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Dead School
There is no death… only a change in worlds.
Tina Crocker is having the best day of her life as she performs at the school's largest talent show. She kills it. Literally. The moment she steps off stage: Tina Crocker croaks and ends up in… Dead School.
Tina Crocker is having the best day of her life as she performs at the school's largest talent show. She kills it. Literally. The moment she steps off stage: Tina Crocker croaks and ends up in… Dead School.
259 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 16, 2018
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146 people want to read
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February 9, 2019
****I received an advance review copy for free in exchange for an honest review, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
I have no idea what to say. This book sounded AMAZING! I was excited to read it, but when I started, the disappointment came really fast and unfortunately never left.
I'm going to give this one extra star for great potential. ⭐ It really pains me that I disliked the book so much but it was mostly caused by characters. If Tina was different it may have been a fantastic book. I liked the complexity and possibilities of the Dead School! (I want Oscar de la Renta dress for prom!)
So, where this went wrong?
Tina. The main character was very unlikeable. Okay, in the whole book there was not a single character I liked, but this is about Tina right now.
She starts as this timid, unsure girl who is obsessed with playing the guitar. When she dies, she mentions the guitar two times (maybe three) but in her time on the other side does not try to obtain a guitar to play. (She can get a dress from Oscar de la Renta, you can get anything there!) And she had to throw a huge tantrum for not being placed with crafters since she is this amazing guitar player, who does not play very often.
And the nerves? Nowhere to be seen. Suddenly she argues with everyone, does stupid things, is all focused on herself and does not listen. I have a feeling that the author tried to make her funny, snarky with clever comebacks (A bit like Sophie from Hex Hall) but it fell flat. I'm sorry, I was rooting against Tina. I wanted her to fail and just be over with.
Then who? The Alexei who is mentioned in the blurb? Well, I don't even know why he was in the story. Was he supposed to be a bit of romantic interest? Did not work.
Melinda? No feelings, really.
Anna. I had no idea if I should feel sorry for her or what. There was nothing. She was so much ridiculed that like with Tina I did not care at all how she's going to end.
Carl. How can you like someone who speaks for the whole book like this? "Butitmightbetheendofyoursifyoufail!"
As for the storyline, I don't know if I missed some things or what but I kept thinking that it does not really make sense.
I have no idea what to say. This book sounded AMAZING! I was excited to read it, but when I started, the disappointment came really fast and unfortunately never left.
I'm going to give this one extra star for great potential. ⭐ It really pains me that I disliked the book so much but it was mostly caused by characters. If Tina was different it may have been a fantastic book. I liked the complexity and possibilities of the Dead School! (I want Oscar de la Renta dress for prom!)
So, where this went wrong?
Tina. The main character was very unlikeable. Okay, in the whole book there was not a single character I liked, but this is about Tina right now.
She starts as this timid, unsure girl who is obsessed with playing the guitar. When she dies, she mentions the guitar two times (maybe three) but in her time on the other side does not try to obtain a guitar to play. (She can get a dress from Oscar de la Renta, you can get anything there!) And she had to throw a huge tantrum for not being placed with crafters since she is this amazing guitar player, who does not play very often.
And the nerves? Nowhere to be seen. Suddenly she argues with everyone, does stupid things, is all focused on herself and does not listen. I have a feeling that the author tried to make her funny, snarky with clever comebacks (A bit like Sophie from Hex Hall) but it fell flat. I'm sorry, I was rooting against Tina. I wanted her to fail and just be over with.
Then who? The Alexei who is mentioned in the blurb? Well, I don't even know why he was in the story. Was he supposed to be a bit of romantic interest? Did not work.
Melinda? No feelings, really.
Anna. I had no idea if I should feel sorry for her or what. There was nothing. She was so much ridiculed that like with Tina I did not care at all how she's going to end.
Carl. How can you like someone who speaks for the whole book like this? "Butitmightbetheendofyoursifyoufail!"
As for the storyline, I don't know if I missed some things or what but I kept thinking that it does not really make sense.
February 17, 2019
Read this review and others on my blog!
Thank you to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for sending me a free advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review.
I requested this book on NetGalley in large part due to the beautiful cover and the title. Dead School? How cool of a concept is that?
Unfortunately, I didn’t even make it to Dead School. This book reads like a rough first draft; I’m a bit confused about how this is considered to be a manuscript in finished form. There are punctuation and verb agreement errors aplenty, as well as some exceedingly strange word usage. Characters “waver” papers in the MC’s face and “clog” down the stairs. (And I don’t believe this is referring to clog dance, but in this book, anything is possible, I suppose.)
All this can be forgiven if the story is good. For example, I have been extremely forgiving in the past of translated works. Metro 2033, which is shoddily translated but utterly fantastic, is one example that springs to mind.
Yet there is nothing to redeem the story in terms of substance. The MC is unlikable and acts nonsensically, as do all the characters flitting around her. We start the opening chapter with the MC in the car with her parents on Valentine’s Day. They are heading to Red Lobster to eat dinner, toting along their cat. With a bit of handwavium, we’re led to believe that the local Red Lobster manager is super cool with animals and will allow such nonsense at the table.
Okay. Fine. Second page of the book, my fingers are already starting to desperately tighten around my suspension of disbelief, which has grown oddly slippery… But let’s press on.
Wait, stop! Fuck Valentine’s Day and turn the car around, Dad—we have to go back to school! The MC suddenly has a blinding desire to beat her stage fright and perform in the school talent show, which is taking place LITERALLY RIGHT NOW. The MC’s parents oblige her, because… you know… the author wants them to.
And then our MC nails her performance, even though she hasn’t gone to any of the rehearsals. (Not joking.) The students in the audience, all of whom the MC despises, are moved to tears—she’s just that amazing. All is looking up—soon the MC will be the school’s new Queen Bee. Because she attends a prestigious performing arts school, our intrepid MC knows that there are talent scouts in the audience, pens at the ready to sign her for a record deal. Too bad a stage decoration then falls on her and kills her.
All this ridiculousness happens in the first chapter. I read a bit of it aloud to my husband, and his assessment is that the book has an uncanny valley feel. The characters just all act so bizarrely, as if a thousand YA novels got mixed together in a blender and an algorithm spit out the common elements it thought define human behavior. Needless to say, I only made it a few chapters in before I had to call it quits.
Let me be clear: I normally try to find the positive in things—sandwich method, etc.—but I cannot be charitable with this book. There is nothing to be charitable about. Even the famous quotes from historic figures attached to each chapter heading are cringey; what does Shakespeare have to do with any of this? I’m reminded a bit of how the infamous indie game Crying Is Not Enough (epic Let’s Play right here) stuck famous quotes on its interminable loading screens… But that game was bad yet had heart, and this book is just terrible.
Nice cover, though.
Thank you to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for sending me a free advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review.
I requested this book on NetGalley in large part due to the beautiful cover and the title. Dead School? How cool of a concept is that?
Unfortunately, I didn’t even make it to Dead School. This book reads like a rough first draft; I’m a bit confused about how this is considered to be a manuscript in finished form. There are punctuation and verb agreement errors aplenty, as well as some exceedingly strange word usage. Characters “waver” papers in the MC’s face and “clog” down the stairs. (And I don’t believe this is referring to clog dance, but in this book, anything is possible, I suppose.)
All this can be forgiven if the story is good. For example, I have been extremely forgiving in the past of translated works. Metro 2033, which is shoddily translated but utterly fantastic, is one example that springs to mind.
Yet there is nothing to redeem the story in terms of substance. The MC is unlikable and acts nonsensically, as do all the characters flitting around her. We start the opening chapter with the MC in the car with her parents on Valentine’s Day. They are heading to Red Lobster to eat dinner, toting along their cat. With a bit of handwavium, we’re led to believe that the local Red Lobster manager is super cool with animals and will allow such nonsense at the table.
Okay. Fine. Second page of the book, my fingers are already starting to desperately tighten around my suspension of disbelief, which has grown oddly slippery… But let’s press on.
Wait, stop! Fuck Valentine’s Day and turn the car around, Dad—we have to go back to school! The MC suddenly has a blinding desire to beat her stage fright and perform in the school talent show, which is taking place LITERALLY RIGHT NOW. The MC’s parents oblige her, because… you know… the author wants them to.
And then our MC nails her performance, even though she hasn’t gone to any of the rehearsals. (Not joking.) The students in the audience, all of whom the MC despises, are moved to tears—she’s just that amazing. All is looking up—soon the MC will be the school’s new Queen Bee. Because she attends a prestigious performing arts school, our intrepid MC knows that there are talent scouts in the audience, pens at the ready to sign her for a record deal. Too bad a stage decoration then falls on her and kills her.
All this ridiculousness happens in the first chapter. I read a bit of it aloud to my husband, and his assessment is that the book has an uncanny valley feel. The characters just all act so bizarrely, as if a thousand YA novels got mixed together in a blender and an algorithm spit out the common elements it thought define human behavior. Needless to say, I only made it a few chapters in before I had to call it quits.
Let me be clear: I normally try to find the positive in things—sandwich method, etc.—but I cannot be charitable with this book. There is nothing to be charitable about. Even the famous quotes from historic figures attached to each chapter heading are cringey; what does Shakespeare have to do with any of this? I’m reminded a bit of how the infamous indie game Crying Is Not Enough (epic Let’s Play right here) stuck famous quotes on its interminable loading screens… But that game was bad yet had heart, and this book is just terrible.
Nice cover, though.
March 17, 2019
Dnf at 34%
2 stars
***I received an eArc in exchange for an honest review***
Summary from Goodreads
There is no death... only a change in worlds
It is Valentine's Day at John Hopkin's High, and the disgruntled Tina Crocker is having the best day of her life as she performs at the school's largest talent show. She kills it. Literally. The moment she steps off stage: Tina Crocker croaks and ends up in... Dead School.
Entering a grotesque new world, she is greeted by a furious, hair-wobbling mentor who dispels her into the Spirit Guide division. But, unlike the rest of her class, she becomes the school's first Spirit Guide's Assistant while paired with the biggest floozy in the afterworld. Together, they are assigned to guide a living loser, in order to pass their course.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel... a rather long tunnel. Tina also meets a mysterious artist from the Suicide division, Alexei. And, somehow, their different breeds of awkward strangely click. As finals approach, Tina's focus has to switch or else a miserable reincarnated life awaits. Yeah, rest in peace, my ass...
My thoughts
This book has a really interesting premise but, the execution was sloppy. It follows teenage, Tina Crocker who dies and goes on to a world of the dead. This seems like it would be a good book but unfortunately I ran into some conflict with the book.
I dnfed this so as for the plot I cannot say much but I saw enough of the writing to know that this book wasn't for me.
What I liked
The start of the story was a very strong beginning and I was hooked. I liked Tina's humor and the whole idea of the dead school was pretty cool.
What I didn't like
The book was really hard to follow, while some parts were pretty easy to understand I was constantly feeling lost in the book and I wasn't able to follow it. I felt lost, and not in a good way. The story was hard to understand and the deeper into the book I went the worse the book got.
Overall
This just wasn't the book for me, I felt it was messy and hard to understand and I really didn't enjoy it.
2 stars.
Happy reading,
Kiera ❤
2 stars
***I received an eArc in exchange for an honest review***
Summary from Goodreads
There is no death... only a change in worlds
It is Valentine's Day at John Hopkin's High, and the disgruntled Tina Crocker is having the best day of her life as she performs at the school's largest talent show. She kills it. Literally. The moment she steps off stage: Tina Crocker croaks and ends up in... Dead School.
Entering a grotesque new world, she is greeted by a furious, hair-wobbling mentor who dispels her into the Spirit Guide division. But, unlike the rest of her class, she becomes the school's first Spirit Guide's Assistant while paired with the biggest floozy in the afterworld. Together, they are assigned to guide a living loser, in order to pass their course.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel... a rather long tunnel. Tina also meets a mysterious artist from the Suicide division, Alexei. And, somehow, their different breeds of awkward strangely click. As finals approach, Tina's focus has to switch or else a miserable reincarnated life awaits. Yeah, rest in peace, my ass...
My thoughts
This book has a really interesting premise but, the execution was sloppy. It follows teenage, Tina Crocker who dies and goes on to a world of the dead. This seems like it would be a good book but unfortunately I ran into some conflict with the book.
I dnfed this so as for the plot I cannot say much but I saw enough of the writing to know that this book wasn't for me.
What I liked
The start of the story was a very strong beginning and I was hooked. I liked Tina's humor and the whole idea of the dead school was pretty cool.
What I didn't like
The book was really hard to follow, while some parts were pretty easy to understand I was constantly feeling lost in the book and I wasn't able to follow it. I felt lost, and not in a good way. The story was hard to understand and the deeper into the book I went the worse the book got.
Overall
This just wasn't the book for me, I felt it was messy and hard to understand and I really didn't enjoy it.
2 stars.
Happy reading,
Kiera ❤
February 6, 2019
The Author has come up with a fun concept which revolves around a teenage girl, who, by way of accident finds herself in Dead School.
As the title suggests, Dead School takes place in the after world. It's a quirky, unusual place where the teachers too have passed on.
I felt as though I were transported onto the set of a movie with the characters in full make up and about to shoot the next scene and the Director yelling 'Action'. The deceased in Dead School arrive there with their wounds intact, which I realized I rather enjoyed. It's achieved with a skill in the writing that plasters a smile to your face. I enjoyed the adventure of it all.
One to savor if you are a fan of surrealist Gothic with fun and good story telling blended in to the mix. It hits the spot in several areas and I liked it because of that.
Think of Tim Burton and the movies he makes and you'll get a clue as to what to expect here.
In short, it's a fine read from an author who knows how to spin a good yarn.
As the title suggests, Dead School takes place in the after world. It's a quirky, unusual place where the teachers too have passed on.
I felt as though I were transported onto the set of a movie with the characters in full make up and about to shoot the next scene and the Director yelling 'Action'. The deceased in Dead School arrive there with their wounds intact, which I realized I rather enjoyed. It's achieved with a skill in the writing that plasters a smile to your face. I enjoyed the adventure of it all.
One to savor if you are a fan of surrealist Gothic with fun and good story telling blended in to the mix. It hits the spot in several areas and I liked it because of that.
Think of Tim Burton and the movies he makes and you'll get a clue as to what to expect here.
In short, it's a fine read from an author who knows how to spin a good yarn.
February 10, 2019
Dead School was so much fun to read! After reading some reviews I was hesitant, but I am glad I decided on giving it a try! The author has a great imagination and way of describing what it was to live in the world of Dead School. The main character Tina was true to the way many teens her age feels nowadays which makes this read all that more authentic in character emotions. Tina, like everyone, is sent on a journey to find herself. I felt like I could relate. Some ways Tina saw her life (and death) were dark but it didn't bother me since we all have our bad sides >:) I laughed some and got angry with some, which was good because if the book doesn't move me, is it really worth the read?! After reading this book, I would highly recommend giving this book a try and you can be a judge for yourself! Happy Reading, future students of Dead School!
January 21, 2019
Dead School
Tina Crocker was a failure... In life, in death... Even in Dead School. Tina just couldn't understand it. No matter how hard she tried, she failed... And this time, there was no going back....
Oh my! This was one wild ride! Loved every minute of it. Definitely an enlightening read... It really makes you think, and re-think, your life choices.
Tina Crocker was a failure... In life, in death... Even in Dead School. Tina just couldn't understand it. No matter how hard she tried, she failed... And this time, there was no going back....
Oh my! This was one wild ride! Loved every minute of it. Definitely an enlightening read... It really makes you think, and re-think, your life choices.
April 9, 2019
Shelving this as one of my most upsetting reads of all time. Dead School by Laura Gia West is about a teenage girl, Tina, who dies and finds herself in attendance at Dead School. Dead School is sort of like a Harry Potter meets Dead Like Me purgatory. Upon arrival students are placed into one of five divisions: Reapers, Recovery, Spirit Guide, Suicides, and Crafters. Each division has different duties and level of permissions as it's set up as a hierarchy, dependant upon where you are with your soul mission. It's kind of like a fun and spooky magic school after death (similar to angels, but definitely not angels), which is pretty cool. Reincarnation and death-is-not-the-end is a big theme.
Edit: Be warned that if you leave a review that is anything less than stellar, you may be harassed in the comments and the author will subtweet about you being a 'snowflake'. For me this book has consistent, heavily problematic themes throughout. These are my O P I N I O N S. Your opinion is not worth more than mine just because you disagree with my perspective, and you are welcome to feel however you want to feel about this book. You are also very welcome to write your own review. I'm not here to debate, I'm here to review this book.
The reason this book is so upsetting, aside from the problematic content, is that it has so much potential to be great. This is a book I could have fallen completely in love with, and it conflicts me to love so much of this book, but still rate it 1 star because the good parts WERE SO GOOD but the bad parts WERE SO BAD. The premise and worldbuilding which I would easily give 4-5 stars, is such a unique concept and played out pleasingly cinematical in my mind, but it wasn't enough for me to raise my rating.
I'm so upset because this book could have been an amazing Death Positive YA, but it was far from that. I just want to take a moment to express that the MC of this book is a teen, as well as the fact that there are three different school settings, so I'm going to assume the target audience is teens. Now with that said, this is a YA book that I would never consider recommending to a YA purely due to the negative content; it's uncaring, stereotypical, and sends a bad message. The primary message basically being that if you're not popular and you don't have many friends, or you don't get along with your family, or you haven't achieved much in your life yet, or you haven't fallen in love or haven't passionately connected with anyone (your pets don't count) and then you die, you "fail at life" and will be punished in the afterlife as if your soul has no inherent value. We're talking about impressionable young readers, here. I feel like this completely goes against what many people in this age group are experiencing, so why would you make it a point to attack them for it?? Embedding current societal judgements and hatred as a primary sense of what gives a soul value just wasn't the way to go here.
Aside from that, there were just so many problematic issues they were practically jumping off the pages. The MC Tina's toxicity, and the general toxicity woven into this book, is appalling. Tina has failed her life path of LOVE for the however many thousandth time, and is basically the scourge of Dead School. She's given one last chance to redeem her soul, by helping a living person achieve their life path. Sounds good, right? Wrong. Tina sure does like to think of herself as a victim, and at times she definitely is, but she's also very much a bully. Now, I refuse to believe that Tina is incapable of love. I flat out deny it. She loves her cat, her family, and herself - but not in the way people want her to. That doesn't seem fair to me. However, she is mean and toxic. Yes, toxic.
• The characters are extremely unlikable. Every. Single. Character. I couldn't bring myself to care for them. I feel like they were supposed to be strange and whimsical, and I'm totally into that, but the tone wasn't really...accepting, it seemed very judgemental, especially given the fact that none of them ever really truly redeem themselves. Just saying that they were redeemed doesn't count and honestly that irked me so much. I want to SEE their redemption, not just hear it. In my opinion Tina didn't redeem herself whatsoever, since the only reason she passed Dead School was because she was too afraid of reincarnating into a life that was not ideal, rather than because she changed or decided to be a better person. Lucky selfishness is not redemption, it's a shortcut back to stagnation.
THIS BOOK IS NOT FRIENDLY TOWARDS MARGINALIZED VOICES.
• Tina shames the girl she's supposed to be helping with judgements and sexism. She refers to her as being ugly/a loser/fat and the "antonym of femme" whilst judging her life (she's a geeky gamer), when it's obvious that this girl has mental health problems. Tina's lack of empathy was revolting. As someone with my fair share of mental health problems, I find this offensive.
• Judgement is CONSTANTLY cast on the "outcasts" of society. Goths are depicted as angry emotionally unstable suicidals, geeks as deformed hunchbacks with lisps and poor hygiene. She assumes a goth kid has lice because he itches his head when he's anxious, and believes he couldn't possibly be intelligent because of his visual aesthetic. "Black is a depressing color." Seriously, fuck off Tina. As a goth geek, I find this offensive.
• Queer-phobic. At one point "revenge" is taken in the form of Tina and her colleague hacking into this poor girl's Facebook and falsely/publicly outing two individuals as being gay with each other. They retaliate by becoming physically abusive to her, which indicates that there's something wrong with being gay. Yes, let's teach the bullies a lesson by falsely calling them out as queer so that they in turn will be bullied! That makes so much sense! If you couldn't tell I'm rolling my eyes here. This is not okay. I'll say it again, THIS IS NOT OKAY. What this is, is harmful and disgusting towards queer youth, and queers in general. As a queer person, I find this offensive.
• Internalized racism. If Tina fails dead school again, she will be punished by reincarnating as a homeless Asian man who dies of a 'chicken disease'. I mean, the toxic whiteness of this is just...wow. Who thought this was okay?? Really, I am shocked, and again, I find this offensive.
• Intrusions of privacy and personal space. Tina wants to know more about someone and, not accepting that they don't want to open up to her, goes behind his back and travels into the archives of his life to personally witness every single vulnerable, private moment of his life before he died (by suicide, which she was aware of beforehand). I have lost a loved one to suicide and I find this beyond offensive, I have no words.
• Not friendly towards individualism. We witness a problematic scenario where Tina serves 'detention' in the form of brainwashing shock therapy IN AN ELECTRIC CHAIR. She's unwillingly strapped to an electric chair and given 500 questions during her shock therapy which she had to answer either "yes" or "no" to, and if she answered 'wrong' she was electrocuted. This is child abuse. Why should you smile at a stranger just because they smiled at you first? Why should you trust someone just because they're being nice? The world isn't that simple and I am completely disgusted with the forced rhetoric that individuals are not allowed to put up their own emotional/physical boundaries of protection or self-love, that they must live and react within a bubble of someone else's comfort. Way to go, trying to condition young minds to think it's wrong to not accept the advances of other people when they're unwanted. This is sickening and beyond unacceptable. Again, I find this offensive.
And these are only the issues that really stood out for me, there are more, and they should have been addressed but were not. The tone of this whole book felt like a heavily theatrical personal attack against the 'outcasts' of society, the people who don't act the way the majority wants them to. I believe this book would have benefited from a sensitivity reader, since it deals with so many sensitive topics that I felt were not expressed in the best light, especially considering the target audience. Like I said earlier, this could have been so good, and if it didn't have all of these issues it would have easily become one of my favorites, but unfortunately I ended up really truly hating it. I am not sorry for this review, at all, whatsoever. Words and the ideas behind them are powerful, and we're really going to fill the youth with this hatred? Really? This is full blown cringeworthy judgemental shit and it's not cute/quirky.
Bottom line, I would not recommend this book, and I'm blacklisting this author due to their antagonistic attitude. If you can't take criticism maybe being a content creator isn't for you.
eARC provided by Black Rose Writing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning for discrimination, sexism, racism, fat shaming, consistent topic of suicide, mention of corpse deformation, loss of a loved one, invasions of privacy, queer-phobia, violence (physical, verbal), drug content via addicted parents, allusions to body dysmorphia, eating disorders, depression/anxiety/mental health disorders, child abuse and torture in the form of shock therapy, allusions to underage rape, multiple forced nudity scenes with a teenage girl, and religious themes. ♡
Edit: Be warned that if you leave a review that is anything less than stellar, you may be harassed in the comments and the author will subtweet about you being a 'snowflake'. For me this book has consistent, heavily problematic themes throughout. These are my O P I N I O N S. Your opinion is not worth more than mine just because you disagree with my perspective, and you are welcome to feel however you want to feel about this book. You are also very welcome to write your own review. I'm not here to debate, I'm here to review this book.
The reason this book is so upsetting, aside from the problematic content, is that it has so much potential to be great. This is a book I could have fallen completely in love with, and it conflicts me to love so much of this book, but still rate it 1 star because the good parts WERE SO GOOD but the bad parts WERE SO BAD. The premise and worldbuilding which I would easily give 4-5 stars, is such a unique concept and played out pleasingly cinematical in my mind, but it wasn't enough for me to raise my rating.
I'm so upset because this book could have been an amazing Death Positive YA, but it was far from that. I just want to take a moment to express that the MC of this book is a teen, as well as the fact that there are three different school settings, so I'm going to assume the target audience is teens. Now with that said, this is a YA book that I would never consider recommending to a YA purely due to the negative content; it's uncaring, stereotypical, and sends a bad message. The primary message basically being that if you're not popular and you don't have many friends, or you don't get along with your family, or you haven't achieved much in your life yet, or you haven't fallen in love or haven't passionately connected with anyone (your pets don't count) and then you die, you "fail at life" and will be punished in the afterlife as if your soul has no inherent value. We're talking about impressionable young readers, here. I feel like this completely goes against what many people in this age group are experiencing, so why would you make it a point to attack them for it?? Embedding current societal judgements and hatred as a primary sense of what gives a soul value just wasn't the way to go here.
Aside from that, there were just so many problematic issues they were practically jumping off the pages. The MC Tina's toxicity, and the general toxicity woven into this book, is appalling. Tina has failed her life path of LOVE for the however many thousandth time, and is basically the scourge of Dead School. She's given one last chance to redeem her soul, by helping a living person achieve their life path. Sounds good, right? Wrong. Tina sure does like to think of herself as a victim, and at times she definitely is, but she's also very much a bully. Now, I refuse to believe that Tina is incapable of love. I flat out deny it. She loves her cat, her family, and herself - but not in the way people want her to. That doesn't seem fair to me. However, she is mean and toxic. Yes, toxic.
• The characters are extremely unlikable. Every. Single. Character. I couldn't bring myself to care for them. I feel like they were supposed to be strange and whimsical, and I'm totally into that, but the tone wasn't really...accepting, it seemed very judgemental, especially given the fact that none of them ever really truly redeem themselves. Just saying that they were redeemed doesn't count and honestly that irked me so much. I want to SEE their redemption, not just hear it. In my opinion Tina didn't redeem herself whatsoever, since the only reason she passed Dead School was because she was too afraid of reincarnating into a life that was not ideal, rather than because she changed or decided to be a better person. Lucky selfishness is not redemption, it's a shortcut back to stagnation.
THIS BOOK IS NOT FRIENDLY TOWARDS MARGINALIZED VOICES.
• Tina shames the girl she's supposed to be helping with judgements and sexism. She refers to her as being ugly/a loser/fat and the "antonym of femme" whilst judging her life (she's a geeky gamer), when it's obvious that this girl has mental health problems. Tina's lack of empathy was revolting. As someone with my fair share of mental health problems, I find this offensive.
• Judgement is CONSTANTLY cast on the "outcasts" of society. Goths are depicted as angry emotionally unstable suicidals, geeks as deformed hunchbacks with lisps and poor hygiene. She assumes a goth kid has lice because he itches his head when he's anxious, and believes he couldn't possibly be intelligent because of his visual aesthetic. "Black is a depressing color." Seriously, fuck off Tina. As a goth geek, I find this offensive.
• Queer-phobic. At one point "revenge" is taken in the form of Tina and her colleague hacking into this poor girl's Facebook and falsely/publicly outing two individuals as being gay with each other. They retaliate by becoming physically abusive to her, which indicates that there's something wrong with being gay. Yes, let's teach the bullies a lesson by falsely calling them out as queer so that they in turn will be bullied! That makes so much sense! If you couldn't tell I'm rolling my eyes here. This is not okay. I'll say it again, THIS IS NOT OKAY. What this is, is harmful and disgusting towards queer youth, and queers in general. As a queer person, I find this offensive.
• Internalized racism. If Tina fails dead school again, she will be punished by reincarnating as a homeless Asian man who dies of a 'chicken disease'. I mean, the toxic whiteness of this is just...wow. Who thought this was okay?? Really, I am shocked, and again, I find this offensive.
• Intrusions of privacy and personal space. Tina wants to know more about someone and, not accepting that they don't want to open up to her, goes behind his back and travels into the archives of his life to personally witness every single vulnerable, private moment of his life before he died (by suicide, which she was aware of beforehand). I have lost a loved one to suicide and I find this beyond offensive, I have no words.
• Not friendly towards individualism. We witness a problematic scenario where Tina serves 'detention' in the form of brainwashing shock therapy IN AN ELECTRIC CHAIR. She's unwillingly strapped to an electric chair and given 500 questions during her shock therapy which she had to answer either "yes" or "no" to, and if she answered 'wrong' she was electrocuted. This is child abuse. Why should you smile at a stranger just because they smiled at you first? Why should you trust someone just because they're being nice? The world isn't that simple and I am completely disgusted with the forced rhetoric that individuals are not allowed to put up their own emotional/physical boundaries of protection or self-love, that they must live and react within a bubble of someone else's comfort. Way to go, trying to condition young minds to think it's wrong to not accept the advances of other people when they're unwanted. This is sickening and beyond unacceptable. Again, I find this offensive.
And these are only the issues that really stood out for me, there are more, and they should have been addressed but were not. The tone of this whole book felt like a heavily theatrical personal attack against the 'outcasts' of society, the people who don't act the way the majority wants them to. I believe this book would have benefited from a sensitivity reader, since it deals with so many sensitive topics that I felt were not expressed in the best light, especially considering the target audience. Like I said earlier, this could have been so good, and if it didn't have all of these issues it would have easily become one of my favorites, but unfortunately I ended up really truly hating it. I am not sorry for this review, at all, whatsoever. Words and the ideas behind them are powerful, and we're really going to fill the youth with this hatred? Really? This is full blown cringeworthy judgemental shit and it's not cute/quirky.
Bottom line, I would not recommend this book, and I'm blacklisting this author due to their antagonistic attitude. If you can't take criticism maybe being a content creator isn't for you.
eARC provided by Black Rose Writing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning for discrimination, sexism, racism, fat shaming, consistent topic of suicide, mention of corpse deformation, loss of a loved one, invasions of privacy, queer-phobia, violence (physical, verbal), drug content via addicted parents, allusions to body dysmorphia, eating disorders, depression/anxiety/mental health disorders, child abuse and torture in the form of shock therapy, allusions to underage rape, multiple forced nudity scenes with a teenage girl, and religious themes. ♡
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2019
Dead School: a place where dead teenagers go to fulfill their souls' paths. Sounded so intriguing to me, yet I was left feeling pretty empty and indifferent towards the characters and the story. I did not make an emotional connection to the book, (which to me, is very important)- so I was pretty disappointed by the end.
This book had so much potential if the characters could be more relatable and likeable. They definitely lacked depth. Also, the book doesn't pick up until after about 55% of the way through which made it drag on...
Now for the characters:
Tina- It seemed like EVERYTHING ALWAYS WENT WRONG FOR TINA...The 5 seconds that she had something good going for her- it was instantly ruined. She literally had NO hope 99% of the book - Frustrating to say the least.
Melinda- total B#. Alexei could've had so much more potential - it felt like Laura Gia West barely scratched the surface with him. Anna, unfortunately, was not intriguing to me.
The story line could've been great, had the characters been different. It sucks that I didn't make a connection with any of the characters and didn't really bond with the book.
However, this being Laura Gia West's first book, I think that she has great potential to be a successful author if her characters become more elaborate and relatable.
Received ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book had so much potential if the characters could be more relatable and likeable. They definitely lacked depth. Also, the book doesn't pick up until after about 55% of the way through which made it drag on...
Now for the characters:
Tina- It seemed like EVERYTHING ALWAYS WENT WRONG FOR TINA...The 5 seconds that she had something good going for her- it was instantly ruined. She literally had NO hope 99% of the book - Frustrating to say the least.
Melinda- total B#. Alexei could've had so much more potential - it felt like Laura Gia West barely scratched the surface with him. Anna, unfortunately, was not intriguing to me.
The story line could've been great, had the characters been different. It sucks that I didn't make a connection with any of the characters and didn't really bond with the book.
However, this being Laura Gia West's first book, I think that she has great potential to be a successful author if her characters become more elaborate and relatable.
Received ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 5, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's an easy read, lots of fun, great world-building, and very fresh. I often found myself reading just "one more chapter" and I didn't want it to end... I'm looking forward to the sequel and more books from this author.
February 10, 2019
Super fun, easy read, crazy imagination, I couldn't stop turning the pages. Loved the ride!
February 22, 2019
I really enjoyed this read, it was different than anything I've read in a very long time. The main character is not the most likeable: but that's the point. She failed at love (human-to-human social interaction). Her character grows by the end. She's a complex protagonist, that isn't the typical fluffy-do-everything-right-heroine. It didn't take away from the story for me, or the world-building (which was phenomenal). I say give it a read with an open mind to expect something atypical, and you will probably enjoy it, like I did.
February 11, 2019
This book is meant to be an easy read and fun escape into a new world... and it REALLY was! The main character, Tina, is a say it like it is kind of girl.. (or rather, "think-it"). Her thoughts are funny, original and bold. We go onto this journey seeing how she changes from repelling Anna, the slob, to really caring and rooting for her. It's an anti-bullying novel, with growth in all characters, particularly their insecurities and ability to look at each other differently than they initially did. The author really has a wild imagination, kind of Tim Burton, Lewis Caroll, a modernized Roald Dahl with a potty-tongue. All in all, for me, it was fun to read, and very different from what this genre typically is. Its unique. I enjoyed it a lot!
March 2, 2019
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
Dead School by Laura Gia West was described by reviewer David Nora on Goodreads as "Harry Potter meets Beetlejuice". I would not agree completely with the description but it is close.
Tina Crocker hates Valentine's Day and school. She failed at life, love, and everything else she has tried except for playing her guitar. She decides to participate in the school's talent school, kills it, and dies on stage. She is transported to Dead School where she finds out just how much of a failure she has been. Can she pass Dead School or will she fail at this too?
Dead School is not a dark novel and many reviewers did not like the book because they expected it to be. Reading the description shows it is not. In her debut novel, West takes a different look at being dead. Her main character is a failure, sarcastic, flawed person in life and the hereafter but she is likeable.
Dead School is a quick, enjoyable, quirky read that does not fit into the usual slots for describing a book. Go into this with an open mind and just enjoy it.
I am looking forward to reading more from Laura Gia West.
Review published on Philomathinphila.com on 3/2/19.
Dead School by Laura Gia West was described by reviewer David Nora on Goodreads as "Harry Potter meets Beetlejuice". I would not agree completely with the description but it is close.
Tina Crocker hates Valentine's Day and school. She failed at life, love, and everything else she has tried except for playing her guitar. She decides to participate in the school's talent school, kills it, and dies on stage. She is transported to Dead School where she finds out just how much of a failure she has been. Can she pass Dead School or will she fail at this too?
Dead School is not a dark novel and many reviewers did not like the book because they expected it to be. Reading the description shows it is not. In her debut novel, West takes a different look at being dead. Her main character is a failure, sarcastic, flawed person in life and the hereafter but she is likeable.
Dead School is a quick, enjoyable, quirky read that does not fit into the usual slots for describing a book. Go into this with an open mind and just enjoy it.
I am looking forward to reading more from Laura Gia West.
Review published on Philomathinphila.com on 3/2/19.
February 6, 2019
A Cute, Fun Read
Harry Potter meets Beetlejuice. "Dead School" is a fun adventure into the afterlife. With a flawed but loveable protagonist, the writer takes you on a quirky adventure through a high school for the dead filled with sarcastic quips and awkward teenage girl moments. The story culminates in a powerful, sweet message that actually made me tear up, just a little. Okay, mayhaps a lot.
Harry Potter meets Beetlejuice. "Dead School" is a fun adventure into the afterlife. With a flawed but loveable protagonist, the writer takes you on a quirky adventure through a high school for the dead filled with sarcastic quips and awkward teenage girl moments. The story culminates in a powerful, sweet message that actually made me tear up, just a little. Okay, mayhaps a lot.
March 18, 2019
Tina Crocker is finally on the school stage finishing her song that she composed. She has an audience that is standing and clapping when the pink metallic heart above the stage falls and kills her. She finds herself going into the gates of dead school. She wonders what dead school is. When everyone is finished with orientation, she discovers that she has lived 5,768 lives and failing each of them too. So she is assigned to be a spirit guide assistant to a spirit guide who is more concerned about how she looks and orders Tina to do the work. Unfortunately, she and the floozy will have some different ways of doing the spirit guide stuff. Will they succeed or not? Will Tina get to go to heaven or what?
Dead School is a fun novel to read. The author has you seeing through Tina’s eyes and thoughts while trying to understand why, where, and what is happening to her in dead school. The author has written a book that lightly touches on reincarnation. Reading this made me laugh and chuckle at the adventures she has. It is also a novel about bullies and stopping them. There is much more to this novel than just the light hearted story as at the same time there are serious aspects to it. I highly recommend reading this novel!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
Dead School is a fun novel to read. The author has you seeing through Tina’s eyes and thoughts while trying to understand why, where, and what is happening to her in dead school. The author has written a book that lightly touches on reincarnation. Reading this made me laugh and chuckle at the adventures she has. It is also a novel about bullies and stopping them. There is much more to this novel than just the light hearted story as at the same time there are serious aspects to it. I highly recommend reading this novel!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
February 22, 2019
Cool book. I was a little scared when I saw the cover but was really surprised at the author's playfulness. The book doesn't give you nightmares but let's you dream about what might be on the other side. I would recommend this book or anything else by Laura Gia West. You won't be disappointed.
February 23, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I picked it up recently and have not been able to put it down. It’s an easy read and I want more. I hope Dead School makes its way to the big or small screen.
March 13, 2019
dnf @ 30%
It has such a pretty cover and I had high hoped but I can't anymore. I've tried but I'm really not getting into the story and I don't see the point in me forcing myself through the next 70%.
I might try and come back to this for brief moments, maybe a chapter here and there to see if it improves but for now it's getting taken off currently reading.
It has such a pretty cover and I had high hoped but I can't anymore. I've tried but I'm really not getting into the story and I don't see the point in me forcing myself through the next 70%.
I might try and come back to this for brief moments, maybe a chapter here and there to see if it improves but for now it's getting taken off currently reading.
February 2, 2019
Was a likeable book mostly, but I wasn’t happy with some of the way the characters acted, the fat shaming in this book and other attitudes I didn’t like, yeah i know like real life but I feel there’s enough in the world without books doing it too. I think it could have been better but I think this put me off and coloured my mood to the book.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
March 31, 2019
I requested this title from NetGalley after reading the premise and was excited to be approved. Unfortunately, my excitement stopped there.
Dead school is decided into around five subdivisions where students are sorted based on their past life. Some subdivisions include Reapers, Spirit guides, Recovery, Suicides, and Crafters. Our main character is sorted into the guides sector, where the remainder of our story takes place. I would have loved to get to see the other sectors and how they worked but sadly the only other sector we get to see(a tiny snapshot at the end) we're the Crafters(which sounded like the least exciting sector to me, but I understand why it would be important to our main character).
Tina Crocker is an overall unlikeable character. She plays a victim role in the story if her life, but is someone who would rather hurt others to lessen her pain than face her inner demons. She's a cronic failure whom only decides to take death school seriously when threatened to be reincarnated as a homeless Thai man who would most likely die from a "chicken disease". Her interaction with other characters is cringe-worthy, and her outlook on the afterlife makes her hard to connect with.
Tina has what I suppose is meant to be a love interest in Alexei, a suicide who has been assigned to the guides section of dead school. While he is likeable enough, we don't get enough of his story(I still have no clue how he killed himself) to want a nurtured romance. In the few glimpses I got into his life, I felt he way WAY to good for Tina. Hold out for better, Alexei; you've got your whole afterlife.
This story just lacked a hook for me. Even the mortal who Tina gets assigned to guide has an overall unlikability. I didn't find myself rooting for anyone at all by the end.
The reason this gets a 2 star from me is the slight redemption Tina gets at the very end of her own will. It showed her growth, but was just too little, too late for me. I will not be picking up any further books if this becomes a series. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Dead school is decided into around five subdivisions where students are sorted based on their past life. Some subdivisions include Reapers, Spirit guides, Recovery, Suicides, and Crafters. Our main character is sorted into the guides sector, where the remainder of our story takes place. I would have loved to get to see the other sectors and how they worked but sadly the only other sector we get to see(a tiny snapshot at the end) we're the Crafters(which sounded like the least exciting sector to me, but I understand why it would be important to our main character).
Tina Crocker is an overall unlikeable character. She plays a victim role in the story if her life, but is someone who would rather hurt others to lessen her pain than face her inner demons. She's a cronic failure whom only decides to take death school seriously when threatened to be reincarnated as a homeless Thai man who would most likely die from a "chicken disease". Her interaction with other characters is cringe-worthy, and her outlook on the afterlife makes her hard to connect with.
Tina has what I suppose is meant to be a love interest in Alexei, a suicide who has been assigned to the guides section of dead school. While he is likeable enough, we don't get enough of his story(I still have no clue how he killed himself) to want a nurtured romance. In the few glimpses I got into his life, I felt he way WAY to good for Tina. Hold out for better, Alexei; you've got your whole afterlife.
This story just lacked a hook for me. Even the mortal who Tina gets assigned to guide has an overall unlikability. I didn't find myself rooting for anyone at all by the end.
The reason this gets a 2 star from me is the slight redemption Tina gets at the very end of her own will. It showed her growth, but was just too little, too late for me. I will not be picking up any further books if this becomes a series. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 20, 2019
Laura Gia West has written a powerful story, one that speaks to the inner workings of the human condition. Dead School is the setting - a school resembling purgatory- but it is merely a platform for the author to explore much deeper concepts. Life & Death. Second chances. The value of life.
This book is a very interesting and smart take on the afterlife. Tina, the protagonist, certainly has her faults. But I feel like this was a very intentional creative decision by the author. To allow her character room for growth. And it is something that I appreciate as the reader, because I'm rooting for Tina. I want her to get it right this time. I found myself eager to cheer her on, hoping that Tina will finally seize the opportunity to learn and grow. To find love and acceptance.
What I adore about this book is the underlying meanings hidden within the pages. That there is always that one person that will never give up on you. That you truly do have the opportunity to be the best version of yourself. And if you fail, its okay, because you are going to get another chance to get it right.
Highly recommended. A must read! I plan to keep tabs on West. Looking forward to reading more of her work.
This book is a very interesting and smart take on the afterlife. Tina, the protagonist, certainly has her faults. But I feel like this was a very intentional creative decision by the author. To allow her character room for growth. And it is something that I appreciate as the reader, because I'm rooting for Tina. I want her to get it right this time. I found myself eager to cheer her on, hoping that Tina will finally seize the opportunity to learn and grow. To find love and acceptance.
What I adore about this book is the underlying meanings hidden within the pages. That there is always that one person that will never give up on you. That you truly do have the opportunity to be the best version of yourself. And if you fail, its okay, because you are going to get another chance to get it right.
Highly recommended. A must read! I plan to keep tabs on West. Looking forward to reading more of her work.
April 1, 2019
Dead School started out very slowly for me and I worried it would be a DNF for a bit, but it did pick up.
My main issues with this ARC are the same as with others, in that there are editing, grammatical, and random errors that will hopefully be ironed out before the official copy. I also consider this a mostly non-issue because it is an ARC.
Another of my gripes is also a plus, and for that I applaud West. The teenagers in this are very teenagery. Adult me was annoyed at them but teen me likely would have loved this book. It has the afterlife, a ridiculous school, and some vague Potter-esque elements and I think teens will enjoy it.
My main issues with this ARC are the same as with others, in that there are editing, grammatical, and random errors that will hopefully be ironed out before the official copy. I also consider this a mostly non-issue because it is an ARC.
Another of my gripes is also a plus, and for that I applaud West. The teenagers in this are very teenagery. Adult me was annoyed at them but teen me likely would have loved this book. It has the afterlife, a ridiculous school, and some vague Potter-esque elements and I think teens will enjoy it.
March 21, 2019
I really enjoyed Dead School! It was a great fantasy adventure into the afterlife. I love books that explore life after death and paint us fresh visions of what could be. Next to a fun-filled read, the messages in this story I felt were immense. This book brings to light the value of time, our most precious commodity that we cant get back. We shouldn't waste it on the things that don't matter in life and never hold back from telling a family member or loved one how much they mean to us. When we die leave no regrets that could hold us up in the afterlife.
I quickly felt for Tina Crocker and all her struggles. She went through quite a stretch or hardships and lessons learned. It was hard not to rout for her and continuously read on to see if she would ever reach a level of success. I enjoyed the way West developed the character.
Another lesson learned was to never give up on yourself, even in your darkest hour when all hope is lost, always hold on to faith and the will power to succeed because anything is possible.
The topic of bullying played a part in this story as well. You get to feel the outsiders thoughts, feelings and point of view to the treatment as it played well into the characters struggles. You get a chance to see how harmful bullying can be to kids and how they process it behind the curtains.
I loved the creative feel of this book as if Roald Dahl and Tim Burton had a baby! I loved West's vision of the Akashic Records. They were a beautiful touch to a well painted piece. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fresh fantasy read, outside of the box! I'm looking forward to reading more from Laura Gia West!
I quickly felt for Tina Crocker and all her struggles. She went through quite a stretch or hardships and lessons learned. It was hard not to rout for her and continuously read on to see if she would ever reach a level of success. I enjoyed the way West developed the character.
Another lesson learned was to never give up on yourself, even in your darkest hour when all hope is lost, always hold on to faith and the will power to succeed because anything is possible.
The topic of bullying played a part in this story as well. You get to feel the outsiders thoughts, feelings and point of view to the treatment as it played well into the characters struggles. You get a chance to see how harmful bullying can be to kids and how they process it behind the curtains.
I loved the creative feel of this book as if Roald Dahl and Tim Burton had a baby! I loved West's vision of the Akashic Records. They were a beautiful touch to a well painted piece. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fresh fantasy read, outside of the box! I'm looking forward to reading more from Laura Gia West!
July 7, 2019
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
DNF'd @ 20%
The concept of this novel sounded like it could be a lot of fun, but the execution of it just didn't work out for me unfortunately. My issues come from my dislike of the main character and the sloppy writing style. I just couldn't get interested in what was happening because I was distracted by how irritating the lead was and from the typos. Thanks anyway, NetGalley.
DNF'd @ 20%
The concept of this novel sounded like it could be a lot of fun, but the execution of it just didn't work out for me unfortunately. My issues come from my dislike of the main character and the sloppy writing style. I just couldn't get interested in what was happening because I was distracted by how irritating the lead was and from the typos. Thanks anyway, NetGalley.
January 31, 2019
Dead School is an unusual take on the afterlife. Tina dies after an accident at her high school talent show and instead of going to the perceived place for eternity, she’s sent to Dead School. Where it appears, she has already been numerous times and failed.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I really like the concept behind the story, but I found it to be somewhat confusing at times and I felt as though there were aspects of Tina’s life, or lives, that should have been included to help clarify things. I also didn’t care much for the ending, but that’s just my own personal preferences showing. I did appreciate the humor that was scattered throughout and what the author did with Tina’s cat. I thought that was a nice touch.
In all, Dead School was creative in a way I hadn’t seen before and I can appreciate that. I think the author did a good job creating this whole other world, even if I found it confusing at times. The characters were the kind you either really like, or really dislike. Alexei was my favorite and I would have liked to know more about him even though it wasn’t his story.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad read. I don’t regret taking the time to read it and would suggest other people give it a shot of their own instead of just taking my word for it. Reviewed by Melanie
I have mixed feelings about this book. I really like the concept behind the story, but I found it to be somewhat confusing at times and I felt as though there were aspects of Tina’s life, or lives, that should have been included to help clarify things. I also didn’t care much for the ending, but that’s just my own personal preferences showing. I did appreciate the humor that was scattered throughout and what the author did with Tina’s cat. I thought that was a nice touch.
In all, Dead School was creative in a way I hadn’t seen before and I can appreciate that. I think the author did a good job creating this whole other world, even if I found it confusing at times. The characters were the kind you either really like, or really dislike. Alexei was my favorite and I would have liked to know more about him even though it wasn’t his story.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad read. I don’t regret taking the time to read it and would suggest other people give it a shot of their own instead of just taking my word for it. Reviewed by Melanie
February 5, 2019
My full review can be found on the Epilie Aspie Chick blog!
Thank you to Black Rose Writing for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Reading the synopsis of this book, I loved the concept and everything that could potentially come with it. However, this book runs into a serious snag at that point. Tina is unlikable as a character and so frustratingly stubborn (which I understand, plot point). However, due to the way she expresses herself and generally fumbles around - many times I would find myself openly rooting against her. Still, there were many times I had a feeling some scenes were missing between parts or that a better explanation of what happened should have been given.
Thank you to Black Rose Writing for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Reading the synopsis of this book, I loved the concept and everything that could potentially come with it. However, this book runs into a serious snag at that point. Tina is unlikable as a character and so frustratingly stubborn (which I understand, plot point). However, due to the way she expresses herself and generally fumbles around - many times I would find myself openly rooting against her. Still, there were many times I had a feeling some scenes were missing between parts or that a better explanation of what happened should have been given.
February 12, 2019
https://lovethevillain.wordpress.com/...
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Ever wonder what happens when you die?
No.
Just no.
Unfortunately, this book isn’t really very good. And I’m gonna tell you why.
First of all, let me say that the premise is fine. I was looking forward to reading a book in which the main character dies and then has to join a school of the dead.
I was excited, dammit!
It’s a shame that the writing was so very disappointing.
I DNF’d this book pretty early on, about 20% of the way through, but in that time I’ve still manged to got a plethora of things to be unhappy about. Let me explain what I’m talking about.
The book begins in the family car where Tina, her mom and dad, and their family cat are heading towards a restaurant. Yep, you heard that right. Apparently, Tina is such a colossal loser, that every Valentine's Day, the family head out to dine with their cat instead of harboring any mistaken fantasies that Tina might have something else to do. Okay, fine. Dinner with the cat. Let's carry on.
Who could forget a cat dining at a table?
Halfway there Tina suddenly starts saying that she wants to go back to school RIGHT NOW, because they're having a talent contest we've literally just heard about. Her dad is so shocked by her outburst that he nearly swerves the car into oncoming traffic.
It's a shame that didn't kill her, to be honest.
Her dad comes out with perhaps the lamest (and weirdest) argument to stay on track for the restaurant— Valentine’s with your family, or back to school for a show that will never make those kids any less ignorant. Once a kumquat, always a kumquat. —But then gives in and changes course.
Okay, so we arrive at the school where it's immediately obvious that Tina is bullied pretty badly. This is overshadowed by the fact that Tina has unpleasant personal remarks about literally everyone she encounters. She refers to one of her bullies as fat jerk and later on in the book she remarks incessantly about the way someone smells. Try this quote for example— If smell could kill, I just might die again. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, let alone someone who expelled fish farts up my nostrils.
I hate bullying in books. It totally triggers me and I usually don't read on, but in this case I've got to say, maybe Tina kind of deserved it? She's basically a bit of a bully herself with all her vicious comments.
Anyway, she races off to enter the talent contest where she's going to be singing. Something we didn't know she was capable of until exactly this moment! Okay. Fine. Whatever.
She goes out on stage after a few stagefright jitters and then manages to belt out a song that is so beautiful that even her bullies applaud her when she's finished. *sarcasm* Oh my god! This is going to change her life! She's bound to be spotted by one of the talent hunters hiding in the audience. Amazing! *retching noises*
We're still basking in the glow of a job well done when one of the stage hangings—a big cardboard, or whatever it's made of, Valentine's heart—falls on Tina and kills her outright. Oh, yeah. That's right. Killed by a prop! Call the papers 'cos this shit is unbelievable!
Then Tina wakes up outside her parents house and tries to get inside to her mom and dad. First she knocks on the door. I mean, who knocks on the door to their own house? Why doesn't she just try, I don't know, opening the door instead? But no, she knocks. No answer. She yells at her mom through the window, being just rude enough to remind me that I'm glad she's dead, and gets no reply. Her mom doesn't seem to be in mourning at all, so maybe they're just glad to be rid of her?
Then this bus pulls up and the driver tells her he's taking her to Dead School. Okay, you say, it must pick up a bit from here, right?
You would be wrong.
At the school Tina is informed that she failed at life, which means she didn't find anyone to love. Apparently, lives are measured in the amount of human (not cat) interactions you make.— A cat, Tina, is not a human. A life path is defined by human interaction. —Well, I guess most of us fail life then, right? It seems like a great way to alienate most of your target audience, to be honest. You don't talk to people to much? You fail at life. You've never been in love? You fail at life. You only love your pets? You definitely fail at life.
What the hell?
This is the point where I pretty much gave it up as a bad job, but I did flick forward to the ending , and let me tell you, it's not a great one. Basically it all ends up with a 'here we go again' vibe.
Please, god, no. Not again.
Let me tell you a few of the other things I hated:
(1) There was a reference to a real allergy to stupidity. Tina even started sneezing. I mean, what? We're all allergic to fools, but if it was a real condition this book would have taken me into anaphylactic shock. I sneezed behind the curtain as my allergies to stupidity started to flare up again.
(2) This quote— Holy sh%t! —What does this mean exactly? I'm sure you're imagining that the percentage sign was used to mask a naughty swear word, right? Well, here's the thing. There are other swear words in the book that haven't been censored. Do we really need to do this? Does it mean shit, or shoot? How do you pronounce a percentage sign in the middle of a word? I cannot hate on this enough. If the word shit is too sensitive for you, please just use a different word!
(3) There are more punctuation issues than I would like in a book, but this is a minor grievance compared to everything else.
(4) At the start of every chapter there is a quote from some great historical or literary figure. It just seems like padding that's unnecessary and, pretty much, pointless.
If the afterlife was a library of books written like this one, I would assume I was in hell.
Hated the way the book belittled people for having sparse human interaction. Hated the way Tina was personally insulting. Hated the way the afterlife was portrayed. And hated the writing style.
Not for me, and I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.
Death is not The End.
God, I sure hope it is.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Ever wonder what happens when you die?
No.
Just no.
Unfortunately, this book isn’t really very good. And I’m gonna tell you why.
First of all, let me say that the premise is fine. I was looking forward to reading a book in which the main character dies and then has to join a school of the dead.
I was excited, dammit!
It’s a shame that the writing was so very disappointing.
I DNF’d this book pretty early on, about 20% of the way through, but in that time I’ve still manged to got a plethora of things to be unhappy about. Let me explain what I’m talking about.
The book begins in the family car where Tina, her mom and dad, and their family cat are heading towards a restaurant. Yep, you heard that right. Apparently, Tina is such a colossal loser, that every Valentine's Day, the family head out to dine with their cat instead of harboring any mistaken fantasies that Tina might have something else to do. Okay, fine. Dinner with the cat. Let's carry on.
Who could forget a cat dining at a table?
Halfway there Tina suddenly starts saying that she wants to go back to school RIGHT NOW, because they're having a talent contest we've literally just heard about. Her dad is so shocked by her outburst that he nearly swerves the car into oncoming traffic.
It's a shame that didn't kill her, to be honest.
Her dad comes out with perhaps the lamest (and weirdest) argument to stay on track for the restaurant— Valentine’s with your family, or back to school for a show that will never make those kids any less ignorant. Once a kumquat, always a kumquat. —But then gives in and changes course.
Okay, so we arrive at the school where it's immediately obvious that Tina is bullied pretty badly. This is overshadowed by the fact that Tina has unpleasant personal remarks about literally everyone she encounters. She refers to one of her bullies as fat jerk and later on in the book she remarks incessantly about the way someone smells. Try this quote for example— If smell could kill, I just might die again. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, let alone someone who expelled fish farts up my nostrils.
I hate bullying in books. It totally triggers me and I usually don't read on, but in this case I've got to say, maybe Tina kind of deserved it? She's basically a bit of a bully herself with all her vicious comments.
Anyway, she races off to enter the talent contest where she's going to be singing. Something we didn't know she was capable of until exactly this moment! Okay. Fine. Whatever.
She goes out on stage after a few stagefright jitters and then manages to belt out a song that is so beautiful that even her bullies applaud her when she's finished. *sarcasm* Oh my god! This is going to change her life! She's bound to be spotted by one of the talent hunters hiding in the audience. Amazing! *retching noises*
We're still basking in the glow of a job well done when one of the stage hangings—a big cardboard, or whatever it's made of, Valentine's heart—falls on Tina and kills her outright. Oh, yeah. That's right. Killed by a prop! Call the papers 'cos this shit is unbelievable!
Then Tina wakes up outside her parents house and tries to get inside to her mom and dad. First she knocks on the door. I mean, who knocks on the door to their own house? Why doesn't she just try, I don't know, opening the door instead? But no, she knocks. No answer. She yells at her mom through the window, being just rude enough to remind me that I'm glad she's dead, and gets no reply. Her mom doesn't seem to be in mourning at all, so maybe they're just glad to be rid of her?
Then this bus pulls up and the driver tells her he's taking her to Dead School. Okay, you say, it must pick up a bit from here, right?
You would be wrong.
At the school Tina is informed that she failed at life, which means she didn't find anyone to love. Apparently, lives are measured in the amount of human (not cat) interactions you make.— A cat, Tina, is not a human. A life path is defined by human interaction. —Well, I guess most of us fail life then, right? It seems like a great way to alienate most of your target audience, to be honest. You don't talk to people to much? You fail at life. You've never been in love? You fail at life. You only love your pets? You definitely fail at life.
What the hell?
This is the point where I pretty much gave it up as a bad job, but I did flick forward to the ending , and let me tell you, it's not a great one. Basically it all ends up with a 'here we go again' vibe.
Please, god, no. Not again.
Let me tell you a few of the other things I hated:
(1) There was a reference to a real allergy to stupidity. Tina even started sneezing. I mean, what? We're all allergic to fools, but if it was a real condition this book would have taken me into anaphylactic shock. I sneezed behind the curtain as my allergies to stupidity started to flare up again.
(2) This quote— Holy sh%t! —What does this mean exactly? I'm sure you're imagining that the percentage sign was used to mask a naughty swear word, right? Well, here's the thing. There are other swear words in the book that haven't been censored. Do we really need to do this? Does it mean shit, or shoot? How do you pronounce a percentage sign in the middle of a word? I cannot hate on this enough. If the word shit is too sensitive for you, please just use a different word!
(3) There are more punctuation issues than I would like in a book, but this is a minor grievance compared to everything else.
(4) At the start of every chapter there is a quote from some great historical or literary figure. It just seems like padding that's unnecessary and, pretty much, pointless.
If the afterlife was a library of books written like this one, I would assume I was in hell.
Hated the way the book belittled people for having sparse human interaction. Hated the way Tina was personally insulting. Hated the way the afterlife was portrayed. And hated the writing style.
Not for me, and I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.
Death is not The End.
God, I sure hope it is.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2019
Tina Crocker is not a character we really get to know during this. Initially I felt some sympathy for her as she suffers with nerves, and the one time she pushes herself out of her comfort zone she ends up dead.
With Tina’s death at a school show we then come to learn this is the latest in a long line of attempts to pass Dead School. The character we know as Tina has a reputation as a failure. For whatever reason she is not allowed to take on a specific role; she has to go back to learn how to guide another through death.
Following Tina in her mission to help social misfit Anna, we also get to see Tina develop.
Unfortunately, though I liked the sound of this it really jumped all over the place. There wasn’t sufficient detail given to set up the concept, and the interesting idea of the school actually became a background detail. The characters weren’t really fleshed out enough to care unduly about them, and the ending seemed to arrive from nowhere.
I was so keen to read this when I saw it on NetGalley, but it seems to be one of those books that isn’t quite being pushed in the right place.
With Tina’s death at a school show we then come to learn this is the latest in a long line of attempts to pass Dead School. The character we know as Tina has a reputation as a failure. For whatever reason she is not allowed to take on a specific role; she has to go back to learn how to guide another through death.
Following Tina in her mission to help social misfit Anna, we also get to see Tina develop.
Unfortunately, though I liked the sound of this it really jumped all over the place. There wasn’t sufficient detail given to set up the concept, and the interesting idea of the school actually became a background detail. The characters weren’t really fleshed out enough to care unduly about them, and the ending seemed to arrive from nowhere.
I was so keen to read this when I saw it on NetGalley, but it seems to be one of those books that isn’t quite being pushed in the right place.
October 11, 2020
This was a 1.5 star from me, but sadly, I couldn't quite round up. I like the ideas, but I think they would have worked better for a younger audience. Full review coming soon!
Thanks to LibraryThing for an ebook copy.
Thanks to LibraryThing for an ebook copy.
March 27, 2019
Well I like the idea of this book. The start was charming but majority was just a teen pouting poor me, everything is everyone else's fault. She criticised everyone, hated everything, avoided everything and was annoyed when nothing went her way. It was very depressing for about the majority of the book. The ending seemed just so.... I don't know, out of scope, I guess. She learnt a lesson and everyone bowed down to her. I was like what????
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