Why Did She Have to Die?

by Lurlene McDaniel

For thirteen years, Elly has been in Kathy's shadow, always second best. Even so, the two of them understand each other as only sisters can. Jealousy, anger, and resentment give way to guilt when Kathy dies suddenly and Elly is left to ask, "Why did she have to die?"

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Romance, Contemporary

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Lurlene McDaniel (born c. 1948) is an author who has written over 50 young adult books. She is well known for writing about characters struggling with chronic and terminal illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, and organ failure.


Other places to find her are...
https://www.facebook.com/lurlenemcdan...
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/aut...
http://www.youtube.com/user/LurleneMc

Reviews

[sj]

Oh, man.

I have been trying to remember the name of this book FOR YEARS. I couldn't even remember details before tonight. I think this wine is magic or something.

If I'd tried to describe this book for you before tonight, I'd have been all "Um...there's a girl, whose sister was a year older than her and the sister dies so the girl is all sad on the cover."

Seriously.

Then, tonight, I got for serious about remembering details, and I knew that the sister died in a car crash, that the girl in the book had broken both her legs and was totally distraught that SHE LIVED cos her sister was the pretty/smart/popular one.

And then I remembered names and the title of the book JUST CAME TO ME. It was pretty fantastic.

Anyway, this was a RIF book for me, I'm pretty sure.

RIF days were the best days of the ENTIRE YEAR and I totally remember bribing other kids with my desserts if they would just GIVE THEIR BOOKS TO ME (this totally worked, btw).

ZOMG THIS ISH IS AVAILABLE TO BORROW FROM OPENLIBRARY!

I know what I'm doing with the next hour!

[Mary Bronson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book may have been short, but it certianly packed a punch. I enjoyed reading this book and liked the characters. This is a heartwarming/heartbreaking book about grief and the loss of a loved one. It is hard to loose a family member when they are so young. And how it can be hard for everyone to pick up the pieces and get on with the everyday life. How you may think you are fine, but if a person goes on with talking to someone then sometimes it can be difficult. The only thing I did not like is how the person responsible for the accident that killed the main character's sister Kathy was never held accountable. The main character and even her parents NEVER talked about the boy driving the car. There is only one other time after the accident when we read about his character. I am like why are they not mad at him for causing the accident. To me I thought it should have been addressed in the book.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just started to read it this morning. It's a short book but it has a big power inside, and a true meaning in each sentence that I read.
It reminds me about my sister and how does she feel 'cause of me....
The death of the loved one is painful and seems like you won't be the same again. Probably you won't be the same 'cause this experience will make you strong enough so if it happens again your pain will be less...

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mr. Rowan turned into an abusive jerk after Kathy died. He ripped Elly a new one for cutting her hair, made a big deal of what a bad girl she was when she acted up at school instead of trying to talk to her about her feelings, and all because Toxic Masculinity dictated he stuff his own down and take it out on his remaining child.

Not that Elly was much to write home about. Typical 'oh I'm so oppressed because my sister is perfect and popular' heroine, but her feelings were realistically conflicted at least.

[Jennifer Dubus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Youth

I have been going back through these books. I remember reading them as a young adolescent girl and crying my eyes out. One of Lurlene McDaniel's books was what got me started as a reader. To this day, 3.5 decades later, I am still an avid reader. These books are touching. I love that they are about real life events and not just goofy fluff!

[Melanie Mather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple yet sweet read

A very simple story, a little too rushed in some parts. But the characters are real and the emotions feel totally genuine. Having lost several loved ones recently, this was quite a cathartic read, too.

[Lilly H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so sad and i literally cried but, it was a great book! You need to read it!!!

[Traceylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why

Because this author is great and it seems i can't stop reading her books. I wish they were all available for download because I read them over several times

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in high school and have never forgotten the impact it had on me. I loved the book then and now.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a sweet book

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why Did She Have to Die? is one of those books that feels, while reading it, like a runaway ball of pure emotional energy that only picks up speed as it goes careening forward. Knowing very little about author Lurlene McDaniel before picking up this book, I had no way of knowing if she was a good enough writer to face the subject of a tragic death in the family with the skill that the topic deserves. Let me tell you this much, at least—she has everything it takes to write masterfully on the subject.

A book like Why Did She Have to Die? is really all about the emotions, about appealing to the raw stores of feeling that we keep inside ourselves most of the time. The perceptive writing of this book probes old griefs of our own and taps into that pain to make the essence of the storyline accessible to us; after all, the story won't mean a whole lot to individual readers if we're unable to fathom on a deeper level the devastating situation with which eighth-grader Elly Rowan and her parents are confronted. In going back to our own very personal griefs and putting us back in touch with those overwhelming feelings, we are brought to understand all too well what Elly has to face after her older sister, Kathy, is killed in a freak car accident that also leaves Elly badly injured.

The thing is, it's not even like Kathy hangs on for a while, slowly slipping into death and giving Elly a chance to realize that her sister is on her way out the door of this life. The accident happens and bam!, she's gone, and herself remaining unconscious after the accident for an entire week, Elly gets even less of a chance than everyone else around her to prepare for the loss. She wakes up from comatose limbo to find out that Kathy is gone forever, and the unfairness of the situation hits me hard. I feel as if she should have had a chance to fight for her sister's life, like it's not fair that Kathy could have been taken away while Elly was sleeping, almost like someone hustled her out the back door when Elly's head was turned and that's not how it's supposed to go, like it's a shady deal. But isn't that how the reality of death manifests itself, sometimes?

The themes of loss and grieving are powerfully addressed in this glowing, emotionally loaded novel. With less sympathetic characters or writing that wasn't as skillfully evocative, the effect wouldn't have been nearly the same, yet Lurlene McDaniel uses the tool of straightforward plainness as her most effective instrument, not overcomplicating the story or making it too flowery or overdone at all. She really allows the pure emotions of an ordinary family caught up in a terrible situation to speak loudly for itself, and it's in that simplicity that the book comes into its core power. There's even the whispered suggestion of continued life as Elly draws closer to her friends, and even begins a relationship with a boy who really seems to care about her.

Why Did She Have to Die? is a quietly powerful story of family connections and the ramifications that result when those close ties are severed. I must say that few stories dealing with the theme of death have been done better. I will give four and a half stars to this book, and you may never know how close I came to giving it five stars.

[Dezirae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did she have to die is a very sad story. She is a fourteen-year-old girl that follows in her sister Kathy's footsteps. Kathy is pretty, smart and very popular unlike her. She is the head of the dance comittee and princaple of student council. All the guys want her, even kids way way older than her and thats how the tragic story begins. Kathy goes to the mall with a friend and meets the head basketball and sports star of there local high school, he's a senior. She meets him at the movies and he buys her a popcorn which lets her know that he's interested and Kathys really happy. She has told nobody but her sister that he is the one that she wants to go to prom with and her sister knows that Kathy will probably get her way while she's stuck with her best friend instead of the guy she likes. She trys to hint to the guy she likes that she likes him and he ends up freaking out and just asking her sister who Kathy's going to the dance with and if shes interested in him which she already knew she wasnt because she has Russ and thats who she wanted to be with. Kathy tells her sister that russ plans on stopping by the school which he does and that leads to a really bad car accident and the perfect sister dying leaving the not so pretty, smart or popular child left. Her mom is nice and telling her that it's ok and everything will be all right when she knows thats Kathys gone and it should be her. Her dad thinks the same and breaks the sisters heart. The sister ends up going to the dance with the guy she was dropping hints on and they ended up dating.

[Emily B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave Why Did She Have to Die three stars because I thought it had a wonderful stories and great characters, but on the other hand was very predicting. I really am not into predictable books because I start to get bored and know what will happen on every page. Even though it was very predictable I thought it had meaning and lots of emotion! I can’t really relate to the main character, because I never lost someone very close. I felt horrible for Ellie because she was always the underdog with her sister alive, but she has to go through the worst possible solution to realize that she was and still is as important as her sister. I think the main character learned through this whole story about acceptance and to keep going in life even through the tough times. I liked this story but in the end I didn’t really think it was the best book I have read. Overall this book was ok.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book 5 Stars because I just really liked it and it had a lot of good descriptions. I liked it because it just had a lot of details and drama which is what i really like reading about. I choose 5 stars because it had everything together and not in separt spots. Also I liked it when Elly and Kathy went to school together because it reminds me when my sister walks to me from school well last year and we wouldn't ever get mad at each other after that because we would spend so much time together just like Elly and her sister Kathy.Thats why I gave it 5 stars.

[Brianna K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was areally good book. I would recommend this book to anyone, but mainly teenage girls. This book is about two sisters, Elly and Katie. Katie has it all, the looks, the athletic ability, and the friends, while Elly has none. This is a powerful book because when Katie dies in a car accident, while Elly lives, Elly doesn't know what to do. Why Did She Have to Die? is an uplifting and good story that a teenage girl OR boy would like!

[Coryn N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! I gave it 5 stars. I didn’t expect that to happen to one of the main characters. Elly’s life changed, and so did her families. Elly feels horrible about what happen to Kathy because Elly could have kept her sister from making that bad decision. Kathy was so perfect, no one hated her. Now Elly’s asking her self why it had to be her. I recommend this book to anyone. Lurlene McDaniel’s books are great books!

[Dasily · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Elly and her perfect sister Kathy are in a car accident together and Kathy dies while Elly lives, Elly begins to question her life and family feeling that her parents wished Kathy had lived instead of her. Elly struggles with the loss of her sister at the young age of thirteen and McDaniel is very excellent at showing characters going through the grieving process. Recommended for ages 11 and up.

[Paige V · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Why Did She Have to die by: Lurlene McDaniel. I gave this book 4 stars because I didn’t like the end. Other wise the book was really good. The book was about Elly and her sister Kathy. She loved Kathy but didn’t really like her because she always got everything and she was perfect! It wasn’t until they got into a very bad car accident and Kathy died that she realized how much she really did care about her.

[Kimberly Polanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. It was sad that her sister died in a car accident and how her life changed. She thought that there wasn't help but she found it and everything was normal. i reccomend this book to anyone who loves sad at the beginning and happy endings in the end.

[Addie V · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a really good book for anybody to read if they like sad but yet happy ending!!!! I reallly enjoyed this book and I think you would too. It is sad because her sister just died, but at the end it is happy,because she finally left the past behind her.

[Julie Seamons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A struggle of a little sister in losing big sister who everyone adored. How she copes with not saying good-bye and learning to find out who she is.

[Mashala Phillips]

it is so amazing

[Christina, but with tea]

I read this when I was a kid.

[Melenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved these books as a child

[Nycia Deerfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book. One if my new favorite authors!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great. I felt like I was Ally, and I got a little tear eyed a few times thinking if that happened to me and my brother. short, simple, but a powerful story.

[A. Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favorite books it will have you in tears.

[Dalesha R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's a great read no matter how old you are. I understand where she's coming from because I lost my grandfather.