rep: lesbian m/c, bi side characters

"The year is 1987 and the sleepy village of Sandown Bay is waking up . . ."

the things we don't see is a lyrical and poetic novel. Mona was chaotic, stubborn, & reckless but she made this book all the more enjoyable. Was it perfect? no, of course not, the story did lack in places but the emotion was all there and I really enjoyed it.

A clever and interesting story.

I liked the premise a lot - I am a big fan of podcasts that follow the thread of a story, especially ones that are oft-forgotten or less cared about. However, I didn't quite get into the setting or the cast of characters - I didn't understand why this small island needed a group of teenagers to come and do seasonal work when it seemed like the only people there were the inhabitants and the "seasonals" - I couldn't get a sense of the place very well. Similarly, that there is a forest that is unexplored or difficult to navigate on this tourist island - I just don't buy it.

I liked how Mona's trauma was explored alongside the trauma of the island, and how the story developed in that sense. But overall, I found this book a little too convoluted and complex. Good premise, almost executed well.

The Things We Don't See is an absolutely intriguing mystery that draws you in and keeps you turning the pages as you try and figure it out. It's well-paced and has characters that make you invest in them and see what happens to them.

Wasn’t a bad book, I just found it a little hard to follow at times, sometimes felt like the story wasn’t fully explained or something was missing, never the less was an ok read.

I picked this book up because I found the previous work by the author interesting. This had me expecting something from the book that I did not arrive.
I may be starting my year with books I did not enjoy, but I gave them a fair shot, and they had things that would recommend them to others who have different tastes from me and deserve mention.
This particular book has a gorgeous cover and an ominous atmosphere that starts off from the very beginning. Our lead protagonist has found her way to a remote location to uncover a secret which the locals have suppressed for her podcast. She is a summer worker who has lied about her age and now is using her position to get information to put pieces together with a little help and a lot of push back from people around her.
The premise is something that I like, a cold case and secrets. I actually was more satisfied by the grisly turn of events in the present narrative than any of the contradictions and twists that formed the complete picture of the past.
Although the growth curve for most of the characters was exciting to watch, it did not make up for the letdown I felt for the way things were wrapped up overall. If there had been nothing to the past story and the sole twist was that in the present I would have actually liked the book much better!
The author is a good writer and can bring images to life with few words, and I would read another book by her if I liked the blurb. The previous work was more unique, and the weirdness was something I enjoyed and probably expected more of that here.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Having really enjoyed Savannah Brown's debut novel, The Truth About Keeping Secrets, I had high hopes for The Things We Don't See. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy it. I found it quite disappointing, both the conclusion to the story, and the reason for Mona's obsession with solving Roxy's disappearance. I wanted to know what happened to Roxy, but the reveal was an anti-climax. And I just couldn't get my head around Mona's logic behind solving what happened to Roxy, and what that would mean for her and her personal life. This one just wasn't for me, sadly.

Having loved Brown's debut YA thriller, The Truth About Keeping Secrets, her follow-up novel The Things We Don't See was one of my most anticipated books of 2021. I think as a category, YA thrillers can be challenging to get right. They can sometimes lean into the YA drama too much, or be limited by their young protagonists, or they can become too far-fetched for my imagination. However, Brown masters that balance and her talents of suspenseful writing are endless.

The Things We Don't See has a 'true crime' vibe to it, as the protagonist Mona has her own podcast and is investigating the disappearance of a young woman, perhaps as a way of processing her own missing sibling. While the characters in this novel weren't as fleshed out as I'd have liked, I found them easy to follow and side with. Mona's psychological state and mindset was fascinating and her manipulation of those around her was cleverly written.

As expected, the plot kept me interested and had the right number of surprises and twists. The summer camp setting kept this story isolated and creepy. However, I did find that the pacing was sometimes a little slow and I didn't read this as fast as I thought I would because I put it down quite a few times.

Nonetheless, this was a thoroughly enjoyable book and I would definitely read from Brown again. It's great for fans of Holly Jackson, who want a summer mystery.

Ever since I finished reading Savannah Brown’s debut novel, The Truth About Keeping Secrets, I was looking forward to seeing what Savannah would write next. So, of course I had to give The Things We Don’t See a read as soon as I could. Once again, Savannah has written a mysterious, lyrical and twisty novel which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Just like with her previous novel, I went into this book thinking it was going to be a simple thriller/mystery novel but I should have known better given this is a Savannah Brown book. Yes, it is an excellently plotted novel that has a mystery weaved throughout. But, it also deals with so many other things, shows how people can grow and learn to be who they are meant to be a whole lot more. It is wonderful.

I loved the characters in this book. The main character Mona, has a lot of secrets that she is hiding about her own past and this is shown in her often prickly demeanour. It was lovely to watch her ‘come out of her shell’ and get to know herself and the people on the island. This book has a whole host of interesting characters as well. These very from the ‘seasonals’ on island to the residents of Sandown who are incredibly secretive. Every one of the characters is well-rounded, felt real and had complex issues of their own. This made the relationships between them all interesting and messy, in an excellent way!

The mystery throughout this book kept me hooked and I felt as though I was a listener of Mona’s podcast trying to find out the answers with her. The mystery of Roxy Raines is one that I will not be forgetting soon because it was outstanding!

Savannah Brown’s writing is lyrical, beautiful and extremely captivating. If you have not read a book by Savannah yet, then you are missing out! I cannot wait to see what Savannah writes next.

Overall, The Things We Don’t See is a mysterious, twisty and lyrical book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a mystery book that they can fly through!

The Things We Don't See is a compulsive young adult mystery that can be enjoyed by all ages. The year is 1987 and the sleepy village of Sandown Bay is waking up. To its residents, Sandown is home - a tiny village holiday resort in the western United States. To everyone else, it's a minuscule island, that brings tourists in summer and not a lot else the rest of the time. To Mona Perry, it's a mystery. Thirty-four years ago, promising singer and Sandown resident Roxy Raines went missing and was never found. The people of the island are still reluctant to talk about it, claiming Roxy was simply a runaway, but the evidence doesn't quite add up. Mona is convinced something else is going on.

Armed only with a suitcase and a microphone - to record her findings for the general public - this runaway teenager is determined to get to the bottom of the disappearance. But as Mona gets drawn deeper and deeper into the strange goings-on of this isolated community, it is clear that nothing is as it seems - not even Mona's own past. Some things are meant to disappear. This is a compelling and absorbing mystery that is difficult to put down with a fast-paced narrative, beautiful prose and fascinating characters. It's fresh and propulsive and explores loss, its effect on those who experience it and the difficulty in moving on from trauma and devastation. Highly recommended.

The Things We Don’t See is a twisted little tale, gorgeously woven together by Brown’s glitteringly ambiguous prose. This is a story enveloped in smoke and secrets, with the fog of the past obscuring the events of the present.

Mona is such a compelling main character. I loved getting to delve inside her head, even though it was often a dark place to tread. She’s a sarcastic, spikey person who has deliberately isolated herself from the world, but through the story she allows certain people to get to see a little bit of her true self. While the central mystery is a key plot driver, this is also undeniably her story. Mona’s narrative is one shrouded in mist and as a reader, you can’t help but want to uncover her truth. This leads to a nuanced and unsettling exploration of family, abuse and trauma. Mona’s past heavily influences her actions in the present and there’s a particular sequence near the end of the book that reveals the truth, which I absolutely adored. It invokes a lot of natural imagery, but also has this slightly surreal and psychologically disturbing feel to it. Brown includes plenty of subtle references that suddenly take on a whole different context in that moment and we finally realise Mona’s connection to the case. Her underlying motivations for investigating are fascinating and contribute to her sometimes unreliable nature as a narrator.

Beyond Mona, the mystery of what happened all those years ago to Roxy is a gripping story. It is a little bit quieter, allowing for the atmosphere to build around you even more. That being said, there are plenty of amazing twists and turns in store. This is a complex story, with plenty of juicy little details slowly building together a complete picture. The story is tinged with grief and the aftershocks of traumatic events. This seems to feed into the very fabric of Sandown. I absolutely loved this setting, as it felt so hostile and claustrophobic. This is a tight knit small town, with plenty of secrets lurking under its surfaces. That physical isolation and socially menacing tone undercuts every piece of the action, amping up the tension even more and creating this thick atmosphere that hums with suspense. As a reader, you can almost taste the oncoming storm.

The Things We Don’t See is an introspective mystery that wonderfully plays on its complex protagonist and rich setting. This is a darker tale of trauma, family and the secrets we may wish had stayed buried.

This book had the strange ability to be everything and nothing, everywhere and nowhere. It starts as a well formed thing, and slowly deteroriates before our eyes as Mona’s own mental health starts to crumble. She becomes more obsessive, and as she does so, the text becomes more obscure, words and phrases catching onto nothing as they drift through the page.

The concept of the book sounds simple enough, but some mysteries don’t want to be solved. It was what I can only imagine to be a realistic scenario; a strange girl turns up and starts asking questions from thirty years ago. Instead of the flood of answers we find in some mystery novels, these have to be prised open like oysterys, searching for pearls within the shells.

Mona’s first day on the island prepares her in some ways for what lies ahead, but in others is a complete opposite of what she’s going to find, and this strange contrast makes for all the more impact as the book continues to throw information together in a twisting way. She becomes close with Ellis, a younger teenager, who she feels automatically protective of, and develops feelings for her roommate Peyton. All of this, however, becomes background noise towards the later part of the book as she searches for answers without considering – or caring about – concequences.

I found the writing style to be intriguing, and certainly clever, but it did become confusing when listening via audiobook because of how disconnected things became. I had to return the audio and stick to the paperback about halfway through because it was so disjointed, and so while it was an entertaining read, it wasn’t the most accessible of books. I do appreciate what the author was trying to achieve, however.

The book opens as Mona, a runaway, is waiting for a ferry. She’s catching the next ride to Sandown, a tiny village on an island where singer Roxy Raines disappeared without a trace 34 years ago. Mona is determined to find out what actually happened and tell the entire world, but it’s clear Sandown and its residents have secrets they don’t want digging up. 

The writing was honesty so beautiful, the best I’ve read in a while. Lyrical, honest and vulnerable, I could read the authors writing forever. However, I struggled with the plot and characters. I couldn’t get into the actual story and I think if it wasn’t for the stunning writing I’d have given up. 

I think maybe this just wasn’t for me, but that’s not to say other readers won’t love this book. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for a copy of this book to read and review.

Ever since I read her debut novel, "The Truth About Keeping Secrets", I knew that Savannah Brown was easily going to make her way onto my list of all time favorite authors. This novel only solidified this fact.
Brown has such a way with words that it is mesmerizing. Every single sentence took my breath away and transported me to a tiny town where nothing was as it seemed. Mona was such an incredible protagonist an the way Savannah Brown discussed grief in such a way that I couldn't help feeling choked up. I never wanted to put this book down, but when I had to, I was left counting down the minutes until I could start reading it again.
Overall, I recommend this book to everyone, but especially those who are fans of true crime!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

After reading Savannah Brown's debut novel The Truth About Keeping Secrets a few years ago and absolutely loving it, I was so excited to dive into this! I don't usually read YA mystery/thrillers (although the few I have read I have really enjoyed... so maybe I <b>should</b>) but I think fans of the Good Girls Guide to Murder series in particular will really enjoy this one.

The Things We Don't See follows Mona, know as CAP by the listeners of her true crime podcast, as she determines to solve the mystery of Roxy Raines- a promising singer that disappeared over 30 years ago and was never found.

Firstly, this was utterly unputdownable! I practically devoured this in one sitting. The central mystery of the novel was compelling: with the isolated island setting of Sandown, and the cold and aloof nature of it's inhabitants.

One of the key strengths of the story are its characters. Our protagonist Mona is harbouring secrets about her own past, is cagey and often prickly, but eventually forms bonds with others in the town. Mona's obsession with the town's greatest mystery often leads her to hurt others but it truly had me captivated. Then there is a whole host of other interesting characters too; from the secretive townsfolk to the 'seasonals'- young workers from the mainland the are shipped in to live and work there over the summer. Each of our characters felt real and complex, with their own flaws and quirks and the relationships between them were interesting and messy and explored so well.

Overall, a fantastically well written YA mystery with a gripping plot. I would recommend this for readers of adult and YA thrillers alike.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In 1986 up-and-coming singer Roxy Raines vanishes from her island home. Her beloved guitar is found washed up and a note is left in her car.

Skip to the present and Mona Perry is a Podcaster with an interest in disappearances. Mona’s decided she wants to try and solve what happened to Roxy. She’s got a summer job on the island of Sandown and begins to question the locals.

Mona is quite a complex character, at times unlikable however this is unsurprising given the insights into her childhood. She begins to grow over the time she spends in Sandown, developing a bond with local outcast Ellis.

At times it wasn’t the easiest read, the prose was slight clunky. I had really wanted to like this book as it had such an interesting story. I found the reveal a bit disappointing. It isn’t the first book I’d recommend to my students although it was interesting enough.

Sometimes, it's hard to trust what we see in front of us...and in the case of Mona, our narrator, she is determined not to accept at face value anything she is told. As CAP she broadcasts a regular podcast looking into the disappearances of people over time. This is - as we come to realise - a situation very close to her heart, but Mona becomes fascinated by the mysterious disappearance of singer/songwriter Roxy Raines.
Ever since her guitar was found washed up off the coast of Sandown, people have wondered what exactly happened to Roxy. Nobody in the small community wants to talk...so Roxy decides to take a three month sabbatical, spend the summer on the island and try to learn the truth.
Of course, nothing is what it seems.
Mona gets herself a reputation for being nosy and manages to alienate most of the small community. Her dogged determination draws in some of those she encounters, and of course I spent most of the book trying to work out what had happened to Roxy.
For me, the situation surrounding Mona and her past was actually more engaging. We got some answers, but it was hard to tell to what extent we could trust Mona's recollections. Things built to a head more rapidly than I expected, and I was left with rather more questions than I was prepared for.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance of publication.

'The Things We Don't See' was a pretty standard YA mystery thriller, but I doubt it will be one that I will think about all the time in the future.

I was really excited for this book prior to reading it, as the premise is one that really intrigued me and I love reading novels about people trying to solve unsolved cases, but half way through I found myself rather bored of the story and just wanting to finish it.

However, I really liked the main character, Mona, and I enjoyed her character development and seeing her grow and change throughout the story as she tried to solve the mystery and developed new relationships along the way.

I feel like the ending of this story was good. I enjoyed the plot twists throughout and the conclusion was pretty satisfactory and made sense with the overall story. I did enjoy the writing and found it very easy to read, however I could never get fully invested in the story and found it to drag a little in the middle to the point where I was not enjoying reading the book. Despite this, I do think it is a good young adult mystery thriller and I am sure a lot of people will enjoy this book more than I did.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Children's UK for providing me with an advance copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

(Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for a eARC in exchange for a honest review)

The best thing about The Things We Don't See are its characters. They are all so real and raw and were an integral part of this book. This includes both the main character, Mona, as well as the islands residents who seem so set on making sure Mona never discovers what happened. I love mysteries that occur in these small, close knitted communities as everyone keeps each others secrets and it provides so many layers to the story. As for the mystery itself, I loved all the twists and turns and dead ends and found myself really invested in figuring out what happened. I won't spoil anything about the ending but I will say that is was really, really good. There were certain parts that I figured out early on but the majority I did not see coming at all.

My only flaws with this book was how some parts happened very very quickly and it kinda jumped around a little in places. Despite this though, it was still easy to follow along and I never found myself getting confused. The other thing I think could have been improved on was the whole podcast aspect of this book. Mona has a podcast on which she talks about strange missing person cases which is why she went to Sandown in the first place, to investigate a disappearance for her podcast. Near the beginning there were inserts from the episodes she was writing based on the current mystery and I think that these should have been continued throughout as it would have helped enhance the story.

Overall, The Things We Don't See is a really well written and interesting mystery featuring flawed but real characters and I would definitely recommend you read it.

4.5 stars
I really really loved this. An intriguing mystery on a remote island, with a complicated main character who is a WLW but it's not super relevant to the story, she just is. Amazing. It all fit into place perfectly.

2.75 stars.
I was curious when I received an ARC of this book because I ended up DNFing Savannah's other book <i>The Truth About Keeping Secrets.</I> However, this book was miles better than the other one of hers I tried to read and I will say, I think the beginning was a lot better than the ending. I overall have mixed feelings about this book and I guess it's better to explain them...

Mona, first of all, was a really unlikeable character. Although I didn't hate this for the story, it made some of her decisions seem ridiculous and to be honest, stupid and what grated me most was that she was honestly horrible to almost everyone she met besides Ellis - wait, is that even his name, lol? There was no reason for it and she honestly would have been the type of girl I'd hate if she was real.
In terms of the mystery of Roxy, I did find it a bit eye-rolling. I couldn't understand for the life of me first of all why Mona was so intent on figuring out what happened. I'm not saying Roxy didn't deserve to be found but she seemed just as unlikable as Mona did so maybe she related to her. I don't know. I found the whole small-town hides secrets thing very overdone and in this case, there didn't really feel like there was any reason for it. Once we finally got to know what actually happened, I felt a bit let down, as if I'd climbed a mountain only to get a shitty view on the top.
However, I did like the podcast aspect and anything that involves a different form of media - especially in mystery/thrillers - always enhances the story for me. I think the podcast transcripts could have been included more as we got some snippets initially but those seemed to completely disappear at around 40%. Sorry, where have you gone? That was honestly one of the better bits of the book.
I do like Savannah's writing and her use of diversity with her characters. I also liked how this book wasn't romance based and was solely focused on the mystery. I will say, Mona's own battles were predictable, but the reveal for this was done better than the reveal for the mystery the book was about.

This book is hard for me to review because it wasn't like I didn't find it enjoyable, it just fell flat in the places I expected more.

<i>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>