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Missing Dead Girls
Tillie Gray didn't kill Madison Frank...but everyone thinks she did in this gripping suspense thriller from Sara Walters, author of The Violent Season.
17-year-old Tillie has never hurt anyone and has an expunged juvenile record to prove it. When she and her mother move into the quiet suburb of Willow Creek, Tillie is certain she's left her old life behind. Especially when Tillie meets Madison, a beautiful, carefree girl from the wealthy side of town. The two form a fast friendship, and by the end of summer, Tillie knows all her secrets. Except when school begins, Madison completely abandons her, and lets her friends mercilessly bully Tillie.
Then Madison goes missing. A week later, photos of her bloody body appear online, posted by a profile with Tillie's name on it.
Now, the entire town has Tillie in their crosshairs, convinced she had something to do with Madison's disappearance... and possible death. To clear her name, Tillie must find out what happened to Madison. But the dark secrets that might prove her innocence could very well destroy her.
17-year-old Tillie has never hurt anyone and has an expunged juvenile record to prove it. When she and her mother move into the quiet suburb of Willow Creek, Tillie is certain she's left her old life behind. Especially when Tillie meets Madison, a beautiful, carefree girl from the wealthy side of town. The two form a fast friendship, and by the end of summer, Tillie knows all her secrets. Except when school begins, Madison completely abandons her, and lets her friends mercilessly bully Tillie.
Then Madison goes missing. A week later, photos of her bloody body appear online, posted by a profile with Tillie's name on it.
Now, the entire town has Tillie in their crosshairs, convinced she had something to do with Madison's disappearance... and possible death. To clear her name, Tillie must find out what happened to Madison. But the dark secrets that might prove her innocence could very well destroy her.
194 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 2023
215 people are currently reading
14096 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 675 reviews
August 15, 2023
This book left me feeling empty and answerless.
Due to the fact that this book is only 220p long, we don’t get a lot of details for anything, which makes sense with the book length but it doesn’t make for a good story.
So many important scenes were just brushed to the side and forgotten even though they could have elevated the story if they had just been explained more and idk mentioned more than just one time.
This brushing to the side and going into minimal detail goes for the rest of the story as well. None of the characters had a personality.
Yes the main characters had secrets and a little bit of detail but nothing that made me feel connected to the characters.
All we know is that they are both not mentally stable. At all.
This made the story feel superficial and not emotional at all, which is sad since I feel like this book had potential to be very angsty and filled with feminine rage.
Yet all we got was a mentally unstable girl that makes very rash and scary decisions that fall in love with another girl who has also done some fucked up things without thinking about any type of consequences.
A match made in heaven.
This leads me to my biggest issue with the book: the blurb and plot.
The blurb is very misleading since this book is not at all a murder mystery thriller but a love story with a very small mystery in the end that is fueled through revenge.
And don’t get me wrong, I love revenge plot lines in books but they have to make sense.
Sadly, the execution of the revenge was bad, especially since only one time, the revenge made sense but the other times???
Absolutely not.
So overall, this book had potential that wasn’t fulfilled and the main characters need to be able to think before acting irrationally because one day, secrets will surface and the consequences will fucking suck.
(Also about that: how the fuck did no one ever notice because they are not as smart as Lana from mindfuck)
Due to the fact that this book is only 220p long, we don’t get a lot of details for anything, which makes sense with the book length but it doesn’t make for a good story.
So many important scenes were just brushed to the side and forgotten even though they could have elevated the story if they had just been explained more and idk mentioned more than just one time.
This brushing to the side and going into minimal detail goes for the rest of the story as well. None of the characters had a personality.
Yes the main characters had secrets and a little bit of detail but nothing that made me feel connected to the characters.
All we know is that they are both not mentally stable. At all.
This made the story feel superficial and not emotional at all, which is sad since I feel like this book had potential to be very angsty and filled with feminine rage.
Yet all we got was a mentally unstable girl that makes very rash and scary decisions that fall in love with another girl who has also done some fucked up things without thinking about any type of consequences.
A match made in heaven.
This leads me to my biggest issue with the book: the blurb and plot.
The blurb is very misleading since this book is not at all a murder mystery thriller but a love story with a very small mystery in the end that is fueled through revenge.
And don’t get me wrong, I love revenge plot lines in books but they have to make sense.
Sadly, the execution of the revenge was bad, especially since only one time, the revenge made sense but the other times???
Absolutely not.
So overall, this book had potential that wasn’t fulfilled and the main characters need to be able to think before acting irrationally because one day, secrets will surface and the consequences will fucking suck.
(Also about that: how the fuck did no one ever notice because they are not as smart as Lana from mindfuck)
May 25, 2023
let’s be clear: THIS IS NOT A MURDER MYSTERY
i’m really not sure why it’s marketed as one when it’s called missing dead girls and the girl only goes missing in the last 30 pages of the book ??
i did feel that parts of this were very cringey and could’ve been developed a lot more (eg the backstory behind the main characters’ summer project). as i honestly thought this would be a mystery i was expecting little details that were mentioned briefly to pop up again later in the book and be significant but they weren’t, making me question why they were even mentioned in the first place.
honestly i was just really disappointed because i was expecting a mystery and ended up with an instalove story between some cheesy and overdramatic teens who can make the most stupid excuses for things and get away with it.
i’m really not sure why it’s marketed as one when it’s called missing dead girls and the girl only goes missing in the last 30 pages of the book ??
i did feel that parts of this were very cringey and could’ve been developed a lot more (eg the backstory behind the main characters’ summer project). as i honestly thought this would be a mystery i was expecting little details that were mentioned briefly to pop up again later in the book and be significant but they weren’t, making me question why they were even mentioned in the first place.
honestly i was just really disappointed because i was expecting a mystery and ended up with an instalove story between some cheesy and overdramatic teens who can make the most stupid excuses for things and get away with it.
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March 2, 2023DNF at 46%
I felt like this story was going nowhere...
I felt like this story was going nowhere...
April 7, 2023
**rethink life choices before reading this review if you read and liked bc I showed this book no mercy…srry not srry**
I finished this book in a day…stayed up to 1 am to finish. Not because it was so good I couldn’t put it down because it was so predictable, not going anywhere, and overall 2 stars. I didn’t want to have to wake up and say…I gotta finish “Missing Dead Girls”.
My 2 star rating means…”just don’t read”
Here is a few reasons for that.
1. Madison and Tillie have zero chemistry, like you cannot convince me they do.
2. When Madison goes “missing” it’s the END of the book for a FEW PAGES. Yet the book blurb makes it sounds like it’s the plot of the whole story. I thought this book was a good mystery of Madison missing not all this lil back stories.
3. I forgot what else I was gonna say
Anyways I did not enjoy this book nor recommend it.
I finished this book in a day…stayed up to 1 am to finish. Not because it was so good I couldn’t put it down because it was so predictable, not going anywhere, and overall 2 stars. I didn’t want to have to wake up and say…I gotta finish “Missing Dead Girls”.
My 2 star rating means…”just don’t read”
Here is a few reasons for that.
1. Madison and Tillie have zero chemistry, like you cannot convince me they do.
2. When Madison goes “missing” it’s the END of the book for a FEW PAGES. Yet the book blurb makes it sounds like it’s the plot of the whole story. I thought this book was a good mystery of Madison missing not all this lil back stories.
3. I forgot what else I was gonna say
Anyways I did not enjoy this book nor recommend it.
March 27, 2023
‼️ trigger warning: sexual assault ‼️
“That I was realizing, was the magic of teenage girls. We were all so beautiful and invincible and ready to ruin ourselves for the next thing that made us feel good. “
one POV and timeline. Incredibly bingeable book! I couldn’t put it down. I finished it in two sittings. Very topical in navigating love that you don’t feel comfortable being public about and the aftermath of sexual assaults. I love how the author gave us information on the main characters through piecemeal sharing- every chapter left me wanting more details. Very much in the same vein as Pretty Little Liars (the tv show- i never read the books). Teen vengeance and angst is a deadly combo.
“That I was realizing, was the magic of teenage girls. We were all so beautiful and invincible and ready to ruin ourselves for the next thing that made us feel good. “
one POV and timeline. Incredibly bingeable book! I couldn’t put it down. I finished it in two sittings. Very topical in navigating love that you don’t feel comfortable being public about and the aftermath of sexual assaults. I love how the author gave us information on the main characters through piecemeal sharing- every chapter left me wanting more details. Very much in the same vein as Pretty Little Liars (the tv show- i never read the books). Teen vengeance and angst is a deadly combo.
February 2, 2023
extremely slow from 5%-80% but the ending redeemed itself a little? The prank explanation felt so unrealistic
July 27, 2023
give the trees their paper back.
July 8, 2023
Ok, so I have read every word of this book and still do not understand why there is a giant fake eyelash on this cover that is dripping blood. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow which is how I usually operate. I mean, I’ve read books with cheerleading skulls on the cover so this is nothing in the scheme of weirdo horror things but sometimes things also just get under my skin and this choice was downright bizarro and it bugged me because I spent the book waiting for a damn eyelash as if it was going to be some big-time clue. Now that I'm done it’s bugging me even more because there were absolutely ZERO mentions of fake eyelashes or murderous effing eyelashes and it was such a strange choice. 🙃
Anyhow, don’t waste time pondering that wayward eyelash because, trust me, it’ll only end in disappointment. Soooo, Tillie and her mom recently relocated after obsessive young love caused an event and she’s spending her summer as a lifeguard for bratty spoiled rich kids. Tillie thinks her mom is overprotective and worries too much. Tillie harbors a lot of teen rage and jealousy and boredom isn’t helping matters. And then she meets Madison who is beautiful but terribly BAD for her and they fall in insta-love at first glance. Oh no.
“It had only taken an afternoon for me to know that Madison could destroy me. And fuck, I wanted her to.”
This book is less about “Missing Dead Girls” and more about angry teen girls falling in love and plotting revenge against those who have done them wrong. You probably won’t like them very much for most of the book and that’s ok because I don’t think you’re supposed to. I had a few moments of sympathy for both of them but those feelings never lasted very long. Still, I found the book highly readable despite myself because sometimes it’s just fun to read about people with dark urges who take those feelings and run with them. And being a teenager really is the worst at times. It’s all a toxic brew, to be sure, but sometimes relationships work out that way.
Whatever you do, don’t go into this thinking it’s an exciting murder mystery/thriller because it’s totally not that. It’s more of a character study and the pace is pretty leisurely until the last ¼ or so but I was never bored even if the characters come across as depressed for a big chunk of the book. There were no big surprises for me but it still managed to be a fast readable story despite the pace. I don’t know how that happened but it’s getting a three because I did like reading about these two who were truly two of a kind. Even awful people deserve love, I guess.
Also, if you know why that eyelash is there, please let me know so I can sleep tonight. Thanks.
Anyhow, don’t waste time pondering that wayward eyelash because, trust me, it’ll only end in disappointment. Soooo, Tillie and her mom recently relocated after obsessive young love caused an event and she’s spending her summer as a lifeguard for bratty spoiled rich kids. Tillie thinks her mom is overprotective and worries too much. Tillie harbors a lot of teen rage and jealousy and boredom isn’t helping matters. And then she meets Madison who is beautiful but terribly BAD for her and they fall in insta-love at first glance. Oh no.
“It had only taken an afternoon for me to know that Madison could destroy me. And fuck, I wanted her to.”
This book is less about “Missing Dead Girls” and more about angry teen girls falling in love and plotting revenge against those who have done them wrong. You probably won’t like them very much for most of the book and that’s ok because I don’t think you’re supposed to. I had a few moments of sympathy for both of them but those feelings never lasted very long. Still, I found the book highly readable despite myself because sometimes it’s just fun to read about people with dark urges who take those feelings and run with them. And being a teenager really is the worst at times. It’s all a toxic brew, to be sure, but sometimes relationships work out that way.
Whatever you do, don’t go into this thinking it’s an exciting murder mystery/thriller because it’s totally not that. It’s more of a character study and the pace is pretty leisurely until the last ¼ or so but I was never bored even if the characters come across as depressed for a big chunk of the book. There were no big surprises for me but it still managed to be a fast readable story despite the pace. I don’t know how that happened but it’s getting a three because I did like reading about these two who were truly two of a kind. Even awful people deserve love, I guess.
Also, if you know why that eyelash is there, please let me know so I can sleep tonight. Thanks.
November 11, 2022
»—-Booksta ¸.•´*¨`*• Book Blog •*`¨*`•. BookTwt-—«
Genre: sapphic thriller(?), young adult literary fiction
Pace: slow
CW: sexual assault, homophobia, violence
My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫
📚 Quick Plot: After a traumatic experience, Tillie and her mother leave Philadelphia to start over in the suburb of Willow Creek for Tillie's senior year of high school. Much to her surprise, Tillie meets the enigmatic and beautiful Madison before school even begins. An even greater surprise is that she hits it off with the popular girl immediately. The two find each other obsessively drawn together in a passionate whirlwind romance. But then Madison goes missing and a photograph of her bloody body is sent to the entire school from an unknown number claiming to be Tillie.
📚 Characters: I love the idea of a sapphic thriller. I think lesbians and wlw characters are under represented in fiction so that was my main draw to the story. I found both Tillie and Madison to be compelling characters, each with their secrets and hidden pasts that slowly begin to slip out as the two lose control.
📚 Pacing: The pacing of this book is very strange. I don't think I've ever read a book before where the primary 'content' or action takes place in the last 15% of the book. Reading the plot, if the idea of a thriller excites you, just know ahead of time that there is no mystery or action until the 85% point in the book. Even then, the action is wrapped up very quickly so everything feel rushed. There are definitely loose knots left untied here.
📚 My thoughts: I would rate this book between 2 and 3 stars. The plot itself is quite misleading. This is primarily a young adult literary fiction book detailing a toxic relationship between two people with dark pasts. Madison going missing is a very small part of this book, hardly worth focusing on in the plot summary. There isn't some huge mystery surrounding the disappearance or a big investigation into who sent the picture of her bloodied body.
I was disappointed that the summary led me to believe I would be reading a thriller when this was hardly that. That being said, I did find myself compelled to continue the book despite its slow pace. I liked getting to know Tillie and Madison and their pasts. I thought the depiction of struggling with their sexuality and when/if/how to represent their relationship was realistic. When Tillie talked about Madison folding their relationship into a small piece so as not to draw attention to it, I felt that and I think many others will as well.
I only think that this book should be marketed differently because readers going into the book expecting a sapphic thriller are going to be disappointed that the given plot is not the focal point of the story and is hardly representative of the content.
Thank you NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Fire and Sara Walters for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Genre: sapphic thriller(?), young adult literary fiction
Pace: slow
CW: sexual assault, homophobia, violence
My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫
📚 Quick Plot: After a traumatic experience, Tillie and her mother leave Philadelphia to start over in the suburb of Willow Creek for Tillie's senior year of high school. Much to her surprise, Tillie meets the enigmatic and beautiful Madison before school even begins. An even greater surprise is that she hits it off with the popular girl immediately. The two find each other obsessively drawn together in a passionate whirlwind romance. But then Madison goes missing and a photograph of her bloody body is sent to the entire school from an unknown number claiming to be Tillie.
📚 Characters: I love the idea of a sapphic thriller. I think lesbians and wlw characters are under represented in fiction so that was my main draw to the story. I found both Tillie and Madison to be compelling characters, each with their secrets and hidden pasts that slowly begin to slip out as the two lose control.
📚 Pacing: The pacing of this book is very strange. I don't think I've ever read a book before where the primary 'content' or action takes place in the last 15% of the book. Reading the plot, if the idea of a thriller excites you, just know ahead of time that there is no mystery or action until the 85% point in the book. Even then, the action is wrapped up very quickly so everything feel rushed. There are definitely loose knots left untied here.
📚 My thoughts: I would rate this book between 2 and 3 stars. The plot itself is quite misleading. This is primarily a young adult literary fiction book detailing a toxic relationship between two people with dark pasts. Madison going missing is a very small part of this book, hardly worth focusing on in the plot summary. There isn't some huge mystery surrounding the disappearance or a big investigation into who sent the picture of her bloodied body.
I was disappointed that the summary led me to believe I would be reading a thriller when this was hardly that. That being said, I did find myself compelled to continue the book despite its slow pace. I liked getting to know Tillie and Madison and their pasts. I thought the depiction of struggling with their sexuality and when/if/how to represent their relationship was realistic. When Tillie talked about Madison folding their relationship into a small piece so as not to draw attention to it, I felt that and I think many others will as well.
I only think that this book should be marketed differently because readers going into the book expecting a sapphic thriller are going to be disappointed that the given plot is not the focal point of the story and is hardly representative of the content.
Thank you NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Fire and Sara Walters for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
April 21, 2023
The overall writing wasn’t awful but it definitely isn’t my favorite, that’s really the only reason this gets two stars instead of one. Everything about the characters and their actions was predictable down to the “cliff hanger” if you can even call it that. The characters felt 2D at best and didn’t really have any original thoughts. New summary: “Two lesbians get off on committing violent crimes for the sole purpose of committing violent crimes”
March 17, 2023
The only reason this book gets 1 star is because I thought the prose was really pretty. Everything else is just bad.
Ignore the synopsis of the book. Madison doesn’t go missing and the MC doesn’t get accused of killing her until there are 50 pages left in the book. I’m not kidding. And it’s resolved immediately, of course, because there’s only 50 pages left!!
Everything felt so rushed, especially the relationship between the MC (I can’t even remember her name) and Madison. It is insta-love taken to a ridiculous extreme. There’s no plot to speak of. No character development.
This was such a disappointment.
Ignore the synopsis of the book. Madison doesn’t go missing and the MC doesn’t get accused of killing her until there are 50 pages left in the book. I’m not kidding. And it’s resolved immediately, of course, because there’s only 50 pages left!!
Everything felt so rushed, especially the relationship between the MC (I can’t even remember her name) and Madison. It is insta-love taken to a ridiculous extreme. There’s no plot to speak of. No character development.
This was such a disappointment.
November 19, 2023
the grammar.. the logistics.. the characters.. i TRUDGED through this gritting my teeth in frustration the entire time.
February 17, 2023
I finished it so I feel like I have to give it two stars but I read 180+ pages before the plot twist the back of the book promised for it to be solved in 10 pages, then drop a “bomb” the last chapter and just have the narrator be like welp I love her
I mean wtf
I mean wtf
May 17, 2023
Perfectly weaved psychological thriller. Almost an E2L trope - Mid class new girl (Tillie) with a mysterious history, meets closeted, rich, mean girl with a history everyone thinks they know(Madison)... they fall hard and fast for each other, but is it real? That is the question Tillie keeps asking. This is all too good to be true. She has been here before, only that ended with someone missing.
February 27, 2023
i love sapphic thrillers
October 1, 2023
I'm writing this on my computer so you know it's serious.
1.5 stars - I didn't want to give it 1 star cause those are reserved for the worst of the worst. But this one was pretty bad!
What worked:
- I read it quick.
What didn't:
- Start jumping in way too fast. Look, I do like getting to the point, but if 15 pages in the characters already are like committed to each other with no unbreakable bond, that's too fast. Give me a little build up jfc.
- Main character sucked. It's fun to have mixed thoughts on a character, but the main character - Tillie was just unbearable. She was just mean to her mom, drowned a girl because her not girlfriend was showing drowned girl more attention (which she showed no remorse for, you took a girl's life with 0 justification??? just because you needed attention? grow up.) and she was overall just generally unlikeable, despite having no personality. Never once was I rooting for her. I was hoping Maddison would be a bad person and turn out to be stringing her along because at least something would've happened.
- No backstory. Not ONE of the characters had any sort of depth, had this book been longer they may be could've. But like none was given too us.
- Predictible. I knew Tillie drowned the girl. That was so friggin obvious, so when it was revealed I wasn't even close to shocked. My short story in class was better than this.
- Pacing??? What I thought would be the majority of the book's conflict, happened in like the last 30 pages. The rest was just boring. This guy Ethan (maybe Elliot idk) liked texted the entire school under Tille's name saying she killed Maddison. This lasted one page before it was debunked and the school like ran a test saying the number it came from wasn't hers, great. Was cool, for the PAGE it happened. Oh and also! spoiler, alert, Maddison isn't dead! She was presumed dead for 2 pages and then the main character got a call from Ethan/Elliot and she went to go find her. Great. The action scene with Ethan/Elliot, Maddison, and Tillie lasted like 3 pages and was boring.
- It also ends unsatisfyingly too, Tillie finds out Maddison like killed a girl but is totally fine with that and now she wants to enact revenge on anyone who hurt her, like Quinn (Her not girlfriend from above) for what? Liking someone else. They both need to get like lobotomies or something to fix their brains because in what world is all that normalized? She was also shocked when Quinn blocked her??? Girl be so fr obviously she did she knew you killed Emma.
Overall, it wasn't long enough to be good, but also thank god it was only 220 pages because I wouldn't have made it through if not. Maybe next time, write a book where the main "plot" doesn't happen in the last 30 pages.
1.5 stars - I didn't want to give it 1 star cause those are reserved for the worst of the worst. But this one was pretty bad!
What worked:
- I read it quick.
What didn't:
- Start jumping in way too fast. Look, I do like getting to the point, but if 15 pages in the characters already are like committed to each other with no unbreakable bond, that's too fast. Give me a little build up jfc.
- Main character sucked. It's fun to have mixed thoughts on a character, but the main character - Tillie was just unbearable. She was just mean to her mom, drowned a girl because her not girlfriend was showing drowned girl more attention (which she showed no remorse for, you took a girl's life with 0 justification??? just because you needed attention? grow up.) and she was overall just generally unlikeable, despite having no personality. Never once was I rooting for her. I was hoping Maddison would be a bad person and turn out to be stringing her along because at least something would've happened.
- No backstory. Not ONE of the characters had any sort of depth, had this book been longer they may be could've. But like none was given too us.
- Predictible. I knew Tillie drowned the girl. That was so friggin obvious, so when it was revealed I wasn't even close to shocked. My short story in class was better than this.
- Pacing??? What I thought would be the majority of the book's conflict, happened in like the last 30 pages. The rest was just boring. This guy Ethan (maybe Elliot idk) liked texted the entire school under Tille's name saying she killed Maddison. This lasted one page before it was debunked and the school like ran a test saying the number it came from wasn't hers, great. Was cool, for the PAGE it happened. Oh and also! spoiler, alert, Maddison isn't dead! She was presumed dead for 2 pages and then the main character got a call from Ethan/Elliot and she went to go find her. Great. The action scene with Ethan/Elliot, Maddison, and Tillie lasted like 3 pages and was boring.
- It also ends unsatisfyingly too, Tillie finds out Maddison like killed a girl but is totally fine with that and now she wants to enact revenge on anyone who hurt her, like Quinn (Her not girlfriend from above) for what? Liking someone else. They both need to get like lobotomies or something to fix their brains because in what world is all that normalized? She was also shocked when Quinn blocked her??? Girl be so fr obviously she did she knew you killed Emma.
Overall, it wasn't long enough to be good, but also thank god it was only 220 pages because I wouldn't have made it through if not. Maybe next time, write a book where the main "plot" doesn't happen in the last 30 pages.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2023
It was just terrible. It wasn’t realistic, and it wasn’t a thriller, and I am mad at myself for even finishing it. I wish I could even leave a better explanation, but it was just terrible.
March 2, 2023
3.5 starts.
i’m going to tell you this story and my feelings on it in poem form
*ahem*
There once was a girl who lived in Philly.
A sweet ol’ girl named Tillie.
Tillie was quite gay.
Not the one that means “happy” kind of way.
She liked to nibble on girls’ ears.
Especially one named Greer’s.
But Greer liked Emma more.
But Emma was a mean boar.
So one day at a lake,
Tillie let Emma drown for her own sake.
So Tillie and her mom skipped town.
Away from the rumors of “tillie made her drown”
After all why would the police investigate?
It’s not their job to solve that date.
So they moved away with nothing more than a shove.
To a little town I can’t remember the name of.
Then Tillie became a lifeguard at a club.
Here, she likes to curse out kids who act like a bug.
It was also here where she met Maddison.
But to everyone in the town Maddison= Badison.
Naturally Tille got into Badison’s BMW car.
From then on Badison erased Tille’s scar.
Everything was lovely until a child drowned.
Sent Tillie spiraling, down, down, downed.
While Tillie and Badison were cuddling on the bed,
I was thinking: all we have is “girls, and dead.”
Thirty pages left or so.
Now when will Badison just GO.
So she was missing for a day.
Not even, they say.
So there was the “missing”
but i was not bothered bc of the fast pacing.
Tillie and Badison fought a captor with a gun.
He had a gun and was 6’4 but somehow the girls won
Tillie then got a text.
I wonder: what next.
The text said “Badison may have killed someone”
Tillie is bot bothered, but Tillie is dumb.
ThE eNd i read.
Finally, I can go to bed.
Okay but seriously this book is way to short for all that happened. Also how are the parents ALWAYS CONVENIENTLY GONE?!
I don’t understand the “friendship is a killer” on the front. i really dont.
But miss girl Sara Walters had the climax, falling action, AND resolution in like 30 pages. Aint no way
i’m going to tell you this story and my feelings on it in poem form
*ahem*
There once was a girl who lived in Philly.
A sweet ol’ girl named Tillie.
Tillie was quite gay.
Not the one that means “happy” kind of way.
She liked to nibble on girls’ ears.
Especially one named Greer’s.
But Greer liked Emma more.
But Emma was a mean boar.
So one day at a lake,
Tillie let Emma drown for her own sake.
So Tillie and her mom skipped town.
Away from the rumors of “tillie made her drown”
After all why would the police investigate?
It’s not their job to solve that date.
So they moved away with nothing more than a shove.
To a little town I can’t remember the name of.
Then Tillie became a lifeguard at a club.
Here, she likes to curse out kids who act like a bug.
It was also here where she met Maddison.
But to everyone in the town Maddison= Badison.
Naturally Tille got into Badison’s BMW car.
From then on Badison erased Tille’s scar.
Everything was lovely until a child drowned.
Sent Tillie spiraling, down, down, downed.
While Tillie and Badison were cuddling on the bed,
I was thinking: all we have is “girls, and dead.”
Thirty pages left or so.
Now when will Badison just GO.
So she was missing for a day.
Not even, they say.
So there was the “missing”
but i was not bothered bc of the fast pacing.
Tillie and Badison fought a captor with a gun.
He had a gun and was 6’4 but somehow the girls won
Tillie then got a text.
I wonder: what next.
The text said “Badison may have killed someone”
Tillie is bot bothered, but Tillie is dumb.
ThE eNd i read.
Finally, I can go to bed.
Okay but seriously this book is way to short for all that happened. Also how are the parents ALWAYS CONVENIENTLY GONE?!
I don’t understand the “friendship is a killer” on the front. i really dont.
But miss girl Sara Walters had the climax, falling action, AND resolution in like 30 pages. Aint no way
November 20, 2023
what even was this?? like no seriously, this made so sense 😭😭 and was very falsely advertised too
November 6, 2025
"I knew, in that moment more than ever, that I was ruined. I was a skeleton stitched together with needle and thread. I knew in that moment that she was, somehow, simultaneously the sickness and the cure."
This book is the reason why I don’t like to make friends!
I hated Tillie and Madison. You know you’re in for a world of hurt when you hate both the leads. I didn’t hate this book but I didn’t love it either. Not worth your time.
RTC
This book is the reason why I don’t like to make friends!
I hated Tillie and Madison. You know you’re in for a world of hurt when you hate both the leads. I didn’t hate this book but I didn’t love it either. Not worth your time.
RTC
June 1, 2023
I'm so underwhelmed. Honestly this was great for the first part (yay some lesbians am I right) and I enjoyed getting to know the characters. But (and I may just be projecting my bitter aloneness here) the intensity of that relationship did not feel realistic for teenagers, I mean who is that insane. The hook of the book (which was teased at the very start) ended up lasting like 30 pages near the end in a very nothingy and disappointing climax. In fact the end as a whole was super underwhelming and it felt like the book spent a lot of time building up to an ending that it didn't really deliver. The final plot twist was boring and predictable where we were meant to have a Mike drop moment. In fact I thought of a really good twist in fitting with the general drama of the book as I was reading it (Sara Walters, if your reading this hit me up! There's still time to republish with an alternate ending. As another side note I honestly have so many great ideas for books- at least I'm pretty sure I have I've forgotten them all now- the universe is missing out because it deprived me of any talent for writing or a long term memeory) Also it unnecessarily set itself up for a sequel where this sort of book should really be stand alone.
Edit: I forgot to mention this but there is a intense case of insta love. Need I say more?
Edit: I forgot to mention this but there is a intense case of insta love. Need I say more?
May 9, 2023
It was okay but not my favorite. The plot felt kind of dragged on and I didn’t like how the whole point of the book didn’t happen until the end. It felt very slow and then super rushed at the end. I also had a hard time rooting for the characters because I could tell they were not the best of people. If I didn’t like some aspects of the book, I wouldn’t have finished it so it definitely had a few things going for it but also had me very confused.
November 15, 2022
Tillie and her mother move to Willow Creek to get away from tragedy.There she meets Madison a girl just as screwed up as she is. They quickly connect and trouble arises. This is a fast paced thriller I quickly read. Thanks NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for this ARC!
April 6, 2023
so glad this book was short
February 22, 2023
I have been reading some wildly intense books lately and LOVING every minute of it BUT the fear of being inspired to create some real life drama with all that I read I thought it would be smart to take a break and read a book classified as Young Adult.
Joke was on me.
Missing Dead Girls, is not exactly what I was thinking it would be but turned out to be a mind bending fan-flipping-tastic book that blew my head right off my shoulders!
I loveddddddddd this book.
I was first introduced to Sara Walters when I won a giveaway on bookstagram for The Violent Season. I devoured that book and still think about it often (if you haven't read it yet, you must!)
I should have known right there that there was no way I would be putting this down.
Missing Dead Girls, is a fast paced, psychological thriller with a strong focus on friendship and emotion. This is definitely a coming of age of story but in no way is it child's play. I believe this book will be enjoyable for a wide demographic of readers.
After reading both The Violent Season and now, Missing Dead Girls, I definitely consider myself a fan girl of Walters. She has easily become an auto buy author and I am so excited to see what she will come out with next.
Big thank you to Sara Walters, Sourcebooks Fire, and Netgalley for trusting me to read and review Missing Dead Girls, in exchange for an honest review.
Teaser :
It wasn't Tillie's choice to leave Philadelphia. But after everything that happened junior year, her mom insisted the quiet suburb of Willow Creek was the perfect place to get a fresh start, to put the trauma and rumors behind them.
Madison Frank is the perfect distraction. Beautiful, fun, and from the wealthy side of town, Madison is the kind of girl who has a pull stronger than gravity. She commands attention, even inspires obsession. And by the end of summer, Tillie's forgotten everything—everyone—she left in Philadelphia. Almost.
Then Madison goes missing. A photo of her bloody body is texted to the whole student body…from an account with Tillie's name on it. Tillie's caught in a tangled web of secrets that will destroy her if they surface…and will destroy everyone she loves if they don't.
Joke was on me.
Missing Dead Girls, is not exactly what I was thinking it would be but turned out to be a mind bending fan-flipping-tastic book that blew my head right off my shoulders!
I loveddddddddd this book.
I was first introduced to Sara Walters when I won a giveaway on bookstagram for The Violent Season. I devoured that book and still think about it often (if you haven't read it yet, you must!)
I should have known right there that there was no way I would be putting this down.
Missing Dead Girls, is a fast paced, psychological thriller with a strong focus on friendship and emotion. This is definitely a coming of age of story but in no way is it child's play. I believe this book will be enjoyable for a wide demographic of readers.
After reading both The Violent Season and now, Missing Dead Girls, I definitely consider myself a fan girl of Walters. She has easily become an auto buy author and I am so excited to see what she will come out with next.
Big thank you to Sara Walters, Sourcebooks Fire, and Netgalley for trusting me to read and review Missing Dead Girls, in exchange for an honest review.
Teaser :
It wasn't Tillie's choice to leave Philadelphia. But after everything that happened junior year, her mom insisted the quiet suburb of Willow Creek was the perfect place to get a fresh start, to put the trauma and rumors behind them.
Madison Frank is the perfect distraction. Beautiful, fun, and from the wealthy side of town, Madison is the kind of girl who has a pull stronger than gravity. She commands attention, even inspires obsession. And by the end of summer, Tillie's forgotten everything—everyone—she left in Philadelphia. Almost.
Then Madison goes missing. A photo of her bloody body is texted to the whole student body…from an account with Tillie's name on it. Tillie's caught in a tangled web of secrets that will destroy her if they surface…and will destroy everyone she loves if they don't.
January 21, 2023
thank you sourcebooks fire for this advanced readers copy!
YA sapphic thriller.
First things first, this book was not for me. I'm not huge on thrillers, but since it was given to me by the publisher and is quite short I decided to give it a go. I am definitely not the target audience for this book and don't usually care for these kinds of stories- so keep that in mind.
There are a few positives I want to mention before I get into why I didn't like this.
1. We LOVE a content warning! This book has a cw page in the front, which I deeply appreciated. Especially considering the subject matter here. I personally need to know about mentions of SA ahead of time, and was very grateful for the warning.
2. Sapphic rep! Another one of the reasons I decided to give this book a chance. I love reading about girls falling in love with girls what can I say.
3. The writing style is really nice and easy to read. Even though I wasn't super into the story, I still flew through it. This is a super quick read!
Okay now the negatives.
1. I'm sorry, but I hate this cover. It had to be said.
2. It felt a bit repetitive. The main character thinks about the same things but in different metaphors over and over again, which to be fair might be an intentional depiction of her mental state, but it still got exhausting.
3. Constant music references. I just don't like when characters listen to music and the author feels the need to name specific songs and artists. Sometimes it makes sense/works, but for the most part I say the less pop culture references the better. This book had a TON of celebrity name drops and none felt necessary.
4. No spoilers- I didn't really like the ending. I found it annoying actually. But again, this isn't really my thing. These types of stories never feel truly satisfying to me. And I'm not sure what the reader was really supposed to take from this story.
5. Partial Spoilers(kind of?)- I'm also not sure how the reader is intended to feel about the romance. Sometimes it feels like the author is painting them as truly caring about each other, but other times it doesn't feel like that. Or maybe that's just MY take. It's obviously not a healthy relationship. But is that what the author is trying to tell us? I'm not really sure.
Overall, this is a slow burn story which focuses more on build up and the relationship between the two main girls more than anything else. The thriller part of is really only the last 15% of the book. I didn't mind this and think it actually added to it being an easier read for me. But if you're looking for nonstop thrills, this isn't it.
YA sapphic thriller.
First things first, this book was not for me. I'm not huge on thrillers, but since it was given to me by the publisher and is quite short I decided to give it a go. I am definitely not the target audience for this book and don't usually care for these kinds of stories- so keep that in mind.
There are a few positives I want to mention before I get into why I didn't like this.
1. We LOVE a content warning! This book has a cw page in the front, which I deeply appreciated. Especially considering the subject matter here. I personally need to know about mentions of SA ahead of time, and was very grateful for the warning.
2. Sapphic rep! Another one of the reasons I decided to give this book a chance. I love reading about girls falling in love with girls what can I say.
3. The writing style is really nice and easy to read. Even though I wasn't super into the story, I still flew through it. This is a super quick read!
Okay now the negatives.
1. I'm sorry, but I hate this cover. It had to be said.
2. It felt a bit repetitive. The main character thinks about the same things but in different metaphors over and over again, which to be fair might be an intentional depiction of her mental state, but it still got exhausting.
3. Constant music references. I just don't like when characters listen to music and the author feels the need to name specific songs and artists. Sometimes it makes sense/works, but for the most part I say the less pop culture references the better. This book had a TON of celebrity name drops and none felt necessary.
4. No spoilers- I didn't really like the ending. I found it annoying actually. But again, this isn't really my thing. These types of stories never feel truly satisfying to me. And I'm not sure what the reader was really supposed to take from this story.
5. Partial Spoilers(kind of?)- I'm also not sure how the reader is intended to feel about the romance. Sometimes it feels like the author is painting them as truly caring about each other, but other times it doesn't feel like that. Or maybe that's just MY take. It's obviously not a healthy relationship. But is that what the author is trying to tell us? I'm not really sure.
Overall, this is a slow burn story which focuses more on build up and the relationship between the two main girls more than anything else. The thriller part of is really only the last 15% of the book. I didn't mind this and think it actually added to it being an easier read for me. But if you're looking for nonstop thrills, this isn't it.
March 3, 2023
FULL REVIEW to follow
May 29, 2023
SPOILER ALERT: PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK
I would just like to start by saying: THIS BOOK IS NOT A MURDER MYSTERY
I am very upset about this book because it’s cover and synopsis made it sound like the perfect murder mystery. I paid 12 dollars for this book that is extremely falsely advertised.
1st - Madison Frank goes missing in the last thirty pages of the book.
2nd - There is a whole elaborate lead up to it being exactly who everyone suspected the entire time. I personally think it would have been better if it turned out to be Greer because she wanted Tillie to know what it feels like to have you gf die.
3rd - They literally just kill the kidnapper and there are no apparent consequences! It’s like “oh no, we’ve been kidnapped by a psych rapist with a gun, oh well let’s just stab him with this screw driver and then throw him in the lake. All our problems are solved!”
4th - It is SO BORRRING. I could have tolerated this book if it had a good romance plot between Tillie and Madison - or any interesting story plot really but it’s 200 pages of boring-ness leading up to one of the shortest climaxes I have ever read.
I would just like to start by saying: THIS BOOK IS NOT A MURDER MYSTERY
I am very upset about this book because it’s cover and synopsis made it sound like the perfect murder mystery. I paid 12 dollars for this book that is extremely falsely advertised.
1st - Madison Frank goes missing in the last thirty pages of the book.
2nd - There is a whole elaborate lead up to it being exactly who everyone suspected the entire time. I personally think it would have been better if it turned out to be Greer because she wanted Tillie to know what it feels like to have you gf die.
3rd - They literally just kill the kidnapper and there are no apparent consequences! It’s like “oh no, we’ve been kidnapped by a psych rapist with a gun, oh well let’s just stab him with this screw driver and then throw him in the lake. All our problems are solved!”
4th - It is SO BORRRING. I could have tolerated this book if it had a good romance plot between Tillie and Madison - or any interesting story plot really but it’s 200 pages of boring-ness leading up to one of the shortest climaxes I have ever read.
February 14, 2023
4 stars
Definitely a good and quick read!
I wish there was more to the end. Definitely left out a lot at the end but i really enjoyed this book. Lover with secrets. Would recommend to someone to is looking for a fast read
Definitely a good and quick read!
I wish there was more to the end. Definitely left out a lot at the end but i really enjoyed this book. Lover with secrets. Would recommend to someone to is looking for a fast read
August 19, 2024
Lets be clear on one thing, this is NOT a murder mystery.
If anything it’s a love story with a side note of mystery, which is a teensy tiny bit murderous, and when the two angsty ‘everyone hates us’ teenagers finally get their revenge we don’t properly know what happened?
Although I did enjoy it I think it either needed to be longer or there needs to be a sequel, there was too many subplots and side stories with no explanations and we never actually understood the characters and their ’big dark secrets.
There was also WAY too many pop-culture references.
If anything it’s a love story with a side note of mystery, which is a teensy tiny bit murderous, and when the two angsty ‘everyone hates us’ teenagers finally get their revenge we don’t properly know what happened?
Although I did enjoy it I think it either needed to be longer or there needs to be a sequel, there was too many subplots and side stories with no explanations and we never actually understood the characters and their ’big dark secrets.
There was also WAY too many pop-culture references.
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