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The Girl Who Wasn't Dead
Prom was supposed to be the biggest night of senior year, but for Jenny Lewis it was the night she almost died. The night someone drugged her, loaded her in a car, and dumped her body in the river.
The next morning, her soaked prom dress was found on the riverbank. Her body was never found. People whispered that she’d killed herself or gotten drunk and stupid. People moved on, went to college, and stopped thinking about her. Months later, her ex-girlfriend and three other classmates received a text from an unknown number accusing them of her murder and claiming to have proof.
The text? It came from Jenny, not dead and ready to figure out who tried to kill her. There’s going to be an impromptu reunion and no one is leaving until the would-be murderer steps forward.
The next morning, her soaked prom dress was found on the riverbank. Her body was never found. People whispered that she’d killed herself or gotten drunk and stupid. People moved on, went to college, and stopped thinking about her. Months later, her ex-girlfriend and three other classmates received a text from an unknown number accusing them of her murder and claiming to have proof.
The text? It came from Jenny, not dead and ready to figure out who tried to kill her. There’s going to be an impromptu reunion and no one is leaving until the would-be murderer steps forward.
- GenresYoung AdultMystery
209 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2017
43 people want to read
About the author
Samantha Boyette
12 books26 followersI live in Upstate New York and when I am not writing I work in the wine industry. My short stories have been featured on various websites and one appeared in "The Last Man Anthology". I was the Co-winner of the 2010 Textnovel.com contest. My books Morning Rising and Darkness of Morning are available on multiple formats while my Novella Voodoo is only available on the Kindle at this time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 26, 2017
2 1/2 Stars. This was a fair YA/NA read. I'm leaning more to New Adult than Young Adult because of some of the content, but I can never tell for sure which is which. Also, while this is by Bold Strokes Books, I would not classify this as lesfic. There are 6 characters that you head hop around in. One is a lesbian, another I think is a lesbian but could be bi, and another female that I just could not tell, I'm guessing bi. Than you had two straight guys and another straight woman. I would classify this more as a book with LGBT characters than actually lesfic.
The premise of this book sounded really interesting to me. After senior prom, someone attempts to murder Jenny. Their attempt fails, and now presumed dead, Jenny is left wondering who tried to kill her. Five months later, she gets all the suspects together, to find the would be murderer. I love mysteries, and thought this sounded like a great twist, unfortunately the execution didn't really come together.
It hard to write a book with a large cast of characters. You have 6 POV's and the book jumps in and out of 1st and 3rd person. In this case, a lot of the characters sounded to similar to me. They didn't have their own unique voice enough. And to be honest, most of the characters are pretty shitty. Besides two of them, and they have their own faults, the rest were pretty awful. It was hard to like anybody and impossible to connect with them. I know this book takes place in high school and the start of college, and we are all stupid during this time, but these characters seem like total stereotypes, not actual people.
When it came to the mystery, the attempted killer is really obvious. I did absolutely keep reading to see if I was right or wrong. I was hoping I was actually wrong and there would be more of a twist at the end, unfortunately not. Boyette, needs to throw more suspicion on others in a mystery.
All and all, the book did not really work for me. I didn't hate it. It kept me reading and I finished it in one sitting, so I have to give it props for keeping my attention. It just had such a promising premise, I'm disappointed it didn't work out. I'm always happy to read something different, but the characters really needed some work. I can't recommend this, but I won't say stay away either. Just if you read it, prepare for not being wowed and possibly disappointed.
An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.
The premise of this book sounded really interesting to me. After senior prom, someone attempts to murder Jenny. Their attempt fails, and now presumed dead, Jenny is left wondering who tried to kill her. Five months later, she gets all the suspects together, to find the would be murderer. I love mysteries, and thought this sounded like a great twist, unfortunately the execution didn't really come together.
It hard to write a book with a large cast of characters. You have 6 POV's and the book jumps in and out of 1st and 3rd person. In this case, a lot of the characters sounded to similar to me. They didn't have their own unique voice enough. And to be honest, most of the characters are pretty shitty. Besides two of them, and they have their own faults, the rest were pretty awful. It was hard to like anybody and impossible to connect with them. I know this book takes place in high school and the start of college, and we are all stupid during this time, but these characters seem like total stereotypes, not actual people.
When it came to the mystery, the attempted killer is really obvious. I did absolutely keep reading to see if I was right or wrong. I was hoping I was actually wrong and there would be more of a twist at the end, unfortunately not. Boyette, needs to throw more suspicion on others in a mystery.
All and all, the book did not really work for me. I didn't hate it. It kept me reading and I finished it in one sitting, so I have to give it props for keeping my attention. It just had such a promising premise, I'm disappointed it didn't work out. I'm always happy to read something different, but the characters really needed some work. I can't recommend this, but I won't say stay away either. Just if you read it, prepare for not being wowed and possibly disappointed.
An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.
August 17, 2017
The narration of this story is unlike anything I’ve ever encountered before. It had a shifting time line and is told from many point-of-views, mainly - Jenny, Gabe, Marissa, Liam, Kyla, and Ally’s. Some parts are told in third person but mostly its told in first person.
While this could’ve worked well, the number of repeat scenes, often word for word (copy and paste must’ve been used many times) wore thin and tested my strength to resist the urge to skim read.
The is a story reader’s will love, or not. For me, it had the underlying tone of Carrie by Stephen King. Ironically, early in the story there is mention of a character noticing someone reading a book by none other than Stephen King.
Although I suspected who the perp was early on, and I was right, it didn’t stop me from wanting to read on, mainly to find out what motivated her actions.
I selected this book as lesfic but it doesn’t have that vibe, sure a couple of the girls are bi-curious (their words) but due to being in the closet the heroines are all dating guys. Regardless of what genre this should be in, it most definitely is not a romance in my humble opinion
copy provided by the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, via Netgalley.
While this could’ve worked well, the number of repeat scenes, often word for word (copy and paste must’ve been used many times) wore thin and tested my strength to resist the urge to skim read.
The is a story reader’s will love, or not. For me, it had the underlying tone of Carrie by Stephen King. Ironically, early in the story there is mention of a character noticing someone reading a book by none other than Stephen King.
Although I suspected who the perp was early on, and I was right, it didn’t stop me from wanting to read on, mainly to find out what motivated her actions.
I selected this book as lesfic but it doesn’t have that vibe, sure a couple of the girls are bi-curious (their words) but due to being in the closet the heroines are all dating guys. Regardless of what genre this should be in, it most definitely is not a romance in my humble opinion
copy provided by the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, via Netgalley.
October 24, 2017
My first by this author. Not sure if I would risk another but as they say never say never. I seem to be caught in a whirlwind of mediocre lesfic at the moment. Also, I need to question is this book really lesfic?
The book is about a girl named Jenny who after her senior prom someone tried to kill her. She disappears from sight for a year then returns and invites six suspects. You are in and out of people's heads so much I was tempted to kill her.
This book just wasn't my cup of tea. Sorry 2 stars. Enjoy!
*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*
The book is about a girl named Jenny who after her senior prom someone tried to kill her. She disappears from sight for a year then returns and invites six suspects. You are in and out of people's heads so much I was tempted to kill her.
This book just wasn't my cup of tea. Sorry 2 stars. Enjoy!
*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*
August 14, 2017
**Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE GIRL WHO WASN'T DEAD by Samantha Boyette in exchange for my honest review**
On prom night, one or more of Jenny's friends kill her, except she survives. Now she gathers them together in a remote cabin to find out who. Not everyone will survive.
THE GIRL WHO WASN'T DEAD had one of the most exciting premises in recent memory. It was on my Amazon wish list and I was so excited to receive an ARC. Thought I wasn't immediately pulled in, I continued reading to about 60% before skipping to the end to find out if my theories were correct (they were).
PROS:
Great premise
Diverse characters
CONS:
Writing
Writing shifted POV with chapter headings listing each point of view. Points of view from various narrator shifted from first to third. I'm not sure why Boyette used both first and third POVs for each character, but this device didn't increase my understanding of the characters or plots. Additionally the narrators' first person POVs all had the same non-engaging voice.
I really wanted to love THE GIRL WHO WASN'T DEAD and write a glowing review. I tried to justify giving two stars to the book, but couldn't find a justification.
On prom night, one or more of Jenny's friends kill her, except she survives. Now she gathers them together in a remote cabin to find out who. Not everyone will survive.
THE GIRL WHO WASN'T DEAD had one of the most exciting premises in recent memory. It was on my Amazon wish list and I was so excited to receive an ARC. Thought I wasn't immediately pulled in, I continued reading to about 60% before skipping to the end to find out if my theories were correct (they were).
PROS:
Great premise
Diverse characters
CONS:
Writing
Writing shifted POV with chapter headings listing each point of view. Points of view from various narrator shifted from first to third. I'm not sure why Boyette used both first and third POVs for each character, but this device didn't increase my understanding of the characters or plots. Additionally the narrators' first person POVs all had the same non-engaging voice.
I really wanted to love THE GIRL WHO WASN'T DEAD and write a glowing review. I tried to justify giving two stars to the book, but couldn't find a justification.
November 26, 2022
1 star
It was banking on a big reveal at the end.
A big reveal that was apparent the first time the character appeared on page.
So no, I didn't like it, because many parts of it didn't make sense and literally the only thing the author tried to do was to emulate Agatha Christie in the way Hercule Poirot always herds all the suspects in one room and spoust theories how every one of them could be the murderer until someone snaps.
It was banking on a big reveal at the end.
A big reveal that was apparent the first time the character appeared on page.
So no, I didn't like it, because many parts of it didn't make sense and literally the only thing the author tried to do was to emulate Agatha Christie in the way Hercule Poirot always herds all the suspects in one room and spoust theories how every one of them could be the murderer until someone snaps.
August 14, 2017
I received an arc from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review
dnf @ 13%
Uh, gross? This book is gross. The writing is poor but Jenny made really gross comments about her fat friend and then you find out the f/f relationship in this involves Jenny cheating on her boyfriend! Not thank you, not here for that. I also checked to see if she was bi and the girl called her "bi-curious" so I'm gonna say the author intended her to be bi so fuck that shit.
dnf @ 13%
Uh, gross? This book is gross. The writing is poor but Jenny made really gross comments about her fat friend and then you find out the f/f relationship in this involves Jenny cheating on her boyfriend! Not thank you, not here for that. I also checked to see if she was bi and the girl called her "bi-curious" so I'm gonna say the author intended her to be bi so fuck that shit.
August 12, 2017
I feel bad about this one. I wanted to love it. it has a great premise but all of the characters managed to be both hideous and boring at the same time.
September 6, 2017
"I received an ARC from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review"
This book is a piece of art! The story is about one night- Prom night- and what happened to Jenny. The five main characters have different Social standings in the school- some are popular some are considered "losers? It is amazing how Mrs. Boyette brings all the viewpoints together to the same scene. It was very interesting to see how the different characters, popular, unpopular etc. go through the same night and, how they end up at a conversation or doing something and to see the same scene through different eyes. They explain the same night but had very different experiences and different steps that lead them to the same scene. Because of that some conversations and scenes are repeated word by word but to me it made the story as good as it is. It is a complete different style but one I enjoyed a great deal. It was pure, raw and real and the different viewpoints were authentic to who told their version of the night. It is not just a book, but a piece of Art in my opinion - to change the way of writing and wordchoice to make each characters voice unique.
On an other note, the message of the book was a vey important one as well! It showed how dangerous Bulling is and what it can do to a person- how far it can push a person. Bulling is a very delicate topic and hard to capture in the right way but the approach that was taken here worked out beautifully. It also captured friendship in a nice way and how friendship can be very superficial and be used to climb the social ladder. The story has important points written in an unconventional style.
Most books I read and I'm engrossed in them but once it is over l can move on to a new one easily- this one made it hard to move on and I can't recommend this book enough.
andreazupanc.wordpress.com
This book is a piece of art! The story is about one night- Prom night- and what happened to Jenny. The five main characters have different Social standings in the school- some are popular some are considered "losers? It is amazing how Mrs. Boyette brings all the viewpoints together to the same scene. It was very interesting to see how the different characters, popular, unpopular etc. go through the same night and, how they end up at a conversation or doing something and to see the same scene through different eyes. They explain the same night but had very different experiences and different steps that lead them to the same scene. Because of that some conversations and scenes are repeated word by word but to me it made the story as good as it is. It is a complete different style but one I enjoyed a great deal. It was pure, raw and real and the different viewpoints were authentic to who told their version of the night. It is not just a book, but a piece of Art in my opinion - to change the way of writing and wordchoice to make each characters voice unique.
On an other note, the message of the book was a vey important one as well! It showed how dangerous Bulling is and what it can do to a person- how far it can push a person. Bulling is a very delicate topic and hard to capture in the right way but the approach that was taken here worked out beautifully. It also captured friendship in a nice way and how friendship can be very superficial and be used to climb the social ladder. The story has important points written in an unconventional style.
Most books I read and I'm engrossed in them but once it is over l can move on to a new one easily- this one made it hard to move on and I can't recommend this book enough.
andreazupanc.wordpress.com
October 1, 2017
love this series and even with adding new people you are still able to keep up with gong on. I hope this series still continue.
NetGalley for a honest review.
NetGalley for a honest review.
October 2, 2017
I’ve never read a book that I honestly hated, but I stuck it out with this book because I kept hoping that it would get better and that if the end was ok I could at least give this 2 stars and call it a day, but this book never got any better and I am here to tell you why.
Different POV’s but same exact story:
There was so many pov’s in this story and they all recalled the exact same night and most of the time in the exact same way with a lot of the exact same word for word conversations. By the time you get to the end you want to scream enough already because you’ve heard the same thing too many times to count just from a slightly different perspective.
Every character is toxic:
There is not one good character in this novel and no one had any redeeming qualities and while it’s ok to have all characters be imperfect there has to be something there to make the reader care about who they are reading about and in this book there was nothing good about anyone.
The narrative itself and the way characters see certain things is toxic:
The whole time I was reading it there were so many instances where I was dumbfounded by how weird/backwards the logic was. Some of the things characters say and think in this book just made me cringe and I truly believe that this is a bad representation of not just lesbians, but people in general.
The diversity in this book was severally negatively represented:
At one point one of the characters says that they could frame one of the other characters who is African American because they would be “Just another Black who went crazy and shot people.” Then the way they kept talking about lesbians being butch and the way the lesbian relationship was portrayed was awful. There were so many red flags in this department and it just made me feel completely uncomfortable.
The outlook on cheating:
The characters cheated in this book an cheated proudly. It was actually shocking how much everyone was always using each other with no repercussions for anyone at any point. All of the going behind each other’s backs was left to be a’okay in the end and I was not ok with that.
The biggest red flag of them all:
*trigger for sexual assault*
At one point there was a girl was drunk and asleep in the bathroom and part of her dress was down and one of the characters molests her and takes pictures all while she is sleeping. While the characters at the end do say this was not ok, the fact that there was no repercussions for that either in the end made me so angry. The characters all stay friends and are all forgiving about everything when something like that should have been handled very differently.
Overall this was an interesting premise with a really bad execution and this book is definitely one I would not recommend in the future. This book is extremely problematic and I am sad that a book I had such high hopes for ended up being as bad as it was.
Different POV’s but same exact story:
There was so many pov’s in this story and they all recalled the exact same night and most of the time in the exact same way with a lot of the exact same word for word conversations. By the time you get to the end you want to scream enough already because you’ve heard the same thing too many times to count just from a slightly different perspective.
Every character is toxic:
There is not one good character in this novel and no one had any redeeming qualities and while it’s ok to have all characters be imperfect there has to be something there to make the reader care about who they are reading about and in this book there was nothing good about anyone.
The narrative itself and the way characters see certain things is toxic:
The whole time I was reading it there were so many instances where I was dumbfounded by how weird/backwards the logic was. Some of the things characters say and think in this book just made me cringe and I truly believe that this is a bad representation of not just lesbians, but people in general.
The diversity in this book was severally negatively represented:
At one point one of the characters says that they could frame one of the other characters who is African American because they would be “Just another Black who went crazy and shot people.” Then the way they kept talking about lesbians being butch and the way the lesbian relationship was portrayed was awful. There were so many red flags in this department and it just made me feel completely uncomfortable.
The outlook on cheating:
The characters cheated in this book an cheated proudly. It was actually shocking how much everyone was always using each other with no repercussions for anyone at any point. All of the going behind each other’s backs was left to be a’okay in the end and I was not ok with that.
The biggest red flag of them all:
*trigger for sexual assault*
At one point there was a girl was drunk and asleep in the bathroom and part of her dress was down and one of the characters molests her and takes pictures all while she is sleeping. While the characters at the end do say this was not ok, the fact that there was no repercussions for that either in the end made me so angry. The characters all stay friends and are all forgiving about everything when something like that should have been handled very differently.
Overall this was an interesting premise with a really bad execution and this book is definitely one I would not recommend in the future. This book is extremely problematic and I am sad that a book I had such high hopes for ended up being as bad as it was.
September 25, 2017
2.75 Stars
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Jenny Lewis had the worst prom night ever, especially since it ended with someone trying to kill her. Months later, while everyone still thinks she’s dead, she meets them all in a cabin so that she can figure out what really happened that night.
The story was told under Jenny’s point of view but also the points of view of all the other people in the cabin.
The characters weren’t loveable. They drove me crazy, I could not relate to them. Even the main character, who I was supposed to feel sorry for was awful. She nicknamed someone who used to be her friend “Chubby Ally”. She also cheated and cared more about her image than anything else. And she was like the second most likeable character out of the six main ones.
More than that, some dudes sexually assaulted a passed out women and were never held responsable, one of them was even written as a good dude by the end because he used to have “a drug problem” but he’s clean now so he’s a different person. Right.
I guess I liked the way it was told though. The whole prom night is told by everyone, according to their points of view, so we can reform the whole night piece by piece. It kind of reminded of a Veronica Mars episode: A Trip to the Dentist (1x21). Except the characters here were assholes and Veronica is everything.
Also, there was a huge twist towards the end that I didn’t see coming at all and I did enjoy being surprised.
However, they were too many things that upsetted me for me to enjoy it...
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Jenny Lewis had the worst prom night ever, especially since it ended with someone trying to kill her. Months later, while everyone still thinks she’s dead, she meets them all in a cabin so that she can figure out what really happened that night.
The story was told under Jenny’s point of view but also the points of view of all the other people in the cabin.
The characters weren’t loveable. They drove me crazy, I could not relate to them. Even the main character, who I was supposed to feel sorry for was awful. She nicknamed someone who used to be her friend “Chubby Ally”. She also cheated and cared more about her image than anything else. And she was like the second most likeable character out of the six main ones.
More than that, some dudes sexually assaulted a passed out women and were never held responsable, one of them was even written as a good dude by the end because he used to have “a drug problem” but he’s clean now so he’s a different person. Right.
I guess I liked the way it was told though. The whole prom night is told by everyone, according to their points of view, so we can reform the whole night piece by piece. It kind of reminded of a Veronica Mars episode: A Trip to the Dentist (1x21). Except the characters here were assholes and Veronica is everything.
Also, there was a huge twist towards the end that I didn’t see coming at all and I did enjoy being surprised.
However, they were too many things that upsetted me for me to enjoy it...
August 16, 2017
I'm giving this one an extra star solely because this is not the type of book I'd expect from Bold Strokes Books--which is a GOOD thing--and I'd really like to see more genre diversity like this from the publisher in the future. But wow, after such a terrific premise, the delivery was a total bomb.
Taking away the murder attempt for a moment, it's the familiar premise of getting together 5 or so people who used to be close and have gone through some life event that they're now re-confronting as a group later in life. The problem here though is that only 5 months have passed since the titular "death" yet everyone is waxing poetic about how changed they now are since high school. Had the events taken place 5 years or 10 years, hell, even a year later, already we'd have a stronger story.
The whodunnit (and frankly, also the why) was painfully obvious from the beginning, and I wish an editor had spent more time with this author developing the idea of red herrings and depth.
But the characters are a painful mess of stereotypes and card board cut outs. Do I care about the "secret" relationship between the "trailer trash" and "most popular girl in the school"? Absolutely not--they never jump off the page and we never really see their relationship, it's only told to us. We know more about their nervous habits of chewing fingernails/lips, described ad nauseum, than how the two really relate to each other. On top of that, there's the drug-addled jock, the popular mean girl, the "fat girl" everyone makes fun of, and the pining (angry) best friend. Everyone behaves exactly the way you'd expect them to because you've read or seen that character a thousand times. There is nothing to differentiate them or make you feel for them or their suffering.
I wanted this book to be so much better; instead, I'm recommending it be skipped.
ARC provided by NetGalley
Taking away the murder attempt for a moment, it's the familiar premise of getting together 5 or so people who used to be close and have gone through some life event that they're now re-confronting as a group later in life. The problem here though is that only 5 months have passed since the titular "death" yet everyone is waxing poetic about how changed they now are since high school. Had the events taken place 5 years or 10 years, hell, even a year later, already we'd have a stronger story.
The whodunnit (and frankly, also the why) was painfully obvious from the beginning, and I wish an editor had spent more time with this author developing the idea of red herrings and depth.
But the characters are a painful mess of stereotypes and card board cut outs. Do I care about the "secret" relationship between the "trailer trash" and "most popular girl in the school"? Absolutely not--they never jump off the page and we never really see their relationship, it's only told to us. We know more about their nervous habits of chewing fingernails/lips, described ad nauseum, than how the two really relate to each other. On top of that, there's the drug-addled jock, the popular mean girl, the "fat girl" everyone makes fun of, and the pining (angry) best friend. Everyone behaves exactly the way you'd expect them to because you've read or seen that character a thousand times. There is nothing to differentiate them or make you feel for them or their suffering.
I wanted this book to be so much better; instead, I'm recommending it be skipped.
ARC provided by NetGalley
August 26, 2017
I received this eBook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I want to preface this review by saying that including diverse characters does not redeem a poorly written story but my 2 star rather than 1 star rating was because there were diverse characters, although as I'm going to discuss, they were victim to some harmful tropes.
I went into this book with only the idea that this was about Jenny, a girl who someone tried to kill but didn't succeed and so she sets out to figure out who killed her. That synopsis grabbed my attention and sounds like something which could make for a really interested and well thought out mystery and includes a main character who is a girl who likes girls; a recipe for a great book right? Well sadly, not at all.
The writing is one of the first let downs of this book, the story follows the split perspectives of a number of characters but while it does this, the perspective within those accounts is constantly changing, from first person to third person with no real clear reason. Following on from this, the style of writing was very simplistic, it stated points and that was that, no real depth or detail to draw you in; instead it relied solely on the plot to do so but as I've suggested, it didn't hold up so well in that department either.
The characters within this book are very diverse, both in ethnicity and in sexuality, something which I'm pleased to see in YA but unfortunately they were portrayed in a very negative and at times harmful way; the portrayal of lesbians as being "crazy" and cheating, how characters brushed off racism and normalised it and similarly homophobic comments, the constant comments about weight and fat-shaming of a character, jokes about sexual assault and rape not being treated seriously in the narrative all made this very unpleasant to read; especially for readers who have experienced any of those things.
The storyline itself I was expecting more from, more of an investigation into what had happened to the main character and her figuring it out but instead we are left with her "suspects" in a room together repeating the same events over and over from each of their perspectives, small details added in each time, it felt very repetitive to read. The final outcome was a slightly twist but the way the ending played out also felt unnecessarily violent and extreme particularly for a YA book which means this is being marketed towards teens as young as 12; this is also why the harmful comments and jokes throughout the book concern me, with no resolution of how negatively characters were treated or addressing of jokes as being harmful.
Perhaps the only positive was right at the end but even with that, this book left an unpleasant feeling for me.
I want to preface this review by saying that including diverse characters does not redeem a poorly written story but my 2 star rather than 1 star rating was because there were diverse characters, although as I'm going to discuss, they were victim to some harmful tropes.
I went into this book with only the idea that this was about Jenny, a girl who someone tried to kill but didn't succeed and so she sets out to figure out who killed her. That synopsis grabbed my attention and sounds like something which could make for a really interested and well thought out mystery and includes a main character who is a girl who likes girls; a recipe for a great book right? Well sadly, not at all.
The writing is one of the first let downs of this book, the story follows the split perspectives of a number of characters but while it does this, the perspective within those accounts is constantly changing, from first person to third person with no real clear reason. Following on from this, the style of writing was very simplistic, it stated points and that was that, no real depth or detail to draw you in; instead it relied solely on the plot to do so but as I've suggested, it didn't hold up so well in that department either.
The characters within this book are very diverse, both in ethnicity and in sexuality, something which I'm pleased to see in YA but unfortunately they were portrayed in a very negative and at times harmful way; the portrayal of lesbians as being "crazy" and cheating, how characters brushed off racism and normalised it and similarly homophobic comments, the constant comments about weight and fat-shaming of a character, jokes about sexual assault and rape not being treated seriously in the narrative all made this very unpleasant to read; especially for readers who have experienced any of those things.
The storyline itself I was expecting more from, more of an investigation into what had happened to the main character and her figuring it out but instead we are left with her "suspects" in a room together repeating the same events over and over from each of their perspectives, small details added in each time, it felt very repetitive to read. The final outcome was a slightly twist but the way the ending played out also felt unnecessarily violent and extreme particularly for a YA book which means this is being marketed towards teens as young as 12; this is also why the harmful comments and jokes throughout the book concern me, with no resolution of how negatively characters were treated or addressing of jokes as being harmful.
Perhaps the only positive was right at the end but even with that, this book left an unpleasant feeling for me.
August 12, 2017
I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley.Com in exchange for a review.
It could have been 3 or even 3.5-4 stars until the last 20% or so and then it just went way downhill.
Anyways I was really disappointed with the overall handling of this book, both in terms of issues it addressed and in terms of the execution of a great plot idea.
It could have been 3 or even 3.5-4 stars until the last 20% or so and then it just went way downhill.
Anyways I was really disappointed with the overall handling of this book, both in terms of issues it addressed and in terms of the execution of a great plot idea.
Read
August 30, 2017I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Well....
Jenny, the girl who wasn't dead, gathers her friends a.k.a. who she suspected as the one (or two) who tried to kill her at prom.
Jenny did not drown and came back from water the next morning. Ally, her middle grade best friend, helped her then for months.
Then, people gathered to tell their prom perspective.
Gabe: Jenny's long time boyfriend who that night had fight with her.
Marissa: Jenny's bestie at high school, bitch who hooked up with Gabe--Jenny just found out that night.
Kyla: Jenny's secret girlfriend, had fight too.
Liam: Kyla's best friend, said he loved her and then found out about Jenny.
Okay.
It was an okay read.
At least until the half.
Then there were repetition, repetition, and repetition.
I mean, yeah, each of the head spilt out their stories, but the same actions and dialogues shouldn't be copy paste over again. And again for another. And again. Well, I guess.
But, yeah, the narration is simple and easy to read.
And the characters are kinda stand out from each other.
Well....
Jenny, the girl who wasn't dead, gathers her friends a.k.a. who she suspected as the one (or two) who tried to kill her at prom.
Jenny did not drown and came back from water the next morning. Ally, her middle grade best friend, helped her then for months.
Then, people gathered to tell their prom perspective.
Gabe: Jenny's long time boyfriend who that night had fight with her.
Marissa: Jenny's bestie at high school, bitch who hooked up with Gabe--Jenny just found out that night.
Kyla: Jenny's secret girlfriend, had fight too.
Liam: Kyla's best friend, said he loved her and then found out about Jenny.
Okay.
It was an okay read.
At least until the half.
Then there were repetition, repetition, and repetition.
I mean, yeah, each of the head spilt out their stories, but the same actions and dialogues shouldn't be copy paste over again. And again for another. And again. Well, I guess.
But, yeah, the narration is simple and easy to read.
And the characters are kinda stand out from each other.
August 9, 2017
Jenny Lewis is dead, only she's not. She was assumed dead on prom night after her stuff was found and ruled as suicide with no body found.
Now, her friends are getting texts from her as she's alive and wants to know who tried to kill her that night.
Her friends are; Gabe a drug dealer and ex to her who was with Marissa a lot of Prom night, queen B Marissa who didn't like her much and made comments about her appearance a lot, Liam a guy who hangs around with Gabe, Kyla her could be girlfriend who she shared a kiss with before a situation between them occurs...
Ally is her old friend who came to fetch her when she saved herself that horrible night. She's also there helping figure out just what happened, but doesn't Jenny get that maybe those close are hiding something more?
Predictable unfortunately to me, however a great story behind the night with a Gossip Girl and Skins style edge with sex, drugs, overlapping relationships. She doesn't seem to realise that her friend could harbour a sour vengeance towards her. I would highly recommend!
Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!
Now, her friends are getting texts from her as she's alive and wants to know who tried to kill her that night.
Her friends are; Gabe a drug dealer and ex to her who was with Marissa a lot of Prom night, queen B Marissa who didn't like her much and made comments about her appearance a lot, Liam a guy who hangs around with Gabe, Kyla her could be girlfriend who she shared a kiss with before a situation between them occurs...
Ally is her old friend who came to fetch her when she saved herself that horrible night. She's also there helping figure out just what happened, but doesn't Jenny get that maybe those close are hiding something more?
Predictable unfortunately to me, however a great story behind the night with a Gossip Girl and Skins style edge with sex, drugs, overlapping relationships. She doesn't seem to realise that her friend could harbour a sour vengeance towards her. I would highly recommend!
Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!
February 1, 2018
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley, thank you as always.
Honestly, I didn't love it or hate it. It reminded me of the old Christopher Pike books, which were my bread and butter as a teenager reading horror. Is it a bit problematic? Yes, sure. It is a bit trope-y, and the killer is a bit obvious, but I overall found it a quick and easy subway ride read, meaning it entertained me without causing me to miss my stop.
Honestly, I didn't love it or hate it. It reminded me of the old Christopher Pike books, which were my bread and butter as a teenager reading horror. Is it a bit problematic? Yes, sure. It is a bit trope-y, and the killer is a bit obvious, but I overall found it a quick and easy subway ride read, meaning it entertained me without causing me to miss my stop.
December 24, 2017
Number of pages: 209
Number of times read (including the time before this review): 1
Rating (out of five stars): 1
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for a review. My opinions are honest and my own.
I’m not much of a mystery reader, but I’ve been trying to get out of my reading comfort zone lately. Unfortunately, from what I hear from reviews, YA mystery/thrillers and horror books tend to be not very good, though there are apparently some exceptions. The Girl Who Wasn’t Dead is not one of those exceptions. As a short disclaimer, I read this book in late September and I don’t take notes while I read, so this is all from memory. If I’m not sure of something, it’s not going in the review.
The thing I found most annoying about this book was not the characters or the plot,but I’ll get to those later. First a bit of spoiler free set-up is required. Basically, someone tried to kill this girl Jenny on prom night, but she survived and went to live in seclusion with some classmate whose name escapes me. Jenny and classmate call 4 people who interacted with Jenny at the prom to help Jenny figure out what happened. The most frustrating part of this was that every time a character told part of their story, everyone would turn to Jenny to have her confirm it. As if it wasn’t ridiculous enough to have the story stop to let Jenny say “yes, that’s true” (not an actual quote) to everything said, the fact that they were looking to the girl who is having trouble remembering what happened to confirm their stories was rage inducing.
Something else that was poorly done was how everyone told their stories. One person would say what happened from their perspective, and then a second person would tell their story, but they would repeat parts of what the first had already said. This was a very short book, and there was no need for it to be as long and repetitive as it was.
And then there were the characters. None of them had any redeeming qualities. They were more like what an adult who wasn’t one of the “popular kids” thinks teenagers are like. I never went to any parties, but I can tell you that the “popular kids” don’t just spend their time trying to have as much sex and get as drunk and high as possible, while being generally horrible for no good reason.
The mystery was also very predictable. You might even be able to tell who tried to kill Jenny from what little I’ve said here. If you’ve seen/read any bad teen mystery, there is really no reason to read this.
Overall, The Girl Who Wasn’t Dead isn’t worth a read, earning it 1 star out of 5.
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
Number of times read (including the time before this review): 1
Rating (out of five stars): 1
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for a review. My opinions are honest and my own.
I’m not much of a mystery reader, but I’ve been trying to get out of my reading comfort zone lately. Unfortunately, from what I hear from reviews, YA mystery/thrillers and horror books tend to be not very good, though there are apparently some exceptions. The Girl Who Wasn’t Dead is not one of those exceptions. As a short disclaimer, I read this book in late September and I don’t take notes while I read, so this is all from memory. If I’m not sure of something, it’s not going in the review.
The thing I found most annoying about this book was not the characters or the plot,but I’ll get to those later. First a bit of spoiler free set-up is required. Basically, someone tried to kill this girl Jenny on prom night, but she survived and went to live in seclusion with some classmate whose name escapes me. Jenny and classmate call 4 people who interacted with Jenny at the prom to help Jenny figure out what happened. The most frustrating part of this was that every time a character told part of their story, everyone would turn to Jenny to have her confirm it. As if it wasn’t ridiculous enough to have the story stop to let Jenny say “yes, that’s true” (not an actual quote) to everything said, the fact that they were looking to the girl who is having trouble remembering what happened to confirm their stories was rage inducing.
Something else that was poorly done was how everyone told their stories. One person would say what happened from their perspective, and then a second person would tell their story, but they would repeat parts of what the first had already said. This was a very short book, and there was no need for it to be as long and repetitive as it was.
And then there were the characters. None of them had any redeeming qualities. They were more like what an adult who wasn’t one of the “popular kids” thinks teenagers are like. I never went to any parties, but I can tell you that the “popular kids” don’t just spend their time trying to have as much sex and get as drunk and high as possible, while being generally horrible for no good reason.
The mystery was also very predictable. You might even be able to tell who tried to kill Jenny from what little I’ve said here. If you’ve seen/read any bad teen mystery, there is really no reason to read this.
Overall, The Girl Who Wasn’t Dead isn’t worth a read, earning it 1 star out of 5.
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
July 3, 2018
**Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review **
[edit: upon further reflection, I am lowering my rating from 2-2.5 to 1 star. I can't get over how awful the characters were and how problematic some elements are.]
April 17 2017: Going between 2 and 2.5 Stars.
I really wanted to like this book. The premise seemed interesting enough and after coming off a bunch of fantasy books, a mystery seemed like a great break. Honestly, this book was one of my least favorites of the year. I had such high hopes for it, but there was just way too many problematic elements and the plot was just not that good. If you want to pick it up and check it out, I’m not going to stop you, but I think there are far better YA mystery books out there. I really wanted to like this one. I really did, but it just was not doing it for me.
For a full review, please check out my blog post here .
[edit: upon further reflection, I am lowering my rating from 2-2.5 to 1 star. I can't get over how awful the characters were and how problematic some elements are.]
April 17 2017: Going between 2 and 2.5 Stars.
I really wanted to like this book. The premise seemed interesting enough and after coming off a bunch of fantasy books, a mystery seemed like a great break. Honestly, this book was one of my least favorites of the year. I had such high hopes for it, but there was just way too many problematic elements and the plot was just not that good. If you want to pick it up and check it out, I’m not going to stop you, but I think there are far better YA mystery books out there. I really wanted to like this one. I really did, but it just was not doing it for me.
For a full review, please check out my blog post here .
May 7, 2018
DNF @ 50%
I haven't read any of this in months so it's time to let it go.
Edit 3/5/18: Finally after months of putting this down i am finally writing a review.
This book was not enjoyable for me. It took me such a long time to get into and eventually after not picking it up for weeks on end I had to give up and DNF.
I am used to rude books and swearing and sexual content doesn't faze me at all but I really don't
feel like it worked in this novel.
This is a mystery type book were we try and figure out who attempted to kill a girl and that sounded super intriguing to me, I was expecting low key Pretty Little Liars vibes with this supposedly dead girl but that wasn't what I got.
I didn't connect with any of the characters, what with the multiple POVs it became repetitive and maybe if I'd been more interested in figuring out who the actual culprit was I could have pushed forward and completed it but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
Full Review: https://purplepancakeblog.wordpress.c...
I haven't read any of this in months so it's time to let it go.
Edit 3/5/18: Finally after months of putting this down i am finally writing a review.
This book was not enjoyable for me. It took me such a long time to get into and eventually after not picking it up for weeks on end I had to give up and DNF.
I am used to rude books and swearing and sexual content doesn't faze me at all but I really don't
feel like it worked in this novel.
This is a mystery type book were we try and figure out who attempted to kill a girl and that sounded super intriguing to me, I was expecting low key Pretty Little Liars vibes with this supposedly dead girl but that wasn't what I got.
I didn't connect with any of the characters, what with the multiple POVs it became repetitive and maybe if I'd been more interested in figuring out who the actual culprit was I could have pushed forward and completed it but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
Full Review: https://purplepancakeblog.wordpress.c...
August 25, 2017
Note: I received an ARC copy of this via Netgalley. This in no way influences my opinion.
I first discovered this book on Netgalley, and after reading the blurb, I absolutely had to request it! It instantly drew me and I knew I had to read it and find out what happened. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book as much as I wanted to and had to force myself to finish it toward the end.
This book centres around what happened to Jenny on the night of prom and trying to figure out who nearly killed her. She sends texts to characters who she believes may or may not have had something to do with it and gets them to meet her in a secluded cabin. The book is told from various POVs as each character recounts their version of what happened that night and where they were etc.
I think the biggest issue I had with this book was the fact that, for me, the multiple POVs all blended together. I didn’t feel like any one of the characters really had a voice that stood out on their own and I had to double check from who’s perspective I was reading before I carried on. I don’t feel like any new or explosive information was added by each of the characters every time the night was repeated, so the book felt extremely repetitive to me, to the point where I just wanted to put it down and do something else.
Another issue I had with this book was that it didn’t feel realistic enough for me. I understand Jenny being scared, but if someone had tried to kill me, I would not be meeting them in a secluded cabin four years after the fact – but rather would have gone to the police on the same evening! Jenny was too friendly with people she suspected to have had something to do with her attempted murder and even let a couple off the hook far too easily based seemingly on the history they have together. After certain events (no spoilers), I felt like the characters didn’t really care about it and it almost felt like it was thrown under the rug despite the seriousness of it.
Another issue with this book I had was that I had already figured out who it was based on their behaviour. It was easy to see who had done it because they were acting guilty – so the supposed plot twist that happened wasn’t really that much of a surprise to me. I don’t feel like the explanation that was given was really sufficient for the character to have done something that crazy and, again, I feel like it was thrown under the rug after the events were over.
What I did like about this book was the pacing of things after the ‘plot twist’ arrived. Whilst it was relatively slow through the first 70% and the last 10%, things started heating up and it made it interesting to read after the issues the rest of the boo faced. The events in the cabin in this 20% made me want to continue reading again – until about 90% where it slowed down and I didn’t really feel that the characters cared all that much.
All in all, I was relatively disappointed with this book and was expecting a lot more. It was repetitive and unrealistic, and the characters also felt 2D. I gave this book 2/5 stars.
I first discovered this book on Netgalley, and after reading the blurb, I absolutely had to request it! It instantly drew me and I knew I had to read it and find out what happened. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book as much as I wanted to and had to force myself to finish it toward the end.
This book centres around what happened to Jenny on the night of prom and trying to figure out who nearly killed her. She sends texts to characters who she believes may or may not have had something to do with it and gets them to meet her in a secluded cabin. The book is told from various POVs as each character recounts their version of what happened that night and where they were etc.
I think the biggest issue I had with this book was the fact that, for me, the multiple POVs all blended together. I didn’t feel like any one of the characters really had a voice that stood out on their own and I had to double check from who’s perspective I was reading before I carried on. I don’t feel like any new or explosive information was added by each of the characters every time the night was repeated, so the book felt extremely repetitive to me, to the point where I just wanted to put it down and do something else.
Another issue I had with this book was that it didn’t feel realistic enough for me. I understand Jenny being scared, but if someone had tried to kill me, I would not be meeting them in a secluded cabin four years after the fact – but rather would have gone to the police on the same evening! Jenny was too friendly with people she suspected to have had something to do with her attempted murder and even let a couple off the hook far too easily based seemingly on the history they have together. After certain events (no spoilers), I felt like the characters didn’t really care about it and it almost felt like it was thrown under the rug despite the seriousness of it.
Another issue with this book I had was that I had already figured out who it was based on their behaviour. It was easy to see who had done it because they were acting guilty – so the supposed plot twist that happened wasn’t really that much of a surprise to me. I don’t feel like the explanation that was given was really sufficient for the character to have done something that crazy and, again, I feel like it was thrown under the rug after the events were over.
What I did like about this book was the pacing of things after the ‘plot twist’ arrived. Whilst it was relatively slow through the first 70% and the last 10%, things started heating up and it made it interesting to read after the issues the rest of the boo faced. The events in the cabin in this 20% made me want to continue reading again – until about 90% where it slowed down and I didn’t really feel that the characters cared all that much.
All in all, I was relatively disappointed with this book and was expecting a lot more. It was repetitive and unrealistic, and the characters also felt 2D. I gave this book 2/5 stars.
January 26, 2018
*Semi spoilers in this*
When I first saw this book, I highly anticipated it. It fitted into my genre of preference and the description made it sound like an excited book. However, I have been left very disappointed for a number of reasons.
Plot:
At the beginning the plot seemed quite exciting but this went downhill within a few chapters. Whilst I respect that the same plot is being told by each perspective of the characters, each 'retelling' seemed too similar its presentation that I simply felt like I was reading the EXACT same thing over and over again which quickly bored me. Also not sure if this was my mind working the plot out quickly or the narrative being so transparent but I worked out the plot twist early on however the escalation that occurs after the plot twist is revealed is too dramatic for my tastes.
Characters:
Each character is this book seemed to only have one personality trait to define them which made them feel very one dimensional and therefore I couldn't connect with any of them. Liam I felt was lost in the story until the end which could have been intentional but to me he didn't seem to be an important character. No character seemed believable in their emotions and generally they were all bad people. No one had a redeeming quality, their willingness to manipulate people and cheat on each other was almost incredulous with the reasoning not being very strong.
Narrative:
I specifically want to talk about the locations the characters were in. Despite hearing the same plot over and over again I could not work out the logistics of the hotel the night took place in. This is probably due to the fact that the characters move around a lot in each of their versions of the story and so with everyone going to different places and different times I couldn't really grasp a real setting in my head.
Whilst the switch between 1st and 3rd person acts a device to separate the past from the present I found it confusing and left the characters in the present with less feeling and depth. The 3rd person narrative just wasn't as strong so it may have been better to use 1st person throughout with a simple note at the beginning of each chapter that it was past or present (this technique is used successfully in books I've read)
Unfortunately, I can only give this book 1.5 stars as it has real promise but could be vastly improved.
When I first saw this book, I highly anticipated it. It fitted into my genre of preference and the description made it sound like an excited book. However, I have been left very disappointed for a number of reasons.
Plot:
At the beginning the plot seemed quite exciting but this went downhill within a few chapters. Whilst I respect that the same plot is being told by each perspective of the characters, each 'retelling' seemed too similar its presentation that I simply felt like I was reading the EXACT same thing over and over again which quickly bored me. Also not sure if this was my mind working the plot out quickly or the narrative being so transparent but I worked out the plot twist early on however the escalation that occurs after the plot twist is revealed is too dramatic for my tastes.
Characters:
Each character is this book seemed to only have one personality trait to define them which made them feel very one dimensional and therefore I couldn't connect with any of them. Liam I felt was lost in the story until the end which could have been intentional but to me he didn't seem to be an important character. No character seemed believable in their emotions and generally they were all bad people. No one had a redeeming quality, their willingness to manipulate people and cheat on each other was almost incredulous with the reasoning not being very strong.
Narrative:
I specifically want to talk about the locations the characters were in. Despite hearing the same plot over and over again I could not work out the logistics of the hotel the night took place in. This is probably due to the fact that the characters move around a lot in each of their versions of the story and so with everyone going to different places and different times I couldn't really grasp a real setting in my head.
Whilst the switch between 1st and 3rd person acts a device to separate the past from the present I found it confusing and left the characters in the present with less feeling and depth. The 3rd person narrative just wasn't as strong so it may have been better to use 1st person throughout with a simple note at the beginning of each chapter that it was past or present (this technique is used successfully in books I've read)
Unfortunately, I can only give this book 1.5 stars as it has real promise but could be vastly improved.
August 14, 2017
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
After her dress was found in a river on prom night with no body in sight, Jenny is believed to be dead. Her ex-boyfriend and three classmates receive a text months later from Jenny, accusing them of killing her and saying she has proof.
I was interested in this book having just finished watching Pretty Little Lairs on Netflix and needed another mystery to take its place in my heart.
Sadly, this wasn't it.
Something about this book just didn't click for me, Jenny's character was just kind of meh, I didn't find myself completely absorbed in this book, I was just reading it to finish it but about 50% of the way through. Jenny was just kind of boring, nothing about her character really stood out and made me get behind her and say "I want to know who tried to kill Jenny". The other characters almost ran together in my head, I mean, I knew who each character was, but there was just something about them that didn't pull me in. The writing itself wasn't the best, the conversations that were going on throughout the book were cliched, the jocks calling each other "bro", the popular girls calling each other "bitch" instead of saying hello. I don't know, I really wanted to enjoy this book but I only finished it in the end because I'd made it over half way. The book didn't have much suspense considering the basis for the story, with something just lacking, either the writing style, the dialogue or just the characters as a whole.
I loved the idea of this book, but there was just something about it that didn't hit the mark for me.
2/5 stars
After her dress was found in a river on prom night with no body in sight, Jenny is believed to be dead. Her ex-boyfriend and three classmates receive a text months later from Jenny, accusing them of killing her and saying she has proof.
I was interested in this book having just finished watching Pretty Little Lairs on Netflix and needed another mystery to take its place in my heart.
Sadly, this wasn't it.
Something about this book just didn't click for me, Jenny's character was just kind of meh, I didn't find myself completely absorbed in this book, I was just reading it to finish it but about 50% of the way through. Jenny was just kind of boring, nothing about her character really stood out and made me get behind her and say "I want to know who tried to kill Jenny". The other characters almost ran together in my head, I mean, I knew who each character was, but there was just something about them that didn't pull me in. The writing itself wasn't the best, the conversations that were going on throughout the book were cliched, the jocks calling each other "bro", the popular girls calling each other "bitch" instead of saying hello. I don't know, I really wanted to enjoy this book but I only finished it in the end because I'd made it over half way. The book didn't have much suspense considering the basis for the story, with something just lacking, either the writing style, the dialogue or just the characters as a whole.
I loved the idea of this book, but there was just something about it that didn't hit the mark for me.
2/5 stars
September 25, 2017
1.5/5 stars
Okay, let me start off by saying that the writing itself was fine! no problem at all with the writing style .
The book is about this girl Jenny who was almost killed on her prom night, she ends up obviously not dying. after 5 months or so of everyone thinking she is dead she sends text messages to 4 of her friends to meet her at a cabin, she wants to find out who tried to kill her and why.
This book, was so extremely predictable, as soon as Jenny started telling her part of the prom night I immediately knew who the "killer" was. The fact that Jenny didn't go to the police after she was almost MURDERED blows my mind, even if you have a run in with the police and don't trust them, if someone tries to kill you GO TO THE POLICE. Don't go running off into hiding with someone and try to play detective, that just doesn't work out. Haven't you seen Pretty Little Liars? So Stupid.
There was no character development in the story, its just a recount of what happened to six different people over prom night. it got really repetitive which obviously it would if you're telling the same story from six different pints of views, I feel like this story has been done a 1000 times over and it's never good, no matter who is telling it. I have nothing against Samantha Boyette's writing or story telling, I just feel like she could have done more with the story or have written something different.
I wish I would have enjoyed it but it just wasn't for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy for review
Okay, let me start off by saying that the writing itself was fine! no problem at all with the writing style .
The book is about this girl Jenny who was almost killed on her prom night, she ends up obviously not dying. after 5 months or so of everyone thinking she is dead she sends text messages to 4 of her friends to meet her at a cabin, she wants to find out who tried to kill her and why.
This book, was so extremely predictable, as soon as Jenny started telling her part of the prom night I immediately knew who the "killer" was. The fact that Jenny didn't go to the police after she was almost MURDERED blows my mind, even if you have a run in with the police and don't trust them, if someone tries to kill you GO TO THE POLICE. Don't go running off into hiding with someone and try to play detective, that just doesn't work out. Haven't you seen Pretty Little Liars? So Stupid.
There was no character development in the story, its just a recount of what happened to six different people over prom night. it got really repetitive which obviously it would if you're telling the same story from six different pints of views, I feel like this story has been done a 1000 times over and it's never good, no matter who is telling it. I have nothing against Samantha Boyette's writing or story telling, I just feel like she could have done more with the story or have written something different.
I wish I would have enjoyed it but it just wasn't for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy for review
September 18, 2017
I'm just going to dive right in here, this book was tough for me to get through and finish. There were a few times that I was ready to throw in the towel and just not finish it, but I ain't no quitter! I soldiered on really hoping the book would redeem itself...Unfortunately, it did not.
The Girl Who Wasn't Dead oozes with potential. The premise immediately grabbed me and the simplicity of the cover is so inviting and is so fitting to the story. What I struggled with most was the writing style, or more so, the delivery. It is very...juvenile for lack of a better word. It read more like a middle grade novel but talked about drugs, booze and sex all the time and the characters just fell flat. It was your typical clique and each character just treated one another so terribly. If these were my friends, I would have throat-punched them and dropped all of them.
I also felt the book was taking on a "Pretty Little Liars" theme. I don't know if that was intentional but it felt like the book was trying to appeal to that crowd but the storyline didn't stand strong enough to achieve that.
The Girl Who Wasn't Dead just wasn't my cuppa tea.
This review was originally posted on The Crazy Bookworm: http://www.crazy-bookworm.com/2017/09...
The Girl Who Wasn't Dead oozes with potential. The premise immediately grabbed me and the simplicity of the cover is so inviting and is so fitting to the story. What I struggled with most was the writing style, or more so, the delivery. It is very...juvenile for lack of a better word. It read more like a middle grade novel but talked about drugs, booze and sex all the time and the characters just fell flat. It was your typical clique and each character just treated one another so terribly. If these were my friends, I would have throat-punched them and dropped all of them.
I also felt the book was taking on a "Pretty Little Liars" theme. I don't know if that was intentional but it felt like the book was trying to appeal to that crowd but the storyline didn't stand strong enough to achieve that.
The Girl Who Wasn't Dead just wasn't my cuppa tea.
This review was originally posted on The Crazy Bookworm: http://www.crazy-bookworm.com/2017/09...
August 15, 2017
Really wanted to enjoy this book but ended up finishing it just because ....
The title is good and the blurb on the book really drew me in but it is a book for Teens definitely.
It's kind of an Agatha Christie 'Who Dunnit' with each suspect giving their version of the prom night and revealing each had a motive to kill Jenny. I enjoyed the different character POV which has put off other reviewers.
It touches on being bi-curious and very ewin the 'be who you are - love who you are - don't be swayed by being the popular girl' Hate the fat geekey kids etc - probably would have enjoyed it when I was 14 but too predictable for me unfortunately.
If you enjoyed Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver then this is for you (a group of high school kids realising how shallow they all really are )
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read the book before it's release - it will appeal to someone but not me
The title is good and the blurb on the book really drew me in but it is a book for Teens definitely.
It's kind of an Agatha Christie 'Who Dunnit' with each suspect giving their version of the prom night and revealing each had a motive to kill Jenny. I enjoyed the different character POV which has put off other reviewers.
It touches on being bi-curious and very ewin the 'be who you are - love who you are - don't be swayed by being the popular girl' Hate the fat geekey kids etc - probably would have enjoyed it when I was 14 but too predictable for me unfortunately.
If you enjoyed Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver then this is for you (a group of high school kids realising how shallow they all really are )
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read the book before it's release - it will appeal to someone but not me
December 19, 2019
I was gifted an ebook via Netgalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts are my own.
It's really quite rare that I rate a book 1 star unless I DNF the book. I have to say that had this not been for a review, I might have DNF'd this book. I pushed through because it was under 250 pages and so I figured even if it was not the greatest story, I could finish it quickly. I did finish it quickly but man, I made a lot of notes. They mostly were about how the characters were all insufferable. They were all homophobic, fatphobic, racist, classist, violent addicts. It was a repetitive story with characters who all were violent with the MC claiming that they didn't kill her because they could never hurt her. I just read a YA thriller where I guessed the "twist" from the beginning and I don't think that's a "toot my own horn I'm so smart" thing. I think it was just too obvious. I had high hopes for this based on the premise, but it was such a let down.
It's really quite rare that I rate a book 1 star unless I DNF the book. I have to say that had this not been for a review, I might have DNF'd this book. I pushed through because it was under 250 pages and so I figured even if it was not the greatest story, I could finish it quickly. I did finish it quickly but man, I made a lot of notes. They mostly were about how the characters were all insufferable. They were all homophobic, fatphobic, racist, classist, violent addicts. It was a repetitive story with characters who all were violent with the MC claiming that they didn't kill her because they could never hurt her. I just read a YA thriller where I guessed the "twist" from the beginning and I don't think that's a "toot my own horn I'm so smart" thing. I think it was just too obvious. I had high hopes for this based on the premise, but it was such a let down.
September 8, 2017
(I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.)
The premise of this book is so interesting, and the blurb made me want to read more right away. The actual book, however, did not fulfill these expectations.
I was expecting a POV-shifting book with a cast of characters revealing their stories in a way that built suspense and developed tension. This story, however, fell way short. The writing just didn't carry me through. The dialogue felt cardboardy and the plot was predictable. I was surprised to see the "dead girl" have a POV chapter so early in the novel - I think that could have been reserved to build more mystery.
I always like diverse characters, so that was a plus for me, but this isn't something I could recommend to students. I just don't think there's enough mystery and intrigue to keep them reading.
The premise of this book is so interesting, and the blurb made me want to read more right away. The actual book, however, did not fulfill these expectations.
I was expecting a POV-shifting book with a cast of characters revealing their stories in a way that built suspense and developed tension. This story, however, fell way short. The writing just didn't carry me through. The dialogue felt cardboardy and the plot was predictable. I was surprised to see the "dead girl" have a POV chapter so early in the novel - I think that could have been reserved to build more mystery.
I always like diverse characters, so that was a plus for me, but this isn't something I could recommend to students. I just don't think there's enough mystery and intrigue to keep them reading.
September 27, 2017
This was...disappointing. The premise was really enticing and I really hoped that this book would be Pretty Little Liars meets One of Us is Lying. Unfortunately, The Girl Who Wasn't Dead just didn't deliver in a lot of ways.
* I guessed the ending about a third of the way in.
* The POV changes but the voice doesn't so it's often easy to forget who is actually speaking.
* The repetition is infuriating. Word-for-word repetition had me skimming through chapters.
* Despite centrally featuring three lesbian characters, there was an undercurrent of homophobia and a lot of fat-shaming going on...
* None of the characters actually felt real - they were all just caricatures of a stereotypical 'cast of high school drama'.
* The dialogue felt off (I can't really put my finger on why...)
This book had so much potential that it just didn't live up to.
* I guessed the ending about a third of the way in.
* The POV changes but the voice doesn't so it's often easy to forget who is actually speaking.
* The repetition is infuriating. Word-for-word repetition had me skimming through chapters.
* Despite centrally featuring three lesbian characters, there was an undercurrent of homophobia and a lot of fat-shaming going on...
* None of the characters actually felt real - they were all just caricatures of a stereotypical 'cast of high school drama'.
* The dialogue felt off (I can't really put my finger on why...)
This book had so much potential that it just didn't live up to.
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