I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Only Girl in Town by Ally Condie
Published by Dutton Books for Young Readers on 9/19/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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For July Fielding, nothing has been the same since that summer before senior year.

Once, she had Alex to be her loyal best friend, the one who always had her back. She had Sydney, who pushed her during every cross country run, and who sometimes seemed to know July better than she knew herself. And she had Sam. Sam, who told her she was everything and left her breathless with his touch.

Now, July is alone. Every single person in her small town of Lithia has disappeared. No family. No Alex or Sydney. No Sam. July’s only chance at unraveling the mystery of their disappearance is a series of objects, each a reminder of the people she loved most. And a mysterious message: GET TH3M BACK.

Short and Sweet Review

July Fielding’s life hasn’t been the same since the summer before her senior year. Now July is the only person in town, she can’t find anyone, including friends and family. Around town July finds a message saying “Get Th3m back”, July follows clues to try to get everyone she loves back.

In this book we follow July try to piece together everything and try to find out why and how everyone disappeared. We alternate from the present and the past. I will say it was kind of hard to follow when we alternated because the chapters are so short that it felt like we didn’t have enough time in one time period. We see in the past what happened during July’s summer which includes the three people who are closest to her, Alex one of her best friends, Syd also a friend and cross country teammate, and Sam a boy she likes and ends up dating. In the present we see July try to use clues that reminds her of people to try to find out what happened but those clues lead her to what happened in the past so everything was a correlation. This book had me hooked I just wanted to know why July was alone in this town. I will say that July did have depression which plays a big part in this story.

Overall, this book makes you think, especially when you get to the end. I liked following July around town trying to find traces of anyone who could still be around, and also seeing how the summer before senior year impacted what’s going on now. The book didn’t end in a way I expected but I think that’s the best thing about it and Condie was able to accomplish what she was trying to with the plot and July. The writing was great and it will have you guessing right up to the end.