Title: Those Girls
Author: Chevy Stevens
Series: No Series
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: July 7th, 2015
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5)

The summary of Those Girls from Goodreads:

Chevy Stevens is back with her most powerful, emotional thriller yet— a story of survival…and revenge.

Life has never been easy for the three Campbell sisters. Jess, Courtney, and Dani live on a remote ranch in Western Canada where they work hard and try to stay out of the way of their father’s fists. One night, a fight gets out of hand and the sisters are forced to go on the run, only to get caught in an even worse nightmare when their truck breaks down in a small town. Events spiral out of control and a chance encounter with the wrong people leaves them in a horrific and desperate situation. They are left with no choice but to change their names and create new lives.

Eighteen years later, they are still trying to forget what happened that summer when one of the sisters goes missing and they are pulled back into their past.

This time there’s nowhere left to run.

As much of a thriller as it is a deep exploration of the bonds among sisters, THOSE GIRLS is an unforgettable portrait of desperation, loyalty, and evil.

I have a sister I’d do anything for. That’s the first thing that made me want to read this book. A story about sisters and how they stick together through through anything. I know what I would do for my sister, to keep her happy and safe. I wanted to read the story of these sisters because of that bond.

The Good:

I loved the relationship between the sisters. They know where they come from, they know what they each have been through. They’ve all sacrificed, but they’d do it again and again for their sisters. That bond is absolutely breathtaking in its strength.

I think it could have been easy for the sisters to be divided over the events of the book. They weren’t in easy situations and stress can affect people in different and drastic ways. However, instead of letting the events push them apart, it only pulled them closer. They understood that no one else would understand how they got to that point in life and that they needed to rely on each other for support.

I also liked how that it was never entirely the girls against the world. It’s true they originally only had each other, but they eventually had support from others. They could have taken the people that hurt them as representatives of humanity, yet they were still able to trust in people and let others help when they could. They are still guarded, but they aren’t alone.

I enjoyed how the story it told from different perspectives. The first part is told from Dani’s point of view and it shows how the sisters got from living in a house by themselves, trying to make an honest living while trying to stay out of their father’s way to living on the run and under assumed names. The second part of the book is told mostly from Skylar’s point of view and shows how the past has affected Dani, Courtney, and Jess. Skylar doesn’t know their history and so her perspective on the sisters shows how they have altered their life based on the events in their past. She doesn’t understand why they act and think like they do, although she wants to. The dual perspectives provides a great insight into the internal struggles of the sisters and how that affects them outwardly.

The Bad:

Even though I understand the early circumstances were necessary, there were times I wanted to yell at the girls to stop and think for a minute. I know they were panicked and afraid (and thinking would have created an entirely different story), but I just felt a little too frustrated with the characters in the beginning to get wrapped up in the novel immediately. It took a little bit of time to connect.

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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced manuscript copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.