A Long Stretch of Bad Days

2024 Whippoorwill Award Honor Book

2025–2026 MASL Gateway Award Finalist

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 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.

• Small Town Mystery: In a town where politeness is everything, Lydia and Bristal’s podcast starts asking questions about the one week everyone wants to forget.
• Teen Detectives: The valedictorian and the town troublemaker team up to earn a history credit, but find themselves in the middle of a dangerous investigation.
• A Decades-Old Murder: The town’s first and only homicide happened during a chaotic week of natural disasters. Now, someone will do anything to keep the truth buried with the victim.
• YA Suspense: As the girls get closer to the truth, anonymous threats escalate, turning their school project into a race for survival.