Missing Clarissa

this was a solid ya mystery thriller, not as good as gggtm but not bad either. i really loved the audiobook, it made the experience better. one thing that really annoyed me is all the race/prison/feminism commentary being so heavy handed as if the author copy pasted a fragment from wikipedia and put it randomly into a dialogue between two teenagers. but other than that it was fine + bonus points for lesbians :)

I just finished reading missing clarissa by Ripley Jones and here is my review.

Over 20 years after cheerleader Clarissa Campbell went missing, the absence is still felt in the small town of Oreville. She vanished without a trace after a party. No one was ever charged with a crime.

For a journalism class, Blair and Cameron decide to create a podcast on the missing girl.
At first it seems harmless. Talking to people who knew her and digging into little nuggets of information they are gathering. That is until someone tries to run the 2 off the road.

Fear doesn't stop the girls from continuing with their investigation. A jealous best friend, a violent boyfriend, an overly friendly art teacher, a dorky friend and an investigator who suddenly becomes sheriff all have their secrets to hide. Even Cam's mom is hiding something.

What are they all hiding and will the girls find out what it is before it's too late?

As far as YA books go, this one was really good! Better than most in my opinion. The plot was actually very clever and fun. I crushed the whole book in a couple of hours. The writing was amazing and the character development of the two girls was well structured and realistic. I find a lot of YA novels have a problem with realism but this one nailed it.

The ending was a clever plot twist and I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

4.5 stars! Loved the LGBTQ rep in here as well. Wasn't over done either. So much skill in this book!

Available now so grab your copy today!

Thank you to @wednesdaybooks @stmartinspress @netgalley for my ebook and physical arc!

I usually enjoy YA Thrillers as for adults they are like the cozy mysteries of the genre. They are usually fast reads too.

Missing Clarissa was overall engaging and fun to read, but at times I felt a little too long-winded and overly descriptive. It seemed to jump all over the place too, but that could easily be attributed to the teens attempting to solve a cold case.

I would still recommend this for fans of YA Thrillers and podcast style formats. I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.