The Disability Book Archive

[ID: A book cover. A quote from author Elle Cosimano reads “An extraordinary debut.” at the top of the cover in small white writing. Below this, the tagline “Everything started with the body at the edge of the lake. I know that now.” in larger white capitals. The title “Throwaway Girls” is written across the centre of the cover in large white capitals. The author’s name “Andrea Contos” is written at the bottom of the cover in slightly smaller white capitals. The background is blue and black hued. Art of a pale feminine face with bright red lips stretches from the top to the bottom of the cover. The upper half of the face is covered by two large red stripes, resembling paint, stretches from the left of the cover to the right, behind the title. /end]/s

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Content Warning:

• Kidnapping
• Torture
• Sexual Assault
• Death
• Homophobia
• Biphobia
• Alcohol
• Conversion Therapy
• Suicidal Thoughts
• Drug References

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Summary:

Caroline Lawson is three months away from freedom, otherwise known as graduation day. That’s when she’ll finally escape her rigid prep school and the parents who thought they could convert her to being straight.

Until then, Caroline is keeping her head down, pretending to be the perfect student even though she is crushed by her family and heartbroken over the girlfriend who left for California.

But when her best friend Madison disappears, Caroline feels compelled to get involved in the investigation. She has her own reasons not to trust the police, and she owes Madison — big time.

Suddenly Caroline realizes how little she knew of what her friend was up to. Caroline has some uncomfortable secrets about the hours before Madison disappeared, but they’re nothing compared to the secrets Madison has been hiding. And why does Mr. McCormack, their teacher, seem to know so much about them?

It’s only when Caroline discovers other missing girls that she begins to close in on the truth. Unlike Madison, the other girls are from the wrong side of the tracks. Unlike Madison’s, their disappearances haven’t received much attention. Caroline is determined to find out what happened to them and why no one seems to notice. But as every new discovery leads Caroline closer to the connection between these girls and Madison, she faces an unsettling truth.

There’s only one common denominator between the disappearances: Caroline herself.

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Notes:

There is a kindle edition.

This book won the 2021 ITW Thriller Award for a Young Adult Novel.

Here is a link to the author’s website.

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Archivist Comments:

This book gives off Life is Strange vibes.

Most people seem to have quite enjoyed the first half or so of this book, but some reviews seem to suggest that the plot sort of falls apart toward the end.

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