Review Detail

THAT WEEKEND is an absolutely stunning, shocking, and riveting YA thriller read. The book begins with Claire breaking up with her cheating boyfriend, and her rescue by her best friend, Kat, and Kat's boyfriend and Claire's long-term crush, Jesse. Although Claire was supposed to join the two with her boyfriend for a camping trip after Prom, she ends up forgoing prom and heads up the mountain with them. She remembers that night, but when she is found stumbling down the mountain with a head injury and covered in blood, she does not remember anything that happened during the next couple days.

As she tries to piece together her memory from that weekend, she fears for what happened to Kat and Jesse - they have not been found. As time moves away from the last time she saw them, fears for their fate increase. With lots of twists and unexpected reveals, this book was absolutely unputdownable.

What I loved: This was a gripping read, and I had to know what would happen next. I found it impossible to predict, and the unreliable narrator of Kat, who desperately wants to remember but cannot, made it all the more unexpected and hard to guess at what would be discovered next. Ultimately, this was a satisfying read, and I loved all the shocking reveals along the way.

The characters were quite compelling, even if often unlikable. Although they seemed like great friends at the start, the reveals along the way change those impressions, and it's anyone's guess as to what really happened on the mountain that weekend. Themes around abuse, the power of wealth, and little twists of fate made it quite intriguing.

Final verdict: Shocking and riveting, THAT WEEKEND is a YA thriller that will keep readers on their toes. Recommend for fans of THEY WISH THEY WERE US, SADIE, ONE OF US IS LYING, and THE COUSINS.