There wasn’t enough meat in this to warrant an entire book; I found myself wanting throughout.

It didn’t have anything thematically interesting to say to be literary fiction, and none of the class commentary was nuanced or subtle.

I could’ve looked past this if the book was entertaining, but the characters were one-dimensional, the chapters were redundant, the plot was forgettable, the twists were predictable, and the pacing wasn’t good enough to be a thriller.

This was such an interesting and intriguing novel to read, I enjoyed it very much. I could not put the novel down and finished it within a few days, which is good for me.

We meet Emily, young at only 16 but on trial for the murder of a family of 4. Whoa this book really knocked me for six and I ploughed my way through it.

The story is multi-layered and features what has happened in the past and how Emily is in the predicament that she is. The content of the novel covers some sensitive subjects and you really feel for the main character and see why she is the person she is.

Some of the characters in this novel are highly unlikeable but I did warm to Emily as young girl who has been through a lot.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kathleen Fine and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Man, what a story! It's been about a week since I finished it and I'm STILL thinking about it. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this one, but I was hooked after the first few chapters. I really liked the alternating timelines - each transition had just enough of a cliffhanger to keep me going without dragging things out or feeling repetitive. Maybe it was my Kindle version, but I do wish the chapter headings were more heavily bolded as there were times I became a bit confused as to what time period it was. I really loved Emily's character - I sympathized with her as well as cheered her on! Her relationship with Hannah was relatable as it can be hard to do the right thing when you want to fit in. That being said, I wanted more about her relationship with her old BFF. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending as it truly kept me guessing until the very end. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this author for more works in the future!

Before I dive into my review, I want to give some content warnings, this book has some tough scenes to read that involve inappropriate relationships, drugs, and alcohol. While I don't have kids this age in my house, I could see if you do that this may be difficult for you to read and I do have them in my life and this made me think twice about making sure that I and the other adults in their lives are aware of what they are doing and who with!

Emily Keller is sixteen years old and she did some things and some things were done to her and because of a sequence of events she finds herself in a courtroom with murder being spoken. The book bounces between her trial and going back in time to before the main event and up to it. Thankfully the book is clearly edited, so the reader knows when and where they are and can easily follow the timelines.

This was not an easy read and I had to stop a few moments to gather myself because I felt so much for Emily for the childhood and life that she was building and how hard it was with what she was given. Her childhood was so different from mine and I couldn't imagine trying to start life the way she did. I wish she had the opportunity for more attentive parents that could possibly have interjected and prevented her from so many of the events and it was hard to watch the dominos fall knowing that she would end up in a courtroom.

A hard, difficult read where when I finished I knew I needed to switch genres and read something completely different, but I was glad I read it. A debut novel that I would encourage to read, but with the content warnings given above. I hope Kathleen Fine has another idea up her sleeve, because the way she pulled this story together was so good and I would love to read another by her.

Trigger Warnings include: sexual abuse, rape and self harm and for that reason may not be for everyone.

Starts out slow, but give it five chapters and you will be hooked. Our main character Emily Keller is a teenager and known by society as “Keller the killer.” She is currently on trial for the murder of a family of four. The book jumps back and forth from the present where she is on trial to the past (days leading up to the murder).

It was definitely suspenseful and each chapter made it near impossible to put it down because you had to find out what happened next.

Emily’s on trial at 16 years old for the deaths of the Thomas family.

There’s more than meets the eye with this story because you have social class, high school politics, sexual abuse, neglect, substance abuse, and more.

Glimpsing into Emily’s thoughts through multiple timelines showcase the complexity of making a decision - one that could alter her life forever.

While I enjoyed the book, I do hope that the final version of the Kindle ebook improves readability as my copy had words without spaces, random line breaks, the authors name inserted throughout various pages, and overall formatting issues that made the book less readable.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

Emily Keller is on trial for the deaths of four family members, but what happened that night isn’t as straightforward as it may seem.

This was a very solid four star read for me. I flew through this one in just a few hours - from beginning to end, I found myself guessing and guessing what might happen.

There were some parts of the story that did seem a little obvious to me and some of the phrasing was strange (Nate & she rather than She & Nate), but overall, I could never have guessed exactly how this story would end.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Abuse, neglect, self-harm, addiction (narcotics & alcohol), rape.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

This book deals with serious subject matters and because of this it felt hard to keep reading. But I'm glad I did and I'd read more by the author

Kathleen Fine’s debut is about 16-year-old Emily Keller, or “Keller the Killer”, who is on trial for the manslaughter of a family of four. The book follows a dual-timeline structure, where one chapter follows the events leading up to the deaths of the Thomas family, and the next follows Emily’s trial in court. In the chapters prior to the trial, Emily is quite an unlikeable narrator; she is judgmental, jealous, and desperate for attention. These characteristics mean that when she starts a friendship with a popular girl, Hannah, Emily is willing to do pretty much anything to stay in Hannah’s favour; drinking, drugs, meeting up with older boys, going to parties, and being negligent babysitters. I really enjoyed the flipping between different timelines as it kept me engaged, and the short chapters meant that the pace was very fast-moving. I especially liked the courtroom chapters, as I felt they were done really well; they weren’t meanderingly dull but kept to the point and told us exactly what we needed to know.

Emily’s unlikability and immaturity also begs the question of whether forgiveness and redemption are really possible, as Emily makes a lot of mistakes throughout the book - but were they enough to amount to murder?

This really reminds me of a cross between the hard-hitting content of Girl in Pieces (Kathleen Glasgow) and the suspenseful mystery elements of A Good Girl's Guide To Murder (Holly Jackson).

Content warnings: alcoholism, drug use, sa, sh, child neglect.

Girl on Trial by Kathleen Fine is written with a dual timeline, which can sometimes be tedious to read.

Trigger warning: This story is about substance abuse, cutting problems, and sexual abuse and assault.

I thought the characters were written well, and the story's beginning held my interest. However, the story slowed about halfway through and was hard to get through. I liked the scenes of the trial. The story does dive into peer pressure and how one decision can have a lasting ripple effect with dire consequences.

The story is thought-provoking, but it was just super slow in parts and hard to get through at times. I may check out more books by this author.

#GirlonTrial #NetGalley @booksgosocial

When starting this book, I didn't know quite what to expect. Girl on Trial? For what? This wasn't a fender bender, or a case of underage drinking. Within a couple of pages, I was completely sucked into the story, and invested in this character's future. The main character was well written, and easy to relate to, as we have all been through high school and understand wanting to have friends. It is a timeline jump book, so most chapters alternate, but they were very easy to follow and immediately picked up where it left off. If you have an issue reading books like this, I would STILL recommend this, as you could easily read the past chapters in order, and then go back and read the current happenings. Some of the secondary characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, as they came across somewhat one dimensional, such as Nate, who is supportive, but doesn't add much to the plot itself. The twist and the way the information was slowly dripped to the reader make up for that small critique. I would love to see more by this author!!

Thank you Netgalley and Camcat Publishing for the ARC of Girl on Trial by Kathleen Fine. I really liked this book about Emily, a teenager, who is on trial for killing a family of 4, including 2 children. This story is about peer pressure, adults taking advantage of young girls, teen alcohol and drug use. The author did an amazing job telling Emily’s story. I look forward to reading more books by Kathleen Fine.

Hooked me from the start despite not being exactly what I thought it was. Emily was an incredibly developed and believable character who faced some raw things.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book! My reviewing & platforms information is linked in my profile.

Emily Keller is sixteen years old and lives with her often drunk mom and twin brother in a trailer park. She is a great student but she doesn’t have many friends. In an effort to become popular, she befriends a classmate who encourages her to engage in risky behaviors. Now Emily has been charged with manslaughter for the deaths of a family of four. Kathleen Fine uses multiple timelines to show what happened leading up to her arrest and during the trial. I couldn’t put this book down. The characters and situations were totally believable. Even the court testimony seemed like it could happen just as the author portrays it. Emily’s actions seemed typical for many high schoolers. There were even several unexpected twists. I highly recommend it. I thank NetGalley and CamCat books for giving me the chance to read this ARC and introducing me to this author.

ARC Review - Girl on Trial

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW - SA, SH, Substance abuse

WOW this book was an absolute amazing read.

The story follows teenager Emily as she faces her trial for the manslaughter of the Thomas family. Going between the trial (current) and the past to layout to the reader the events that occurred.

I read this book super quick and was absolutely hooked from the get go. I have not read any of Kathleen Fine’s work before but after reading Girl on Trial I definitely will seek out more.

There are a number of serious topics discussed in the duration of the book with these issues being discussed in a very open and raw manner. There were also trigger warnings at the start of the book and helpline contacts at the end which I feel a lot more authors should do.

The book brings in the question of if a good person does a bad thing does that make them a bad person, using tales Emily’s teenage endeavours including both alcohol and drug use to do so. As we hear of these we see the teenage naivety and the impact peer pressure can have during these years.

Overall I just could not put this book down and can’t recommend it highly enough! Be sure to read yourself when the book is published the 24th October 2023

Thank you @netgalley and @kathleenfineauthor for the opportunity to read this amazing book🥰❤️

I went into this book thinking it could be good, like interesting and thought provoking and such. And I finished this book like what did I just read.

I feel like this book deals with so important and serious topics, and it is not for YA, heck I felt like this book was just throwing around stuff like hey, drug addiction, alcohol problems and rape, let's put everything into it, oh a bit of manslaughter too. Like it was a lot and I feel like it was not executed well.

I absolutely loved this book. I was sad when it was over. I felt like I was really able to put myself in Emily's shoes. The struggles of wanting to fit in, to hide your upbringing and ultimately making decisions and choices that do not match who you are as a person in order to accomplish this.

Trigger warning for this book regarding SA.

For readers who enjoy Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus.

This was hard to read at times (due to the subject matter, not the prose) but I am glad that I did. A great, stressful Y.A. mystery/thriller.

4⭐️

i cannot express how much i loved this book. like this was actually so good????

the story follows the current and past events of emily, known as, “kellan the killer,” who is on trial for the murder of a family of 4. the book starts out going through the current events and each day of trial while jumping to the past dates leading up to her trial. emily comes from a tough background always feeling the need to fit in and is determined to make friends and be popular; then she meets hannah and everything starts taking a turn for the worse.

CAN WE JUST APPRECIATE THAT ENDING AND THE CONSTANT TWISTS AND TURNS???? like this book was so good it was baffling. i will be recommending this to anyone who loves a juicy thriller. i could not put this down for the life of me. this book goes into the dark side of broken family’s and mental health and i feel like it was portrayed so well. i found myself relating to emily so much throughout the story. i really appreciated how well this was written and how smoothly it flowed. the only reason i knocked it down a star was solely because it wasn’t an absolute favorite and i don’t like handing out 5 stars unless i’d sacrifice my life for a book.

⚠️TRIGGER WARNINGS INCLUDE SELF-HARM, ALCOHOLISM, RAPE, SEXUAL ASSULT⚠️

thank you netgalley, camcat books, and kathleen fine for a copy of the arc in exchange for an honest review!! <3