This is a very hard hitting YA story, it feels so real. I like the way the author combined both social commentary with the mystery and thriller aspect and thought both was done so well

After Jo is ousted by her friends due to a scandal, her world takes a turn for the worse. But when her ex-best friend Maddy goes missing, Jo is convinced there’s more to the story and needs to get back in with her old crew to figure it out. The catch? She has to pretend to date her ex, Hudson, who has his own reasons for playing along. Though the pacing sped up toward the end, the story still delivered an engaging plot. As a teen, this would have left a lasting impression, and I’m glad I found it.

This is a great read
I really like main character Jo. She is smart and witty. And despite her tenacity and snark she lacks self-confidence.
Jo is struggling at school and lacking direction.
The disappearance of her friend Maddie refocuses her. She is determined to uncover the truth. Along the way she discovers so much about herself and deals with some unresolved traumas from her own past and she forms some unlikely friendships.
There's a lot more to this book that just another YA thriller - I really enjoyed it.

A great book for this season. It's thrilling, well written and also romantic. Jo is a great character. She's smart, she grows up with the book.
The book is easy to read, fast paced and addictive.

Pacing was definitely off and inconsistent throughout this book. There were some sections where I would fly through chapters and it had all the elements of a perfect YA Thriller, but there were also chunks where I genuinely considered stopping and discarding my read. The author clearly has the talent for YA thriller, but plot, premise and character development needs more priority.

(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

I am divided on how I feel about this book cause it had some great parts but also some not so great parts.

For example, the pacing was a little off throughout the book. Some chapters flew by and i found it hard to understand what was going on or how the characters got from one place to the next but other chapters were a little slow and repetitive. As for the plot, it wasn’t really a mystery like it is advertised as. There is very little mystery solving and the whole mystery plot was a little wild and tangled and I forgot who was who and who did what to which person, it just got a bit confusing. But the other part of the book, the coming-of-age, self-acceptance story was really good. But I think the two plots just didn’t really work well together and that the whole mystery part probably wasn’t needed.

I really did like the writing though and the author does a great job at getting you to connect to the main character Jo so that even when everything was going bad or she was acting annoying, you couldn’t help but care for her. The other thing with the main character and even the side characters is they weren’t perfect, which I actually really liked. They had flaws and made silly decisions but it made them feel real and human.

Overall, this book definitely had its good moments and the characters were really well written, but the mystery aspect wasn’t developed well and I think if the plot had focused more on the coming-of-age aspect, it would have been better.

This was incredible - I devoured this book. Really fantastic premise - Jo is a bit of an outcast due to some events the previous year, which are developed throughout the story. She has some friends, but they're not as they seem. Her family are caring but not in the ways she needs. The plot was so well paced and developed, and I loved Jo's character and moments of vulnerability. Really fantastic book, and I can't wait to read more by Meredeith Adamo. Brilliant!

Following Jo, a social outcast trying to find out what has happened to her missing ex-best friend Maddy, Not Like Other Girls is a brilliant mystery that takes a deep look at female friendships and stereotypes.
I loved this book, Jo was a brilliant main character, a smart girl who has been let down by everybody in her life who was supposed to protect her. It's such a good representation on how friendships between girls can change as teenagers, and how girls rarely ever believed over boys. So much of the conflict in this book comes from Jo beings manipulated and lied about by her male friends and the men in her life, and never believed or support by the women. I love Jos journey over the book, from believing that she'd 'betrayed' her best friend to realising that she was actually a victim was devastating to read but so cathartic by the end.

Oh wow. I had chills and tears in my eyes at the end, and then I read the authors note. This book is so needed. Going into it, I didn't know it focused so much on SA and how girls are treated (It'd been a while since I read what it was about) but it was done so well and the character developments were perfect. The mystery itself was great and had me second (sometimes third and fourth) guessing everyone. And then Hudson, where do I start with Hudson? I loved him. And even with him, I didn't know if I should trust him or like him half of the time, but I enjoyed every minute. I'm really grateful to the publishers for letting me read this book early, and I can't wait to see what this author does next!

A razor sharp mystery with a complex MC which also deals with difficult themes of sexual assault. Perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and One of Us is Lying.

Superb book, really, really worth reading. It draws you in, and once between the books covers doesn’t it let you go. There is a good story here, but also more. If pick this up as a simple ‘what happened in high school’ story you may be surprised at the story portrayed. Meredith Adamo has done a brilliant job presenting her writing art, and in part life, to the reader. This is a book for all, but especially for those that need it. In so many ways true, being brave, finding the strength to speak out, fight back. Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I think the overall enjoyment factor from this book will depend on what you go in looking for. It certainly has its twists and turns, but it's not the most original or dramatic of thrillers. On the other hand, as a contemporary novel offering an intriguing character exploration and some fun styling, it is a strong contender in the field. I will admit, however, that from either approach it does have some stodgy pacing moments, and sometimes the quirky style is put above content and finesse.

NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLSS is a thriller that also explored sexual assault and the heartbreak of falling out with your best friend.

This book is part thriller and part contemporary. The plot threads around Jo's relationships and assault didn't feel simply like sub plots of a thriller but that they could have been a book by themselves. The book therefore felt like it could have been shelved either way which I was glad about because I do really want a mystery in a book pitched as a thriller.

The assault is not linked to the mystery, which I think is partly why the book felt like it was half contemporary, half thriller. It is tangled up in Jo's feelings towards Maddie, which makes the mystery harder for Jo to approach but also makes her want to look into it. I liked that the disappearance and Jo's assault weren't linked because I think it gave the assault more space to be explored and for Jo to process it, rather than being seconded to something else.

The mystery itself is very twisty. There are so many layers to it, who exactly is involved and why. In effect there are two separate pieces, only linked by Maddie, which makes it much harder to unravel. I did like how it all wrapped up, weaving the strands together into a desperate act to protect all the lies.

The book also looks at who gets believed and blamed, particularly when it comes to cases of revenge porn and sexual assault. The epilogue balances the unfortunate reality with Jo getting a win too in a way that's satisfying but doesn't gloss over common injustices and press bias.

If you go into this book looking for a true mystery thriller this is not what you will get and quite possibly will be disappointed, however if you come to this book knowing what it really is about is following the story of a girl who has been wronged and let down by everyone in their life with the setting of a missing ex best friend where the real mystery isn’t the actual missing girl but of watching the story of Jo unravel her own history and the truths behind it starting from her fall from grace after her nudes are leaked by someone she thought was a friend. This story is a beautiful understanding of what it is like to be the victim and the isolation that comes along with it whether you have experienced things similar like revenge porn and grooming or you have experience with that feeling of being the victim like I do you will be able to relate to this book and know exactly what it feels like to be that person always forgotten. This book has such a powerful and profound message that everyone should read, is it the best written book? No, is it an impactful one? Yes, everyone has a story to tell and Jo’s is one you won’t forget.

This book has multiple layers of narrative: it delves into Maddie's disappearance, alongside themes of academic dishonesty, high school social dynamics, and Jo's isolation from both her peers and adults. Despite the initially slow start, the pace escalates rapidly towards a compelling conclusion. As a YA thriller, it tackles weighty subjects such as sexual assault, self-esteem, peer influence, and societal attitudes towards women and girls. Overall, it offers a solid reading experience.

How can I even begin to discuss how much I adored 'Not Like Other Girls'?!

Set in a secondary school - like all the greatest YA novels - the book follows our protagonist Jo and the struggles she faces in the school that once embraced her with the widest open arms and now labels and rebuffs her. She's a gorgeously-written character to follow, and I related to her so, so much. Fans of Sam from 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' will likely have the same feeling of connection and sadness when reading Jo's narration that I had, but will surely be rooting for her every bit as much as I did too.

There is a fake-dating to real-lovers side plot, that I'm sure will please any fans of that trope. Though, as someone who doesn't particularly care for the heterosexual romance, it wasn't a particular highlight of the text for me. With that being said, however, I admire how much Meredith Adamo had me supporting the couple and wishing the best for them. Similarly, I think it added valuable layers to the plotline and gave Jo some fabulous moments of growth and happiness.

Also present is a mystery plot, as the whole school scrambles to figure out what happened to Jo's former bestie Maddie, which is unpredictable and fun, even if the highlight of the whole text remains the more intimate journey of Jo discovering how she really feels and finding her own happiness again.

This is the only book that made me feel as seen, as heard or as comforted as 'TPOBAW' (which has been my favourite book since I was 12 - so that is saying a LOT!) and so I have no qualms about its five star rating or recommending it to everybody. It made me smile and it made me cry and - perhaps most importantly - it let me feel some comfort and closure for my old teenage self.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

This novel follows Jo, who is an outcast at her school, after her nudes were leaked. She’s completely ostracised until her old friend Maddies bumps into her, all upset. She asks to meet Jo after her school, but then doesn’t appear…soon after Maddie disappears and Jo finds herself trying to find the answers.
This was a decent YA thriller but the writing style didn’t grip and felt more style than substance at times.

When I read the description of this book, I thought it was just a book about a teen finding her missing best friend, but this books is so much more than that. I stayed up till 3 am to finish this book and it did not disappoint it made me feel so many different emotions all at once, It had me at the edge of my seat.This book had me hooked right from the first chapter and had me guessing and when I thought I had the answer the author throws in a twist that completely had me second guessing. The pacing of this book was Amazing. The three words I would use to describe this book it would be Heart-wrenching, powerful and beautiful. There are themes in this book that are not usually brought to light in others which the author did really well writing them. I highly recommend this book to everyone especially if you are a fan of A good girls guide to murder. I cant wait for more from Meredith.

4 Stars !

*Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me this Arc in return for an honest review*

I loved the author's execution of this story, and I really loved Jo, the main character, and was rooting for her from the start.
It did feel a little draggy at time, but I still enjoyed the book a lot snd will surely read future releases by this author!