Three girls go into the woods, and only two of them return. Thus begins a small town mystery with horrific twists and turns, and a remarkable cast of characters.

The friendship between the three main characters is definitely one of my favourite parts of this book. Though they came together out of convenience and necessity, the love they share is wonderful and beautiful and it makes all of the tragedies they suffer all the more heart-wrenching.

In terms of horror, the growing sense of dread, of something being not quite right, is magnificent and the descriptions of bodies is breath-taking and frightening.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think it is perfect for readers of 'My Heart is a Chainsaw' and 'Meddling Kids'.

Kate, Rae and Donna are three friends who are sick of being stuck in their hometown of Little Hope wanting something exciting to happen for once, they go into the woods one day but only two of them return.
For the first half I was bordering on thinking I knew what was going to happen but I was so wrong. It was so far fetched I loved it. It reminded of the point horror books which I loved when I was younger. The extracts and fun facts were a great touch. Overall a great fun read!

Donna, Rae and Kat are 3 teenage girls who all desire to leave Little Hope a small isolated town in the USA, they feel stifled by their lives and so push the boundaries of their lives. They find their lives irreparably changed when they secretly follow a man (who has been jailed for the murder of his parents) to a small cave in the woods. Three enter the cave but only 2 return and the town has plenty of questions that will go unanswered.

Teen friendship and loyalty is at the heart of this book, perfect for those who love Stranger Things. I must admit I felt the ending was slightly off but overall an entertaining read.

Girls of Little Hope is a horror novel about three teenage friends in small town America who find more than they bargained when they explored a hidden nearby cave. It is the 90s and Donna, Rae, and Kat are fed up of their hometown of Little Hope, California. When they explore a mysterious cave as part of a bid to have something cool to write about in the zine they're selling at school, however, only two of them come back: Donna can't remember anything and Rae wants to hide whatever it was that happened. What happened to them might make all the difference for Little Hope.

The book is told by following Donna, Rae, and Kat's mother Marybeth, as well as excerpts from Kat's diary and some "found" documents, but the layers of perspective don't make it confusing. The early part of the book is slower and you can't really tell where on earth it is going to go, but once it hits around the halfway mark, the real horror elements become much more apparent. There's a focus on the characters in the book: particularly the three main teenage girls, but also their relationships with their families and the ways in which they need each other and their differences.

There are some real issues delved into (it is worth being aware before reading that the book feature/talk about self harm quite a bit), particularly with Rae who has a strict Christian family and cannot rebel or know herself in the same ways that Donna and Kat do. Because it's a horror book, a lot of these elements don't really get to go anywhere by the end (with the except of Kat's story) because character has to turn to the plot, which is particularly a shame in the case of Rae who by the end really needs a bit more space for all of the stuff that has happened to her to be addressed.

Throughout the book, teenage friendships are shown as vital, and this all comes together with the conclusion, which is a neat way of making a horror story about friendships end by reiterating this. As the pun in the title suggests, the three main characters are the weird girls, who've come together and bonded through this, and a horror story is a fun way to explore this, seeing as lot of weird teenagers really get into horror books and films as well. Girls of Little Hope is a fun horror book set in the 90s that's perfect if you used to read 90s Point Horror books as a teenager and want something that feels a bit like that but with a much more complex and interesting plot.

3.5 stars

In 1990s small town America, three teenagers disappear in the woods and only two are found again. Donna and Rae are determined to find Kat and unravel what exactly happened to them while they were gone. With fun mixed media elements inserted between the chapters, this was a wildly creative story about friendship and growing up, and that there is more in the woods than you could ever imagine. Perfect for fans of The Twilight Zone.

I received this arc for free from netgalley in exchange for a review.