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The Diary
Was she going to die... again?
Delia can't stop reading the old diary which mysteriously appears in her locker one day. Little by little, she starts to become more like the girl whose words she reads—even having her memories and seeing the world through her eyes. A dead girl's eyes. Soon Delia is convinced that she was the girl who wrote the diary—in a past life.
But the terror is about to come alive once more. For the girl who wrote the diary was murdered. And the killer is after her again...
Delia can't stop reading the old diary which mysteriously appears in her locker one day. Little by little, she starts to become more like the girl whose words she reads—even having her memories and seeing the world through her eyes. A dead girl's eyes. Soon Delia is convinced that she was the girl who wrote the diary—in a past life.
But the terror is about to come alive once more. For the girl who wrote the diary was murdered. And the killer is after her again...
189 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1994
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811 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
May 16, 2016
Eighteen-year-old Delia has kept a diary since she was a kid. Her English teacher Mr. Parrish suggested she write in her diary like she would write a novel---in case she wanted to be a writer some day.
Delia's best friend Jewel threw her a surprise birthday party recently and afterwards they had a sleepover with some friends. At the sleepover Delia's friends woke her from a nightmare she was having (in the dream she was reading someone else's diary, written in her own handwriting, and then she was dead and floating in water).
One day at school Delia finds a diary in her locker with a card that says "Maybe this will help you remember". At first she is scared, thinking about the diary in her dream, but then she thinks it's just a prank pulled by her boyfriend Brock. But it isn't and there is writing in the diary. Delia starts reading the diary, but she feels scared and naughty, after all, you were never never supposed to read someone else's diary.
There are initials on the diary, LL. Delia has always liked the name Laura, so she names the author of the diary Laura. She also notices she is becoming more and more like "Laura", the girl in the diary. She gets a new haircut, starts acting differently, eats different foods, and she now has bad traits (cuts class, steals, lies, cheats, etc...).
One day, after cutting class, she instinctively runs to a place in town she's never seen or been to before. There is a deserted house with a sign that says "yard sale". An old man comes up to her and tells her only one person came to the yard sale and that person was Delia and she bought a diary. The old woman who lived in the house moved away years ago, after her granddaughter was killed. The old man tells her the granddaughter was killed by one of her friends. And the granddaughter looked just like Delia...
This was an enjoyable and captivating story that dealt with past lives, reincarnation, revenge, etc... It kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. Pretty good and absorbing young-adult thriller.
Delia's best friend Jewel threw her a surprise birthday party recently and afterwards they had a sleepover with some friends. At the sleepover Delia's friends woke her from a nightmare she was having (in the dream she was reading someone else's diary, written in her own handwriting, and then she was dead and floating in water).
One day at school Delia finds a diary in her locker with a card that says "Maybe this will help you remember". At first she is scared, thinking about the diary in her dream, but then she thinks it's just a prank pulled by her boyfriend Brock. But it isn't and there is writing in the diary. Delia starts reading the diary, but she feels scared and naughty, after all, you were never never supposed to read someone else's diary.
There are initials on the diary, LL. Delia has always liked the name Laura, so she names the author of the diary Laura. She also notices she is becoming more and more like "Laura", the girl in the diary. She gets a new haircut, starts acting differently, eats different foods, and she now has bad traits (cuts class, steals, lies, cheats, etc...).
One day, after cutting class, she instinctively runs to a place in town she's never seen or been to before. There is a deserted house with a sign that says "yard sale". An old man comes up to her and tells her only one person came to the yard sale and that person was Delia and she bought a diary. The old woman who lived in the house moved away years ago, after her granddaughter was killed. The old man tells her the granddaughter was killed by one of her friends. And the granddaughter looked just like Delia...
This was an enjoyable and captivating story that dealt with past lives, reincarnation, revenge, etc... It kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. Pretty good and absorbing young-adult thriller.
June 5, 2019
Out of the many Point Horror’s that I’ve recently revisited, it’s those that have a supernatural element that I’ve enjoyed the most.
I’ve always felt from memory that their were a higher proportion of them, it definitely is the case with Smith.
I like the idea of a diary that Delia soon becomes obsessed with and starts mirroring the life of the girls entries.
There was plenty of avenues that the story could have taken, but I liked how the plot resolved itself.
These books are always quick reads, but I found the writing somewhat lacking in this one.
I know they are kinda trashy, but I’m sure Smith’s other books have been more strongly written.
I think inclusions of diary entries would have helped!
I’m pretty sure I’d not read this one before, it was totally 90’s in tone and story.
The thought of someone writing a diary felt very nostalgic, I guess the modern day equivalent would be a blog?
Not quite Smith’s best work for the range, but I’m glad that I’ve ticked it off the list.
I’ve always felt from memory that their were a higher proportion of them, it definitely is the case with Smith.
I like the idea of a diary that Delia soon becomes obsessed with and starts mirroring the life of the girls entries.
There was plenty of avenues that the story could have taken, but I liked how the plot resolved itself.
These books are always quick reads, but I found the writing somewhat lacking in this one.
I know they are kinda trashy, but I’m sure Smith’s other books have been more strongly written.
I think inclusions of diary entries would have helped!
I’m pretty sure I’d not read this one before, it was totally 90’s in tone and story.
The thought of someone writing a diary felt very nostalgic, I guess the modern day equivalent would be a blog?
Not quite Smith’s best work for the range, but I’m glad that I’ve ticked it off the list.
February 8, 2024
Sinclair Smith does it again in this epic 'Point Horror' entry, which is also known as Let Me Tell You How I Died. A teen girl named Delia discovers a diary that belonged to a girl who was murdered and as you could guess, spooky things occur. This has some very epic scenes throughout and managed to have some really fun twists and turns along the way. I felt the story dragged in the middle and there were definitely some times when the story asked the reader to go above and beyond to suspend his or her disbelief, but overall I had a ton of fun with this. The last few chapters alone make this worth reading. Definitely check this out if you're a fan of the Point Horror/90's young adult stuff.
March 28, 2019
Read it when i was 12 or 13. It definitely counts!!
September 7, 2023
Big fan of this one, a simple premise but I got through it in an evening. Some solid horror scenes for a teen horror and the reveal at the end was executed well. Would deffo recommend this one for fans of the series.
Delia finds a diary and becomes absorbed with reading another person's life. But when she feels compelled to commit some of the dangerous acts in its pages, she starts to fear that the diary is taking control of her completely. Can she find out what happened to the girl who wrote it? Or will the book possess her entirely?
Delia finds a diary and becomes absorbed with reading another person's life. But when she feels compelled to commit some of the dangerous acts in its pages, she starts to fear that the diary is taking control of her completely. Can she find out what happened to the girl who wrote it? Or will the book possess her entirely?
July 30, 2017
I first read this book in 1994 or 95. I think this was my introduction to past lives. I liked it enough then to keep this book all these years. I was feeling nostalgic and this book won. upon re-reading this is my review:
it starts out ok. I'm a superstitious person so if I dreamed I was dead 3 nights in a row, I'd be kinda freaked out too. BUT once Delia gets the diary, she doesn't really try to resist much. she keeps saying she must resist but never puts any effort into it. there was a few things left unexplained. When she goes to the old neighborhood then mention's it to Rose, she says it's no longer there. was that a time slip or all in her head?
I can't say this book was as dear to me as it was when I was 12 or 13 but I've read worse.
it starts out ok. I'm a superstitious person so if I dreamed I was dead 3 nights in a row, I'd be kinda freaked out too. BUT once Delia gets the diary, she doesn't really try to resist much. she keeps saying she must resist but never puts any effort into it. there was a few things left unexplained. When she goes to the old neighborhood then mention's it to Rose, she says it's no longer there. was that a time slip or all in her head?
I can't say this book was as dear to me as it was when I was 12 or 13 but I've read worse.
April 23, 2025
Nothing good can come from twinning with a dead girl
September 13, 2021
Color me surprised!
I didn't quite expect the ending of this book! Lately, I thought I had a knack for figuring out endings of YA vintage thrillers. However, this one blindsided me.
Imagine having a *past life* invading your present life. It sounds interesting at first, but when your past life is a mean b*tch, it isn't interesting anymore. I didn't like the main character all throughout the story. Instead, I found myself drawn to the mystery. It was quite clever! :)
I will definitely read more from this author.
I didn't quite expect the ending of this book! Lately, I thought I had a knack for figuring out endings of YA vintage thrillers. However, this one blindsided me.
Imagine having a *past life* invading your present life. It sounds interesting at first, but when your past life is a mean b*tch, it isn't interesting anymore. I didn't like the main character all throughout the story. Instead, I found myself drawn to the mystery. It was quite clever! :)
I will definitely read more from this author.
July 6, 2024
I read this with my book club that I run on Instagram where we revisit Point Horror and other books from our childhood - @talespointhorrorbookclub
Tagline - A dead girls diary …. In her own handwriting.
Memorable For – Where do we start … Lots of off the page goings on and hair cutting salons!
Blurb -
Delia can't stop herself from reading the diary that mysteriously appears in her locker one day. Then, little by little, she becomes more and more like the girl whose words she reads, seeing the world as if through her eyes...A dead girl's eyes!
Some Thoughts -
Delia can't stop herself from reading the diary with the red swirled cover (like blood swirling through water) that mysteriously appears in her locker at Harding High one day. Reading about someone’s death and the handwriting was her own!
Then, little by little, there are parallels between the diary and Delia starts changing she becomes more and more like the girl whose words she reads, seeing the world as if through her eyes...A dead girl's eyes!
Then there’s the creepy phone calls, running water, many trips to the hair cutting salon and realising she has lived a life before as Laura Rawson and had been murdered!
Other highlights include - lots of trips to Bonzos for fruit salads erupting with fruit, fake outs galore (I’m looking at you creepy white parcel), Scenes that lead no where and the feeling whilst reading that you are confused but like it! 😂
Tagline - A dead girls diary …. In her own handwriting.
Memorable For – Where do we start … Lots of off the page goings on and hair cutting salons!
Blurb -
Delia can't stop herself from reading the diary that mysteriously appears in her locker one day. Then, little by little, she becomes more and more like the girl whose words she reads, seeing the world as if through her eyes...A dead girl's eyes!
Some Thoughts -
Delia can't stop herself from reading the diary with the red swirled cover (like blood swirling through water) that mysteriously appears in her locker at Harding High one day. Reading about someone’s death and the handwriting was her own!
Then, little by little, there are parallels between the diary and Delia starts changing she becomes more and more like the girl whose words she reads, seeing the world as if through her eyes...A dead girl's eyes!
Then there’s the creepy phone calls, running water, many trips to the hair cutting salon and realising she has lived a life before as Laura Rawson and had been murdered!
Other highlights include - lots of trips to Bonzos for fruit salads erupting with fruit, fake outs galore (I’m looking at you creepy white parcel), Scenes that lead no where and the feeling whilst reading that you are confused but like it! 😂
December 15, 2016
Normally I hate it when people complain about "telling instead of showing". I like to be told stuff! If somebody lives in a two-storey house and has a recently refurbished kitchen, how do you show rather than tell that information?!? And if it's so bad to tell rather than show, why do so many books tell me every single damn road the main character drove down to get somewhere? Anyway, I'm going off tangent here....
The big problem with Let Me Tell You How I Died was the very fact it told rather than showed. Rather than have an actual entry from the diary itself so we can see for ourselves, we're just told that Delia is acting like the girl from the diary, with nothing from the diary itself to back it up! I felt some entries from the diary would have given me some feeling for the girl who wrote it and how her personality was different from Delia.
Instead, there are a lot of filler chapters (the visit to the graveyard) and silly end-of-chapter cliffhangers. In typical Point Horror style, I guess! I love the title and the intriguing premise, which is why I suppose this one really disappointed me!
The big problem with Let Me Tell You How I Died was the very fact it told rather than showed. Rather than have an actual entry from the diary itself so we can see for ourselves, we're just told that Delia is acting like the girl from the diary, with nothing from the diary itself to back it up! I felt some entries from the diary would have given me some feeling for the girl who wrote it and how her personality was different from Delia.
Instead, there are a lot of filler chapters (the visit to the graveyard) and silly end-of-chapter cliffhangers. In typical Point Horror style, I guess! I love the title and the intriguing premise, which is why I suppose this one really disappointed me!
August 4, 2019
Just re-read this for Teenage Scream podcast (lovingly dissecting the best and worst of 90s teen horror):
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
November 24, 2022
Oh my gosh I loved this point horror! Don’t get me wrong, I know point horror books, are not going to be the star books of the year, they are just meant to be a lot of fun, and I rate these books based upon each other. I really loved this one, it’s super creepy, it’s got thriller and super natural elements, and that ending! I loved it! If your a point horror fan, definitely one to pick-up!
August 4, 2022
Didn't enjoy this as much as compared to other point horror books. The writing is clunky and all the events didn't really make sense chronologically. There wasn't much horror in this book as compared to others and the ending was kind of predictable.
December 29, 2024
Wasn’t too sure about this story about a secret diary. But after finishing it, I quite enjoyed how the plot evolved and ended! The obsession Delia had with Laura was a bit much at times but all made sense in the ending!
September 17, 2024
Something I probably would have loved back in the day but just seemed ridiculous now.
April 7, 2024
The Diary is now the third Sinclair Smith Point Horror book I've read - not including their contribution to
13 Tales of Horror
which had a concept I quite liked - following
The Waitress
, a pretty typical Point Horror book which doesn't do anything particularly well but also doesn't do anything particularly badly, and
Dream Date
, which I actually really enjoyed. I do tend to like the Point Horror books that lean more into the supernatural, which may explain why I enjoyed
Dream Date
as much as I did, alongside entries such as
The Cheerleader
and
The Accident
. So I had high hopes for The Diary, but unfortunately an intriguing concept is fumbled here.
My most pressing issue with this book is the writing style - I've never found Smith's writing to be wildly engaging, but previously, and particularly with Dream Date , the concept is strong enough to paper over the cracks. Maybe I inadvertently did The Diary a disservice by reading it as soon as I did after enjoying Stephen King's superb Pet Sematary , but I do try my best to consider the Point Horror books on their own merits, without comparing to other, more adult works of literature. I'm very aware that for me these books have a nostalgic appeal that makes it challenging and somewhat futile to compare them, and that my nostalgia also has it's own shortcomings which these books often put on full display. In the case of The Diary, it felt like Smith was borrowing from R.L. Stine's playbook by incorporating nonsense like silly cliffhanger chapter endings that are nonsensically resolved.
The mystery at the heart of this book isn't really compelling enough to sustain interest, which is a shame because the concept itself is definitely strong, it just isn't handled very well here. By the time we get to the concluding reveal, everything has just become a little bit tedious, and although Smith ends with a stab of interest by including a final chapter that hints at not everything being quite as neatly tied up as seems, it's just too little too late. The logic behind motivations and events also doesn't really hold up to scrutiny by the time all is revealed, but when it comes to Point Horror books that isn't an issue that solely belongs to The Diary.
Still, despite my disappointment this isn't all bad. I kinda liked the protagonist, Delia, and there are a couple of neat moments within this book. I also think the idea of trying to reinvent oneself at high school has potential, and I would've liked to have seen more done exploring this aspect. I'll certainly be curious to read the next Sinclair Smith entry, but I am a little apprehensive too.
2/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Thirteen More Tales of Horror - 4/5
3) The Dead Game - 4/5
4) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
5) Camp Fear - 3.5/5
6) Nightmare Hall - The Silent Scream - 3.5/5
7) Dream Date - 3.5/5
8) Fatal Secrets - 3.5/5
9) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
10) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
11) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
12) The Hitchhiker - 3.5/5
13) Nightmare Hall - The Scream Team - 3.5/5
14) April Fools - 3.5/5
15) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
16) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
17) Freeze Tag - 3/5
18) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
19) The Accident - 3/5
20) The Vampire's Promise - 3/5
21) Funhouse - 3/5
22) Nightmare Hall - Sorority Sister - 3/5
23) Nightmare Hall - The Nightwalker - 3/5
24) Nightmare Hall - Pretty Please - 3/5
25) The Stranger - 3/5
26) Nightmare Hall - Deadly Attraction - 3/5
27) The Window - 3/5
28) Nightmare Hall - Guilty - 3/5
29) The Invitation - 2.5/5
30) Nightmare Hall - The Wish - 2.5/5
31) Help Wanted - 2.5/5
32) Nightmare Hall - Last Date - 2.5/5
33) The Perfume - 2.5/5
34) The Train - 2.5/5
35) The Waitress - 2.5/5
36) The Snowman - 2.5/5
37) Nightmare Hall - The Roommate - 2.5/5
38) The Yearbook - 2.5/5
39) Halloween Night II - 2.5/5
40) Silent Witness - 2.5/5
41) Halloween Night - 2.5/5
42) Beach House - 2.5/5
43) The Mall - 2.5/5
44) Nightmare Hall - The Experiment - 2.5/5
45) The Boyfriend - 2/5
46) The Fever - 2/5
47) The Cemetery - 2/5
48) The Diary - 2/5
49) Mother's Helper - 2/5
50) The Baby-Sitter III - 2/5
51) The Phantom - 2/5
52) The Watcher - 2/5
53) The Witness - 2/5
54) The Dead Girlfriend - 2/5
55) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
56) Hit and Run - 1.5/5
57) The Return of the Vampire - 1/5
58) Beach Party - 1/5
My most pressing issue with this book is the writing style - I've never found Smith's writing to be wildly engaging, but previously, and particularly with Dream Date , the concept is strong enough to paper over the cracks. Maybe I inadvertently did The Diary a disservice by reading it as soon as I did after enjoying Stephen King's superb Pet Sematary , but I do try my best to consider the Point Horror books on their own merits, without comparing to other, more adult works of literature. I'm very aware that for me these books have a nostalgic appeal that makes it challenging and somewhat futile to compare them, and that my nostalgia also has it's own shortcomings which these books often put on full display. In the case of The Diary, it felt like Smith was borrowing from R.L. Stine's playbook by incorporating nonsense like silly cliffhanger chapter endings that are nonsensically resolved.
The mystery at the heart of this book isn't really compelling enough to sustain interest, which is a shame because the concept itself is definitely strong, it just isn't handled very well here. By the time we get to the concluding reveal, everything has just become a little bit tedious, and although Smith ends with a stab of interest by including a final chapter that hints at not everything being quite as neatly tied up as seems, it's just too little too late. The logic behind motivations and events also doesn't really hold up to scrutiny by the time all is revealed, but when it comes to Point Horror books that isn't an issue that solely belongs to The Diary.
Still, despite my disappointment this isn't all bad. I kinda liked the protagonist, Delia, and there are a couple of neat moments within this book. I also think the idea of trying to reinvent oneself at high school has potential, and I would've liked to have seen more done exploring this aspect. I'll certainly be curious to read the next Sinclair Smith entry, but I am a little apprehensive too.
2/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Thirteen More Tales of Horror - 4/5
3) The Dead Game - 4/5
4) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
5) Camp Fear - 3.5/5
6) Nightmare Hall - The Silent Scream - 3.5/5
7) Dream Date - 3.5/5
8) Fatal Secrets - 3.5/5
9) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
10) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
11) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
12) The Hitchhiker - 3.5/5
13) Nightmare Hall - The Scream Team - 3.5/5
14) April Fools - 3.5/5
15) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
16) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
17) Freeze Tag - 3/5
18) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
19) The Accident - 3/5
20) The Vampire's Promise - 3/5
21) Funhouse - 3/5
22) Nightmare Hall - Sorority Sister - 3/5
23) Nightmare Hall - The Nightwalker - 3/5
24) Nightmare Hall - Pretty Please - 3/5
25) The Stranger - 3/5
26) Nightmare Hall - Deadly Attraction - 3/5
27) The Window - 3/5
28) Nightmare Hall - Guilty - 3/5
29) The Invitation - 2.5/5
30) Nightmare Hall - The Wish - 2.5/5
31) Help Wanted - 2.5/5
32) Nightmare Hall - Last Date - 2.5/5
33) The Perfume - 2.5/5
34) The Train - 2.5/5
35) The Waitress - 2.5/5
36) The Snowman - 2.5/5
37) Nightmare Hall - The Roommate - 2.5/5
38) The Yearbook - 2.5/5
39) Halloween Night II - 2.5/5
40) Silent Witness - 2.5/5
41) Halloween Night - 2.5/5
42) Beach House - 2.5/5
43) The Mall - 2.5/5
44) Nightmare Hall - The Experiment - 2.5/5
45) The Boyfriend - 2/5
46) The Fever - 2/5
47) The Cemetery - 2/5
48) The Diary - 2/5
49) Mother's Helper - 2/5
50) The Baby-Sitter III - 2/5
51) The Phantom - 2/5
52) The Watcher - 2/5
53) The Witness - 2/5
54) The Dead Girlfriend - 2/5
55) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
56) Hit and Run - 1.5/5
57) The Return of the Vampire - 1/5
58) Beach Party - 1/5
April 11, 2017
every character in this book, bar Jewel, is incredibly extra and also a jerk
October 17, 2021
One-Line Review: Don’t trust your past lives.
Full Review:
I always think of this book as one that I don't really like, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it was too subtle for me as a kid. I know that I didn't remember it terribly well, and it took a little while to get into this time, but once I was in I found I really liked it.
Delia is one of those introverted girls - shy, bookish and tied to a life with an ageing aunt who doesn't seem to like her much. She has no idea what she wants to do with her life after she graduates in a few weeks. When she finds a diary in her locker, she assumes it's a present from her boyfriend - she's an avid journaler, and it's just the kind of gift she'd love to get. But it turns out that the diary isn't blank, it's full of the life story of another girl, and there's a mystery as to where and who it came from.
Delia reads the diary, more and more of it every day, and slowly she starts becoming more and more like Laura, the girl who wrote it. Her personality changes and she becomes an extroverted party-girl. She dresses like Laura and gets her hair cut and dyed and her nails painted the way Laura had hers done. She picks up a paintbrush and discovers that she's a talented artist, despite never having painted before. All good things, right? But she also starts skipping school, and being mean to her friends, and having violent fantasies about people who upset her...
A past life regression from the town psychic indicates that Delia has lived before, and she finds out that Laura died in a freak accident the day Delia was born. Except it wasn't an accident - it was murder...
Delia starts having visions of the past, including Laura's murder. And Laura's murderer seems to know that something's rotten in Denmark (or Pleasantville - yes, that really is where this is set) because s/he is leaving threatening messages for Delia.
I hope I've got the gist of the book down, and apologies if I got anything wrong. It's quite a complex story for a teenage horror book, and I've only read it once or twice so it's not etched into my memory the way childhood favourites are. It's a good book, though, and I'll read it again in the future. Delia's a great character, and deeper than most of the protagonists in Point Horror novels. The transformation she goes through as Laura's personality takes over is eerie and surprisingly believable. I also didn't suspect the killer, which is always nice.
On the whole, I thought it was a pretty great book. This is the Sinclair Smith I know and love, which is why The Waitress was such a bitter disappointment. But The Diary, as well as other Smith novels like Second Sight, Amnesia and Dream Date are inventive and well-written, and reaffirm my faith in the author.
Verdict: Eerie, compelling and nicely crafted.
Full Review:
I always think of this book as one that I don't really like, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it was too subtle for me as a kid. I know that I didn't remember it terribly well, and it took a little while to get into this time, but once I was in I found I really liked it.
Delia is one of those introverted girls - shy, bookish and tied to a life with an ageing aunt who doesn't seem to like her much. She has no idea what she wants to do with her life after she graduates in a few weeks. When she finds a diary in her locker, she assumes it's a present from her boyfriend - she's an avid journaler, and it's just the kind of gift she'd love to get. But it turns out that the diary isn't blank, it's full of the life story of another girl, and there's a mystery as to where and who it came from.
Delia reads the diary, more and more of it every day, and slowly she starts becoming more and more like Laura, the girl who wrote it. Her personality changes and she becomes an extroverted party-girl. She dresses like Laura and gets her hair cut and dyed and her nails painted the way Laura had hers done. She picks up a paintbrush and discovers that she's a talented artist, despite never having painted before. All good things, right? But she also starts skipping school, and being mean to her friends, and having violent fantasies about people who upset her...
A past life regression from the town psychic indicates that Delia has lived before, and she finds out that Laura died in a freak accident the day Delia was born. Except it wasn't an accident - it was murder...
Delia starts having visions of the past, including Laura's murder. And Laura's murderer seems to know that something's rotten in Denmark (or Pleasantville - yes, that really is where this is set) because s/he is leaving threatening messages for Delia.
I hope I've got the gist of the book down, and apologies if I got anything wrong. It's quite a complex story for a teenage horror book, and I've only read it once or twice so it's not etched into my memory the way childhood favourites are. It's a good book, though, and I'll read it again in the future. Delia's a great character, and deeper than most of the protagonists in Point Horror novels. The transformation she goes through as Laura's personality takes over is eerie and surprisingly believable. I also didn't suspect the killer, which is always nice.
On the whole, I thought it was a pretty great book. This is the Sinclair Smith I know and love, which is why The Waitress was such a bitter disappointment. But The Diary, as well as other Smith novels like Second Sight, Amnesia and Dream Date are inventive and well-written, and reaffirm my faith in the author.
Verdict: Eerie, compelling and nicely crafted.
November 23, 2014
I grabbed this one not too long after I featured it in one of my Freaky Friday posts a while back and it definitely stands out from the other YA horror cheese of yore. I love it even more because of that.
The premise itself is actually really great. A past life and a current one clash when the past life becomes conscious. It points it out in the book that it's like Delia almost has a split personality, which she pretty much does. So not only is it a bit ghosty type of horror but is throws in some psychological horror in there as well and it wasn't all that cheesy, believe it or not.
I had a hard time guessing who the actual killer was. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I pretty much suck at picking up the subtle nuances that would denote something like that but that's besides the point. Every guess I made was wrong and there were quite a few red herrings to throw you off. Pretty awesome.
I think it's a bit better than some of the other cheese I've read simple because it's crafted a little better. It doesn't try too hard with the teenspeak, it doesn't go super crazy with the horror. The story just is and I really like that. It's freaky watching Delia transform into someone else against her will but it's not overdone. It's not subtle either but it's not wacky.
LET ME TELL YOU HOW I DIED is definitely one of the better works of YA horror from way back when so if you had to read any of them, I'd highly recommend this one. It's still got some cheese about it but it's pretty good about it.
The premise itself is actually really great. A past life and a current one clash when the past life becomes conscious. It points it out in the book that it's like Delia almost has a split personality, which she pretty much does. So not only is it a bit ghosty type of horror but is throws in some psychological horror in there as well and it wasn't all that cheesy, believe it or not.
I had a hard time guessing who the actual killer was. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I pretty much suck at picking up the subtle nuances that would denote something like that but that's besides the point. Every guess I made was wrong and there were quite a few red herrings to throw you off. Pretty awesome.
I think it's a bit better than some of the other cheese I've read simple because it's crafted a little better. It doesn't try too hard with the teenspeak, it doesn't go super crazy with the horror. The story just is and I really like that. It's freaky watching Delia transform into someone else against her will but it's not overdone. It's not subtle either but it's not wacky.
LET ME TELL YOU HOW I DIED is definitely one of the better works of YA horror from way back when so if you had to read any of them, I'd highly recommend this one. It's still got some cheese about it but it's pretty good about it.
April 3, 2019
Delia finds a diary written by a girl who is much more daring and exciting than she is. As she continues to read the diary she starts to adopt some of the girl's habits like cutting class and cheating on a test. Then she finds out that the girl was murdered and now the killer is after her too!
I enjoyed this one; I didn't love it but I certainly didn't hate it either. It did keep me guessing and I didn't figure out who the killer was. Overall it was quite a fun read.
I enjoyed this one; I didn't love it but I certainly didn't hate it either. It did keep me guessing and I didn't figure out who the killer was. Overall it was quite a fun read.
December 10, 2016
Average plot, no strong scares and an ending that isn't an ending. Not sure about this one which seems to mix up past lives with physical likeness, hallucinations and time lapse with an attempt at a horror story.
February 22, 2024
What happened to Aunt Gracie?!
December 3, 2024
Like a lot of these YA thrillers, the premise of Let Me Tell You How I Died never really gets pushed far enough because the murder-mystery structure makes it necessary to keep the protagonist in the dark, surrounded by as many red herrings and incomplete pieces of information as possible. It would have been a better book if Smith had embraced plain-Jane heroine Delia's gradual transformation into the seductive, mean-spirited, possibly dangerous dead beauty queen, Laura. Instead we get a lot of half-measures into the idea of a forced mid-life reincarnation, like Delia uncharacteristically playing "pranks" on bystanders at the mall by telling them their car has just been stolen. The new Delia finds freedom in cheating on tests, lying to her boyfriend, and (gasp) eating her dinner while watching television.
A peek into the mysterious Laura's diary:
Would it be easy to stir up the bees one day as she walked by? What if a hive fell on her? Imagine, being stung to death. OUCH! What a honey of a way to die.
She's got a way with words, that Laura.
Usually murder victims in these kinds of books--especially if they're young girls--are saintly and pure, their self-righteous spirits begging humbly for closure from beyond the grave. So the most interesting idea here is that the late Laura was maybe a bad person, and her spirit demands not selfless justice but selfish revenge. Delia is a crappy detective, though, so it's funny to imagine Laura's ghost getting progressively more frustrated as her link to the living world keeps failing to pick up on very obvious clues. "Why didn't I think of this earlier?" is a phrase Delia uses a lot as she comes to some self-evident conclusions, such as "If I'm living in a small town where everybody knows everybody else, maybe I should start asking adults who were alive before Laura was murdered what they remember about her."
Smith's writing style is basic--simple sentences and short paragraphs. I don't mind it, it's par for the course, but she has an annoying habit of italicizing or even capitalizing entire sentences for emphasis. Here's an example of her really overdoing it over the course of a single page:
"One by one, my vision registered each object--the posters on the wall, the desk, the chair, the lamp, the dresser. My mind began to argue with itself, for somehow I knew this room was supposed to be mine.
"BUT I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THESE THINGS.
"...Then I noticed the record albums on the shelf in the corner.
"Not CDs...records.
"And the machine beside it was a turntable.
"There was another machine on the desk. It wasn't a computer.
"It was a typewriter..
"Where was I? Who was I?
"I ran to the mirror that stood over the dresser table.
"And started screaming."
Even Stine doesn't get this punchy.
Speaking of Stine, there are a few fake-out cliffhangers here of the "I WAS BEING MURDERED oh no wait it was just my boyfriend hugging me from behind" variety. This tactic would have made more sense if it was implied that Delia was misinterpreting very mundane things because she is now manifesting Laura's postmortem PSTD, but I don't think Smith really put that much thought into it.
Subtracting a star because the book was a two-hundred page opportunity to make a DIE-ary pun and nobody ever made it.
A peek into the mysterious Laura's diary:
Would it be easy to stir up the bees one day as she walked by? What if a hive fell on her? Imagine, being stung to death. OUCH! What a honey of a way to die.
She's got a way with words, that Laura.
Usually murder victims in these kinds of books--especially if they're young girls--are saintly and pure, their self-righteous spirits begging humbly for closure from beyond the grave. So the most interesting idea here is that the late Laura was maybe a bad person, and her spirit demands not selfless justice but selfish revenge. Delia is a crappy detective, though, so it's funny to imagine Laura's ghost getting progressively more frustrated as her link to the living world keeps failing to pick up on very obvious clues. "Why didn't I think of this earlier?" is a phrase Delia uses a lot as she comes to some self-evident conclusions, such as "If I'm living in a small town where everybody knows everybody else, maybe I should start asking adults who were alive before Laura was murdered what they remember about her."
Smith's writing style is basic--simple sentences and short paragraphs. I don't mind it, it's par for the course, but she has an annoying habit of italicizing or even capitalizing entire sentences for emphasis. Here's an example of her really overdoing it over the course of a single page:
"One by one, my vision registered each object--the posters on the wall, the desk, the chair, the lamp, the dresser. My mind began to argue with itself, for somehow I knew this room was supposed to be mine.
"BUT I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THESE THINGS.
"...Then I noticed the record albums on the shelf in the corner.
"Not CDs...records.
"And the machine beside it was a turntable.
"There was another machine on the desk. It wasn't a computer.
"It was a typewriter..
"Where was I? Who was I?
"I ran to the mirror that stood over the dresser table.
"And started screaming."
Even Stine doesn't get this punchy.
Speaking of Stine, there are a few fake-out cliffhangers here of the "I WAS BEING MURDERED oh no wait it was just my boyfriend hugging me from behind" variety. This tactic would have made more sense if it was implied that Delia was misinterpreting very mundane things because she is now manifesting Laura's postmortem PSTD, but I don't think Smith really put that much thought into it.
Subtracting a star because the book was a two-hundred page opportunity to make a DIE-ary pun and nobody ever made it.
June 13, 2022
I've had a very mixed bag going with these Sinclair Smith books. Dream Date was the best I have read but The Boy Next Door and The Waitress have fizzled for me which is weird because it's the starting point and the end of the author's Point Horror run with a good book in the middle. I have three other books left to read but for now I guess I should focus on the book at hand so-
Let me tell you how Let Me Tell You How I Died has evened the playing field.
I was dubious going in with the title given to the US printing (It's just The Diary in the UK) reminding me of I Know Who Killed Me with Lindsay Lohan and even though I have never watched it the reviews that it is bad made me think this wouldn't be any good either.
I was pleasantly surprised and finished it faster than I thought I would.
Delia Munroe has just turned eighteen and she still writes in a diary...always wanting to be a writer and getting advice from her English teacher Mr. Parrish to write in her diary as if telling a story.
On her birthday, she had a nightmare about drowning in water swirled with red blood and reading about the death in a diary much like her own and it starts with the line:
"Let me tell you how I died."
A few days later, Delia opens her locker to find a maroon diary in her locker and thinks it is an anniversary gift from her boyfriend Brock Davidson. It isn't.
Delia can't help but admire the leather bound book with its design like the initials of someone's name and she reads about the life of a girl her age whom Delia calls "Laura" for she's always liked that name.
It begins to consume Delia's life reading about Laura and soon she starts cutting classes, making cruel jokes, shoplifting clothes she never would have thought to wear before, getting a new short hair cut and her nails done but also having visions about...horrible things.
The girl who once wrote in this diary died-was murdered the exact day that Delia was born...and the exact same age.
At first, Delia thinks that perhaps Laura wants her young life back but soon it's very clear that someone believes Delia is Laura. The question truly comes down to is it the person who killed Laura 18 years ago or an evil back from the dead...an old spirit in a new body?
I love stories like this and that's why it doesn't disappoint. We get a few instances where we wonder if Delia's boyfriend Brock or her best friend Judy "Jewel" Diamond follow this reincarnation idea we're presented and that's good. We have a couple of other characters to paint as red herrings and that's good too.
The climax and reveal are suspenseful and interesting, respectively. The ending is kind of where my final rating comes from. What keeps me from giving it five stars is that it seems just a little too fast after keeping us in suspense AND...it's too ambiguous.
I like open endings or twists but I can't figure out which one Smith was going for...it just waffles IMHO
Again just my interpretation and opinion but other than that...one of the better Sinclair Smith novels I've read with a solid recommendation that you do so as well if you can get your hands on a copy.
Let me tell you how Let Me Tell You How I Died has evened the playing field.
I was dubious going in with the title given to the US printing (It's just The Diary in the UK) reminding me of I Know Who Killed Me with Lindsay Lohan and even though I have never watched it the reviews that it is bad made me think this wouldn't be any good either.
I was pleasantly surprised and finished it faster than I thought I would.
Delia Munroe has just turned eighteen and she still writes in a diary...always wanting to be a writer and getting advice from her English teacher Mr. Parrish to write in her diary as if telling a story.
On her birthday, she had a nightmare about drowning in water swirled with red blood and reading about the death in a diary much like her own and it starts with the line:
"Let me tell you how I died."
A few days later, Delia opens her locker to find a maroon diary in her locker and thinks it is an anniversary gift from her boyfriend Brock Davidson. It isn't.
Delia can't help but admire the leather bound book with its design like the initials of someone's name and she reads about the life of a girl her age whom Delia calls "Laura" for she's always liked that name.
It begins to consume Delia's life reading about Laura and soon she starts cutting classes, making cruel jokes, shoplifting clothes she never would have thought to wear before, getting a new short hair cut and her nails done but also having visions about...horrible things.
The girl who once wrote in this diary died-was murdered the exact day that Delia was born...and the exact same age.
At first, Delia thinks that perhaps Laura wants her young life back but soon it's very clear that someone believes Delia is Laura. The question truly comes down to is it the person who killed Laura 18 years ago or an evil back from the dead...an old spirit in a new body?
I love stories like this and that's why it doesn't disappoint. We get a few instances where we wonder if Delia's boyfriend Brock or her best friend Judy "Jewel" Diamond follow this reincarnation idea we're presented and that's good. We have a couple of other characters to paint as red herrings and that's good too.
The climax and reveal are suspenseful and interesting, respectively. The ending is kind of where my final rating comes from. What keeps me from giving it five stars is that it seems just a little too fast after keeping us in suspense AND...it's too ambiguous.
I like open endings or twists but I can't figure out which one Smith was going for...it just waffles IMHO
Again just my interpretation and opinion but other than that...one of the better Sinclair Smith novels I've read with a solid recommendation that you do so as well if you can get your hands on a copy.
June 20, 2024
I was hurrying back to finish this fast as Delia did with Laura's story. That's the mark of a good mystery. I really liked all the red herrings (not just characters but mental ones: Jewel suggests Delia's fear of moving forward as the reason she's dreaming of someone else's life, and the idea that Delia's reality is half-lived, so she's doing her rebellious dreams in real time): I kinda saw Rose coming but really, my money was on Mr. Parrish (when Delia sees the young man with the blonde hair in picture frame on Laura's desk... I was like PARRISH WITH THE BLONDE/GREY TEMPLES?!). Never thought Jewel or Brock though.
This is much more cerebral than the usual PH fare (although it does have its moments-Delia showing up to Laura's old neighborhood, confronted by the wannabe boogeyman/neighbor who speaks on Laura's death... also, is the house/neighborhood really there? Did Rose only say that part of town was gone to further confuse Delia?): is it rebellion? Is Laura simply a restless spirit in need of justice? Or are Laura and Delia one in the same? Even in the final chapter, I'm unsure as to who's writing it: the person mentions a new boyfriend... but Delia and Brock didn't seem on the verge of a break-up... but Laura might see Brock as new... or maybe Delia really did just need a change?
Sinclair Smith may just be the MVP of PH. Who knew?
This is much more cerebral than the usual PH fare (although it does have its moments-Delia showing up to Laura's old neighborhood, confronted by the wannabe boogeyman/neighbor who speaks on Laura's death... also, is the house/neighborhood really there? Did Rose only say that part of town was gone to further confuse Delia?): is it rebellion? Is Laura simply a restless spirit in need of justice? Or are Laura and Delia one in the same? Even in the final chapter, I'm unsure as to who's writing it: the person mentions a new boyfriend... but Delia and Brock didn't seem on the verge of a break-up... but Laura might see Brock as new... or maybe Delia really did just need a change?
Sinclair Smith may just be the MVP of PH. Who knew?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2019
When you grow up reading as much as I have over the years there are a few books that tend to stick with you over the years. Sinclaire Smith's "Let Me Tell You How I Died" is one of those books. I first read it when I was in middle school (so think 12-13), but somehow I lost my copy & have looked for a replacement one several times over the years. Luckily I finally found one on Amazon.
Delia's journey into discovering who she is has always had me hooked from the beginning, but now as an adult & re-reading it with not only fond memories but also not remembering every detail of the book (like I have with some of them over the years), is an amazing thing. It is funny to look back & see how writing styles have changed over the years, especially knowing the struggle that was the early 1990's & the lack of technology we have now. If you're wanting a quick young-adult read (Only reason it took me several days to read again was because of that wonderful thing called adulting & bad lighting in my bedroom), then I definitely recommend this as well as most of the other books that Sinclaire Smith has written over the years.
Delia's journey into discovering who she is has always had me hooked from the beginning, but now as an adult & re-reading it with not only fond memories but also not remembering every detail of the book (like I have with some of them over the years), is an amazing thing. It is funny to look back & see how writing styles have changed over the years, especially knowing the struggle that was the early 1990's & the lack of technology we have now. If you're wanting a quick young-adult read (Only reason it took me several days to read again was because of that wonderful thing called adulting & bad lighting in my bedroom), then I definitely recommend this as well as most of the other books that Sinclaire Smith has written over the years.
November 17, 2023
The plot was really interesting but the execution could have been a lot better than it was. I don't know why, but Sinclair Smith's books take me forever to read. The story left me feeling very confused until the topic of past lives came up – that's when I realized, "Oh! So that's what's happening to Delia." The writing was all over the place and I wasn't understanding why Delia started morphing into Laura (who was highly unlikeable). Jewel & Brock seemed like afterthoughts. As other reviewers pointed out, there was more telling than showing. I wish the author included Laura's diary entries instead of Delia just telling us about them. I feel like that would have helped us connect to the character more. Laura seemed like a really mean person, so honestly I wasn't invested in whatever happened to her. The ending was confusing but I'm assuming Laura took over Delia's body and got a second chance at life?
March 1, 2022
Well this was an interesting read, mostly because I'm pretty sure I'd never actually read this one before. I didn't remember anything about it, and I generally remember things about every book I've read, especially if I happen to be re-reading something. So, first reads for the win!
I really quite liked this book, even though it had some lame moments and definite cheesiness. I liked certain references to the 90s, even though they weren't too overpowering, for example "Judy Diamond"'s forearm full of bangles/bracelets, her nickname being Jewel, and some of the names in the story - like Brenda Ann. The reference to Rose's short sleeved black shirt and cutoff dungaree shorts made me nostalgic for my full length navy blue dungarees I had in high school.
I had never heard the term "eerie weirdie" before, which may or may not be because this author invented it (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong there). But it amused me. Also, I just don't like the character of Laura at all. What a biiiiaaatch. And the fact that Delia was becoming such a bitch as well made me sad for her and all her friends.
That ending was quite intriguing in an "uh oh" sort of way. Made me think that Delia's life is forever messed up.
Anyway, I'll leave this one now with the summary that it wasn't one of my faves because I love these books for their horrible fashion and ridiculous moments that make me laugh when they probably shouldn't. Still, it was quite suspenseful and I was suspecting everyone and their dog of being the bad guy. I definitely called the Aunt Gracie thing though. Just wish I knew what actually happened to her.
My notes jotted down while reading:
I really quite liked this book, even though it had some lame moments and definite cheesiness. I liked certain references to the 90s, even though they weren't too overpowering, for example "Judy Diamond"'s forearm full of bangles/bracelets, her nickname being Jewel, and some of the names in the story - like Brenda Ann. The reference to Rose's short sleeved black shirt and cutoff dungaree shorts made me nostalgic for my full length navy blue dungarees I had in high school.
I had never heard the term "eerie weirdie" before, which may or may not be because this author invented it (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong there). But it amused me. Also, I just don't like the character of Laura at all. What a biiiiaaatch. And the fact that Delia was becoming such a bitch as well made me sad for her and all her friends.
That ending was quite intriguing in an "uh oh" sort of way. Made me think that Delia's life is forever messed up.
Anyway, I'll leave this one now with the summary that it wasn't one of my faves because I love these books for their horrible fashion and ridiculous moments that make me laugh when they probably shouldn't. Still, it was quite suspenseful and I was suspecting everyone and their dog of being the bad guy. I definitely called the Aunt Gracie thing though. Just wish I knew what actually happened to her.
My notes jotted down while reading:
March 28, 2023
Last night in soho is one of my favorite horror movies so when I heard that there was a point horror book that had roughly the same concept. All I can say is that I was pumped. This also was my first Sinclair smith book. I read only about 20 pages the first day of reading, but then in the second I read 160 and finished the book. So what happened? Well after that 20 page mark I actually sat down and began reading it, and oh boy did it pick up in rapid succession. So our main character Delia has found this diary and becomes totally obsessed with it. She begins to change her appearance to look more like the girl in the diary and her personality changes too, but all the while someone is stalking her, the same person who killed the girl in the diary. All of that is basically in the synopsis, so that is what I knew going in and it was exactly what I wanted from a point horror book. The kills were great, there was a weird shower scene and someone read that over my shoulder so that was great. But in all this book is extremely good is it someone that I will remember in a month probably not but it was fun while it lasted. 4/5 stars
July 16, 2024
Let us head to Pleasantville. A small town where everybody knows everyone.
Do you believe in past lives?
Delia has something she is going to tell you and it wont make sense at the beginning.
Listen with an open mind as the consequences of not listening are deadly
“ I had just stood by the grave where my coffin is buried”
It all started with the diary left in Delias locker.
A diary she became obsessed with
A diary she does not want to share with others
Because
Delia knows that the diary belonged to her.
It belonged to her past self
The changes slowly start
Missing school
Lying to friends
Drastic makeover
Doing things that are out of character
A different personality
Until
The threatening phone calls
Vandalism
The deadly car chase
Somebody from her past has figured out who she is
Somebody who got away with murdering her in the past
Somebody ready to kill again
Do you believe in past lives?
Delia has something she is going to tell you and it wont make sense at the beginning.
Listen with an open mind as the consequences of not listening are deadly
“ I had just stood by the grave where my coffin is buried”
It all started with the diary left in Delias locker.
A diary she became obsessed with
A diary she does not want to share with others
Because
Delia knows that the diary belonged to her.
It belonged to her past self
The changes slowly start
Missing school
Lying to friends
Drastic makeover
Doing things that are out of character
A different personality
Until
The threatening phone calls
Vandalism
The deadly car chase
Somebody from her past has figured out who she is
Somebody who got away with murdering her in the past
Somebody ready to kill again
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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