Book Review: "The Champions" by Kara Thomas

Hadley is new to Sunnybrook, as her mother took a job as the superintendent of schools there. She is biding her time, hoping her senior year will result in her being named editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and getting accepted to Columbia so she can study journalism.

She’s not particularly thrilled that her first assignment is to write an article about the Tigers, Sunnybrook’s football team. They’ve won two consecutive state championships and are hoping to make history by winning a third. Everything in school—and in the town—revolves around the Tigers.

She receives an anonymous email warning her to stay away from the football team, and another telling her not to go to a party being thrown by one of the star players. But Hadley goes to the party, and one of the players that she interviewed collapses and falls into a coma. The players wouldn't let Hadley call an ambulance, and everyone was acting strangely. It turns out he was poisoned.

Eleven years ago, five of Sunnybrook’s cheerleaders were murdered. When another football player winds up dead after causing trouble at a game, Hadley is determined to figure out what’s behind the tragedies. Her investigative methods make her an outcast, but she’s able to track down some people who remember what happened 11 years ago.

What secrets are being hidden? Who is responsible for what is happening? Could Hadley be a target? And most importantly, can the truth be uncovered before someone else dies?

This was a great story, full of drama and twists and turns. It’s a follow-up to Kara Thomas’ book The Cheerleaders, but this can be read as a standalone. Reading this made me glad I didn’t go to high school when social media existed!