Reviews

A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis

slbeck94's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

booknookbook's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jenhurst's review

5.0

4.5.
I had a great time reading this. I loved the characters, the podcast elements, the writing and the pacing.

bibliobrandie's review

5.0

Lydia Chase is an overachiever who has a pretty boring podcast about living in rural Ohio. She wants to spice it up so that the ivy league colleges she's interested in will listen and offer her a scholarship. When an unfortunate mixup with her guidance counselor puts her graduation in jeopardy, she gets permission to use the podcast to help reach her graduation requirement. The other person in jeopardy of not graduating is Bristal Jamison. She is nothing like Lydia, but she's determined to be the first high school graduate in her family. The two team up to revamp Lydia's podcast and research a series of 1994 events known as the "long stretch of bad days," when a tornado, a flood, and the town's only murder occurred within a three-day period.

This is such a satisfying murder mystery/cold case mystery that kept me guessing until the end. There were some really satisfying red herrings, great character development, and a perfectly paced plot. The dark, sarcastic sense of humor had me laughing out loud at times. The podcast could have felt awkward, I don't always love podcasts in books, but this one was solidly crafted. I liked the focus on socioeconomic issues and the assumptions we make about people. Just a really sold YA mystery!

acmoyer1's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

lyricaloutlaw's review

mysterious fast-paced

4.0

twylapeabody's review

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A quick, enjoyable read. The real standout are the main characters. I loved Lydia and Brystal (and both their moms) and their dynamic together. I will say, this is a very low stakes/tension read. The mysteries the girls are trying to solve took place thirty years ago and rarely lead to present day danger for the characters. Although they faced some social pressure I only felt they were in danger, of either dying or going to prison (the normal mystery/thriller stakes) twice and one of those was the climax of the book! This book is both extremely readable and pretty easy to put down and take breaks from, due to those low stakes and very short chapters, but overall I had a good time.

librarian_lisa's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

sarahh14's review

funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Mindy McGinnis is always good for kickass young women stories. 

smartinez9's review

4.0

McGinnis is very skilled at creating a compelling mystery that follows a tough female protagonist mired in small-town corruption. While this one was not quite as eventful as The Initial Insult (by which I mean no one got mauled by a tiger), it was intriguing, moved fast, and points about morality and privilege were made.