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Poor Little Dead Girls
Perfect people aren't just born. They're made.
The first time she is blindfolded and kidnapped, star-athlete and posh boarding school newbie Sadie is terrified. She wakes up in a dark room surrounded by hushed whispers, hooded strangers, and a mysterious voice whispering not-so-sweet nothings in her ear.
But once the robes come off, she realizes it’s just an elaborate prank designed to induct her into the group that’s been pulling the strings at Keating Hall for generations. The circle has it all--incredible connections; fabulous parties; and, of course, an in with the brother society’s gorgeous pledges.
The instant popularity is enough to make Sadie forget about the unexplained marks on her body, the creepy ceremonial rituals, and the incident that befell one of her teammates the year before. So the next time Sadie is kidnapped, she isn’t scared, but she should be. The worst of Keating Hall is yet to come.
The first time she is blindfolded and kidnapped, star-athlete and posh boarding school newbie Sadie is terrified. She wakes up in a dark room surrounded by hushed whispers, hooded strangers, and a mysterious voice whispering not-so-sweet nothings in her ear.
But once the robes come off, she realizes it’s just an elaborate prank designed to induct her into the group that’s been pulling the strings at Keating Hall for generations. The circle has it all--incredible connections; fabulous parties; and, of course, an in with the brother society’s gorgeous pledges.
The instant popularity is enough to make Sadie forget about the unexplained marks on her body, the creepy ceremonial rituals, and the incident that befell one of her teammates the year before. So the next time Sadie is kidnapped, she isn’t scared, but she should be. The worst of Keating Hall is yet to come.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2013
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October 4, 2013
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
NetGalley ARC
When Sadie gets an athletic scholarship to an exclusive ivy league prep school, she's beyond thrilled. Shortly after settling in to her new surroundings, she finds herself kidnapped and placed under a grueling interview process to become a member of an exclusive secret society. At first she’s simply pissed at the embarrassment of being a part of this type of hazing ritual, but when she discovers her life will be filled with fabulous clothing, a wonderful new boyfriend and friends who will have your back no matter what, Sadie changes her mind. That is, until she realizes there is more to this secret society than meets the eye and the connections don’t end with just an elite bunch of high school students.
This was a fun little book. The mystery isn’t earth shattering and there aren’t a whole lot of twists or turns in the road before you get to the finish, but I wanted to keep reading it anyway. I found the heroine likeable, the supporting characters interesting, and the dialogue quick, witty and believable. Note: They sometimes talk like teenagers so if you hookers don’t like that, then whatevs (seriously, phrases like that are contained in this book so don’t say you weren’t warned). I’m not generally a reader of the “YA Thriller” genre, but I think this one would receive a pretty decent ranking for those who look for that type of book. It also had the bonus of two roommates who, although not a HUGE part of the storyline, conjured up this image for which I will be eternally grateful ; )
NetGalley ARC
When Sadie gets an athletic scholarship to an exclusive ivy league prep school, she's beyond thrilled. Shortly after settling in to her new surroundings, she finds herself kidnapped and placed under a grueling interview process to become a member of an exclusive secret society. At first she’s simply pissed at the embarrassment of being a part of this type of hazing ritual, but when she discovers her life will be filled with fabulous clothing, a wonderful new boyfriend and friends who will have your back no matter what, Sadie changes her mind. That is, until she realizes there is more to this secret society than meets the eye and the connections don’t end with just an elite bunch of high school students.
This was a fun little book. The mystery isn’t earth shattering and there aren’t a whole lot of twists or turns in the road before you get to the finish, but I wanted to keep reading it anyway. I found the heroine likeable, the supporting characters interesting, and the dialogue quick, witty and believable. Note: They sometimes talk like teenagers so if you hookers don’t like that, then whatevs (seriously, phrases like that are contained in this book so don’t say you weren’t warned). I’m not generally a reader of the “YA Thriller” genre, but I think this one would receive a pretty decent ranking for those who look for that type of book. It also had the bonus of two roommates who, although not a HUGE part of the storyline, conjured up this image for which I will be eternally grateful ; )
February 11, 2019
Rating: 3-3.5
Sadie Marlowe gets invited to join one of the best and most expensive schools in the country on a lacrosse scholarship. Going to Keating is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and even though the distance from home fills her with uncertainty, she knows she can't pass it up. Keating's lacrosse team is one of the best and their coach is a legend. Plus it'll be a chance for Sadie to feel closer to her mother, being able to walk the same halls as she did. Even if it means fighting for a place among all her rich, snobby classmates in a world that she clearly doesn't fit in. Until she does.
Harmless pranks or murder games?
Suddenly Sadie is wearing the best dresses at the best parties. Drinking expensive champagne and riding in long black limos. She has a new boyfriend and new friends and the world is at her fingertips. She made her vows of loyalty and swore her secrecy and is reaping the rewards of her new family at Keating. The clock strikes twelve though, and she cannot ignore the bruises or lies that keep piling up around her. Or the fact that she's probably next for the "Keating Curse"
Poor Little Dead Girls has the makings for a great book. Boarding School. Secret Society of the rich and powerful. Murder mystery. Extravagant parties and ceremonies. A hot guy. There's even a little English nobility thrown in to boot. All revolving around our MC Sadie Marlowe who is neither rich nor powerful. While this book does not reach greatness, it is good and I believe you'll find this to be a decent book if nothing else. The suspense and thrill doesn't come into full effect til the end of the book, but I can say that there are a few revelations that you probably won't see coming. Though some are obvious.
Sadie Marlowe gets invited to join one of the best and most expensive schools in the country on a lacrosse scholarship. Going to Keating is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and even though the distance from home fills her with uncertainty, she knows she can't pass it up. Keating's lacrosse team is one of the best and their coach is a legend. Plus it'll be a chance for Sadie to feel closer to her mother, being able to walk the same halls as she did. Even if it means fighting for a place among all her rich, snobby classmates in a world that she clearly doesn't fit in. Until she does.
Harmless pranks or murder games?
Suddenly Sadie is wearing the best dresses at the best parties. Drinking expensive champagne and riding in long black limos. She has a new boyfriend and new friends and the world is at her fingertips. She made her vows of loyalty and swore her secrecy and is reaping the rewards of her new family at Keating. The clock strikes twelve though, and she cannot ignore the bruises or lies that keep piling up around her. Or the fact that she's probably next for the "Keating Curse"
Poor Little Dead Girls has the makings for a great book. Boarding School. Secret Society of the rich and powerful. Murder mystery. Extravagant parties and ceremonies. A hot guy. There's even a little English nobility thrown in to boot. All revolving around our MC Sadie Marlowe who is neither rich nor powerful. While this book does not reach greatness, it is good and I believe you'll find this to be a decent book if nothing else. The suspense and thrill doesn't come into full effect til the end of the book, but I can say that there are a few revelations that you probably won't see coming. Though some are obvious.
December 13, 2013
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After an extremely impressive streak with YA Thrillers (Find Me & Dead Girls Don't Lie are two of my favorite 2013 releases!) I was feeling pretty confident about Poor Little Dead Girls. A boarding school's secret society has ties to the deaths of two girls - what's not to love?
Unfortunately, Poor Little Dead Girls spectacularly crushed every single expectation I had, including the hope of actually finishing (spoiler alert: I did, but it was a fight on both our parts).
Sadie is a star lacrosse player on her high school team back home in Portland. When she receives a scholarship from the elite Keating Hall - students of the school are all but guaranteed acceptance to Ivy League universities - she doesn't hesitate for a second. She quickly becomes fast friends with Jessica (seemingly the only other student who isn't uber wealthy) and her royal roommates. After their hard partying habits brought shame upon Britain's royal family, Trix & Gwen were shipped off to America where they'll hopefully stay out of the public eye. Don't worry about getting to know these two though - their presence is only acknowledged in passing and piles of dirty laundry until the very end when Friend pulls out the shocker: Gwen is into girls! Really now? Gwen's sexuality added nothing to the story, particularly since it came about at the very end, and felt tacked on simply to bring some sort of life to an otherwise dead story.
In the very (and I mean very) beginning, things looked promising. Sure, the characters were little more than stock personalities (particularly the Mean Girls), but that was something I could live with. Within a few chapters, however, I realized this book and I weren't going to become bosom buddies. Chapter 6 - an entire chapter - was devoted to discussing all the ~hot boys~ on the football team. An. Entire. Chapter. Also - and this should come as NO surprise - it is in this chapter that Sadie falls head-over-heels for a boy she has yet to speak to, and when she finally does, this is the conversation they have:
SWOON. When Jeremy turns to walk back to his own school, Sadie's stomach was 'now flipping around like a kid three doses behind on his Ritalin.' I suppose I could overlook this if the scene took place in the middle of the day after a class or something. Instead, this happened in the middle of the night after Sadie had been chased. Ain't no thang though - she simply forgets all about that now that there's a SUPER HOT BOY!!
Once Jeremy shows up, classes are no longer a priority. Instead, she obsesses over his jawline ("A part of her - the same part that led her subconscious through the same cheesy dreamscape every night - wanted to lean in and lick it"). Riveting stuff, guys.
But, Leah, I thought this was a murder mystery I hear you say. Turns out there's a SOOPER SEKRET SOCIETY. More than once Sadie wakes to find bruises on her body and doesn't think anything of it. Later - much, much later - we discover she was being drugged and kidnapped this entire time. Those bruises are from having her blood taken and analyzed to prove she's ~worthy~ and of course she passes. Believe it or not, here's where the crazy comes in. This society is two hundred years old - Thomas Jefferson founded it. Its members are among the richest people in the world and they plan on creating a new world power. Sadie's mother (who had died when Sadie was a child) was a part of this group although she broke all ties with them and her family to marry Sadie's father (see, to make sure genetics are pure, the society arranges marriages for its members). The other girl who had died at the school was also in the society - and also related to Sadie. At one point its revealed SADIE'S EGGS WERE HARVESTED. Just in case Sadie were to die or run away, another heir could be created.
Poor Little Dead Girls tried to pack WAY too much into a tiny story. There were multiple story lines that were introduced and went nowhere: Sadie witnessed a rape and shrugged it off like it was nothing and a fellow student (and one of Sadie's friends!) was being beat by her boyfriend but he's hot so it's okay. There was no consistency or coherency to be found and all of the action happened off-screen: "An hour later she finally stopped talking [explaining basically the entire plot to Jeremy - but not the reader]" "The next three hours were so much fun she started to get nervous."
The author couldn't even get the ending right. Sadie receives hush money ($1M is all this group could come up with? These are supposed to be the richest families in the world.) and begins applying to college with her bestie Jessica and looks forward to spending more time with Jeremy. ...and that's it. There isn't any kind of resolution or closure. Much like with the rest of the story, Sadie shrugs it off, leaving a very unsatisfied reader.
Other readers have mentioned Friend at least succeeded in nailing the voice of these girls, but I have to disagree. Instead of calling each other by, you know, their names, Sadie and her friends refer to one another as hooker, skank, hobag, etc. Yeah, I've never called my friends any of those. This name-calling caused some serious eyebrow-raising once the rape & abusive boyfriend plots were introduced.
Poor Little Dead Girls isn't a book I would force upon anyone. Trust me on this: stay as far away from this book as you possibly can. I SUFFERED SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO.
After an extremely impressive streak with YA Thrillers (Find Me & Dead Girls Don't Lie are two of my favorite 2013 releases!) I was feeling pretty confident about Poor Little Dead Girls. A boarding school's secret society has ties to the deaths of two girls - what's not to love?
Unfortunately, Poor Little Dead Girls spectacularly crushed every single expectation I had, including the hope of actually finishing (spoiler alert: I did, but it was a fight on both our parts).
Sadie is a star lacrosse player on her high school team back home in Portland. When she receives a scholarship from the elite Keating Hall - students of the school are all but guaranteed acceptance to Ivy League universities - she doesn't hesitate for a second. She quickly becomes fast friends with Jessica (seemingly the only other student who isn't uber wealthy) and her royal roommates. After their hard partying habits brought shame upon Britain's royal family, Trix & Gwen were shipped off to America where they'll hopefully stay out of the public eye. Don't worry about getting to know these two though - their presence is only acknowledged in passing and piles of dirty laundry until the very end when Friend pulls out the shocker: Gwen is into girls! Really now? Gwen's sexuality added nothing to the story, particularly since it came about at the very end, and felt tacked on simply to bring some sort of life to an otherwise dead story.
In the very (and I mean very) beginning, things looked promising. Sure, the characters were little more than stock personalities (particularly the Mean Girls), but that was something I could live with. Within a few chapters, however, I realized this book and I weren't going to become bosom buddies. Chapter 6 - an entire chapter - was devoted to discussing all the ~hot boys~ on the football team. An. Entire. Chapter. Also - and this should come as NO surprise - it is in this chapter that Sadie falls head-over-heels for a boy she has yet to speak to, and when she finally does, this is the conversation they have:
"Is yours [a test] on Monday?"
"Yeah."
"Ours, too."
SWOON. When Jeremy turns to walk back to his own school, Sadie's stomach was 'now flipping around like a kid three doses behind on his Ritalin.' I suppose I could overlook this if the scene took place in the middle of the day after a class or something. Instead, this happened in the middle of the night after Sadie had been chased. Ain't no thang though - she simply forgets all about that now that there's a SUPER HOT BOY!!
Once Jeremy shows up, classes are no longer a priority. Instead, she obsesses over his jawline ("A part of her - the same part that led her subconscious through the same cheesy dreamscape every night - wanted to lean in and lick it"). Riveting stuff, guys.
But, Leah, I thought this was a murder mystery I hear you say. Turns out there's a SOOPER SEKRET SOCIETY. More than once Sadie wakes to find bruises on her body and doesn't think anything of it. Later - much, much later - we discover she was being drugged and kidnapped this entire time. Those bruises are from having her blood taken and analyzed to prove she's ~worthy~ and of course she passes. Believe it or not, here's where the crazy comes in. This society is two hundred years old - Thomas Jefferson founded it. Its members are among the richest people in the world and they plan on creating a new world power. Sadie's mother (who had died when Sadie was a child) was a part of this group although she broke all ties with them and her family to marry Sadie's father (see, to make sure genetics are pure, the society arranges marriages for its members). The other girl who had died at the school was also in the society - and also related to Sadie. At one point its revealed SADIE'S EGGS WERE HARVESTED. Just in case Sadie were to die or run away, another heir could be created.
Poor Little Dead Girls tried to pack WAY too much into a tiny story. There were multiple story lines that were introduced and went nowhere: Sadie witnessed a rape and shrugged it off like it was nothing and a fellow student (and one of Sadie's friends!) was being beat by her boyfriend but he's hot so it's okay. There was no consistency or coherency to be found and all of the action happened off-screen: "An hour later she finally stopped talking [explaining basically the entire plot to Jeremy - but not the reader]" "The next three hours were so much fun she started to get nervous."
The author couldn't even get the ending right. Sadie receives hush money ($1M is all this group could come up with? These are supposed to be the richest families in the world.) and begins applying to college with her bestie Jessica and looks forward to spending more time with Jeremy. ...and that's it. There isn't any kind of resolution or closure. Much like with the rest of the story, Sadie shrugs it off, leaving a very unsatisfied reader.
Other readers have mentioned Friend at least succeeded in nailing the voice of these girls, but I have to disagree. Instead of calling each other by, you know, their names, Sadie and her friends refer to one another as hooker, skank, hobag, etc. Yeah, I've never called my friends any of those. This name-calling caused some serious eyebrow-raising once the rape & abusive boyfriend plots were introduced.
Poor Little Dead Girls isn't a book I would force upon anyone. Trust me on this: stay as far away from this book as you possibly can. I SUFFERED SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO.
August 15, 2023
lame black widow
August 28, 2023
This started off so strong but then everything went downhill so fast that I am still finding it kinda hard to believe.
Sadie has been offered lacrosse scholarship to some find of fancy boarding school where she is afraid she won’t fit and after surviving a kidnapping and some kind of initiation ritual for a secret society, there is little hope for a normal school experience.
Well, secret societies aren’t really something new right? But this one was so over the top and difficult to believe that I ended up finding this whole ordeal plain boring. Students gallivanting off to meet the President of the US, a plan to stage a coup, overthrowing the government and what not, this all read nothing short of fantastical crazy.
I was waiting forever for it to end, Sadie and her whole little friend group bored me to death, none of the characters were fascinating enough to warrant bearing almost 300 pages of this nonsense.
This was an utter waste of time imo and I regret ever picking this up in the first place.
1 star.
Sadie has been offered lacrosse scholarship to some find of fancy boarding school where she is afraid she won’t fit and after surviving a kidnapping and some kind of initiation ritual for a secret society, there is little hope for a normal school experience.
Well, secret societies aren’t really something new right? But this one was so over the top and difficult to believe that I ended up finding this whole ordeal plain boring. Students gallivanting off to meet the President of the US, a plan to stage a coup, overthrowing the government and what not, this all read nothing short of fantastical crazy.
I was waiting forever for it to end, Sadie and her whole little friend group bored me to death, none of the characters were fascinating enough to warrant bearing almost 300 pages of this nonsense.
This was an utter waste of time imo and I regret ever picking this up in the first place.
1 star.
January 11, 2014
The creep factor is high with this book. At first glance this is your average, girl with sorta rich dad goes to school that is the playground of the super duperty rich and is a tad envious. She meets a cute boy, he thinks she's cute too and la di da, they are sipping coffee and swapping spit. The end.
But this story takes secret societies to a weird, crazy place. I was pretty sure this wouldn't go to the places is did, but then again, I was pretty sure that there wouldn't be any deaths in The Hunger Games (sorry, hope I didn't ruin this for anyone!).
I'm just going to throw this out there because I think it has a lot of parallells to this story; Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season two, episode five, Buffy goes to a fraternity party, gets roofied and ends up tied up in the creepy subbasement. It turns out the fraternity makes a yearly sacrifice to a snake demon and because of it, their brotherhood have unusually good luck at everything.
Naturally, they had no idea that it isn't just some drunk sorority girl they dragged to the basement but the supernaturally badass slayer who kills the demon and then kicks butt all over the place (take THAT evil frat boys!). Damn, I loved this episode.
But this story has no slayers, no satisfying kickassery and this is where my enjoyment ended and my annoyance and boredom started.
This is a list of what I didn't like about this book, in no particular order;
1. Sadie - the main character is hard to understand or relate to. She plays Lacrosse and gets a full scholarship to Keating, a super exclusive prep school. She's embarrassed by her lack of couture clothes and big money - this has always rubbed me the wrong way, girls who have the wherewhithal to play lacrosse and with dads who own their own architectural firms are not poor! Poor little upper middle class diatribe over, it was hard to find anything to really like in Sadie, she's not shy, she jogs a bunch, gets surprised by snotty girls but doesn't seem that bothered by them, she even meets the perfect guy and has a nice little predictable relationship with him.
2. Instalove and instafriends - With all the snooty behaviour happening all over the book it was a bit jarring that she becomes besties right away with one of her teammates. Practically at the same time, she meets a hot guy at the neighboring school Groff Academy and they become a couple without any of the usual 'does he like me? should I kiss him?' wonderings happening. In fact all of their encounters are about as exciting as me trimming my toenails while watching epis of Homeland.
3. The big mysteries are strange and never really make sense. Especially ****** Spoiler Alert******** what was going on at the hospital. The super secret hospital. At first it seemed like they were making people crazy then it turns out they were harvesting eggs and semen from men and women from the Secret Society. Why have a giant hospital as a front? Why was there a crazy woman at the hospital and then the next night she was a bitchy woman in a beautiful dress at a White House party??? No real answers to these questions.
4. Monologueing - or when all the mysteries are solved by the bad guys answering questions (mustache twirling missing, thank goodness). First Finn confesses, then his evil mother adds her dastardly deeds, then his evil grandfather explains what he's done and offers them money (only a million dollars, so there is that, cheap so and so, you call that a payoff!).
5. Clothing descriptions - I'll call this the Fashion Police effect, because it has become endemic in certain YA fiction. The last time I had so many clothing choices described was in a Coldwater Creek catalog, it needs to stop. Can't Sadie just wear a pretty blue dress? Couldn't she just totter around in unfamiliar heels?
6. Things left unsaid - in a book with mysterious suicides and semen and egg gathering, you'd think there wouldn't be much to be squeemish about, but you'd be wrong. MORE***********SPOILERS*********************Now
Sadie's drink is spiked at a party, a party where she just walked in on a drugged out classmate getting raped (this was vague, just a description of her dress being up around her waist while she's sprawled on the couch unconscious, with several guys in the room looking defiant, lusty, drunk or all three). There are so many problems with this scenario, first, why doesn't she call the police or at least alert other partygoers to the situation to try and help the raped/unconscious girl? Why would she then accept a drink, that the potential rapists are staring at her raptly while she drinks it? When she wakes up in her dorm room the next morning with no memory of how she got there, why wasn't her first thought, 'ohmygawd, I might have been raped!' She skirts around this and I guess the reader just has to get there on their own. Sloppy, sloppy writing.
7. The trip to a hospital that never occurred. If you think you were roofied and raped, wouldn't you go to a hospital to get yourself checked out? Sadie seems to want to do this, but then plans a ridiculous visit to the 'possibly-making-people-crazy-hospital' where her friend distracts the receptionist while Sadie runs around peeking into forbidden areas.
8. More hanging out with bad guys. She goes back to the Tower, the site of the infamous gang bang party and officially becomes the stupidest heroine I've ever had the misfortune to read about as she attempts to get to the bottom of things.
Okay, my outrage has officially peaked. I have other things in this book that I could whine about, like how no one seems to attend classes, how people are able to skip off to high society parties and how often Sadie is drugged, but I'm just done with this mess. I'm going to go rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I need a dose of believable storytelling to cleanse my reading palate.
But this story takes secret societies to a weird, crazy place. I was pretty sure this wouldn't go to the places is did, but then again, I was pretty sure that there wouldn't be any deaths in The Hunger Games (sorry, hope I didn't ruin this for anyone!).
I'm just going to throw this out there because I think it has a lot of parallells to this story; Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season two, episode five, Buffy goes to a fraternity party, gets roofied and ends up tied up in the creepy subbasement. It turns out the fraternity makes a yearly sacrifice to a snake demon and because of it, their brotherhood have unusually good luck at everything.
Naturally, they had no idea that it isn't just some drunk sorority girl they dragged to the basement but the supernaturally badass slayer who kills the demon and then kicks butt all over the place (take THAT evil frat boys!). Damn, I loved this episode.
But this story has no slayers, no satisfying kickassery and this is where my enjoyment ended and my annoyance and boredom started.
This is a list of what I didn't like about this book, in no particular order;
1. Sadie - the main character is hard to understand or relate to. She plays Lacrosse and gets a full scholarship to Keating, a super exclusive prep school. She's embarrassed by her lack of couture clothes and big money - this has always rubbed me the wrong way, girls who have the wherewhithal to play lacrosse and with dads who own their own architectural firms are not poor! Poor little upper middle class diatribe over, it was hard to find anything to really like in Sadie, she's not shy, she jogs a bunch, gets surprised by snotty girls but doesn't seem that bothered by them, she even meets the perfect guy and has a nice little predictable relationship with him.
2. Instalove and instafriends - With all the snooty behaviour happening all over the book it was a bit jarring that she becomes besties right away with one of her teammates. Practically at the same time, she meets a hot guy at the neighboring school Groff Academy and they become a couple without any of the usual 'does he like me? should I kiss him?' wonderings happening. In fact all of their encounters are about as exciting as me trimming my toenails while watching epis of Homeland.
3. The big mysteries are strange and never really make sense. Especially ****** Spoiler Alert******** what was going on at the hospital. The super secret hospital. At first it seemed like they were making people crazy then it turns out they were harvesting eggs and semen from men and women from the Secret Society. Why have a giant hospital as a front? Why was there a crazy woman at the hospital and then the next night she was a bitchy woman in a beautiful dress at a White House party??? No real answers to these questions.
4. Monologueing - or when all the mysteries are solved by the bad guys answering questions (mustache twirling missing, thank goodness). First Finn confesses, then his evil mother adds her dastardly deeds, then his evil grandfather explains what he's done and offers them money (only a million dollars, so there is that, cheap so and so, you call that a payoff!).
5. Clothing descriptions - I'll call this the Fashion Police effect, because it has become endemic in certain YA fiction. The last time I had so many clothing choices described was in a Coldwater Creek catalog, it needs to stop. Can't Sadie just wear a pretty blue dress? Couldn't she just totter around in unfamiliar heels?
6. Things left unsaid - in a book with mysterious suicides and semen and egg gathering, you'd think there wouldn't be much to be squeemish about, but you'd be wrong. MORE***********SPOILERS*********************Now
Sadie's drink is spiked at a party, a party where she just walked in on a drugged out classmate getting raped (this was vague, just a description of her dress being up around her waist while she's sprawled on the couch unconscious, with several guys in the room looking defiant, lusty, drunk or all three). There are so many problems with this scenario, first, why doesn't she call the police or at least alert other partygoers to the situation to try and help the raped/unconscious girl? Why would she then accept a drink, that the potential rapists are staring at her raptly while she drinks it? When she wakes up in her dorm room the next morning with no memory of how she got there, why wasn't her first thought, 'ohmygawd, I might have been raped!' She skirts around this and I guess the reader just has to get there on their own. Sloppy, sloppy writing.
7. The trip to a hospital that never occurred. If you think you were roofied and raped, wouldn't you go to a hospital to get yourself checked out? Sadie seems to want to do this, but then plans a ridiculous visit to the 'possibly-making-people-crazy-hospital' where her friend distracts the receptionist while Sadie runs around peeking into forbidden areas.
8. More hanging out with bad guys. She goes back to the Tower, the site of the infamous gang bang party and officially becomes the stupidest heroine I've ever had the misfortune to read about as she attempts to get to the bottom of things.
Okay, my outrage has officially peaked. I have other things in this book that I could whine about, like how no one seems to attend classes, how people are able to skip off to high society parties and how often Sadie is drugged, but I'm just done with this mess. I'm going to go rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I need a dose of believable storytelling to cleanse my reading palate.
June 1, 2017
Perfect people aren't just born. They're made.
The first time she is blindfolded and kidnapped, star-athlete and posh boarding school newbie Sadie is terrified. She wakes up in a dark room surrounded by hushed whispers, hooded strangers, and a mysterious voice whispering not-so-sweet nothings in her ear.
But once the robes come off, she realizes it’s just an elaborate prank designed to induct her into the group that’s been pulling the strings at Keating Hall for generations. The circle has it all--incredible connections; fabulous parties; and, of course, an in with the brother society’s gorgeous pledges.
The instant popularity is enough to make Sadie forget about the unexplained marks on her body, the creepy ceremonial rituals, and the incident that befell one of her teammates the year before. So the next time Sadie is kidnapped, she isn’t scared, but she should be. The worst of Keating Hall is yet to come.
This was rather similar to all the other teen murder-game books, however, I still definitely enjoyed it! Sadie was a really sweet girl and I loved her quick wit and her never ending support for her friends. I also like how her friends helped through her situation. One thing that always irks me is the romance, I was a bit annoyed at how easily she managed to get the new cute boy when she had just transferred. Overall, it was a really good read and I would have never suspected the ending!
The first time she is blindfolded and kidnapped, star-athlete and posh boarding school newbie Sadie is terrified. She wakes up in a dark room surrounded by hushed whispers, hooded strangers, and a mysterious voice whispering not-so-sweet nothings in her ear.
But once the robes come off, she realizes it’s just an elaborate prank designed to induct her into the group that’s been pulling the strings at Keating Hall for generations. The circle has it all--incredible connections; fabulous parties; and, of course, an in with the brother society’s gorgeous pledges.
The instant popularity is enough to make Sadie forget about the unexplained marks on her body, the creepy ceremonial rituals, and the incident that befell one of her teammates the year before. So the next time Sadie is kidnapped, she isn’t scared, but she should be. The worst of Keating Hall is yet to come.
This was rather similar to all the other teen murder-game books, however, I still definitely enjoyed it! Sadie was a really sweet girl and I loved her quick wit and her never ending support for her friends. I also like how her friends helped through her situation. One thing that always irks me is the romance, I was a bit annoyed at how easily she managed to get the new cute boy when she had just transferred. Overall, it was a really good read and I would have never suspected the ending!
November 10, 2024
How'd I end up reading two 'athletic poor girl gets full ride to preppy private school where not everything is as it seems' books basically in a row?? This one was fairly predictable but again dramatic that it sucks you into it all. I liked our romantic interest, didn't guess our villains motive and was yelling at our main character at times (everyone knows you don't go for a run alone in the dark to clear your head when something fishy is going on... No wonder Sadie repeatedly gets kidnapped).
February 22, 2021
Think GOSSIP GIRL meets NINTH HOUSE and you’ll have an accurate picture of this delightful YA thriller. I was immediately sucked in, and enjoyed all of the twists and turns.
August 11, 2013
NetGalley ARC
Sadie Marlowe is an ace lacrosse player from "small town" Oregon who is thrown into the world of the American elite when she is recruited to play for Keating Hall, one of the most exclusive prep schools on the East coast. As Sadie's late mother also attended Keating, she innocently believes that her athletic skilled combined with her mother's alumni status paved the way to her scholarship, but throughout the course of being "kidnapped", drugged, waking with strange bruises and even stranger memories, she learns a whole different side of the story. Billed as both a thriller and YA, I unfortunately would say this novel does not meet either category.
Don't get me wrong, there were some positive aspects of this book: SOME of the characters had a reality to them that was refreshing, the overall plot was well thought out and interesting. Unfortunately for me though, the negatives clung on and I never could quite get over them.
First, foremost and utterly annoying was the "naive small town girl meets the new world of the rich and powerful east coast elite". This concept in itself makes perfect sense; my issue with this is that our supposed small town "hick" is from Portland, Oregon. I admit that I of course take the absurdity of how her hometown was portrayed more personally as a native Portlander myself, but that shouldn't decrease the clear lack of knowledge or research that went into the decision to frame this as her hometown. Throughout the book, references are constantly made to her small town upbringing, her lack of social knowledge through comments like "you really are small town, aren't you", Sadie's assertion that she wore jean shorts to her last school dance, and the reaction Sadie got from "people in Portland" regarding her mom's drug abuse. Sure, Portland is definitely a far cry from suburban Virginia and money means different things in different places, but if you want to portray someone as being "small town" and naive, you should probably pick someplace that is actually small and off the beaten path, rather than a relatively sized city that is by no stretch "cut off" from normal society. Sure, this may be somewhat trivial and your average reader may not know enough to see the incorrect representation, but inaccuracies that are not necessary or justified are a one way ticket to frustration in my reading world.
Aside from the Portland snaffu, there were also other weaknesses that brought this one a bit down for me. First of all, the storyline itself was interesting and well thought out, but the actual construction left much to be desired. Situations were not built enough to cause any suspense, clues were blatant and left nothing to the imagination, and characters were for the most part allowed to develop only to the minimum point needed to make them useful. When finished reading, I unfortunately did not really care much what became of them, as I was never allowed to truly care about them.
Lastly, this novel seriously toed the line on being the YA it claims to be. Sure, the characters were young adults, but the novel is definitely more appropriate for a slightly older audience. I read something previously from the author about this, and she stated she feels like the situations presented in the novel are what normal teens are dealing with and want to read about. While it may be true that it is what they "want" to read about, I don't know if it is necessarily what they "should" be reading about - I personally would not want any mid-teen of mine reading about rich prep school girls having their personal hairdressers sneak booze into their dorm rooms or the "cool" senior boys getting drunk at every dance, all with no consequences.
Overall, an OK read for a rainy weekend afternoon but nothing I would write home about.
Sadie Marlowe is an ace lacrosse player from "small town" Oregon who is thrown into the world of the American elite when she is recruited to play for Keating Hall, one of the most exclusive prep schools on the East coast. As Sadie's late mother also attended Keating, she innocently believes that her athletic skilled combined with her mother's alumni status paved the way to her scholarship, but throughout the course of being "kidnapped", drugged, waking with strange bruises and even stranger memories, she learns a whole different side of the story. Billed as both a thriller and YA, I unfortunately would say this novel does not meet either category.
Don't get me wrong, there were some positive aspects of this book: SOME of the characters had a reality to them that was refreshing, the overall plot was well thought out and interesting. Unfortunately for me though, the negatives clung on and I never could quite get over them.
First, foremost and utterly annoying was the "naive small town girl meets the new world of the rich and powerful east coast elite". This concept in itself makes perfect sense; my issue with this is that our supposed small town "hick" is from Portland, Oregon. I admit that I of course take the absurdity of how her hometown was portrayed more personally as a native Portlander myself, but that shouldn't decrease the clear lack of knowledge or research that went into the decision to frame this as her hometown. Throughout the book, references are constantly made to her small town upbringing, her lack of social knowledge through comments like "you really are small town, aren't you", Sadie's assertion that she wore jean shorts to her last school dance, and the reaction Sadie got from "people in Portland" regarding her mom's drug abuse. Sure, Portland is definitely a far cry from suburban Virginia and money means different things in different places, but if you want to portray someone as being "small town" and naive, you should probably pick someplace that is actually small and off the beaten path, rather than a relatively sized city that is by no stretch "cut off" from normal society. Sure, this may be somewhat trivial and your average reader may not know enough to see the incorrect representation, but inaccuracies that are not necessary or justified are a one way ticket to frustration in my reading world.
Aside from the Portland snaffu, there were also other weaknesses that brought this one a bit down for me. First of all, the storyline itself was interesting and well thought out, but the actual construction left much to be desired. Situations were not built enough to cause any suspense, clues were blatant and left nothing to the imagination, and characters were for the most part allowed to develop only to the minimum point needed to make them useful. When finished reading, I unfortunately did not really care much what became of them, as I was never allowed to truly care about them.
Lastly, this novel seriously toed the line on being the YA it claims to be. Sure, the characters were young adults, but the novel is definitely more appropriate for a slightly older audience. I read something previously from the author about this, and she stated she feels like the situations presented in the novel are what normal teens are dealing with and want to read about. While it may be true that it is what they "want" to read about, I don't know if it is necessarily what they "should" be reading about - I personally would not want any mid-teen of mine reading about rich prep school girls having their personal hairdressers sneak booze into their dorm rooms or the "cool" senior boys getting drunk at every dance, all with no consequences.
Overall, an OK read for a rainy weekend afternoon but nothing I would write home about.
August 13, 2014
3.5 stars
Poor Little Dead Girls is a creepy, fascinating, page-turner of a book that I can't believe I didn't read sooner! Where is the hype that should be surrounding this book? I'm surprised that I hadn't really heard anything about it before deciding to pick it up a few weeks ago. While it wasn't a perfect book, it was almost exactly what I was looking for out of a book with a cover that asks the question: "Is it a game? Or is it murder?"
My favorite part about this book was how engrossing it was. I literally couldn't put it down...I read it in less than 24 hours! I just had to know what was going to happen. All of the characters in this novel were really great, too. The main character, Sadie, could've had a little bit more depth to her — as much as I liked her, I didn't have a super strong emotional connection to her or her story. She was more like a vehicle through which the story was told rather than a really relatable and dynamic person.
But I really enjoyed all of the other characters, especially Sadie's twin roommates, her best friends Jessica and Brett, and the resident mean girl Thayer. I actually thought that Thayer's character was by far the most interesting. Normally I hate the "mean girl" trope, but Poor Little Dead Girls didn't succumb at all to the clichéd version of that plot line. Thayer was an extremely round character whose motivations were intriguing, and every scene that she was in was made better by her presence.
The plot was the part of the book that I had the biggest problem with. I really liked some parts of it, but at times I thought it was missing something. I wish that it'd been a little creepier in general... although there were some things that I found extremely eery and was more than a little skeeved out by. At one point while reading it, the wind slammed my bedroom door shut and I seriously almost screamed because I was at a very tense and scary part of the book. But it definitely could've used a bit more "thriller" and a bit less "Gossip Girl." There were a lot of scenes with pretty dresses — which I'll admit that I loved — but sometimes I felt like those parts of the book almost undermined the underlying creepiness of the whole thing by making it all seem less serious.
But, ultimately, this book was awesome. Totally worth the read even though I did have to dock a few stars for the problems I had with it. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the TV show Pretty Little Liars because of the fashion + murder aspect, and also to fans of The Fever by Megan Abbott because they both deal with the whole "teenage girls can be really crazy sometimes" thing.
**ARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
Poor Little Dead Girls is a creepy, fascinating, page-turner of a book that I can't believe I didn't read sooner! Where is the hype that should be surrounding this book? I'm surprised that I hadn't really heard anything about it before deciding to pick it up a few weeks ago. While it wasn't a perfect book, it was almost exactly what I was looking for out of a book with a cover that asks the question: "Is it a game? Or is it murder?"
My favorite part about this book was how engrossing it was. I literally couldn't put it down...I read it in less than 24 hours! I just had to know what was going to happen. All of the characters in this novel were really great, too. The main character, Sadie, could've had a little bit more depth to her — as much as I liked her, I didn't have a super strong emotional connection to her or her story. She was more like a vehicle through which the story was told rather than a really relatable and dynamic person.
But I really enjoyed all of the other characters, especially Sadie's twin roommates, her best friends Jessica and Brett, and the resident mean girl Thayer. I actually thought that Thayer's character was by far the most interesting. Normally I hate the "mean girl" trope, but Poor Little Dead Girls didn't succumb at all to the clichéd version of that plot line. Thayer was an extremely round character whose motivations were intriguing, and every scene that she was in was made better by her presence.
The plot was the part of the book that I had the biggest problem with. I really liked some parts of it, but at times I thought it was missing something. I wish that it'd been a little creepier in general... although there were some things that I found extremely eery and was more than a little skeeved out by. At one point while reading it, the wind slammed my bedroom door shut and I seriously almost screamed because I was at a very tense and scary part of the book. But it definitely could've used a bit more "thriller" and a bit less "Gossip Girl." There were a lot of scenes with pretty dresses — which I'll admit that I loved — but sometimes I felt like those parts of the book almost undermined the underlying creepiness of the whole thing by making it all seem less serious.
But, ultimately, this book was awesome. Totally worth the read even though I did have to dock a few stars for the problems I had with it. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the TV show Pretty Little Liars because of the fashion + murder aspect, and also to fans of The Fever by Megan Abbott because they both deal with the whole "teenage girls can be really crazy sometimes" thing.
**ARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
August 15, 2013
See this review and more on Such A Novel Idea!
Why You Should Buy It
Poor Little Dead Girls starts with a 'normal' teenager who is thrown into the life of the rich and famous when she attends boarding school. Part Gossip Girl, part conspiracy and secret society, this story will leave you reeling when you finally uncover all the truth.
My Thoughts
*I received this e-book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.*
This book was everything I was expecting and more. Sadie is a normal, average teenager, who gets the opportunity to attend an elite boarding school on the East Coast. Armed with a Lacrosse scholarship, Sadie is determined to use the experience to pave her way to college. Like you would expect, Sadie is thrown into the world of the rich and famous, all while sitting in her jeans and messy hair ponytail.
I have to say on a personal note, I could never have the guts to go to a school like that. Sadie knows she is going in as the 'scholarship kid', but she makes the best of it. She has British royalty for roommates and rich, catty girls after her spot on the team.
Then, Sadie is tapped for a secret society. The entire thing was obviously expected since it is in the synopsis, but the things that happen within the society are a bit shocking. Having no frame of reference, I can't say with all certainty that things were blown up for entertainment factor, but I can imagine things like this happening.
One thing that bothered me is the age group this book targets. The material is dark and mature. Now, I'm all about books with dark themes, but I think this could have happened in a college setting just as easily. Do keep this in mind when shopping for your teenagers.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and it did keep me on my toes, wondering what was going to happen next. I found it an enjoyable read and think anyone who likes murder mysteries, books about rich girls and boys who do devious things behind closed doors, conspiracies, or boarding schools should definitely check this one out.
Rating 4/5
Why You Should Buy It
Poor Little Dead Girls starts with a 'normal' teenager who is thrown into the life of the rich and famous when she attends boarding school. Part Gossip Girl, part conspiracy and secret society, this story will leave you reeling when you finally uncover all the truth.
My Thoughts
*I received this e-book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.*
This book was everything I was expecting and more. Sadie is a normal, average teenager, who gets the opportunity to attend an elite boarding school on the East Coast. Armed with a Lacrosse scholarship, Sadie is determined to use the experience to pave her way to college. Like you would expect, Sadie is thrown into the world of the rich and famous, all while sitting in her jeans and messy hair ponytail.
I have to say on a personal note, I could never have the guts to go to a school like that. Sadie knows she is going in as the 'scholarship kid', but she makes the best of it. She has British royalty for roommates and rich, catty girls after her spot on the team.
Then, Sadie is tapped for a secret society. The entire thing was obviously expected since it is in the synopsis, but the things that happen within the society are a bit shocking. Having no frame of reference, I can't say with all certainty that things were blown up for entertainment factor, but I can imagine things like this happening.
One thing that bothered me is the age group this book targets. The material is dark and mature. Now, I'm all about books with dark themes, but I think this could have happened in a college setting just as easily. Do keep this in mind when shopping for your teenagers.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and it did keep me on my toes, wondering what was going to happen next. I found it an enjoyable read and think anyone who likes murder mysteries, books about rich girls and boys who do devious things behind closed doors, conspiracies, or boarding schools should definitely check this one out.
Rating 4/5
March 4, 2024
"Sadie's fingers just barely grazed the papery skin at her throat before she fell, and then there was nothing. No sound. No scream. No splash as she hit the water. No cracking as she hit the rock. She was just gone."
Looking at all the reviews for this, I'm wondering if we read the same book? Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it kept me hooked for pretty much the whole time. I think that the ending was good, and I loved seeing the relationships these characters had and how they progressed through the novel.
Looking at all the reviews for this, I'm wondering if we read the same book? Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it kept me hooked for pretty much the whole time. I think that the ending was good, and I loved seeing the relationships these characters had and how they progressed through the novel.
February 20, 2015
I feel like if there were more options I'd give this a 3.3...? I had such a roller coaster of feelings about this book. On the one hand, much as I love boarding school YA, they all have the same tropes that've been done to death - MC's there on scholarship while everyone else has so much money, and the school has dark secrets... (Seriously misleading title, though, IMO. Not that I wasn't happy there weren't classmates found in ditches every few chapters, but that's exactly what the title suggests to me.) It felt for a long time like it was just a standalone version of Private by Kate Brian (or a novelization of The Skulls, if it were set in high school), and even now that I've finished, I don't feel like that's completely off base.
The thing is, every time I decided I was "over it," something would suck me back in. The romance was actually a lot cuter than I usually find in these books, and for once the LI wasn't the hottest and richest guy in school who everybody wants and knows and thinks is God; it was probably my favorite thing about the book. On the plus and minus side, there were a lot of little branches to the mystery, some of which I thought were overdone, some which were unnecessary, and some which intrigued the hell out of me.
It's hard to say whether I'd recommend this book or not; I think it could've been done in a way that would've separated it from the pack, but it didn't quite get there. I think it tried to be and do too much, and diminished what could've been unique to this book by tossing in the same stuff we've seen a million times. But it definitely had promise, and some fun characters, and I could see why some people - especially those who haven't read similar books - might really enjoy it.
The thing is, every time I decided I was "over it," something would suck me back in. The romance was actually a lot cuter than I usually find in these books, and for once the LI wasn't the hottest and richest guy in school who everybody wants and knows and thinks is God; it was probably my favorite thing about the book. On the plus and minus side, there were a lot of little branches to the mystery, some of which I thought were overdone, some which were unnecessary, and some which intrigued the hell out of me.
It's hard to say whether I'd recommend this book or not; I think it could've been done in a way that would've separated it from the pack, but it didn't quite get there. I think it tried to be and do too much, and diminished what could've been unique to this book by tossing in the same stuff we've seen a million times. But it definitely had promise, and some fun characters, and I could see why some people - especially those who haven't read similar books - might really enjoy it.
May 7, 2016
While the book was quite awesome, I really enjoyed it, there were things I didn't like.
1. The whole secret society, I didn't really mind it that much at first, until we came to the whole frozen-eggs-in-test-tube stuff and taking-blood-from-unsuspecting-girls/boys. Also rape and drugs. Like what the hell? At times I felt like instead of a secret society I was reading about a girl infiltrated in some high-tech company.
I felt it was just over the top, too much.
2. Several of the characters. Some were just creepy/disturbing, and our main character was an idiot at times. A really big idiot.
For example, she sees someone she knows, half dead on a couch, legs slightly spread and some other stuff with guys surrounding her who are drooling/lusting over her. What does she do? Just walk on, and pretend nothing happened. Good going girl, just as long as it isn't you I guess you are fine with it. Like what?
Also add to that the various stuff that happened near the ending/at the ending.
Now for the good things.
1. I am sucker for Boarding School stories, especially if those are combined with mystery/horror. And this one had all that + quite a bit more.
2. The cover, it is a simple one, but I really like the colours and the letters.
3. What I said in the beginning, I liked the secret society thing at the beginning.
4. The twins, they turned out to be pretty dang awesome. Really liked them and wished they had gotten more showtime.
All in all, would I recommend this book? Yes. Yes I would, but be warned, like I said it is a bit over the top at times.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
1. The whole secret society, I didn't really mind it that much at first, until we came to the whole frozen-eggs-in-test-tube stuff and taking-blood-from-unsuspecting-girls/boys. Also rape and drugs. Like what the hell? At times I felt like instead of a secret society I was reading about a girl infiltrated in some high-tech company.
I felt it was just over the top, too much.
2. Several of the characters. Some were just creepy/disturbing, and our main character was an idiot at times. A really big idiot.
For example, she sees someone she knows, half dead on a couch, legs slightly spread and some other stuff with guys surrounding her who are drooling/lusting over her. What does she do? Just walk on, and pretend nothing happened. Good going girl, just as long as it isn't you I guess you are fine with it. Like what?
Also add to that the various stuff that happened near the ending/at the ending.
Now for the good things.
1. I am sucker for Boarding School stories, especially if those are combined with mystery/horror. And this one had all that + quite a bit more.
2. The cover, it is a simple one, but I really like the colours and the letters.
3. What I said in the beginning, I liked the secret society thing at the beginning.
4. The twins, they turned out to be pretty dang awesome. Really liked them and wished they had gotten more showtime.
All in all, would I recommend this book? Yes. Yes I would, but be warned, like I said it is a bit over the top at times.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
December 29, 2013
Sadie has gotten a dream come true. She has received a full paid scholarship to Keating. Keating has had some of the most important students attend the school including the President's children. When Sadie arrives, she realizes that she is an outsider. Luckily she has one friend at Keating. Her friend, Jessica. Sadie learns that Keating has a deep, dark secret. A secret society. Sadie has been recruited.
This book made me think of the movie "The Skulls" starring Paul Walker, R.I.P. Only this book was not as dark as the movie. This book is more of the PG to PG-13 version for the young adults. This targeted reader group will enjoy this book. I don't know if the author planned it this way but if she did then she did a good job. She make me not like any of the members of the secret society. I found them off putting and only caring about themselves. There really was no "sister or brotherhood" Unless you count that you become a drone and do not ask questions, then you are the perfect member to join in the secret society.
Sadie she was alright. I did not hate her but I did not love her either. I thought she was too wishy washy for me. She easily forgot her true friend, Jessica when her "new" friends showed interest in Sadie. Yet when Sadie was with her "new" friends, all she could think about was how she did not belong, yet she did not put up much of a fight to leave. Although, as much as I might not have liked the characters in this book, it was a quick read. I am interested in what the author does have in store for her next book.
This book made me think of the movie "The Skulls" starring Paul Walker, R.I.P. Only this book was not as dark as the movie. This book is more of the PG to PG-13 version for the young adults. This targeted reader group will enjoy this book. I don't know if the author planned it this way but if she did then she did a good job. She make me not like any of the members of the secret society. I found them off putting and only caring about themselves. There really was no "sister or brotherhood" Unless you count that you become a drone and do not ask questions, then you are the perfect member to join in the secret society.
Sadie she was alright. I did not hate her but I did not love her either. I thought she was too wishy washy for me. She easily forgot her true friend, Jessica when her "new" friends showed interest in Sadie. Yet when Sadie was with her "new" friends, all she could think about was how she did not belong, yet she did not put up much of a fight to leave. Although, as much as I might not have liked the characters in this book, it was a quick read. I am interested in what the author does have in store for her next book.
September 6, 2014
2.5 stars, I guess.
Oof. I struggle-bussed with this one.
I saw the description and was excited. Boarding schools and secret societies? Sounded like a total me book. It was definitely fun and entertaining at times, but the overall issues made it a hard book to read.
The main thing I was annoyed by was the MC, Sadie. Look, I've read books where the narrator has been unreliable and books where all the characters were horrible people, but if the MC is supposed to be a "hero" and still makes these horrible decisions? NOPE. My favorite characters are Buffy Summers, Hermione Granger and Celaena Sardothien. See a theme? I like strong female characters who won't take anybody's shit and stand up for what they believe in. Sadie made some dumbass decisions and I wasn't fond of her, but I didn't actively hate her until she walked in on a gang rape and was all "Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to disturb you" and then minutes later has a convo with one of the rapists about the history of the secret society LIKE NOTHING HAD JUST HAPPENED. And she knew what was going on. She even mentions it to the rapist like, "Oh, yeah. I know she wasn't consenting, but let's talk about Thomas Jefferson". WTF SADIE.
There were obvious problems with the plot, too. It turned from boarding schools and secret societies to vast political conspiracies and genetic research? IDK.
Anyway, parts were entertaining and fluffy. I loved Gwen, Trix and Jessica, so there's that.
Not really recommended unless you want to rage about the MC's stupidity.
Oof. I struggle-bussed with this one.
I saw the description and was excited. Boarding schools and secret societies? Sounded like a total me book. It was definitely fun and entertaining at times, but the overall issues made it a hard book to read.
The main thing I was annoyed by was the MC, Sadie. Look, I've read books where the narrator has been unreliable and books where all the characters were horrible people, but if the MC is supposed to be a "hero" and still makes these horrible decisions? NOPE. My favorite characters are Buffy Summers, Hermione Granger and Celaena Sardothien. See a theme? I like strong female characters who won't take anybody's shit and stand up for what they believe in. Sadie made some dumbass decisions and I wasn't fond of her, but I didn't actively hate her until she walked in on a gang rape and was all "Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to disturb you" and then minutes later has a convo with one of the rapists about the history of the secret society LIKE NOTHING HAD JUST HAPPENED. And she knew what was going on. She even mentions it to the rapist like, "Oh, yeah. I know she wasn't consenting, but let's talk about Thomas Jefferson". WTF SADIE.
There were obvious problems with the plot, too. It turned from boarding schools and secret societies to vast political conspiracies and genetic research? IDK.
Anyway, parts were entertaining and fluffy. I loved Gwen, Trix and Jessica, so there's that.
Not really recommended unless you want to rage about the MC's stupidity.
January 15, 2016
Jan 13, 2016
Well, after waiting eons for this… well, it's been entertaining enough, but I will soon forget I've ever read it.
Lug 20, 2014
…and when you less expect it, a copy pops out in front of your eyes.
Mar 2, 2014
Why am I even still looking?
I should just let this go, it's self-evident that we're not meant to be.
Jan 7, 2014
Don't you just hate regional restrictions? I hate them with a passion.
Today this book is only 2$ on Amazon.ca and I. CAN'T. BUY. IT.
Dec 17, 2013
Mmm… I think I'm not getting this anytime soon:
Well, after waiting eons for this… well, it's been entertaining enough, but I will soon forget I've ever read it.
Lug 20, 2014
…and when you less expect it, a copy pops out in front of your eyes.
Mar 2, 2014
Why am I even still looking?
I should just let this go, it's self-evident that we're not meant to be.
Jan 7, 2014
Don't you just hate regional restrictions? I hate them with a passion.
Today this book is only 2$ on Amazon.ca and I. CAN'T. BUY. IT.
Dec 17, 2013
Mmm… I think I'm not getting this anytime soon:
October 2, 2014
3.5 stars
I have been itching to read this book for months now because I was quite intrigued by its title. And although I must say that I was a bit disappointed, I still very much enjoyed the book.
The story is basically about a girl named Sadie. She gets a scholarship to a prestigious all-girl boarding school her deceased mother had attended where she is pulled into the mysterious world of secret societies and cryptic pasts. As Sadie is pulled deeper into the Optimates, she begins to ponder her mother's death and what it really meant to be a Sulla.
So how was it? Well, I felt that many questions were left unanswered, and the ending was too good to be true. I liked Sadie, she was a relatable character. I liked her relationship with Jessica, the twins, Brett, and of course, Jeremy.
The writing was okay but I thought the pacing was a bit slow. I was really hoping for more thrills. I would have liked to know more about Sadie's mom and Thayer's real personality. But all in all it was a good book.
I have been itching to read this book for months now because I was quite intrigued by its title. And although I must say that I was a bit disappointed, I still very much enjoyed the book.
The story is basically about a girl named Sadie. She gets a scholarship to a prestigious all-girl boarding school her deceased mother had attended where she is pulled into the mysterious world of secret societies and cryptic pasts. As Sadie is pulled deeper into the Optimates, she begins to ponder her mother's death and what it really meant to be a Sulla.
So how was it? Well, I felt that many questions were left unanswered, and the ending was too good to be true. I liked Sadie, she was a relatable character. I liked her relationship with Jessica, the twins, Brett, and of course, Jeremy.
The writing was okay but I thought the pacing was a bit slow. I was really hoping for more thrills. I would have liked to know more about Sadie's mom and Thayer's real personality. But all in all it was a good book.
July 3, 2015
After having read such good books in the past few days, I couldn't bring myself to like this book. I only found the last 20-25% of the book mildly interesting. The main reason I didn't enjoy the book was probably because I enjoyed the last two or three books I read way too much that this one fell very short in comparison. That and the fact that I couldn't relate to the main characters. I felt like the writer tried too hard to make the MCs cool or whoever associated with the MC. I wasn't convinced. And the mean girls were made out to be too shallow, too bitchy and too mean. There was a nice save in the end but I'd spent most of the book rolling my eyes. Especially the part when they did the initiation. If I write more reasons why I didn't like the book, I'd be like Sadie, the MC of this book, complaining too much about the boarding school. Since I didn't like that part about the book either, I'll just stop here. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
March 10, 2014
So this book has a bunch of stuff I like: private schools, but more importantly, death at private schools, secret societies, conspiracies, and secrets! And this book is not bad at all. This is a positive 3-star rating. I liked the book. But it felt like it was a draft for a longer, better-developed story.
I feel like the secret society wasn't diabolical enough, and there wasn't enough danger. The level of danger was good, but I guess it didn't get that dire for our protagonists, I was almost never gripping my kindle in fear for their lives. I was given a super delicious, creepy taste (), but it was only a taste. I don't feel satisfied.
I was given some of what I wanted, but I was left hungry. More deaths next time, please!
-I got a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest reivew-
I feel like the secret society wasn't diabolical enough, and there wasn't enough danger. The level of danger was good, but I guess it didn't get that dire for our protagonists, I was almost never gripping my kindle in fear for their lives. I was given a super delicious, creepy taste (), but it was only a taste. I don't feel satisfied.
I was given some of what I wanted, but I was left hungry. More deaths next time, please!
-I got a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest reivew-
December 28, 2013
First of all, I know you're not supposed to judge books by their covers, but this cover is AWESOME.
Okay, as for the story, I really liked it. Read it under 24 hours. The writing? Not my favorite, and the plot, while exciting and full on crazy is definitely a little stretched and hard to believe. But, a political/conspiracy thriller YA novel set at boarding school? Anybody who ever loved "The Skulls" obviously has to understand why that'd be interesting. Secret Societies are always fascinating.
It was a quick read and totally creep-tastic. Rich people are insane.
Okay, as for the story, I really liked it. Read it under 24 hours. The writing? Not my favorite, and the plot, while exciting and full on crazy is definitely a little stretched and hard to believe. But, a political/conspiracy thriller YA novel set at boarding school? Anybody who ever loved "The Skulls" obviously has to understand why that'd be interesting. Secret Societies are always fascinating.
It was a quick read and totally creep-tastic. Rich people are insane.
November 24, 2013
Love, love, love! My only question is why is the CW not camping out on Lizzie's front lawn for rights for this story?!?
April 1, 2020
Friend absolutely excels in developing a clear setting. The atmosphere of the book is immediately established and remains consistent throughout. Think classic boarding school - pleated skirts, monograms, sprawling courtyards - mixed with hyper-consumerist, iPhone obsessed teenagers. The combination of a classic, familiar setting with the extremes of modern youth culture create a unique environment that serves as a unifying thread for the events throughout the story.
However, while the emphasis on materialism sets Keating Hall apart from every other teen boarding school backdrop, it's still... a teen boarding school backdrop. There's no getting around the fact that PLDG is a generally shallow, unoriginal novel. It's the classic story of an average, relatable kid trying to fit in with the snobby rich crowd, only to find that she's happier being true to herself with and making real friends. Sadie isn't a particularly likable or unlikable protagonist, and her story is interesting but not groundbreaking. The whole book reads as copy of 100 other boarding school dramas, with small details altered (Sadie plays lacrosse! Her rich, bratty roommates are actually nice!) so it doesn't seem as derivative as it is.
That being said, PLDG is anything but boring - the secret society aspect brings a bit of new perspective, though also one that's been played out many times before, and the story is paced well enough that even the predictable acts don't drag. Additionally, this is Friend's first novel (in an already over-saturated genre, nonetheless), so I can accept some reliance on stereotypes. This didn't bring anything fresh to the literary world, but it's an enjoyable read either way. I was engaged enough to look forward to reading, and it was easy to root for Sadie and her crew throughout their adventure.
Read the rest of this review at https://www.goldilocksreviews.com
However, while the emphasis on materialism sets Keating Hall apart from every other teen boarding school backdrop, it's still... a teen boarding school backdrop. There's no getting around the fact that PLDG is a generally shallow, unoriginal novel. It's the classic story of an average, relatable kid trying to fit in with the snobby rich crowd, only to find that she's happier being true to herself with and making real friends. Sadie isn't a particularly likable or unlikable protagonist, and her story is interesting but not groundbreaking. The whole book reads as copy of 100 other boarding school dramas, with small details altered (Sadie plays lacrosse! Her rich, bratty roommates are actually nice!) so it doesn't seem as derivative as it is.
That being said, PLDG is anything but boring - the secret society aspect brings a bit of new perspective, though also one that's been played out many times before, and the story is paced well enough that even the predictable acts don't drag. Additionally, this is Friend's first novel (in an already over-saturated genre, nonetheless), so I can accept some reliance on stereotypes. This didn't bring anything fresh to the literary world, but it's an enjoyable read either way. I was engaged enough to look forward to reading, and it was easy to root for Sadie and her crew throughout their adventure.
Read the rest of this review at https://www.goldilocksreviews.com
October 8, 2013
Read: Sept - Oct 2013
Where It Came From: eARC from publisher via NetGalley*
Genre: YA-contemporary-thriller
Rating: 2.5 Secret Society Scandals
The Quick and Dirty:
Lacrosse star Sadie Marlowe transfers from her life in Portland to the prestigious Keating Hall in Virginia on an athletic scholarship. Boarding school life with the 1% is a bit of a culture shock for her, and she gets yet another shock when she is kidnapped one night to be inducted into a secret society. The posh parties, high fashion, and other privileges for members are enough to keep her from thinking too hard about the unexplained bruises on her body, other members with sociopathic tendencies, and the mysterious deaths of some former inductees—until things get really out of hand. But will Sadie be able to extricate herself and her friends from the toxic world of Keating and the Order of the Optimates before it’s too late? There’s potential here, but clunky dialogue, blah characters, and other aspects of the story/writing need polishing.
The Wordy Version:
This book…gah. I just. I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s not horrible by any means, but there’s so much that could be better about it. It was really hit and miss for me—some parts were pretty good, but other times it just fell flat.
I was drawn to this book because it sounded vaguely like the Pretty Little Liars series, which I unironically and unabashedly enjoy (the books, not the TV show). Wealthy teenagers with private school shenanigans—scandal! Murder! Mayhem! The books are very different, but try as I might, I find it very hard not to compare the two. Still, I will try to keep them in separate corners of my head.
For the most part, the writing in Poor Little Dead Girls is good in that the words are put together in sentences that make sense and flow well. However, I do have issues with the dialogue—it often sounds like it’s trying too hard to sound teenager-y, dropping all kinds of lingo and slang that comes off a bit like an adult trying to approximate how they imagine high schoolers might speak. Even for the adult characters the dialogue simply doesn’t feel realistic. There were also many times when the word choice or phrasing of a sentence was just off—I understood what the author was going for, but it was just a bit wonky and could have been said better or more clearly. Keeping in mind that I read an advanced reader’s copy that may differ from the final published version of the book, here’s an example of some word choice/ambiguity that made me lol: “Brett shook her head, so small it was almost imperceptible” (270). I would argue that “slightly” would be a more appropriate word than “small” in this instance, unless of course Brett’s head really had been shrunk down to microscopic proportions. I can forgive that sort of word-wonk if it happens once or twice in a book, but if it happens repeatedly there’s some editing that needs to be done. Here’s hoping these sorts of things get worked out before the final version goes to print.
Another thing that left me confused in this book was the humor. Sometimes it was spot-on and made me cackle to myself as I read (ex: referring to a pair of heels as “high-fashion bear traps” [47]), and other times it just fell completely flat for me (“Maybe fashion designers really were magical. It would explain how they had managed to convince people to wear shoulder pads” [47] ::crickets::). Humor can be a subjective sort of thing, but I felt there was unevenness here.
I also felt the storycraft aspect of the writing could use some work. I was irked by characters being introduced only to disappear until it was convenient for them to be a part of the story again (e.g. Sadie’s roommates), and the romance between Sadie and her male counterpart transfer-student-lacrosse-player-not-buying-into-this-rich-crap Jeremy was on the trite side (although the pair of them watching a movie online together while in separate dorms was cute). There was uneven characterization and not much difference in voice between many of the main characters—you could probably give me isolated quotes from many of the Keating girls and it would be hard for me to match up who said what. Sadie herself had moments of feisty badassery, but other times I found it hard to connect with her. Additionally, sometimes there were jarring statements or turns of phrase that didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the book (“Her voice cracked like a choirboy's whose balls were starting to drop” [138]—oddly vulgar, no?).
There was also level of unreality that I just couldn’t shake and made it hard for me to suspend my disbelief. Things like the fact that Sadie rarely ever thinks of friends back home in Portland, that she is able to identify and comment on her roommates’ habits after knowing them for about one night, a character saying he’d call Sadie even though we’d recently established that he didn’t have her phone number…I could go on. And there were loose plot threads dangling at the end—what happened to Thayer, and more importantly, Brett, who was one of the protagonist’s good friends and dealing with a (spoiler alert) abusive relationship?! I don’t know if the author is planning a sequel, but I didn’t think those things (well, mostly Brett) should be left up in the air.
Like I said, it’s hard for me not to lay this one alongside Pretty Little Liars in my mind. Both are kind of bonkers, outrageous, implausible rich-kids-at-school stories, but PLL has a gossipy, scandalous fun to it that I didn’t quite find here. There’s implausible that I can suspend my disbelief and have fun with, and then there’s implausible with mustache-twirling bad guys and a certain cardboardiness that doesn’t entice me to buy in.
That being said, it’s worth noting that despite these complaints, I did finish the book. I may not have been completely satisfied with many aspects of the story and writing, but it did pique my curiosity and pull me through the story. The writing had a humor and brightness that shone out from behind the things I found problematic, and I wanted to see the mysteries through to the end and find out how things turned out. But would I buy it? Probably not. Would I check out a sequel? Also probably not. I see potential here, but I think the book would benefit from some (a lot of) polishing and tightening.
*As ever, much as we are grateful for the copy, our review is uninfluenced by its source.
Originally posted on Read This / Eat That
Where It Came From: eARC from publisher via NetGalley*
Genre: YA-contemporary-thriller
Rating: 2.5 Secret Society Scandals
The Quick and Dirty:
Lacrosse star Sadie Marlowe transfers from her life in Portland to the prestigious Keating Hall in Virginia on an athletic scholarship. Boarding school life with the 1% is a bit of a culture shock for her, and she gets yet another shock when she is kidnapped one night to be inducted into a secret society. The posh parties, high fashion, and other privileges for members are enough to keep her from thinking too hard about the unexplained bruises on her body, other members with sociopathic tendencies, and the mysterious deaths of some former inductees—until things get really out of hand. But will Sadie be able to extricate herself and her friends from the toxic world of Keating and the Order of the Optimates before it’s too late? There’s potential here, but clunky dialogue, blah characters, and other aspects of the story/writing need polishing.
The Wordy Version:
This book…gah. I just. I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s not horrible by any means, but there’s so much that could be better about it. It was really hit and miss for me—some parts were pretty good, but other times it just fell flat.
I was drawn to this book because it sounded vaguely like the Pretty Little Liars series, which I unironically and unabashedly enjoy (the books, not the TV show). Wealthy teenagers with private school shenanigans—scandal! Murder! Mayhem! The books are very different, but try as I might, I find it very hard not to compare the two. Still, I will try to keep them in separate corners of my head.
For the most part, the writing in Poor Little Dead Girls is good in that the words are put together in sentences that make sense and flow well. However, I do have issues with the dialogue—it often sounds like it’s trying too hard to sound teenager-y, dropping all kinds of lingo and slang that comes off a bit like an adult trying to approximate how they imagine high schoolers might speak. Even for the adult characters the dialogue simply doesn’t feel realistic. There were also many times when the word choice or phrasing of a sentence was just off—I understood what the author was going for, but it was just a bit wonky and could have been said better or more clearly. Keeping in mind that I read an advanced reader’s copy that may differ from the final published version of the book, here’s an example of some word choice/ambiguity that made me lol: “Brett shook her head, so small it was almost imperceptible” (270). I would argue that “slightly” would be a more appropriate word than “small” in this instance, unless of course Brett’s head really had been shrunk down to microscopic proportions. I can forgive that sort of word-wonk if it happens once or twice in a book, but if it happens repeatedly there’s some editing that needs to be done. Here’s hoping these sorts of things get worked out before the final version goes to print.
Another thing that left me confused in this book was the humor. Sometimes it was spot-on and made me cackle to myself as I read (ex: referring to a pair of heels as “high-fashion bear traps” [47]), and other times it just fell completely flat for me (“Maybe fashion designers really were magical. It would explain how they had managed to convince people to wear shoulder pads” [47] ::crickets::). Humor can be a subjective sort of thing, but I felt there was unevenness here.
I also felt the storycraft aspect of the writing could use some work. I was irked by characters being introduced only to disappear until it was convenient for them to be a part of the story again (e.g. Sadie’s roommates), and the romance between Sadie and her male counterpart transfer-student-lacrosse-player-not-buying-into-this-rich-crap Jeremy was on the trite side (although the pair of them watching a movie online together while in separate dorms was cute). There was uneven characterization and not much difference in voice between many of the main characters—you could probably give me isolated quotes from many of the Keating girls and it would be hard for me to match up who said what. Sadie herself had moments of feisty badassery, but other times I found it hard to connect with her. Additionally, sometimes there were jarring statements or turns of phrase that didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the book (“Her voice cracked like a choirboy's whose balls were starting to drop” [138]—oddly vulgar, no?).
There was also level of unreality that I just couldn’t shake and made it hard for me to suspend my disbelief. Things like the fact that Sadie rarely ever thinks of friends back home in Portland, that she is able to identify and comment on her roommates’ habits after knowing them for about one night, a character saying he’d call Sadie even though we’d recently established that he didn’t have her phone number…I could go on. And there were loose plot threads dangling at the end—what happened to Thayer, and more importantly, Brett, who was one of the protagonist’s good friends and dealing with a (spoiler alert) abusive relationship?! I don’t know if the author is planning a sequel, but I didn’t think those things (well, mostly Brett) should be left up in the air.
Like I said, it’s hard for me not to lay this one alongside Pretty Little Liars in my mind. Both are kind of bonkers, outrageous, implausible rich-kids-at-school stories, but PLL has a gossipy, scandalous fun to it that I didn’t quite find here. There’s implausible that I can suspend my disbelief and have fun with, and then there’s implausible with mustache-twirling bad guys and a certain cardboardiness that doesn’t entice me to buy in.
That being said, it’s worth noting that despite these complaints, I did finish the book. I may not have been completely satisfied with many aspects of the story and writing, but it did pique my curiosity and pull me through the story. The writing had a humor and brightness that shone out from behind the things I found problematic, and I wanted to see the mysteries through to the end and find out how things turned out. But would I buy it? Probably not. Would I check out a sequel? Also probably not. I see potential here, but I think the book would benefit from some (a lot of) polishing and tightening.
*As ever, much as we are grateful for the copy, our review is uninfluenced by its source.
Originally posted on Read This / Eat That
August 3, 2016
This review can also be found on A Thousand Lives Lived check it out for more reviews!
For years and years, I’ve always been a fan of those hardcore mysteries that are so unexpected and absurd at the same time. Of course, when I was a little girl, Nancy Drew was my favourite series and sort of books for a long time. I guess now, as I’m reading more mystery books more often, my love for them never faded away. Plus, this was one of those Private-like stories that come upon in boarding schools where girls don’t really have a say to run to the police station or wherever.
Poor Little Dead Girls captivated me from the first strand—from the first time I laid my peculiar (just kidding) eyes on its cover.
It’s very much like Pretty Little Liars mixed with Private, by Kate Brian.
For a short 285-paged novel, I felt like I was reading one of those absurd stories that you read on the news and where you feel afraid, even for your own life. You’ll end up looking out your window before you go to bed, staring and lurking for someone/something strange to your eyes, and you’ll be so afraid that you won’t be able to fall asleep. Okay, I’m overly exaggerating it a little too much. But you get the point.
Is kidnapping that frequent in boarding schools? Hah, because every time I seem to be reading a book about one of those preppy perfect blonde girls (stereotypically, to be honest) I find that one of them gets kidnapped and the whole story begins to revolve around that. This was Sadie’s case, in this story.
Before I hand you my little summary, I just want to note that this is not a paranormal-related book whatsoever. I was dumb and naive, and I totally fell for the “scary scratches” stuff and imagined some blood flesh-eating monster who is after all of these “perfect chicks.” NOPE. This is your typical mystery, and there was nothing supernatural about the whole situation. Because really, who believes Goodreads and its saying of genres? *laughs*
Aw—poor little dead girls. The title fits this whole story. So of course, there’s the new girl—Sadie. She’s honestly everything you expect from some rich stereotypically preppy kid that we mostly find in a ton of books. She’s a trihard. (Funny thing is that it keeps spell-checking to thyroid–maybe there’s something else we don’t know about her?) She’s such a butt-licker to everyone around her. She’s annoying, bitchy, and naive. She’s really so stupid that she got kidnapped and wakes up in some dark room surrounded by whispers and strangers. Sure, things happen, but it happens again. This time, Sadie thinks that she’s too popular and confident to think that this is a trap or something bad’s bound to happen. Of course, when you “have it all,” you don’t worry about anything, right?
What probably took out more than 1 star from 5 stars for me was this bitchy protagonist we had named Sadie. First of all, not to be stereotypical or anything (which I find that I very am with this book), but most protagonists in boarding school mysteries are bitchy and gross. So why did I expect any better from her?
She was dumb, she was wicked, and she was a witch.
Phew, now that we got all of that handled… let’s talk about the story, and what really happened to these ugly characters.
I honestly can say that this was majorly predictable, for most of the time. I could totally see this all happening in some big-shot university or college where nothing rarely happens. This was like one of those strange mysteries happen that are so easy to solve, but no one will ever come near to, when the answer is right there.
I started off with low expectations—much lower than what we’ve got over here. Without finding this at the library, I would’ve never heard of it, since there’s not a bunch of buzz and rave. I guess I now understand why—it is more of a meh, but quick read for people who decide to. No one’s necessarily noting that you need to read this book in order to continue living your fabulous life—but it’s there if you decide to read something quick to find out your thoughts.
As I was reading, I was motionless and sat there with a straight-on poker face. There were NO feels or details, or depth. Don’t expect to sit there with rage, or happiness, or fear. There was nothing, nada, while reading. If this was a 400-paged book, I probably wouldn’t have gone on and read it all.
The way the book ended was something special, to be honest. I never really saw it coming, and my prediction for the way it would hit me wasn’t even close. The secret spy society and dark setting it had in the background truly and surely was captivating, and I felt very urged to see what would happen next in the future of the characters’ lives.
What I wanted more of the most? DEATH AND SCARINESS. The author did a great job at the romance keeping—as it was barely there and it absolutely didn’t need to be, for once. No insta-love or love triangles were present, haha. Why not portray the mystery to another darker level? Add some psychopathic behaviour and there, we’ve got passion.
You may feel like I was ranting for more than half of the review, but the negativity that I’ve claimed to see was strong, but it didn’t effect my feeling too much. Overall, this book was not bad. It was okay, in that matter and it was just a simple but tiny bit darker than I expected, for a good thing. The protagonist sucked, but the story was not bad at all. I’d say give this a shot if you adored Private by Kate Brian, or PLL.
For years and years, I’ve always been a fan of those hardcore mysteries that are so unexpected and absurd at the same time. Of course, when I was a little girl, Nancy Drew was my favourite series and sort of books for a long time. I guess now, as I’m reading more mystery books more often, my love for them never faded away. Plus, this was one of those Private-like stories that come upon in boarding schools where girls don’t really have a say to run to the police station or wherever.
Poor Little Dead Girls captivated me from the first strand—from the first time I laid my peculiar (just kidding) eyes on its cover.
It’s very much like Pretty Little Liars mixed with Private, by Kate Brian.
For a short 285-paged novel, I felt like I was reading one of those absurd stories that you read on the news and where you feel afraid, even for your own life. You’ll end up looking out your window before you go to bed, staring and lurking for someone/something strange to your eyes, and you’ll be so afraid that you won’t be able to fall asleep. Okay, I’m overly exaggerating it a little too much. But you get the point.
Is kidnapping that frequent in boarding schools? Hah, because every time I seem to be reading a book about one of those preppy perfect blonde girls (stereotypically, to be honest) I find that one of them gets kidnapped and the whole story begins to revolve around that. This was Sadie’s case, in this story.
Before I hand you my little summary, I just want to note that this is not a paranormal-related book whatsoever. I was dumb and naive, and I totally fell for the “scary scratches” stuff and imagined some blood flesh-eating monster who is after all of these “perfect chicks.” NOPE. This is your typical mystery, and there was nothing supernatural about the whole situation. Because really, who believes Goodreads and its saying of genres? *laughs*
Aw—poor little dead girls. The title fits this whole story. So of course, there’s the new girl—Sadie. She’s honestly everything you expect from some rich stereotypically preppy kid that we mostly find in a ton of books. She’s a trihard. (Funny thing is that it keeps spell-checking to thyroid–maybe there’s something else we don’t know about her?) She’s such a butt-licker to everyone around her. She’s annoying, bitchy, and naive. She’s really so stupid that she got kidnapped and wakes up in some dark room surrounded by whispers and strangers. Sure, things happen, but it happens again. This time, Sadie thinks that she’s too popular and confident to think that this is a trap or something bad’s bound to happen. Of course, when you “have it all,” you don’t worry about anything, right?
What probably took out more than 1 star from 5 stars for me was this bitchy protagonist we had named Sadie. First of all, not to be stereotypical or anything (which I find that I very am with this book), but most protagonists in boarding school mysteries are bitchy and gross. So why did I expect any better from her?
She was dumb, she was wicked, and she was a witch.
“She woke up feeling as if she had barely slept, her head pounding like her skull was suddenly two sizes too small. She felt like she was emerging from a bad dream, or from one of those drunken nights on TV where all the actor has left is a bunch of blurry flashes with nothing to connect them.”
Phew, now that we got all of that handled… let’s talk about the story, and what really happened to these ugly characters.
I honestly can say that this was majorly predictable, for most of the time. I could totally see this all happening in some big-shot university or college where nothing rarely happens. This was like one of those strange mysteries happen that are so easy to solve, but no one will ever come near to, when the answer is right there.
I started off with low expectations—much lower than what we’ve got over here. Without finding this at the library, I would’ve never heard of it, since there’s not a bunch of buzz and rave. I guess I now understand why—it is more of a meh, but quick read for people who decide to. No one’s necessarily noting that you need to read this book in order to continue living your fabulous life—but it’s there if you decide to read something quick to find out your thoughts.
As I was reading, I was motionless and sat there with a straight-on poker face. There were NO feels or details, or depth. Don’t expect to sit there with rage, or happiness, or fear. There was nothing, nada, while reading. If this was a 400-paged book, I probably wouldn’t have gone on and read it all.
The way the book ended was something special, to be honest. I never really saw it coming, and my prediction for the way it would hit me wasn’t even close. The secret spy society and dark setting it had in the background truly and surely was captivating, and I felt very urged to see what would happen next in the future of the characters’ lives.
What I wanted more of the most? DEATH AND SCARINESS. The author did a great job at the romance keeping—as it was barely there and it absolutely didn’t need to be, for once. No insta-love or love triangles were present, haha. Why not portray the mystery to another darker level? Add some psychopathic behaviour and there, we’ve got passion.
You may feel like I was ranting for more than half of the review, but the negativity that I’ve claimed to see was strong, but it didn’t effect my feeling too much. Overall, this book was not bad. It was okay, in that matter and it was just a simple but tiny bit darker than I expected, for a good thing. The protagonist sucked, but the story was not bad at all. I’d say give this a shot if you adored Private by Kate Brian, or PLL.
January 13, 2014
Sadie Marlowe never knew much about her mother. When she was young, her mother suffered from an illness and the only thing Sadie remembers is that her mother was really sad before she killed herself.
When she receives a letter of scholarship to Keating Hall, the school her mother use to go to, Sadie isn’t sure what to expect. She’s not rich like everyone, but this is the place to be if you want to succeed in life. The connections one can get from here are like no other and if she can get scouted for her lacrosse playing, then she’ll have a better chance at getting a full scholarship to play at a top tier university.
So Sadie leaves her home in Portland and heads to Keating. At first, she’s overwhelmed at everything and notices just how different she is compared to everyone else. She doesn’t wear the right kind of clothes, her tomboyish ways doesn’t really mesh with the parties the school throw, the team practice is a lot tougher than what she is use to, and wearing jean skirts to a dance doesn’t seem like it will work here.
Things all change when Sadie is introduced to the Sullas. A secret society, of sorts, that decides to bring Sadie into their little group. Normally, Sadie wouldn’t mesh well with this sort of group, but she since her mother use to be a Sulla, Sadie reluctantly joins them and hopes to find some sort of connection to her mom through them.
Through the Sullas, Sadie experiences what the 1% feel on a daily basis. The lavish parties, the way you can seem to get away with anything, and she even meets the president. Sadie knows that all of this is too good to be true and when she finds out what they are really doing behind the scenes, she starts to wonder if her mother’s suicide wasn’t really a suicide. Maybe, just maybe someone was trying to hurt her and the same people may be coming for Sadie next.
All this sounds great and it kind is, but at the same time I think the plot lost its focus and instead of being an intense thriller with a dash of conspiracy, it became mishmash of too many things and fell flat. I think there was a lot of potential for this to be great, but the execution wasn’t quite there. The mystery surrounding the secret circle and their motivations doesn’t really pick up any steam until you’re more than halfway done the book.
Well, no. That’s not quite true. I think a bit of the mystery started a little bit after the halfway mark in the book, but things didn’t start pick up steam until near the end. The secret society ended up being quite shady, but in a way that I liked. What I didn’t like was how the ending and the big reveal at who the antagonist was. To me, it felt a little anti-climatic and so I didn’t really feel anything when the big showdown happened.
Even though the plot fell flat, the characters were fully fleshed out. Sure they were annoying at times, especially Sadie, but Sadie and her friends felt like real people that you might see. I quite liked her rapport with her fellow teammates Jessica and Brett and felt like their friendships were genuine. Her roommates Trix and Gwen are cool as well. The two are twins from England who are royalty of some kind, except they are more famous for getting into scandalous shenanigans that put Prince’s Harry to shame.
There’s also a boy, this is YA so of course there is a boy, named Jeremy who is also new and into Sadie. The two hit it off and do seem cute, even if it’s a little predictable. The only complaint I have about the characters was that Jessica, Trix, and Gwen show up in the beginning and at the end. For the rest of the novel, Sadie ignores them, Jessica, not so much, but definitely with Gwen and Trix. With Brett, it’s an entirely different story. The moment Sadie joins the Sullas she finds out Brett is also with them and all of a sudden Brett has a personality change. This change, along with another incident that happens at a party, are what made me really start to question Sadie sense of friendship and loyalty, then again; I can’t really complain much, because it was in character. Still, that didn’t stop it from annoying me.
With regards to the mystery aspect of the novel, I can honestly say I’m surprised by how things turned out. I’m usually pretty good at guessing where these kinds of novels will go and I’m even better at guessing who the villain is, but that didn’t happen here. The villain seemed to have come out of left field and didn’t really make sense. I can’t go into this without spoiling the novel, but I didn’t really like how anti-climatic the whole thing was and how this sort of antagonist wouldn’t really end the book in a way that was satisfactory. Them doing what they did didn’t really move the plot forward or end it.
You know what, I think I found out the problem I had with this book. I’ve been thinking about it all day, but now I got it. This book is a standalone novel, but it never felt like there was any closure for anything. The secret circle. No real closure or consequences. The problem Brett seems to be having, no closure. The other incident that happened at the party, let’s just say it never happened.
I could go on, but then I'd start to venture into spoiler territory. I think you get the point though. Even the incident with her mother doesn’t really have any real closure despite it being somewhat resolved. Things happen, but then it stops due to Sadie not pursuing the matter or conveniently forgetting about it. She’s very blasé about everything that happens and seems to love moving on, when she really shouldn’t.
Overall: I think Poor Little Dead Girls had a lot of potential to be a great boarding school thriller. It has interesting characters, a cute guy, a shady secret circle, and a conspiracy, but despite all this the ending fell flat and sadly this was when it should have really shined. The real disappointment is that a lot of things happen, but are never really end in a satisfactory way. There was no closure to anything. If this was the first book in a series, then this sort of thing makes sense, but for a standalone novel? It really doesn’t have that excuse.
That being said, this was a quick read and I never felt the need to put this book down and step away from it. I think this is a sign of a good writer, so for a debut book I think Lizzie Friend did a good job, I just wanted something more from this.
Book provided by netgalley.
Review can also be found at BookingRehab
When she receives a letter of scholarship to Keating Hall, the school her mother use to go to, Sadie isn’t sure what to expect. She’s not rich like everyone, but this is the place to be if you want to succeed in life. The connections one can get from here are like no other and if she can get scouted for her lacrosse playing, then she’ll have a better chance at getting a full scholarship to play at a top tier university.
So Sadie leaves her home in Portland and heads to Keating. At first, she’s overwhelmed at everything and notices just how different she is compared to everyone else. She doesn’t wear the right kind of clothes, her tomboyish ways doesn’t really mesh with the parties the school throw, the team practice is a lot tougher than what she is use to, and wearing jean skirts to a dance doesn’t seem like it will work here.
Things all change when Sadie is introduced to the Sullas. A secret society, of sorts, that decides to bring Sadie into their little group. Normally, Sadie wouldn’t mesh well with this sort of group, but she since her mother use to be a Sulla, Sadie reluctantly joins them and hopes to find some sort of connection to her mom through them.
Through the Sullas, Sadie experiences what the 1% feel on a daily basis. The lavish parties, the way you can seem to get away with anything, and she even meets the president. Sadie knows that all of this is too good to be true and when she finds out what they are really doing behind the scenes, she starts to wonder if her mother’s suicide wasn’t really a suicide. Maybe, just maybe someone was trying to hurt her and the same people may be coming for Sadie next.
All this sounds great and it kind is, but at the same time I think the plot lost its focus and instead of being an intense thriller with a dash of conspiracy, it became mishmash of too many things and fell flat. I think there was a lot of potential for this to be great, but the execution wasn’t quite there. The mystery surrounding the secret circle and their motivations doesn’t really pick up any steam until you’re more than halfway done the book.
Well, no. That’s not quite true. I think a bit of the mystery started a little bit after the halfway mark in the book, but things didn’t start pick up steam until near the end. The secret society ended up being quite shady, but in a way that I liked. What I didn’t like was how the ending and the big reveal at who the antagonist was. To me, it felt a little anti-climatic and so I didn’t really feel anything when the big showdown happened.
Even though the plot fell flat, the characters were fully fleshed out. Sure they were annoying at times, especially Sadie, but Sadie and her friends felt like real people that you might see. I quite liked her rapport with her fellow teammates Jessica and Brett and felt like their friendships were genuine. Her roommates Trix and Gwen are cool as well. The two are twins from England who are royalty of some kind, except they are more famous for getting into scandalous shenanigans that put Prince’s Harry to shame.
There’s also a boy, this is YA so of course there is a boy, named Jeremy who is also new and into Sadie. The two hit it off and do seem cute, even if it’s a little predictable. The only complaint I have about the characters was that Jessica, Trix, and Gwen show up in the beginning and at the end. For the rest of the novel, Sadie ignores them, Jessica, not so much, but definitely with Gwen and Trix. With Brett, it’s an entirely different story. The moment Sadie joins the Sullas she finds out Brett is also with them and all of a sudden Brett has a personality change. This change, along with another incident that happens at a party, are what made me really start to question Sadie sense of friendship and loyalty, then again; I can’t really complain much, because it was in character. Still, that didn’t stop it from annoying me.
With regards to the mystery aspect of the novel, I can honestly say I’m surprised by how things turned out. I’m usually pretty good at guessing where these kinds of novels will go and I’m even better at guessing who the villain is, but that didn’t happen here. The villain seemed to have come out of left field and didn’t really make sense. I can’t go into this without spoiling the novel, but I didn’t really like how anti-climatic the whole thing was and how this sort of antagonist wouldn’t really end the book in a way that was satisfactory. Them doing what they did didn’t really move the plot forward or end it.
You know what, I think I found out the problem I had with this book. I’ve been thinking about it all day, but now I got it. This book is a standalone novel, but it never felt like there was any closure for anything. The secret circle. No real closure or consequences. The problem Brett seems to be having, no closure. The other incident that happened at the party, let’s just say it never happened.
I could go on, but then I'd start to venture into spoiler territory. I think you get the point though. Even the incident with her mother doesn’t really have any real closure despite it being somewhat resolved. Things happen, but then it stops due to Sadie not pursuing the matter or conveniently forgetting about it. She’s very blasé about everything that happens and seems to love moving on, when she really shouldn’t.
Overall: I think Poor Little Dead Girls had a lot of potential to be a great boarding school thriller. It has interesting characters, a cute guy, a shady secret circle, and a conspiracy, but despite all this the ending fell flat and sadly this was when it should have really shined. The real disappointment is that a lot of things happen, but are never really end in a satisfactory way. There was no closure to anything. If this was the first book in a series, then this sort of thing makes sense, but for a standalone novel? It really doesn’t have that excuse.
That being said, this was a quick read and I never felt the need to put this book down and step away from it. I think this is a sign of a good writer, so for a debut book I think Lizzie Friend did a good job, I just wanted something more from this.
Book provided by netgalley.
Review can also be found at BookingRehab
December 7, 2017
Poor Little Dead Girls is a thriller that you can’t put down. Sadie Marlowe has been given a scholarship to play lacrosse at an expensive private school near Washington DC, but she learns that things aren’t adding up once she is there. First off, she learns her mother once went there, but dropped out and kinda went crazy. Then a few years back a girl named Anna killed herself after not getting into a certain college, the Keating curse is what they called it.
But come to find out, Anna was related to Sadie and her mom. And even spookier, there is a secret society at the school that pulls the strings and their intentions are very wicked.
Sadie is a nice girl, very independent and very head strong, which makes her a good character for this book. Her friend Jessica is a sweet girl who really has her back when things get heavy. I also like the second tier characters, Jeremy, who was lays her boyfriend and Trix and Gwen, two English society girls round out a great set of people Sadie can use to help her.
The plot kinda sags in the beginning but as you uncover more, things start happening really fast. There are so many times where I sat there and thought ‘this really could happen’ which means author Lizzie Friend really has done her thing in creating a believable world.
If you want something that keeps you in the edge and really engages you, grab this book.
But come to find out, Anna was related to Sadie and her mom. And even spookier, there is a secret society at the school that pulls the strings and their intentions are very wicked.
Sadie is a nice girl, very independent and very head strong, which makes her a good character for this book. Her friend Jessica is a sweet girl who really has her back when things get heavy. I also like the second tier characters, Jeremy, who was lays her boyfriend and Trix and Gwen, two English society girls round out a great set of people Sadie can use to help her.
The plot kinda sags in the beginning but as you uncover more, things start happening really fast. There are so many times where I sat there and thought ‘this really could happen’ which means author Lizzie Friend really has done her thing in creating a believable world.
If you want something that keeps you in the edge and really engages you, grab this book.
February 3, 2018
Sadie is awarded a scholarship to the Elite school Keating for Lacrosse When she is blindfolded and kidnapped she is terrified until she realizes she is being inducted into secret society. There are alot of questions but the circle she is brought into has a lot of connections, elaborate parties and connections with brother society at Graff who happen to be gorgeous. Instant popularity made Sadie not think twice about the marks on her body, or the rituals that came with the secret society.
During one of the ritual meetings Sadie comes across something disturbing that makes her question everything this secret society is about and what they are really after.
There were a lot of questions left unanswered so I am hopeful like other people who have reviewed this book that she plans on following up with a sequel.
During one of the ritual meetings Sadie comes across something disturbing that makes her question everything this secret society is about and what they are really after.
There were a lot of questions left unanswered so I am hopeful like other people who have reviewed this book that she plans on following up with a sequel.
October 8, 2017
"The outside was the only part of these people that was predictable. Once you got beneath the surface, there was no telling what you might find."
I am completely disappointed with this one. I was ready for a solid murder mystery and this was much more about the changes of moving into a dorm setting and away from your parents, about extremely rich people and.....secret societies.
and the secret society was so over the top ridiculous that it wasn't even interesting. The bad guys were so over the top, they should have all had mustaches and cackling laughs. So sad, I loved the title and had high hopes.
I am completely disappointed with this one. I was ready for a solid murder mystery and this was much more about the changes of moving into a dorm setting and away from your parents, about extremely rich people and.....secret societies.
and the secret society was so over the top ridiculous that it wasn't even interesting. The bad guys were so over the top, they should have all had mustaches and cackling laughs. So sad, I loved the title and had high hopes.
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