Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: March 14, 2023
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Thrillers & Suspense / Crime
Mindy McGinnis' A Long Stretch of Bad Days delivers a thrilling and gripping YA mystery about two teen girls who start a podcast investigating an infamous series of events from their small town’s past, setting in motion an unraveling of secrets that someone will stop at nothing to keep buried. 18-year-old Lydia Chass doesn’t mind living in a small town; she just doesn’t want to die in one. A lifetime of hard work has put her on track to attend a prestigious journalism program and leave Henley behind; until a school error leaves her a credit short of graduating.
Undeterred, Lydia has a plan to earn that credit: transform her listener-friendly local history podcast into a hard-hitting, truth-telling exposé. She’ll investigate the Long Stretch of Bad Days; a week when Henley was hit by a tornado and a flash flood as well as its first—and only—murder, which remains unsolved. But Lydia needs help to bring grit to the show. Bristal Jamison has a bad reputation and a foul mouth, but she also needs a credit to graduate.
The unexpected partnership brings together the Chass family—a pillar in the community—and the rough-and-tumble Jamison's, of whom Bristal hopes to be the first to graduate. Together, they dig into the town’s worst week, determined to solve the murder. Their investigation unearths buried secrets: a hidden brothel, lost family treasure, and a teen girl that disappeared. But the past is never far, and some don’t want it to see the light. As threats escalate, the girls have to uncover the truth before the dark history of Henley catches up with them.
I think the most important thing about this story is the relationship between Lydia and Bristal. Lydia is the schools valedictorian. She's an over achiever, competitive,
callous, and a member of Chase family who is the pillar of their small
community even though her father is a defense attorney for some shady people. After learning that her alcoholic guidance counselor might have cost her graduation, she sets out to prove that people in the flyover counties in the US are worthy of attention even if she has to make people remember what happened back in 1994.
Bristal Jamison lives in Ash trailer park, her family is infamous for being under aged pregnancy and involvement in misdemeanors, suffering from same faith with Lydia. She wants to be the first Jamison who achieved to graduate from high school. Truth be told, I think Bristal should have had parts of this story from her vantage point. She is funny, straight to the point, and takes garbage from nobody, not even Lydia or her friend Mackenzie. The best parts of the podcast where created by Bristal, while Lydia stirs up trouble.
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