizien machen sie selbst zur Hauptverdächtigen…

💭
Ein cozy Murder Mystery Thriller, der sich langsam aufbaut, aber spätestens ab der Hälfte rasant an Fahrt aufnimmt und mit einigen "OMG?!"-Momenten überrascht.
Die Kombination aus der sympathischen Roxie mit herzzerreißender Hintergrundstory, einer rätselhaften Schatzsuche und einem gut konstruierten Netz aus Intrigen und Geheimnissen macht die Geschichte zu einem echten Pageturner. Besonders gelungen fand ich, wie es die Autorin geschafft hat, ernste Themen wie familiäre Verluste und soziale Konflikte in die Handlung einzubauen, ohne die Spannung zu verlieren.
Zwischendurch rückt auch Inez in den Fokus der Erzählung, und ich muss zugeben, dass ich anfangs mit ihr gehadert habe. Nicht etwa wegen ihres Berufs als Sexarbeiterin, sondern weil sie auf den ersten Blick eine distanzierte und schwer greifbare Figur bleibt. Zudem wird nur in kleinen, bruchstückhaften Andeutungen enthüllt, was sie getan hat – ein Schockmoment, der zunächst viele Fragen aufwirft. Doch je tiefer man in ihre Geschichte eintaucht, desto mehr versteht man ihre Beweggründe. Ihre Handlungen, so schwer sie auch wiegen, fügen sich Stück für Stück zu einem nachvollziehbaren Bild, und letztlich konnte ich mich in sie einfühlen.
Der Schreibstil ist angenehm und flüssig, auch wenn die Geschichte anfangs etwas gemächlich startet. Doch sobald das Tempo anzieht, wird man in ein beeindruckendes Netz aus Lügen und alten Geheimnissen hineingezogen, das einem den Atem raubt.
💡
Die Story ist beeindruckend gut durchdacht, und wie am Ende alles zusammengeführt wird, ist einfach nur genial. Ein absolut großartiges Leseerlebnis! Ein Buch, das sowohl zum Miträtseln als auch zum Mitfiebern einlädt – perfekt für alle, die Spannung mit einem Hauch Gemütlichkeit mögen!

[The review bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

THAT KIND OF GIRL

By Natalie C. Anderson

Sixteen‑year‑old Roxie is no ordinary amateur sleuth. Employed by the wealthy queen bee of St. Margaret’s to track down a phone thief, she discovers the girl murdered in her mansion—and suddenly Roxie finds herself the prime suspect. Meanwhile, Inez, a part‑time maid and sex‑worker from the trailer‑park outskirts, finds herself retracing crimson clues—blood‑spattered earrings, tainted shoelaces—that might connect her to the same crime. Two girls from opposite worlds, linked by violence and suspicion, navigating a dangerous cat‑and‑mouse maze™, each desperate to clear her name and stay alive.

Anderson (best known for City of Saints & Thieves) delivers a taut thriller where class divides aren’t merely backdrop—they’re the fault lines along which trust fractures. Roxie’s amateur‑gumshoe instincts—her knack for finding lost things—contrast sharply with Inez’s grit and survival savvy. Alternating perspectives sharpen the suspense, making every reveal and red herring land with precision.

The dual‑POV structure cleverly keeps the reader guessing, as motivations shift with each switch in viewpoint . Roxie’s high‑society entanglements feel vividly drawn, while Inez’s world pulses with authentic tension and urgency, grounded in gritty realism . The race to unravel who killed Kirsten Montgomery‑Wiggins drives the narrative forward, but Anderson ensures that class conflict, female solidarity, and personal redemption fuel the emotional core.

At times the novel’s tone borders on overly dramatic, and the sexual‑work subplot may jar some YA readers unprepared for its darker edges . But those willing to take the ride will find a story that refuses easy answers—and thrives on morally complex, sharply drawn characters.

For fans of gritty, socially conscious YA mysteries like Jessica Goodman’s The Other Side of Lost and Amber Smith’s The Way I Used to Be, That Kind of Girl is a compelling, page‑turning thriller that interrogates the fault lines between perception and reality, privilege and power.

Verdict: A STRONG GET, with knockout premise and dual‑narrative suspense ,your book club will be tearing into this one.

[Arthur Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for providing me with an eARC of That Kind of Girl in exchange for my honest review!

This YA thriller doesn't handle its execution completely smoothly, but it still lands as a solidly suspenseful mystery that pulls me into Roxie and Inez's POVs. There's a gritty tension to the tale as we follow these characters who are trying to figure out what's truly going on and evade any threats that head their way. Both of the MCs and their backstories generally compel me, with Inez standing out to me a bit more personally thanks to the ways in which this book gets my blood pumping through my veins over the questions that I have in regard to what's happening with her character and what secrets she's hiding. That being said, there are segments of the narrative that come across as janky and draw me out of the experience because of how they shift the novel into what seems to be adult territory, even while this is ostensibly a book that belongs in the YA age bracket. Inez being a part-time sex worker who doesn't fit within that group is one such element, making me wonder whether it would have been beneficial for this book to be directed towards an adult audience entirely.

But hey, even with elements like that lessening the potential tightness of this narrative, I'm able to vibe with it all the way to a suitable conclusion. And that's why I'm officially giving That Kind of Girl an overall rating of 3.25 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding down to 3 stars. I'm glad to have given this a shot, and I'll keep my eye out for another Natalie C. Anderson read, City of Saints & Thieves.

[Cerberus Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars
Gripping and full of tension.

Roxie is know to find things that go missing. Kristan needs her help to find someone who is missing as well as a phone. However once Roxie agrees Kristan ends up dead. Roxie is labelled as a suspect but knows she has to find this girl and phone to solve Kristan's death. Across town Inez is working on the streets to make ends meet, but continues to find blood on her hands. She's running from something, but will it catch up to her?

The duel pov in this book makes for a highly entertaining game of Cat and Mouse. As both characters are suspects in this case and time is running out to prove their innocence.

I loved the riddles that tied into Roxie's story with needing to find something of value. However I found some parts of the story rather predictable but other parts left me completely stumped.

Overall it was a fun read to guess where the riddle would take me, not to mention I devoured this in a single sitting. I would definitely recommend this for those who enjoy a mysterious thriller.

Thank you so much to Penguin Group for the E-ARC!

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was VERY good! I highly recommend it. While it's marketed as YA, and I guess the prose fits the YA market, the subject matter is a lot darker than what I'd expect for the demographic.

Roxie is a teenage girl, raised in a cult and now living with her ex-FBI uncle, she does Veronica Mars style tasks for her schoolmates.

The other character who has POV chapters is Inez, a 21 year old sex worker. While Inez was important to the story, her chapters were so few and short that I felt like we could have done without them and just had her be a character in Roxie's story.

This book is part thriller, part mystery. There's a lot going on. A treasure hunt, a murder mystery, gentrification, and a lot of dark back stories slowly coming to light. I personally was very enthralled while reading this, I finished it in two days.

There's some very scary men and dark subject matter going on in this book, but the ending was satisfactory and the twists weren't shocking but also weren't super obvious. I definitely think this is a great book that people are gonna love!

Thanks so much to Penguin Teen Canada for the advanced copy.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐

THAT KIND OF GIRL by Natalie C. Anderson
Thank you Netgalley and PenguinTeen for the earc (Jun24)

Roxie finds things. When Kirsten enlists her help to find a girl and her phone, Roxie is hesitant but willing. When she finds her murdered, Roxie is pulled into mystery after mystery. Across town, Inez is working too---the streets. When she starts finding blood everywhere, she doesn't know why. She just knows she needs to hide so she doesn't go to jail.
THAT KIND OF GIRL is a gripping, dual pov book. It reminded me of a twisted Inheritance Games (JLB), which I appreciated. The mystery that was in the book was greater than I could have imagine, rooting deeper than just a missing phone and a dead girl. I found this to be a tad predictable though like the description of the book gave too much away. Nonetheless, there were parts I didn't put together, which was nice.
This book was thrilling and sad because the characters have gone through so much that it's crazy. Despite the predictability, I would recommend this to mystery lovers.

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A game of cat and mouse turns very dangerous when a classmate is murdered. Who is the killer? Could it be Roxie? Or Inez?

I’m honestly surprised this book is labeled as young adult. I think this should be for adults considering one of the girls is a sex worker. This is a really dark story and it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.

I really liked the treasure hunt they did in Roxie’s great aunts house who has passed. I wouldn’t have minded if the whole book was focused on that. I do wish they had listed the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. If I had known about those, I wouldn’t have continued with the book. I did enjoy that it was a fast paced book. I was able to finish it really quickly. I really loved the cover of this book as well!

I haven’t read any of Natalie’s other books but I’m planning on checking them out.

Thank you NetGalley, Natalie and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for the eARC!

Publication Date: June 24 2025
Rating: ✨✨✨

#ThatKindofGirl #NetGalley

[Mystyc Metrik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story! It's told through a dual point of view and the two storylines intertwine to solve a murder. Roxanne Hunt, our protagonist, is a high school girl who excels at finding things (phones, dogs, photos on the web, etc.) and has a haunted past due to religious trauma. She's being raised by her uncle and her great-aunt Regina recently passed away, leaving a treasure hunt for $2 million diamonds in her home. At the same time, Roxanne was hired by a fellow student to find a person, and the girl who hires her winds up dead. Determined to clear her name, Roxanne jumps into both the treasure hunt and the murder mystery. Inez, our other point of view character, is a cleaning lady and sex worker, who is also tied to the case somehow. Readers will enjoy getting information as both characters try to piece together the puzzle, and it's a race to see if you can figure it out before they do!

[Elizabeth Reiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Natalie C. Anderson’s latest, That Kind of Girl, Roxie and Inez are living two very different lives; one is a student with a knack for finding missing things. The other barely gets by while she works as a maid and a prostitute. Their worlds intersect when another teenage girl is murdered, and Roxie becomes the prime suspect.

Told from dual perspectives, both characters are racing to find answers in what is essentially a treasure hunt (a hidden fortune is also thrown in the mix, as will happen). They are also battling demons from the past, and Roxie’s backstory is particularly compelling (religious cults usually are). Anderson has done a great job creating complicated female leads who are smart, flawed, and tenacious.

The themes in the book, including Inez's work as a prostitute, are slightly darker than one might anticipate from a YA book. That said, a mature YA reader would have no trouble understanding, and the content will likely ignite discussion.

[Vania Vela · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I thought the premise was going to go in a totally different direction, so I won’t lie, those first couple of chapters left me a bit disappointed. I wasn’t sure what I’d signed up for, especially with Inez’s initial POV and the setup that felt like just another high school drama. But wow, I was wrong.

That Kind of Girl quickly flips expectations. What starts off feeling like a teen noir mystery takes a much darker, deeper turn. The story becomes something more layered than missing phones or queen bees: it dives into murder, trauma, secrets, and power.

The dual POV added a lot of dimension, though I’ll admit, I was a little confused at times (especially early on). Still, I appreciated how the different voices helped build tension and made me question everything and everyone.

This book really caught me off guard. It’s messy, tense, and full of twists. Don’t be fooled by the “high school” setting, this mystery runs deep.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roxie is an amateur sleuth who helps her classmates solve mysteries, but the latest mystery she's asked to help with is far more complicated than she could have expected. The day after she's asked to track down a woman in a photo, her client is murdered and she's thrust into the middle of an active investigation. Complicating matters further, she's embroiled in a treasure hunt that her deceased great-aunt has assigned, with the prize of a two million dollar necklace. All the while, Roxie is still recovering from the death of her parents that involved a religious cult.

This wasn't quite for me, honestly. It felt a bit convoluted between all of the mysteries that were happening at once. Inez was an interesting character, and I wish that there was more time spent getting to know her, while Roxie's sections just felt like information overload at times.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Marlo Bowman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGallery for the eARC! 2.5 ⭐️

Spoilers ahead:

Simply put, this book was okay. The biggest issues were that it felt unoriginal and overly complex at the same time. Finding out that it was the brother (and his friends/law group) that caused harm to Inez that caused this whole spiral was not at all shocking. The same goes for Birdie and that reveal. I also found it icky how the Great Aunt chose to reveal said past murder through a puzzle game. And there weren't any huge repercussions behind that (tampering with evidence and whatnot). There also felt like a lack of conclusion to the Pastor's influence on Roxie's life. There were times in which I did not understand the importance of her past trauma as a central part of the narrative. There is more I could say, but really this book doesn't equate the effort to say more.

If you are looking for a simple YA thriller read, check it out. But otherwise I wouldn't recommend.

[Crush Critiques · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wasn’t a fan of this book. The main characters voices seemed way too similar, I think in part due to the author’s kinda choppy writing style. It was a lot of short sentences, telegram style, so it really didn’t flow that well.

There’s a lot going on in the book and it does bring up some important topics however I feel they could have been tackled much better than what they were. They didn’t seem woven into the plot as well as they could have been, rather just placed randomly.

As for the characters, I felt nothing for them. Unfortunately I can’t say much more about what I disliked without giving away spoilers, but I will say if you’re younger and like mysteries, you may like this. The book feels very YA to me, yet the one character is a sex worker, so just be aware of what you’re getting into…

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the E-ARC; the above review is my honest opinion left of my own volition.

[Kassandra Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I’m a sucker for a good thriller and generally tend to like YA books. While this book is considered YA, I would strongly recommend it for more mature readers as it is quite heavy even though the main characters are young.

Roxie is a very likable MC. She has been through a bit in her young life, but those experiences are shaping her for the future. She lives with her retired FBI agent uncle and definitely gets her sleuthing skills from him.

Inez has the answers Roxie is looking for, she just needs to find Inez. The search is on after one of the most popular girls at Roxie’s high school is murdered. Roxie is in the hook for the murder since she’s the one that found the body.

If you’re looking for a fast paced thriller that will leave you guessing, this is the book for you!

[Shakella "The Singing Bibliophile" Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun murder mystery to read with a satisfying conclusion.

To think that a teenager with a gift for finding things is telling this story is astonishing! Roxie and I would be besties,

In an attempt to assist the school's it girl, Kirsten, Roxie finds herself caught up in a murder mystery. This book is just one twist after jaw-dropping turn after pearl-clutch. A civil situation is unfolding between the haves and have-nots, accompanied by hauntingly dark and beautiful poetry, and the discovery of treasures and secrets that can alter the course of the lives involved.

This was my first time reading from this author; it will not be my last.

Thank you, Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP, Penguin Young Readers Group | Nancy Paulsen Books, Natalie C. Anderson, for the ARC of this entertaining book.