We Were Warned coming March 4th, 2025 from Sourcebooks Fire; 368 pages
Content Warning: Murder, suicide, violence, blood, death of a parent, death of a child
About the Author: “Chelsea Ichaso writes twisty thrillers for young adults, including Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets, They’re Watching You, and The Summer She Went Missing. She is also the author of the adult thriller So I Lied. A former high school English teacher, Chelsea currently resides in Southern California with her husband and children. She likes to think she plays guitar and would succeed on a survival television show, though neither is true” (Bio from author’s website).
Find Chelsea Ichaso on the following platforms:
Over twenty years ago, the Blackmore matriarch murdered her son in a chilling case that rocked the town of Fairpoint. Now, the Blackmore curse hangs like a spectre over the town, condemning anyone who steps on the property to death. Since the first murder, two more women have died at the Blackmore mansion, and fear of the “curse” is reignited when another high school student is murdered. Eden Stafford, a high school senior turned social pariah after her father was the subject of a townwide scandal, is thrust into the mystery surrounding these murders. She was one of the last people to see one of the latest victims, her classmate Henry, alive. The other witnesses include the same kids who abandoned and ridiculed her after her father’s wrongdoing. Now, the unlikely crew is forced to band together to solve a decades-old mystery that threatens to take even more lives if they cannot get to the bottom of what (or who) is plaguing Fairpoint. As they work together, the teens must come to terms with dark family secrets, tragic loss, intense feelings, and a town and history they no longer recognize.
Unlike a lot of mystery-thrillers catered to young adult audiences, this book did not shy away from danger and incredibly high stakes. The deep-rooted uncertainty that the characters would actually be okay raised tension and made the novel nearly impossible to put down. The book isn’t without its lighthearted moments, though. A burgeoning romance between Eden and Caleb (one of Eden’s former friends turned bully turned reluctant ally) is a slight disruption to the narrative’s progression, but often a pleasant one (I mean, who doesn’t love a good friends-to-enemies-to-lovers subplot). Despite my appreciation for this developing relationship, some of the characters and side plots were underdeveloped, even those that were supposed to drive a lot of the mystery. Additionally, the pacing was at times inconsistent, lagging in the middle, but a desire to know the truth of the Fairpoint murders drove me just as it drove our main cast of characters. There were multiple jaw-dropping moments, and a shocking final reveal, but some explanations and character motivations were lacking in the final pages. Despite some bits of this plot murkiness, this twisty YA novel is an enthralling and haunting story that truly puts the “thrill” in “thriller.”
We Were Warned releases on March 4th, 2025
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Sam Parker, Pine Reads Review Social Media Manager
Read all posts about