A Long Stretch of Bad Days

Books | Juvenile Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories

(95)

Mindy McGinnis

2024 Whippoorwill Award Honor Book2025-2026 MASL Gateway Award FinalistFrom award-winning author Mindy McGinnis comes a thrilling and gripping YA mystery about a small town's past and the secrets unearthed by way of two teen girls--and a podcast. Perfect for fans of Sadie, The Cheerleaders, and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. A lifetime of hard work has put Lydia Chass on track to attend a prestigious journalism program and leave Henley behind--until a school error leaves her a credit short of graduating.Bristal Jamison has a bad reputation and a foul mouth, but she also needs one more credit to graduate. An unexpected partnership forms as the two remake Lydia's town history podcast to 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, only, and unsolved murder.As their investigation unearths buried secrets, some don't want them to see the light. When the threats escalate, the girls have to uncover the truth before the dark history of Henley catches up with them.

Mystery

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Author

Mindy McGinnis

Pages

368

Publisher

HarperCollins Publishers

Published Date

2023

ISBN

0063230364 9780063230361

Community ReviewsSee all

"I was so intrigued by the mystery at the heart of this book that I could barely put this down for the two days I spent reading it. I loved the characters, the plot, and the ending. The only plot point I was disappointed by was the absence of any gay romance. I wasn’t too disappointed, though, since there wasn’t any romance at all. I’d much rather have no romance than forced romance, which I think would’ve happened if the two main characters had ended up as love interests. I loved Lydia as a narrator and a character and adored her unapologetic brazenness and the way she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. I wish there had been any loose strings at the end to potentially lead to a sequel, but the story was wrapped so perfectly I truly have no complaints."

Lauren Fahrner

"mindy mcginnis the woman you AREEEEEEEE. i have no notes she does it well every. single. time. some authors of books w teenagers or young adults struggle to make them engaging w out romance but mcginnis has never had that issue. i’m not much of a murder mystery person but making such engaging characters that are an unlikely pair but end up being more similar than different in their flaws and their connection and such made the whole book so enjoyable. literally finished this one in 3 days, so so good. "