A Long Stretch of Bad Days

by Mindy McGinnis

Overview

From 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, 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063230378
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/14/2023
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	180,872
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Mindy McGinnis is the author of several young adult novels, including A Long Stretch of Bad Days, The Last Laugh, The Initial Insult, Heroine, The Female of the Species, and A Madness So Discreet, winner of an Edgar Award. She writes across multiple genres, including postapocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery, and fantasy. While her settings may change, you can always count on her books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us. Mindy lives in Ohio. You can visit her online at mindymcginnis.com.

Editorial Reviews

01/30/2023

This animated and good-humored tale by McGinnis (The Last Laugh) features an intrepid teenage odd couple working together to gain entry into a prestigious journalism program by solving a mystery. Due to a mistake made by her high school guidance counselor, 18-year-old valedictorian Lydia Chass has just learned that she doesn’t have enough history credits to graduate. Her school principal suggests that if Lydia—who hosts a podcast called On the Ground in Flyover Country—records some episodes on the history of her Henley, Ohio, town, he’ll grant her the necessary credits. Hoping to give the podcast some much-needed grit, Lydia recruits acerbic classmate Bristal Jamison, who’s in a similar bind. They decide to focus on the 1994 unsolved murder of 65-year-old local trailer resident Randall Boggs, which leads them to a cold case involving a missing teenage girl. Together, the girls uncover decades-old secrets and reveal chilling truths about their small town and its close-knit community. Lydia and Bristal’s wry banter, their polar opposite characterizations, and their evolving, convoluted friendship lend a refreshing and dark joviality to this cleverly realized feminist thriller. All main characters are white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Adriann Ranta Zurhellen, Folio Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"McGinnis’s ability to take readers on an emotional rollercoaster is on full display here . . . Another incredibly wild ride from McGinnis; a first purchase for all teen collections." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"A Long Stretch of Bad Days uses humor and poignant emotion to build a well-crafted murder mystery that is hard to put down and even harder to forget." — BookPage

"McGinnis can be counted upon for delivering gritty truths wrapped in compelling stories, and readers love her for it." — Booklist

"Wickedly comic dialogue and interesting characters—particularly wonderfully lewd feminist Bristal—will keep readers engaged through the many twists and turns." — Kirkus Reviews

"Lydia and Bristal’s wry banter, their polar opposite characterizations, and their evolving, convoluted friendship lend a refreshing and dark joviality to this cleverly realized feminist thriller." — Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Last Laugh: "The overall effect this time ups the mystery, intensity, and horror (emphasis on the latter!), with a satisfying ending delivering answers about ongoing family questions and clashes. Masterfully modernizing the gothic horror genre, McGinnis outdoes herself."  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A sequel that is just as thrilling and dark, if not as cohesive, as its predecessor. Definitely hand over to readers of the first book."  — School Library Journal

Praise for The Initial Insult: "A gripping modern retelling of ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’ Gritty and heart-rending. Well-versed Poe fans will gobble this up, but the heartache, revenge, and ­anger that ooze from these pages should ­entice any reader."  — School Library Journal (starred review)

"An intricate, duology-opening story of mystery and revenge by McGinnis with significant nods to Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre work. An engaging tale."  — Publishers Weekly

“If Edgar Allan Poe came back to write the scariest high school murder story ever, it probably wouldn’t be half as good as Mindy McGinnis’s The Initial Insult. You must read this book!”  — James Patterson

"Expertly crafted and absolutely chilling. Mindy McGinnis holds nothing back in this twisty, ruthlessly compelling story of a friendship gone wrong."  — Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us is Lying

"Lush, dangerous, and deliciously twisty, The Initial Insult is an Appalachian Gothic for the ages. A smart and vital reworking of one of Poe's most chilling stories."  — Brittany Cavallaro, New York Times bestselling author of the Charlotte Holmes Series 

Praise for The Female of the Species: “[A] gripping story that should be read and discussed by teens, as well as those who work with them.”  — Booklist

“Each word has been specifically chosen, each character superbly and humanly sculpted, the plot line masterfully completed. McGinnis plays with the readers and they are at her mercy.”  — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)

“McGinnis gracefully avoids the pitfalls of creating a teenage vigilante, instead maintaining a sense of piercing realism.”  — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“An unflinching look at rape culture and its repercussions.”  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“This is an astoundingly dark but beautifully written tragedy.”  — School Library Journal (starred review)

“[I]t’s raw. Not “raw for YA.” Real-deal raw. And violent. And unforgettable. McGinnis explores both and she goes there in a way no one really has before in YA.”  — Globe and Mail (Toronto)

“Your heart may still be pounding after you’ve finished this book.”  — New York Times Book Review

Praise for Heroine: “[A] realistic portrayal of how easy it is to develop an opiate addiction and the very real consequences of addiction. A timely and important message for teens everywhere.”  — Booklist

“A compassionate, compelling, and terrifying story about a high school softball player’s addiction to opioids. The writing is visceral, and following Mickey as she rationalizes about her addiction is educative and frightening. A cautionary tale that exposes the danger of prescription medications by humanizing one victim of America’s current epidemic.”  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Praise for Be Not Far From Me: "McGinnis' visceral and emotional tale features a strong, stubborn, and alarmingly capable protagonist with unwavering respect for the natural world... Impossible to put down."  — Kirkus Reviews

"McGinnis is known for writing tough female protagonists and gritty realism, and she holds nothing back in this latest novel. Ashley is angry, vulnerable, smart, and compelling, and her journey is marked by setbacks, terror, and plenty of gross-out moments. This captivating, fast-paced novel is Hatchet for an older crowd. Highly recommended where adventure and survival fiction are popular."  — School Library Journal

Praise for This Darkness Mine: “Rich imagery and a ruthless protagonist propel the novel forward to its shocking, ominous conclusion.”  — Booklist

Praise for A Madness So Discreet: "McGinnis excels at rich character development; every person readers meet makes a dramatic impact on the story and on Grace.”  — School Library Journal

“McGinnis can surely tell a story.”  — USA Today

From the Publisher

If Edgar Allan Poe came back to write the scariest high school murder story ever, it probably wouldn’t be half as good as Mindy McGinnis.”

praise for the author James Patterson

★ 03/01/2023

Gr 9 Up—Lydia Chass is a serious overachiever: volunteering, extracurriculars, extra coursework, even her own podcast, On the Ground in Flyover Country. Bristal Jamison is nothing like Lydia, but she's determined to be the first high school graduate in her family. When a counselor's mistake leaving both seniors a half-credit short of graduation turns into a team effort to revamp Lydia's podcast to focus on local history, the girls begin researching a series of 1994 events known in Henley as the "long stretch of bad days," when a tornado, a flood, and the town's only murder occurred within a three-day period. Lydia's defense attorney father has taught her plenty about the sliding spectrum of morality, but it becomes harder to stand up for what she knows is right when it becomes clear that someone is willing to resort to violence again to keep certain truths about the long stretch hidden, leaving Bristal and Lydia to decide how much the truth is really worth. McGinnis's ability to take readers on an emotional rollercoaster is on full display here; Lydia and Bristal's magnetic (entirely platonic) chemistry shifts smoothly but instantly from laugh-out-loud funny to powerfully somber. Brash yet buoyant Bristal and self-aggrandizing but steel-willed Lydia are wonderfully realistic and entertaining characters, and the mysteries, twists, and secrets they uncover are expertly crafted. VERDICT Another incredibly wild ride from McGinnis; a first purchase for all teen collections.—Allie Stevens

School Library Journal

2022-12-24
Small-town secrets provide steady fuel for an ambitious teen looking to secure a spot in a top journalism program.

Lydia Chass is enraged when she learns her high school guidance counselor’s oversight has jeopardized her graduation, and she threatens to expose his alcohol use disorder unless she’s permitted to quickly make up her missing history credit. Ever the plotter, she pulls in Bristal Jamison, a senior also in need of a credit for graduation, whose delinquent behavior and bad family reputation will put a sharper edge on On the Ground in Flyover Country, Lydia’s podcast about their hometown of Henley, Ohio, thus making it more likely to catch the eyes of Ivy League admissions officers. Bristal and Lydia’s emerging friendship and Lydia’s self-absorption and understanding of her own class privilege evolve realistically as the pair decide to focus on an unsolved homicide that occurred in the 1990s and was discovered during a devastating week in which Henley suffered both a tornado and flash flood—and that may not have been the only crime to take place. In this tightknit community, their sleuthing produces uncomfortable questions that lead back to people close to them in difficult ways. Wickedly comic dialogue and interesting characters—particularly wonderfully lewd feminist Bristal—will keep readers engaged through the many twists and turns. All main characters read White.

A clever and often darkly funny mystery. (Mystery. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews