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When I Was Death
Not yet published
Expected 3 Mar 26A group of teen girls does Death incarnate's bidding in this haunting speculative young adult novel.
Roslyn Volk isn’t herself anymore. It’s been a year since her sister, Adeline, died in the woods under mysterious circumstances, and Roslyn is still tormented by her absence. So when the elusive caravan of girls that Adeline spent her last summer with rolls back into town, Roslyn joins them to finally figure out what happened to her sister.
Strange, beautiful, and intriguing, the girls are closed off from the world. And as it turns out, they’re brought together by a force more sinister than Roslyn’s nightmares could have conjured Death himself.
Death has spared the girls from untimely endings, and to pay for their lives, the girls travel the country reaping souls on his behalf. Now Roslyn must decide if finding closure is worth the price of striking the same deal.
Roslyn Volk isn’t herself anymore. It’s been a year since her sister, Adeline, died in the woods under mysterious circumstances, and Roslyn is still tormented by her absence. So when the elusive caravan of girls that Adeline spent her last summer with rolls back into town, Roslyn joins them to finally figure out what happened to her sister.
Strange, beautiful, and intriguing, the girls are closed off from the world. And as it turns out, they’re brought together by a force more sinister than Roslyn’s nightmares could have conjured Death himself.
Death has spared the girls from untimely endings, and to pay for their lives, the girls travel the country reaping souls on his behalf. Now Roslyn must decide if finding closure is worth the price of striking the same deal.
288 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 10, 2026
27 people are currently reading
13577 people want to read
About the author
Alexis Henderson
11 books4,234 followersAlexis Henderson is a speculative fiction writer with a penchant for dark fantasy, witchcraft, and cosmic horror. She grew up in one of America’s most haunted cities, Savannah, Georgia, which instilled in her a life-long love of ghost stories. When she doesn’t have her nose buried in a book, you can find her painting or watching horror movies with her feline familiar.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
December 13, 2025
This book — with its creative, stunning, artsy cover — immediately drew me in, and the story inside turns out to be something truly unique within Alexis Henderson’s body of work. It blends girl power, sisterhood, LGBTQ+ energy, grief, and friendship into a darkly atmospheric fantasy touched with magical realism. Based on the blurb, I expected a full-on horror novel about teenage girls making a pact with Death and becoming grim reapers. But instead, this is an emotional, deeply reflective story about healing, identity, personal value, and the aching search for truth. It defies genre in the best way.
At the heart of the story is Roslyn, a girl suffocating under the weight of grief after the mysterious death of her sister, Adeline. One day Adeline went into the bathroom; the next she had vanished. After days of searching, she was found dead in what authorities ruled a suicide — a conclusion Roslyn refuses to accept. Her sister was vibrant, joyful, overflowing with life. Nothing about “suicide” matches who Adeline was, and Roslyn becomes consumed by the need to uncover what really happened.
Her world tilts the day a group of strange, charismatic teenage girls shows up at the diner where she works. They exude this chaotic, magnetic energy, and before leaving, they scribble an address on a receipt, inviting her to join them for a night swim. Roslyn hesitates, torn between fear and curiosity, but the mention of Adeline in their whispers is enough to make her go.
When she arrives at the location, she discovers the girls gathered around a silent, shimmering pool, the chlorine-lit water reflecting their faces like a secret waiting to be revealed. Their leader, Shiloh, steps forward and calmly tells Roslyn that she knew Adeline — a confession that shakes Roslyn to her core. Suddenly, everything makes sense: her sister’s strange behavior before her death, her sudden shifts in mood, her cryptic comments, her unexplained new confidence. Adeline must have met these girls during the time she stayed with their aunt, and whatever happened within this circle may hold the key to the truth.
The girls invite Roslyn to join them on a special trip, and with a mixture of fear, hope, and desperation, she lies to her parents and claims she’s going to a camp retreat. But what she doesn’t know is that these girls aren’t just a group of intense, eccentric teens — they are servants of Death himself, carrying out tasks assigned to them by the man who rules over the departed. In exchange for taking certain lives — people whose time has come — Death gives them power, purpose, and a strange kind of protection.
Death sees Roslyn as too fragile, too heartbroken, too vulnerable to join their ranks. But Roslyn doesn’t care about becoming one of them. She cares about her sister. And Death is the only being who knows what truly happened to Adeline — the only one who can give Roslyn the answers she’s been begging the universe for. So she agrees to work for him, stepping blindly into a world she doesn’t fully understand.
What she uncovers is far beyond anything she could have imagined — truths about her sister, about the girls, about Death’s intentions, and about her own capacity for strength, rage, and love.
Overall: This is a quick yet emotionally layered read about grief, sisterhood, found family, and the messy, vulnerable journey of understanding your own worth. It's poignant, eccentric, beautifully written, and filled with girl-power energy. I’m rounding my 3.5 to a strong 4 fantasy-sisterhood stars.
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group / G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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At the heart of the story is Roslyn, a girl suffocating under the weight of grief after the mysterious death of her sister, Adeline. One day Adeline went into the bathroom; the next she had vanished. After days of searching, she was found dead in what authorities ruled a suicide — a conclusion Roslyn refuses to accept. Her sister was vibrant, joyful, overflowing with life. Nothing about “suicide” matches who Adeline was, and Roslyn becomes consumed by the need to uncover what really happened.
Her world tilts the day a group of strange, charismatic teenage girls shows up at the diner where she works. They exude this chaotic, magnetic energy, and before leaving, they scribble an address on a receipt, inviting her to join them for a night swim. Roslyn hesitates, torn between fear and curiosity, but the mention of Adeline in their whispers is enough to make her go.
When she arrives at the location, she discovers the girls gathered around a silent, shimmering pool, the chlorine-lit water reflecting their faces like a secret waiting to be revealed. Their leader, Shiloh, steps forward and calmly tells Roslyn that she knew Adeline — a confession that shakes Roslyn to her core. Suddenly, everything makes sense: her sister’s strange behavior before her death, her sudden shifts in mood, her cryptic comments, her unexplained new confidence. Adeline must have met these girls during the time she stayed with their aunt, and whatever happened within this circle may hold the key to the truth.
The girls invite Roslyn to join them on a special trip, and with a mixture of fear, hope, and desperation, she lies to her parents and claims she’s going to a camp retreat. But what she doesn’t know is that these girls aren’t just a group of intense, eccentric teens — they are servants of Death himself, carrying out tasks assigned to them by the man who rules over the departed. In exchange for taking certain lives — people whose time has come — Death gives them power, purpose, and a strange kind of protection.
Death sees Roslyn as too fragile, too heartbroken, too vulnerable to join their ranks. But Roslyn doesn’t care about becoming one of them. She cares about her sister. And Death is the only being who knows what truly happened to Adeline — the only one who can give Roslyn the answers she’s been begging the universe for. So she agrees to work for him, stepping blindly into a world she doesn’t fully understand.
What she uncovers is far beyond anything she could have imagined — truths about her sister, about the girls, about Death’s intentions, and about her own capacity for strength, rage, and love.
Overall: This is a quick yet emotionally layered read about grief, sisterhood, found family, and the messy, vulnerable journey of understanding your own worth. It's poignant, eccentric, beautifully written, and filled with girl-power energy. I’m rounding my 3.5 to a strong 4 fantasy-sisterhood stars.
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group / G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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December 9, 2025
I love a good codependent obsessive girl friend group.
I loved an academy for liars by the same author so when I saw this relatively short book I knew I needed to read it. The concept of teenage girls doing death's work is so cool and, as I imagined, it was a great book.
We had a power outage last night so I read it entirely in one sitting in the dark and it was such a good vibe. Like I said it is short, less than 300 pages, but it's so well constructed it didn't feel rushed at all. I like the writing style, it flowed really well, and the characters were all very interesting.
Thank you G. P. Putnam's Sons Books and Netgalley for the ARC!
I loved an academy for liars by the same author so when I saw this relatively short book I knew I needed to read it. The concept of teenage girls doing death's work is so cool and, as I imagined, it was a great book.
We had a power outage last night so I read it entirely in one sitting in the dark and it was such a good vibe. Like I said it is short, less than 300 pages, but it's so well constructed it didn't feel rushed at all. I like the writing style, it flowed really well, and the characters were all very interesting.
Thank you G. P. Putnam's Sons Books and Netgalley for the ARC!
January 13, 2026
Review to come upon release
I’m on a winning streak with my reads this year so far!
I’m on a winning streak with my reads this year so far!
December 7, 2025
That was a rollercoaster in the wrong doggone way. Review to come. 2 stars. Absolutely not my cuppa. It feels like we were made to go through that whole whirlwind thanks to very contrived situations surrounding the characters. It was hard to suspend disbelief because of how things in transition came to be and what was supposed to be an emotional scenario for these teens and the protagonist finding out what happened to her sister felt like a blip.
It also feels mismatched for being YA. I could have seen something like this working as an adult novel with young characters, but even then it felt convoluted.
Full review to come closer to release date, read it courtesy of Netgalley.
It also feels mismatched for being YA. I could have seen something like this working as an adult novel with young characters, but even then it felt convoluted.
Full review to come closer to release date, read it courtesy of Netgalley.
January 29, 2026
I did not expect to binge this in a single day and definitely not that I would shed a tear or two!
When I Was Death is an ya speculative horror about a group of girls doing Death’s bidding. When they do, their own lives are spared.
A year has passed since Roslyn’s sister, Adeline, was found dead in the woods. Nobody knows what happened and Roslyn’s life isn’t the same anymore. Her sister was everything to her, how is she supposed to live on?
Then 6 mysterious girls show up in town and Roslyn is immediately drawn into this group. The girls ask her to join them one evening and she goes up to meet them. But meeting them wasn’t a coincidence. Soon learning that her sister spent time with this group, the summer before she died.
Roslyn needs to know what happened to her sister, she’s determined to do anything. Including joining this group of girls on a road trip. But getting into a car full of strangers and lying to your parents about your whereabouts? Sure, good idea!!!!
Early on, Roslyn learns that these girls keep a secret: all were on the brink of losing their lives, but were spared by Death himself. But this doesn’t happen easily, they made a deal. Their lives are saved, so Death gifted them the touch to take the souls of others. All they have to do is travel the country and obey Death’s wishes.
Roslyn strikes a deal with Death: if she joins these girls and helps him kill on his behalf, he will show her what happened to Adeline.
This entire book is so binge worthy, I couldn’t put it down. It was suspenseful, mysterious, life-questionable, grieving, yet beautiful. I cried nearing the end because I too have a strong relationship with my sister. I’d do anything for her and it would kill me to lose her. The ending was pretty open, yet closed enough for the story if that makes sense?!?!? Amazing def recommend!
Absolutely loved this and cannot wait to read more of Henderson’s work!
Thank you Penguin YA and export team for this arc copy. 🤍
When I Was Death is an ya speculative horror about a group of girls doing Death’s bidding. When they do, their own lives are spared.
A year has passed since Roslyn’s sister, Adeline, was found dead in the woods. Nobody knows what happened and Roslyn’s life isn’t the same anymore. Her sister was everything to her, how is she supposed to live on?
Then 6 mysterious girls show up in town and Roslyn is immediately drawn into this group. The girls ask her to join them one evening and she goes up to meet them. But meeting them wasn’t a coincidence. Soon learning that her sister spent time with this group, the summer before she died.
Roslyn needs to know what happened to her sister, she’s determined to do anything. Including joining this group of girls on a road trip. But getting into a car full of strangers and lying to your parents about your whereabouts? Sure, good idea!!!!
Early on, Roslyn learns that these girls keep a secret: all were on the brink of losing their lives, but were spared by Death himself. But this doesn’t happen easily, they made a deal. Their lives are saved, so Death gifted them the touch to take the souls of others. All they have to do is travel the country and obey Death’s wishes.
Roslyn strikes a deal with Death: if she joins these girls and helps him kill on his behalf, he will show her what happened to Adeline.
This entire book is so binge worthy, I couldn’t put it down. It was suspenseful, mysterious, life-questionable, grieving, yet beautiful. I cried nearing the end because I too have a strong relationship with my sister. I’d do anything for her and it would kill me to lose her. The ending was pretty open, yet closed enough for the story if that makes sense?!?!? Amazing def recommend!
Absolutely loved this and cannot wait to read more of Henderson’s work!
Thank you Penguin YA and export team for this arc copy. 🤍
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you so much Penguin Books for sending this proof copy! This was such an interesting read 🩷
There is this group of girls who are chosen by Death. They are doomed to die young but make a deal with Death. In exchange for staying alive, they have to do Deaths bidding and reap souls. Roslyn joins this group so she can finally find out how and why her sister died after spending the summer with the same girls 👀
This book has some spooky vibes but it doesn't get really scary. Not that it's necessary, because the vibes are already pretty dark with all these deaths. A lot of mental problems are also discussed and that gives this book so much more depth.
The group of girls is fun and their dymanics are interesting. I have to be honest that not all the girls felt just as important and it took me a while to keep them apart. Three of them had a clear personality and were fun to read about but the other three could have been one and the same imo 🫣 But I understand the group needed to be a bit bigger so maybe it's for the best like this
The storyline is so cool and sometimes it felt like a cult but in a good way. I was getting sucked into their lives and liked reading about their 'assignments'. Overall, it is a really enthralling book!
And if you still need more convincing; Death comes around quite often and he/it is really sneaky and intriguing 🤭
There is this group of girls who are chosen by Death. They are doomed to die young but make a deal with Death. In exchange for staying alive, they have to do Deaths bidding and reap souls. Roslyn joins this group so she can finally find out how and why her sister died after spending the summer with the same girls 👀
This book has some spooky vibes but it doesn't get really scary. Not that it's necessary, because the vibes are already pretty dark with all these deaths. A lot of mental problems are also discussed and that gives this book so much more depth.
The group of girls is fun and their dymanics are interesting. I have to be honest that not all the girls felt just as important and it took me a while to keep them apart. Three of them had a clear personality and were fun to read about but the other three could have been one and the same imo 🫣 But I understand the group needed to be a bit bigger so maybe it's for the best like this
The storyline is so cool and sometimes it felt like a cult but in a good way. I was getting sucked into their lives and liked reading about their 'assignments'. Overall, it is a really enthralling book!
And if you still need more convincing; Death comes around quite often and he/it is really sneaky and intriguing 🤭
December 29, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for the arc for my honest review! I’m new to this author’s work, and I absolutely love her writing! It’s incredibly raw and authentic. I was hooked from the very beginning of this book! I was fascinated by the topic of death and grief. The characters are incredibly strong and vibrant! This book is going to be the book of the year! Five stars!
October 5, 2025
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
December 6, 2025
Nooo I guess there was bound to be an Alexis Henderson book I didn’t absolutely love.
I didn’t dislike this but it wasn’t my favourite. Will update with full thoughts later - but I feel like I didn’t connect with any of the characters enough to be impacted by the huge emotional moments. Also not a fan of the ending and how things wrapped up, a little baffled by some characters’ decisions.
I did really enjoy the writing style and found this interesting to read - the payoff was meh though
thank you penguin teen canada for the eARC!
I didn’t dislike this but it wasn’t my favourite. Will update with full thoughts later - but I feel like I didn’t connect with any of the characters enough to be impacted by the huge emotional moments. Also not a fan of the ending and how things wrapped up, a little baffled by some characters’ decisions.
I did really enjoy the writing style and found this interesting to read - the payoff was meh though
thank you penguin teen canada for the eARC!
Want to read
June 13, 2025From Penguin website:
"A group of teen girls does Death incarnate’s bidding in this haunting speculative young adult novel by the author of The Year of the Witching.
Roslyn Volk isn’t herself anymore. It’s been a year since her sister, Adeline, died in the woods under mysterious circumstances, and Roslyn is still tormented by her absence. So when the elusive caravan of girls that Adeline spent her last summer with rolls back into town, Roslyn joins them to finally figure out what happened to her sister.
Strange, beautiful, and intriguing, the girls are closed off from the world. And as it turns out, they’re brought together by a force more sinister than Roslyn’s nightmares could have conjured up: Death himself.
Death has spared the girls from untimely endings, and to pay for their lives, the girls travel the country reaping souls on his behalf. Now Roslyn must decide if finding closure is worth the price of striking the same deal."
January 18, 2026
This book started off really strong for me. The murder-mystery element was what hooked me right away, and I was fully invested in uncovering the truth behind it.
Our FMC, Rosalyn, is grieving her sister, who died by suicide a year ago. But she’s not convinced that’s what actually happened. There was something off about her sister’s behavior leading up to her death, and that lingering unease drives Rosalyn to keep searching for answers. When a mysterious group of girls, who traveled with her sister the summer before she died, suddenly reappear in her life, things take an even stranger turn.
I genuinely thought this was going to be a murder mystery with a hint of fantasy, and I was so on board for that. Unfortunately, after that point, the story veered in a direction that just didn’t work for me. The shift felt strange, and the overall direction started to feel… off.
The ending, especially, felt a little too convenient and predictable. I remember thinking, please don’t let it end this way, and then it did. I’m not exactly disappointed, but I do wish the conclusion had been more satisfying, something that really paid off the emotional and narrative build-up.
Maybe this book just wasn’t for me, but I can still see how others might enjoy it.
Our FMC, Rosalyn, is grieving her sister, who died by suicide a year ago. But she’s not convinced that’s what actually happened. There was something off about her sister’s behavior leading up to her death, and that lingering unease drives Rosalyn to keep searching for answers. When a mysterious group of girls, who traveled with her sister the summer before she died, suddenly reappear in her life, things take an even stranger turn.
I genuinely thought this was going to be a murder mystery with a hint of fantasy, and I was so on board for that. Unfortunately, after that point, the story veered in a direction that just didn’t work for me. The shift felt strange, and the overall direction started to feel… off.
The ending, especially, felt a little too convenient and predictable. I remember thinking, please don’t let it end this way, and then it did. I’m not exactly disappointed, but I do wish the conclusion had been more satisfying, something that really paid off the emotional and narrative build-up.
Maybe this book just wasn’t for me, but I can still see how others might enjoy it.
December 26, 2025
I’m a bit conflicted about When I Was Death by Alexis Henderson. Boiled down to its most basic plot, it is a YA Horror Fantasy about a girl whose sister mysteriously passes away and she finds herself joining a group of eccentric teen girls who work for Death himself.
The premise is, of course, intriguing at baseline. Diving in to the actual story, I believe it easily holds your intrigue. The cast of teen girls we meet are all very unique and add their own flavor to the story, though I do believe there were one or two too many girls in the group, which cluttered things a bit.
So where does my conflict come in? I think this story, as a YA story, is both an important one that could be very helpful to a teen, but, conversely, for some teens, this could be a very harmful story. I think it’s important to discuss darker themes in YA books for a plethora of reasons. But, these same themes are not necessarily appropriate for everyone. There is absolutely triggering content. First, there were no listed trigger warnings in the ARC version, which I was surprised about and hope they are included in the final copies. Next, this book is definitely upper YA. Not that parents should necessarily police what their kids read, but often High School aged kids are reading whatever they chose to pick up with less adult interference, but this is the type of book that I think a parent may want to be aware their kid is reading, because the themes could be harmful to certain kids in vulnerable places. Lastly, and conversely, I think it’s important that stories like this exist in the young adult space, as they involve very important themes and can lead to good discussions about death and mental health, if handled with care.
I do think the overall story works better with a teen cast rather than adults, but I am curious why this was Alexis Henderson’s first foray into the YA space.
Overall, I enjoyed many things about this book and found it quick to consume, however it wasn’t necessarily my type of story as it unfolded. I liked the unique concepts but was divided on the darker themes. A good book but potentially a controversial one.
The premise is, of course, intriguing at baseline. Diving in to the actual story, I believe it easily holds your intrigue. The cast of teen girls we meet are all very unique and add their own flavor to the story, though I do believe there were one or two too many girls in the group, which cluttered things a bit.
So where does my conflict come in? I think this story, as a YA story, is both an important one that could be very helpful to a teen, but, conversely, for some teens, this could be a very harmful story. I think it’s important to discuss darker themes in YA books for a plethora of reasons. But, these same themes are not necessarily appropriate for everyone. There is absolutely triggering content. First, there were no listed trigger warnings in the ARC version, which I was surprised about and hope they are included in the final copies. Next, this book is definitely upper YA. Not that parents should necessarily police what their kids read, but often High School aged kids are reading whatever they chose to pick up with less adult interference, but this is the type of book that I think a parent may want to be aware their kid is reading, because the themes could be harmful to certain kids in vulnerable places. Lastly, and conversely, I think it’s important that stories like this exist in the young adult space, as they involve very important themes and can lead to good discussions about death and mental health, if handled with care.
I do think the overall story works better with a teen cast rather than adults, but I am curious why this was Alexis Henderson’s first foray into the YA space.
Overall, I enjoyed many things about this book and found it quick to consume, however it wasn’t necessarily my type of story as it unfolded. I liked the unique concepts but was divided on the darker themes. A good book but potentially a controversial one.
December 2, 2025
Thank you to the Penguin team for the opportunity to read this ARC & for ruining my life with this devastating little story ❤️
In When I was Death, girlhood bares its quiet ferocity. Henderson’s prose glows with memory and honesty, her characters richly textured and utterly alive. The story drifts through the relentless current of love and loss, tracing the sharp-toothed gaps grief leaves behind and the lengths one might go to fill them.
The easiest five ⭐️ ever.
In When I was Death, girlhood bares its quiet ferocity. Henderson’s prose glows with memory and honesty, her characters richly textured and utterly alive. The story drifts through the relentless current of love and loss, tracing the sharp-toothed gaps grief leaves behind and the lengths one might go to fill them.
The easiest five ⭐️ ever.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5 Stars
When I Was Death drew me in with its premise. Teenage girls working for Death, sounds like a good read! It started out great, but I didn't feel the growth and friendship development of the girls that we should have had for them to be as close as they were at the end. I feel like I only know surface level details about the majority of the characters that we spent most of our time with. I still am not sure how I feel about the ending either.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
When I Was Death drew me in with its premise. Teenage girls working for Death, sounds like a good read! It started out great, but I didn't feel the growth and friendship development of the girls that we should have had for them to be as close as they were at the end. I feel like I only know surface level details about the majority of the characters that we spent most of our time with. I still am not sure how I feel about the ending either.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
dnf
December 8, 2025Dnf 15%
I simply could not understand the story because of the intense grammatical errors.
Whole sentences were ineligible.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a chance to read this book prior to its publication.
I simply could not understand the story because of the intense grammatical errors.
Whole sentences were ineligible.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a chance to read this book prior to its publication.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
First, a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC. All opinions are my own and freely given. Onto the review.
This book had no trigger warnings and it absolutely needed them. If you are not a fan of trigger warnings, I personally do not care. They are not spoilers. “They won’t prevent someone from being triggered.” “The world doesn’t have trigger warnings.” These are excuses not to have them and poor ones at that. A trigger warning serves to make readers aware of the content of the book so that they can then decide for themselves if it is something worth risking. Or if they’re in the headspace to handle what may come up. I am, and always will be pro trigger warning.
Now, the list of trigger warnings I came up with during my reading is: child abuse, religious abuse, suicide, drug abuse, murder, domestic violence, cyber stalking and undiagnosed depression. These things will be mentioned at length in this review, so please, be gentle with yourself as you read.
If you can’t make it through the review, I’ll put my star rating here. It gets 1 star from me.
This review will have spoilers throughout.
In When I was Death we follow Roslyn, a teenager who is not doing well after the mysterious death of her sister. Her parents have sort of become shades of themselves and she is hollowed by it. One day, a group of girls arrive at her home and the leader, Shiloh, tells her that they knew her sister Adeline, that she spent time with them before eventually going back home.
Wanting to be closer to her sister and hoping to find out what really happened to cause her death after she came home, Roslyn agrees to go with them.
Adeline struggled with depression. It’s show on the page that she would struggle and spiral into deep depressions and that when she came home from spending the summer with their aunt, she was in a very deep and intense depression. No cause of death was found, even after autopsy.
Roslyn learns that the girls have been given the power of death by Death himself, and that they commence “dispatches” as Shiloh calls them. Killing people that death says need to be killed.
These dispatches are never done violently by the girls. They are done via a touch on the hand.
Death makes Roslyn an offer. Become one of his girls and he’ll show her what exactly caused her sister’s death. After some thinking, Roslyn agrees.
Now, I will say that the worldbuilding in the book was interesting. When the girls go to do a dispatch, they leave behind no DNA or fingerprints and no doors are ever locked for them. Most of the time, even if they aren’t on a dispatch, people don’t notice them at all. They’ll talk to them if the girls talk to them but aside from that, they don’t seem to stand out as much as they should for being a gaggle of girls of various ages, many school age, who aren’t in school. They even have a credit card that never runs out of funds because Death provides for them.
There are a few girls who stand out but there were so many and the others were so flat that I’ve genuinely forgotten their names. Roslyn, the main character. Riley, she’s angry. That’s her thing. Skye, the youngest of the group at 14 and Shiloh, the leader. Not entire sure about her age.
They make their way across the country in a station wagon, an RV and an old pickup truck and along the way make dispatches. Roslyn has to make them and then do a big test in Vegas in order to get the answers she wants.
Along the way, she falls for Shiloh and to be totally honest, I don’t see why. She’s standoffish from the rest of the group because she’s the one who speaks with Death the most and does the most gruesome dispatches.
Roslyn tries to talk to her but it’s usually just about the job and the situation surrounding her sister and her time with them.
The book is an easy read and the thing that makes the one star rating so upsetting to me is the fact that it’s beautifully written. There is no bad writing here. Technically it is beautifully written. The characters struggle, nothing is easy for them to do. They have things go wrong.
I will say the pacing isn’t great. After a few chapters, Roslyn says that thinks she’s getting the hang of the dispatches but at that point, she’s only done, I think, three. And she’s been hesitant and judgmental of them the entire time.
Trigger warning for suicide and cancer.
One couple that was a dispatch was an older couple. The woman’s body was eaten away by the disease, frail and thin. Beside her in bed, lay her husband, thin in the way the elderly get. On a dresser in their room was a bottle of pills.
Roslyn had the absolute gall to judge the woman who was dying of a horrific disease and her husband who had to watch it eat her alive, for choosing to end their suffering on their own terms. While she initially got over it for the woman, it still was astounding to me. Yes, Shiloh told her that it didn’t matter how a person died, what prompted it, that their job was to finish it all the same. But still.
And somehow, after being shown on page doing 3 dispatches, we’re somehow meant to believe she’s capable of doing whatever is awaiting in Vegas. Spoiler alert, she isn’t.
Death tells her that, because the girls have gotten complacent and have forgotten who he is, he’s going to punish them. His final job for Roslyn is to kill one of the girls.
She tells them this and the group implodes. Things that people had been hiding (Riley, not people, it’s Riley) come out, angrily. She blames Shiloh for it. Shiloh is stunned.
From here we learn more about Adeline’s time with the group. And we learn that she constantly spoke about Roslyn, which is shocking to her because the two of them had a really contentious relationship. And it was made worse by Adeline’s untreated depression. But we’re meant to believe that, while being show Roslyn’s point of view of her and her sister’s relationship, that they loved each other. When that was never shown. It was not a good relationship and honestly, their parents weren’t good parents for seeing how their daughter was and not getting her professional help. Sure, she spent the summer with their aunt but that was not enough.
The girls try to cheat Death on the whole choosing someone thing because they just can’t pick and he ends up taking Skye. Which devolved into a brawl between Riley and Shiloh in the parking lot of the funeral home where Skye’s wake was.
Cyber stalking.
We learn after Skye’s death, or maybe just before it, that Shiloh and Adeline had been in a relationship. And that because of how Adeline talked about her, Shiloh went and looked up her Instagram account. And that because of how Adeline talked about her, and what Roslyn captioned her posts with, Shiloh felt seen. Which led to her telling Adeline that she wasn’t meant to be with her, she was meant to be with Roslyn. The girl she had never met. The girl she had never spoken to.
The girl she drove to see, to “check on” because she promised Adeline she would.
She fell in love with her because of how someone else spoke about her and her Instagram posts. And it was somehow not played as anything other than horrible.
Dating is hard and scary for teenagers. They deserve to see healthy relationships. Not be shown that cyber stalking is somehow romantic.
For her part, Roslyn was very unhappy with it and did not find it to be romantic.
It did, however, lead to my least favorite aspect of the book. The fact that Roslyn said she herself had killed her sister as much as Death had. Because someone she didn’t know and didn’t even know existed, fell for her and dumped her sister.
Which led to Adeline coming home, being incredibly depressed, and, directly to her death.
Not that she felt that way because of guilt, oh no. She is taking full responsibility for something that was absolutely not her fault.
Suicide mention.
Because of this, because of the guilt and not being able to pick, Shiloh decides that she’ll kill herself so that Death will get one of the girls. They have to kick in the door of the bathroom and find her foaming at the mouth in the bathroom, over dosing on pills from Skye’s mom’s bathroom cabinet.
One of the caveats that Death gave Roslyn that the sacrifice not be Shiloh. And Shiloh knew this. So for her to attempt to sacrifice herself was something that made no sense.
Eventually they decide that, since Death exists in the past, present and future, she’ll go back in time and kill Adeline since she was also one of the girls. And he accepts it. So she takes his hand and does just that.
The two girls have a tearful conversation, apologizing and making promises but it left me feeling a mild sense of disgust. She went back to the night her sister died, and killed her. The thing she felt like she had already done.
It was not a good ending. It was not a good book. And I don’t think it handled its main theme of death well. Because yes it leaves behind grief and grief makes people think and do things that aren’t true and make no sense but this didn’t really handle that well. Roslyn literally made herself the thing she was afraid she was: the cause of her sister’s demise. And her sister used her to commit suicide.
I cannot imagine putting that one someone I love. Making them be the process itself that kills me. That’s very different from what the cancer suffering wife and her husband did. That was peaceful, this was selfish.
I cannot recommend this book because it just wasn’t well done. I think teenagers can absolutely handle heavy themes and themes surrounding death but this wasn’t done well at all. The lack of trigger warnings was, in my opinion, irresponsible.
When writing for a younger audience, we are responsible for making them aware of what they may run into. And having on the page suicide, untreated mental illness, cyber stalking, and no warning is not okay.
While I wanted to love this book, I can’t. I don’t.
This book had no trigger warnings and it absolutely needed them. If you are not a fan of trigger warnings, I personally do not care. They are not spoilers. “They won’t prevent someone from being triggered.” “The world doesn’t have trigger warnings.” These are excuses not to have them and poor ones at that. A trigger warning serves to make readers aware of the content of the book so that they can then decide for themselves if it is something worth risking. Or if they’re in the headspace to handle what may come up. I am, and always will be pro trigger warning.
Now, the list of trigger warnings I came up with during my reading is: child abuse, religious abuse, suicide, drug abuse, murder, domestic violence, cyber stalking and undiagnosed depression. These things will be mentioned at length in this review, so please, be gentle with yourself as you read.
If you can’t make it through the review, I’ll put my star rating here. It gets 1 star from me.
This review will have spoilers throughout.
In When I was Death we follow Roslyn, a teenager who is not doing well after the mysterious death of her sister. Her parents have sort of become shades of themselves and she is hollowed by it. One day, a group of girls arrive at her home and the leader, Shiloh, tells her that they knew her sister Adeline, that she spent time with them before eventually going back home.
Wanting to be closer to her sister and hoping to find out what really happened to cause her death after she came home, Roslyn agrees to go with them.
Adeline struggled with depression. It’s show on the page that she would struggle and spiral into deep depressions and that when she came home from spending the summer with their aunt, she was in a very deep and intense depression. No cause of death was found, even after autopsy.
Roslyn learns that the girls have been given the power of death by Death himself, and that they commence “dispatches” as Shiloh calls them. Killing people that death says need to be killed.
These dispatches are never done violently by the girls. They are done via a touch on the hand.
Death makes Roslyn an offer. Become one of his girls and he’ll show her what exactly caused her sister’s death. After some thinking, Roslyn agrees.
Now, I will say that the worldbuilding in the book was interesting. When the girls go to do a dispatch, they leave behind no DNA or fingerprints and no doors are ever locked for them. Most of the time, even if they aren’t on a dispatch, people don’t notice them at all. They’ll talk to them if the girls talk to them but aside from that, they don’t seem to stand out as much as they should for being a gaggle of girls of various ages, many school age, who aren’t in school. They even have a credit card that never runs out of funds because Death provides for them.
There are a few girls who stand out but there were so many and the others were so flat that I’ve genuinely forgotten their names. Roslyn, the main character. Riley, she’s angry. That’s her thing. Skye, the youngest of the group at 14 and Shiloh, the leader. Not entire sure about her age.
They make their way across the country in a station wagon, an RV and an old pickup truck and along the way make dispatches. Roslyn has to make them and then do a big test in Vegas in order to get the answers she wants.
Along the way, she falls for Shiloh and to be totally honest, I don’t see why. She’s standoffish from the rest of the group because she’s the one who speaks with Death the most and does the most gruesome dispatches.
Roslyn tries to talk to her but it’s usually just about the job and the situation surrounding her sister and her time with them.
The book is an easy read and the thing that makes the one star rating so upsetting to me is the fact that it’s beautifully written. There is no bad writing here. Technically it is beautifully written. The characters struggle, nothing is easy for them to do. They have things go wrong.
I will say the pacing isn’t great. After a few chapters, Roslyn says that thinks she’s getting the hang of the dispatches but at that point, she’s only done, I think, three. And she’s been hesitant and judgmental of them the entire time.
Trigger warning for suicide and cancer.
One couple that was a dispatch was an older couple. The woman’s body was eaten away by the disease, frail and thin. Beside her in bed, lay her husband, thin in the way the elderly get. On a dresser in their room was a bottle of pills.
Roslyn had the absolute gall to judge the woman who was dying of a horrific disease and her husband who had to watch it eat her alive, for choosing to end their suffering on their own terms. While she initially got over it for the woman, it still was astounding to me. Yes, Shiloh told her that it didn’t matter how a person died, what prompted it, that their job was to finish it all the same. But still.
And somehow, after being shown on page doing 3 dispatches, we’re somehow meant to believe she’s capable of doing whatever is awaiting in Vegas. Spoiler alert, she isn’t.
Death tells her that, because the girls have gotten complacent and have forgotten who he is, he’s going to punish them. His final job for Roslyn is to kill one of the girls.
She tells them this and the group implodes. Things that people had been hiding (Riley, not people, it’s Riley) come out, angrily. She blames Shiloh for it. Shiloh is stunned.
From here we learn more about Adeline’s time with the group. And we learn that she constantly spoke about Roslyn, which is shocking to her because the two of them had a really contentious relationship. And it was made worse by Adeline’s untreated depression. But we’re meant to believe that, while being show Roslyn’s point of view of her and her sister’s relationship, that they loved each other. When that was never shown. It was not a good relationship and honestly, their parents weren’t good parents for seeing how their daughter was and not getting her professional help. Sure, she spent the summer with their aunt but that was not enough.
The girls try to cheat Death on the whole choosing someone thing because they just can’t pick and he ends up taking Skye. Which devolved into a brawl between Riley and Shiloh in the parking lot of the funeral home where Skye’s wake was.
Cyber stalking.
We learn after Skye’s death, or maybe just before it, that Shiloh and Adeline had been in a relationship. And that because of how Adeline talked about her, Shiloh went and looked up her Instagram account. And that because of how Adeline talked about her, and what Roslyn captioned her posts with, Shiloh felt seen. Which led to her telling Adeline that she wasn’t meant to be with her, she was meant to be with Roslyn. The girl she had never met. The girl she had never spoken to.
The girl she drove to see, to “check on” because she promised Adeline she would.
She fell in love with her because of how someone else spoke about her and her Instagram posts. And it was somehow not played as anything other than horrible.
Dating is hard and scary for teenagers. They deserve to see healthy relationships. Not be shown that cyber stalking is somehow romantic.
For her part, Roslyn was very unhappy with it and did not find it to be romantic.
It did, however, lead to my least favorite aspect of the book. The fact that Roslyn said she herself had killed her sister as much as Death had. Because someone she didn’t know and didn’t even know existed, fell for her and dumped her sister.
Which led to Adeline coming home, being incredibly depressed, and, directly to her death.
Not that she felt that way because of guilt, oh no. She is taking full responsibility for something that was absolutely not her fault.
Suicide mention.
Because of this, because of the guilt and not being able to pick, Shiloh decides that she’ll kill herself so that Death will get one of the girls. They have to kick in the door of the bathroom and find her foaming at the mouth in the bathroom, over dosing on pills from Skye’s mom’s bathroom cabinet.
One of the caveats that Death gave Roslyn that the sacrifice not be Shiloh. And Shiloh knew this. So for her to attempt to sacrifice herself was something that made no sense.
Eventually they decide that, since Death exists in the past, present and future, she’ll go back in time and kill Adeline since she was also one of the girls. And he accepts it. So she takes his hand and does just that.
The two girls have a tearful conversation, apologizing and making promises but it left me feeling a mild sense of disgust. She went back to the night her sister died, and killed her. The thing she felt like she had already done.
It was not a good ending. It was not a good book. And I don’t think it handled its main theme of death well. Because yes it leaves behind grief and grief makes people think and do things that aren’t true and make no sense but this didn’t really handle that well. Roslyn literally made herself the thing she was afraid she was: the cause of her sister’s demise. And her sister used her to commit suicide.
I cannot imagine putting that one someone I love. Making them be the process itself that kills me. That’s very different from what the cancer suffering wife and her husband did. That was peaceful, this was selfish.
I cannot recommend this book because it just wasn’t well done. I think teenagers can absolutely handle heavy themes and themes surrounding death but this wasn’t done well at all. The lack of trigger warnings was, in my opinion, irresponsible.
When writing for a younger audience, we are responsible for making them aware of what they may run into. And having on the page suicide, untreated mental illness, cyber stalking, and no warning is not okay.
While I wanted to love this book, I can’t. I don’t.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
ya-books
December 26, 2025Thank you to Penguin Random House and Goodreads for the chance to review an ARC copy of this book!
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Yes, please.
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Yes, please.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
“When I Was Death” is a powerful exploration of grief and emotions. While the synopsis makes the book seem more like a dark horror about teenage girls making a deal with Death, Alexis Henderson instead delivers an introspective, emotionally rich meditation on grief, girlhood, and the aching search for meaning after loss.
At the center is Roslyn, a girl hollowed out by the sudden death of her older sister, Adeline. Officially ruled a suicide, Adeline’s death makes no sense to Roslyn, who remembers her as vibrant and full of life. Overwhelmed by grief and detached from her own future, Roslyn exists in a kind of emotional limbo until a strange group of teenage girls wanders into the diner where she works. They are magnetic, chaotic, and unsettlingly familiar. Most chilling of all: they knew Adeline.
What follows pulls Roslyn into a nomadic sisterhood of girls who have given up their families, homes, and former lives to serve Death himself. Their bargain is unsettling but oddly restrained where no souls are sold and no murders are committed out of malice. Instead, the girls act as grim reapers, escorting people whose time has already come. The moral ambiguity of this role reframes the horror, making the story less about violence and more about responsibility, choice, and the weight of carrying death so closely.
The story moves deliberately, sometimes slowly, especially in the beginning, where grief and backstory take precedence over plot. If you’re expecting constant action or traditional horror you may find the pacing frustrating. But Henderson’s focus is intentional: this is a story about sitting with pain, about how loss reshapes identity, and about the dangerous allure of surrendering yourself to something or anything that promises answers.
Roslyn’s journey is as much philosophical as it is supernatural. Her encounters with Death, who is his own unique character as he is harsh, seductive, and eerily reasonable, force her to confront how little she values her own life at the start of the novel. Through her work as a reaper and her growing connection to the group’s leader, Shiloh, Roslyn begins to rediscover purpose, desire, and the possibility of living for herself rather than for her grief.
The found-family dynamic is one of the book’s greatest strengths. The girls are bonded by trauma, choice, and shared silence, forming a fierce, fragile sisterhood that offers comfort even as it demands sacrifice. While I did wish the group had more time together on the page to deepen those relationships (they were only a group for a few weeks), the emotional core still lands powerfully. Themes of sapphic love, mental illness, belonging, and sisterhood are woven naturally into the story without feeling performative or preachy.
By the end, “When I Was Death” becomes a story not about dying, but about choosing to live. The conclusion is emotional, cathartic, and quietly hopeful; it’s focused on release, forgiveness, and the strength it takes to move forward.
Overall, this story is haunting, thoughtful, and genre-defying. “When I Was Death” is a lyrical exploration of grief and girlhood that lingers long after the final page. Those looking for introspective dark fantasy, found family, and emotionally resonant storytelling will find this one deeply rewarding.
“When I Was Death” is a powerful exploration of grief and emotions. While the synopsis makes the book seem more like a dark horror about teenage girls making a deal with Death, Alexis Henderson instead delivers an introspective, emotionally rich meditation on grief, girlhood, and the aching search for meaning after loss.
At the center is Roslyn, a girl hollowed out by the sudden death of her older sister, Adeline. Officially ruled a suicide, Adeline’s death makes no sense to Roslyn, who remembers her as vibrant and full of life. Overwhelmed by grief and detached from her own future, Roslyn exists in a kind of emotional limbo until a strange group of teenage girls wanders into the diner where she works. They are magnetic, chaotic, and unsettlingly familiar. Most chilling of all: they knew Adeline.
What follows pulls Roslyn into a nomadic sisterhood of girls who have given up their families, homes, and former lives to serve Death himself. Their bargain is unsettling but oddly restrained where no souls are sold and no murders are committed out of malice. Instead, the girls act as grim reapers, escorting people whose time has already come. The moral ambiguity of this role reframes the horror, making the story less about violence and more about responsibility, choice, and the weight of carrying death so closely.
The story moves deliberately, sometimes slowly, especially in the beginning, where grief and backstory take precedence over plot. If you’re expecting constant action or traditional horror you may find the pacing frustrating. But Henderson’s focus is intentional: this is a story about sitting with pain, about how loss reshapes identity, and about the dangerous allure of surrendering yourself to something or anything that promises answers.
Roslyn’s journey is as much philosophical as it is supernatural. Her encounters with Death, who is his own unique character as he is harsh, seductive, and eerily reasonable, force her to confront how little she values her own life at the start of the novel. Through her work as a reaper and her growing connection to the group’s leader, Shiloh, Roslyn begins to rediscover purpose, desire, and the possibility of living for herself rather than for her grief.
The found-family dynamic is one of the book’s greatest strengths. The girls are bonded by trauma, choice, and shared silence, forming a fierce, fragile sisterhood that offers comfort even as it demands sacrifice. While I did wish the group had more time together on the page to deepen those relationships (they were only a group for a few weeks), the emotional core still lands powerfully. Themes of sapphic love, mental illness, belonging, and sisterhood are woven naturally into the story without feeling performative or preachy.
By the end, “When I Was Death” becomes a story not about dying, but about choosing to live. The conclusion is emotional, cathartic, and quietly hopeful; it’s focused on release, forgiveness, and the strength it takes to move forward.
Overall, this story is haunting, thoughtful, and genre-defying. “When I Was Death” is a lyrical exploration of grief and girlhood that lingers long after the final page. Those looking for introspective dark fantasy, found family, and emotionally resonant storytelling will find this one deeply rewarding.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Alexis Henderson’s When I Was Death has a fantastic premise, a teenage group of manic pixie dream girls working for Death, reaping lives for him. Roslyn joins the group after her sister’s mysterious death on their adventurous road trip around America. She is struggling massively with her identity after her sister’s death, unsure of who she is now she’s no longer living in Adeline’s shadow and would follow anyone if it means getting answers about why she mysteriously died.
Death has his doubts about her joining the girl gang, feeling that ‘she lacks the motivation… All she wants, deep down, is to be with her sister’ but I don’t see the supposed detachment to her life that is described – to this extent. Perhaps because this is a shorter story, we jump quickly into the action rather than laying the emotional groundwork. With an extra 50+ pages, we could have felt more of this sisterly connection, the turmoil of jealousy and overwhelming love. The novel kind of reminded me of Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere but personally, I don’t think it reached that level of grief description or sibling connection.
Henderson’s description is fantastic, it’s so easy to immerse yourself in the group with the vivid scenery, their vibrant clothing and the haunted atmosphere, but I felt the sci-fi explanations surrounding Death’s touch gift was lacking. There were questions left unanswered and events that left me still confused by the conclusion. Such as, if Alexis touches one of the girls, or someone not on Death’s list, would they die? They can’t be invisible as they’re leered at by creeps and go into shops, but although people keep dropping round death after the group was there, you’d think there would be some questions about them being witnessed to all these deaths. Also, why were there minor celebs at Skye’s funeral? – okay her mum was kind of famous, but this seemed random. In the novels climax, Death said he believed that Alexis ‘resented’ him, she definitely did have a difficult relationship with him, angry that he took her sister and for making her do his bidding in exchange for information surrounding her death, but ultimately like the rest of the girls, I think she wanted his approval and praise more than that.
Out of the girl gang, I think Naomi was my favourite character. I loved her and Alexis’s shared moment when she assisted in her Death ‘dispose’. I also loved Chloe and her death diary to commemorate all the people who she’d taken the lives of. I didn’t feel the romance between Shiloh and Alexis, although they shared a few moments which provided the groundwork of them crushing on one another, this didn’t evolve into anything, I shuddered at the reveal of the virtual insta obsession and her history with Adeline – not cute, just weird.
I was expecting more of a horror type novel from the blurb, the beginning chapters were really creepy, and I was hoping it would lead into a sort of horror/thriller focusing on her sister’s mysterious death, but instead there is more focus on magical realism and female social relationships.
A huge thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Death has his doubts about her joining the girl gang, feeling that ‘she lacks the motivation… All she wants, deep down, is to be with her sister’ but I don’t see the supposed detachment to her life that is described – to this extent. Perhaps because this is a shorter story, we jump quickly into the action rather than laying the emotional groundwork. With an extra 50+ pages, we could have felt more of this sisterly connection, the turmoil of jealousy and overwhelming love. The novel kind of reminded me of Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere but personally, I don’t think it reached that level of grief description or sibling connection.
Henderson’s description is fantastic, it’s so easy to immerse yourself in the group with the vivid scenery, their vibrant clothing and the haunted atmosphere, but I felt the sci-fi explanations surrounding Death’s touch gift was lacking. There were questions left unanswered and events that left me still confused by the conclusion. Such as, if Alexis touches one of the girls, or someone not on Death’s list, would they die? They can’t be invisible as they’re leered at by creeps and go into shops, but although people keep dropping round death after the group was there, you’d think there would be some questions about them being witnessed to all these deaths. Also, why were there minor celebs at Skye’s funeral? – okay her mum was kind of famous, but this seemed random. In the novels climax, Death said he believed that Alexis ‘resented’ him, she definitely did have a difficult relationship with him, angry that he took her sister and for making her do his bidding in exchange for information surrounding her death, but ultimately like the rest of the girls, I think she wanted his approval and praise more than that.
Out of the girl gang, I think Naomi was my favourite character. I loved her and Alexis’s shared moment when she assisted in her Death ‘dispose’. I also loved Chloe and her death diary to commemorate all the people who she’d taken the lives of. I didn’t feel the romance between Shiloh and Alexis, although they shared a few moments which provided the groundwork of them crushing on one another, this didn’t evolve into anything, I shuddered at the reveal of the virtual insta obsession and her history with Adeline – not cute, just weird.
I was expecting more of a horror type novel from the blurb, the beginning chapters were really creepy, and I was hoping it would lead into a sort of horror/thriller focusing on her sister’s mysterious death, but instead there is more focus on magical realism and female social relationships.
A huge thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2⭐
(+):
- I like the concept of this book. The idea of a ragtag group of girls being thrown together to do death’s bidding is a really interesting idea. I just wish I liked this book at all.
- There are aspects of how this book discusses grief that I think are interesting and contemplative. The throughline of wanting answers for someone close to one’s death is an understandable genesis for the MC joining the adventure. It’s also understandable, having read the acknowledgements, that the author was dealing with her own grief processing and wanting answers is not an uncommon experience.
- I think this title is good. It is about the time she played death’s role, so.
(-):
- These characters all blend together. I could only pinpoint who, like, three of the group of girls were at any given time. I swear on my life I read Chloe’s name for the first time like 70% in and could not for the life of me remember ever reading anything about her previously.
- The culmination of the MC’s trial with Death is lame as hell. It makes no sense and is theme basically made moot by an explanation from another character. It’s dumb.
- Death is a lame character, too. He’s not spooky or scary or intimidating. He’s just basically guy from your local card shop but even THEN he’s less scary. Ugh.
- Speaking of scary, this book is in no way a horror novel. Just because it deals with death does not automatically put it in that genre. It has not elements that leave the reader (at least me) unease or fearful or any of the emotions I would expect to feel whilst reading a book in that genre. Even in YA. It’s just angsty.
- HOWEVER the one thing that is HORRIFIC is the idea that you learn that your older sister dated the girl you’re crushing on and then she lets you know that she dumped your sister because she FOUND YOUR INSTA and discovered that she actually liked YOU and the only reason she dated your sister was because she felt your essence or whatever in her?? And then she drove to your hometown and picked you up and brought you on a roadtrip with death’s girl gang because she was obsessed with you?? BUT it’s not SUPPOSED to be terrifying??? It’s romantic???? Absolutely not. AAaabsolutely not. Not even for teens.
- This cover is uncanny in a way I do not gel with.
(?):
- Why is death enlisting these girls to begin with? We don’t really get a clear answer, not that we need one, but it is just kind of “‘cuz”.
- Why is the MC obsessed with that girl and vise versa? If it’s just hotness, sure, whatever, but also I, personally, needed more.
- Why does the MC even care about her sister’s death? They did not like each other. And the answer we’re given for this as well feels super forced.
Will I read the next one? : Nope.
* Thank you to Putnam & NetGalley for providing this ARC!
Books with Similar Vibes :
- 'The Firekeepers Daughter' by Angeline Boulley
- 'The Spirit Bares Its Teeth' by Andrew Joseph White
- 'Belladonna' by Adalyn Grace
(+):
- I like the concept of this book. The idea of a ragtag group of girls being thrown together to do death’s bidding is a really interesting idea. I just wish I liked this book at all.
- There are aspects of how this book discusses grief that I think are interesting and contemplative. The throughline of wanting answers for someone close to one’s death is an understandable genesis for the MC joining the adventure. It’s also understandable, having read the acknowledgements, that the author was dealing with her own grief processing and wanting answers is not an uncommon experience.
- I think this title is good. It is about the time she played death’s role, so.
(-):
- These characters all blend together. I could only pinpoint who, like, three of the group of girls were at any given time. I swear on my life I read Chloe’s name for the first time like 70% in and could not for the life of me remember ever reading anything about her previously.
- The culmination of the MC’s trial with Death is lame as hell. It makes no sense and is theme basically made moot by an explanation from another character. It’s dumb.
- Death is a lame character, too. He’s not spooky or scary or intimidating. He’s just basically guy from your local card shop but even THEN he’s less scary. Ugh.
- Speaking of scary, this book is in no way a horror novel. Just because it deals with death does not automatically put it in that genre. It has not elements that leave the reader (at least me) unease or fearful or any of the emotions I would expect to feel whilst reading a book in that genre. Even in YA. It’s just angsty.
- HOWEVER the one thing that is HORRIFIC is the idea that you learn that your older sister dated the girl you’re crushing on and then she lets you know that she dumped your sister because she FOUND YOUR INSTA and discovered that she actually liked YOU and the only reason she dated your sister was because she felt your essence or whatever in her?? And then she drove to your hometown and picked you up and brought you on a roadtrip with death’s girl gang because she was obsessed with you?? BUT it’s not SUPPOSED to be terrifying??? It’s romantic???? Absolutely not. AAaabsolutely not. Not even for teens.
- This cover is uncanny in a way I do not gel with.
(?):
- Why is death enlisting these girls to begin with? We don’t really get a clear answer, not that we need one, but it is just kind of “‘cuz”.
- Why is the MC obsessed with that girl and vise versa? If it’s just hotness, sure, whatever, but also I, personally, needed more.
- Why does the MC even care about her sister’s death? They did not like each other. And the answer we’re given for this as well feels super forced.
Will I read the next one? : Nope.
* Thank you to Putnam & NetGalley for providing this ARC!
Books with Similar Vibes :
- 'The Firekeepers Daughter' by Angeline Boulley
- 'The Spirit Bares Its Teeth' by Andrew Joseph White
- 'Belladonna' by Adalyn Grace
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Book: When I Was Death
Author: Alexis Henderson
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars
I would like to thank the publisher, G.P Putman’s Sons Books for Young Readers, for sending me an ARC. This is the third Alexis Henderson book that I have read. I have really enjoyed what I have seen from this author. She writes gothic stories that are filled with characters whom we probably shouldn’t cheer for, but cannot help cheering for. She also shows us people who have all found themselves in either difficult or bad situations, and what led them to this book. This book is no different.
Roselyn Volk has lost everything and is no longer herself. It has been a year since her sister, Adeline, died suddenly, which has left a hole in Roselyn’s world. When a group of girls show up, who happen to be the same girls that Adeline spent her last summer with, Roselyn jumps at the chance to go with them. Maybe this will finally tell her what happened to her sister. However, this group of girls is not what they seem. They all have the touch of Death and have to kill whom he tells them to. They are cut off from the world with no one but themselves and Death. They owe Death because they were all supposed to die, and Death gave them a second chance at life, as long as they do his bidding. Now, Roselyn finds herself thrown into this world and must decide if this is all worth it.
Rsoelyn is deep in grief. Her sister died rather suddenly, and it has torn her world upside down. She is just going through the motions of life, not really living at all. Everything she does is with the hope of finding out what happened to her sister. Then, she finds herself with these girls, who seem carefree and just free in general. However, she comes to find out that they are not free. They are bound to Death and must carry out his bidding. If Roselyn is to join them, then she has to also do Death’s bidding. These girls are everything that Roselyn has been needing in her life. Plus, they may know what happened to her sister.
The idea of having teenage girls do Death’s bidding is interesting. This book is dark, but not in a scary kind of way. All of these girls are their own person, and all have been brought together because of Death. They are family, and it shows-espcially when it comes to the final task. It’s a very messed-up situation. However, by having these girls and having them in isolation, we see how they have all found a family and made it work. They are also marked by grief and express it in different ways. They are messy, they aren’t perfect. All of this allows us to see ourselves in them. They are also all hurting in different ways.
This is a book about grief and seeing how that grief impacts people. The quest to find a loved one, to find out what happened to them, and to have that closure is what drives so many of the characters in the book. All of these girls do want to live, but how they go about it is very interesting.
Overall, I did enjoy this book a lot. It’s a short read, but every word counts.
This book comes out on March 10, 2026.
Author: Alexis Henderson
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars
I would like to thank the publisher, G.P Putman’s Sons Books for Young Readers, for sending me an ARC. This is the third Alexis Henderson book that I have read. I have really enjoyed what I have seen from this author. She writes gothic stories that are filled with characters whom we probably shouldn’t cheer for, but cannot help cheering for. She also shows us people who have all found themselves in either difficult or bad situations, and what led them to this book. This book is no different.
Roselyn Volk has lost everything and is no longer herself. It has been a year since her sister, Adeline, died suddenly, which has left a hole in Roselyn’s world. When a group of girls show up, who happen to be the same girls that Adeline spent her last summer with, Roselyn jumps at the chance to go with them. Maybe this will finally tell her what happened to her sister. However, this group of girls is not what they seem. They all have the touch of Death and have to kill whom he tells them to. They are cut off from the world with no one but themselves and Death. They owe Death because they were all supposed to die, and Death gave them a second chance at life, as long as they do his bidding. Now, Roselyn finds herself thrown into this world and must decide if this is all worth it.
Rsoelyn is deep in grief. Her sister died rather suddenly, and it has torn her world upside down. She is just going through the motions of life, not really living at all. Everything she does is with the hope of finding out what happened to her sister. Then, she finds herself with these girls, who seem carefree and just free in general. However, she comes to find out that they are not free. They are bound to Death and must carry out his bidding. If Roselyn is to join them, then she has to also do Death’s bidding. These girls are everything that Roselyn has been needing in her life. Plus, they may know what happened to her sister.
The idea of having teenage girls do Death’s bidding is interesting. This book is dark, but not in a scary kind of way. All of these girls are their own person, and all have been brought together because of Death. They are family, and it shows-espcially when it comes to the final task. It’s a very messed-up situation. However, by having these girls and having them in isolation, we see how they have all found a family and made it work. They are also marked by grief and express it in different ways. They are messy, they aren’t perfect. All of this allows us to see ourselves in them. They are also all hurting in different ways.
This is a book about grief and seeing how that grief impacts people. The quest to find a loved one, to find out what happened to them, and to have that closure is what drives so many of the characters in the book. All of these girls do want to live, but how they go about it is very interesting.
Overall, I did enjoy this book a lot. It’s a short read, but every word counts.
This book comes out on March 10, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2.75
i was initially drawn in from the premise + i also loved Henderson's House of Hunger but i found this to be a surprise from what i was expecting.
while we do get an attempt at found family with this group of girls sent to do Death's bidding, i felt as if the story was too short to really encapsulate and flesh out the emotional impact that the climax demanded. similar with Rosyln's sister, who undeniably haunts the narrative, we mostly get told about her connection with her rather than shown (which can be argued, since she's... well, dead. but still.) i felt like i was Death themselves, watching from afar, of these girls that are supposed to be co-dependent on each other and are trauma-bonded because of their job. i desperately wanted these characters to resonate with me more but the length of this left a lot to be desired.
this novel does a really excellent job with the topic of grief (with caveats), and i enjoyed how this shines a light on varying deaths and the relationship we have with those who have passed. not only does it talk about death, but it talks about the nuances of premature death as well as those who are "ready to go." i really liked those parts and they were undeniably my favorite parts. however, i think at the 85% mark, the author's stance on grief gets a bit... messy. i'm not so sure how i feel about Roslyn finding out what happened to her sister, and all the teenage angst regarding that, but it felt damaging to what the author had built up of her understanding of grief up until that point.
overall, a quick read about sisterhood and found family amongst a misfit pack of young girls sent to do Death's bidding. i wished this was a tad bit longer (50-100 pages) just so that the emotional sacrifices and impact of certain scenes in the book benefited more.
also note, there is insta-love. yes, it was a bit strange... bc of certain spoilers, which did not make the most rational sense, but might if you were still a teenager (i guess???).
thank you to NetGalley for an early copy!
"We're not like you. We have feelings and souls. We carry guilt with us always, and it's heavy."
i was initially drawn in from the premise + i also loved Henderson's House of Hunger but i found this to be a surprise from what i was expecting.
while we do get an attempt at found family with this group of girls sent to do Death's bidding, i felt as if the story was too short to really encapsulate and flesh out the emotional impact that the climax demanded. similar with Rosyln's sister, who undeniably haunts the narrative, we mostly get told about her connection with her rather than shown (which can be argued, since she's... well, dead. but still.) i felt like i was Death themselves, watching from afar, of these girls that are supposed to be co-dependent on each other and are trauma-bonded because of their job. i desperately wanted these characters to resonate with me more but the length of this left a lot to be desired.
this novel does a really excellent job with the topic of grief (with caveats), and i enjoyed how this shines a light on varying deaths and the relationship we have with those who have passed. not only does it talk about death, but it talks about the nuances of premature death as well as those who are "ready to go." i really liked those parts and they were undeniably my favorite parts. however, i think at the 85% mark, the author's stance on grief gets a bit... messy. i'm not so sure how i feel about Roslyn finding out what happened to her sister, and all the teenage angst regarding that, but it felt damaging to what the author had built up of her understanding of grief up until that point.
overall, a quick read about sisterhood and found family amongst a misfit pack of young girls sent to do Death's bidding. i wished this was a tad bit longer (50-100 pages) just so that the emotional sacrifices and impact of certain scenes in the book benefited more.
also note, there is insta-love. yes, it was a bit strange... bc of certain spoilers, which did not make the most rational sense, but might if you were still a teenager (i guess???).
thank you to NetGalley for an early copy!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I'm afraid that I, too, would feel drawn to a group of strangely wild and carefree girls who travel across the country all by themselves and if it turns out that they actually do Death's work, so be it. Safe to say that I was hooked immediately, because that's what happens to Roslyn Volk at the start of this book. Eight months after the unexplainable death of her sister Adeline she is drifting aimlessly through life and feels numb all the time. But that changes when a group of girls comes to her small town and pulls her in completely. They might know something about Adeline's death and Roslyn soon learns that they are actually very familiar with Death himself. With all that said: I expected a bit more from this story. The main themes of this book are death and grief, but the matching atmosphere isn't transported all too well in my opinion. There were some emotional moments, but the book wasn't super tense or heavy and it also didn't manage to pull off the emotional impact that was probably intended. That may be because of the writing style. It's a quick and easy read, but the writing really wasn't anything remarkable. Maybe I just struggle with Alexis Henderson in general, because I was also disappointed by The Year of the Witching. I'm always very intrigued by her concepts – House of Hunger also sound VERY good to me – but I find the execution to be lacking. Besides the lack of atmosphere it's also the lack of character depth that's throwing me off. There are seven girls in the group and I know next to nothing about any of them. I'm pretty sure that there were more paragraphs about their clothes and what they are currently wearing than about their actual lives or personalities. I sadly also didn't get the feeling of close female friendships here and that's such a shame, really. It was an okay read overall and I did fly through it, but I was disappointed by multiple things and it certainly didn't leave a lasting impression.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers / Penguin for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers / Penguin for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! (all quotes come from uncorrected proof)
This was a moving, emotional, and raw tale of grief, guilt, and death, all with a group of teenage girls tasked by Death to carry out part of his duties of ferrying souls away at the time of death. Newest to the group is Roslyn, not chosen by Death, but chasing after them to try and figure out why her sister died after joining their group a year ago.
This quote embodies what I think makes this novel so strong--it's YA in some of the best ways, with such raw emotion as the girls bond and struggle with what it means to be with people in their last moments. It's also a journey with Roslyn slowly unraveling the mystery and also working through her grief and guilt over her sister Adeline's death. I loved the group of girls a lot, and they felt very real even with their dynamics, squabbling, roadtripping, clothes-shopping, and even their struggles over their deathly duties. .
I am taking off a star though because the pacing is a bit herky-jerky, and because the novel has a hard time deciding if Death is supposed to be the villain or not. Some of that is due to Roslyn not really being able to decide, but the narrative itself seems undecided on the point as well. Is he a god becoming human and evil and controlling in his fascination with humans? Or is he Death, implacable and ultimately unknowable as a concept? Still, I enjoyed this novel despite that, and I would definitely recommend it as a very good and moving YA novel.
This was a moving, emotional, and raw tale of grief, guilt, and death, all with a group of teenage girls tasked by Death to carry out part of his duties of ferrying souls away at the time of death. Newest to the group is Roslyn, not chosen by Death, but chasing after them to try and figure out why her sister died after joining their group a year ago.
"Teenage girls are like a bottled scream, or the charged quality of the air just before lightning strikes. All this potential and possibility condensed into such a frail human body."
This quote embodies what I think makes this novel so strong--it's YA in some of the best ways, with such raw emotion as the girls bond and struggle with what it means to be with people in their last moments. It's also a journey with Roslyn slowly unraveling the mystery and also working through her grief and guilt over her sister Adeline's death. I loved the group of girls a lot, and they felt very real even with their dynamics, squabbling, roadtripping, clothes-shopping, and even their struggles over their deathly duties. .
I am taking off a star though because the pacing is a bit herky-jerky, and because the novel has a hard time deciding if Death is supposed to be the villain or not. Some of that is due to Roslyn not really being able to decide, but the narrative itself seems undecided on the point as well. Is he a god becoming human and evil and controlling in his fascination with humans? Or is he Death, implacable and ultimately unknowable as a concept? Still, I enjoyed this novel despite that, and I would definitely recommend it as a very good and moving YA novel.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Ebook review 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Review contains spoilers.. .. so beware!!!! Spoilers are near the end.
I really loved this story !!! I want to give it 5 stars but there were a few instances that seemed off. Thing that didnt match up. But that is only my opinion. The story started out amazing and immediately captured my attention but then it kind of slowed Down. But it never lasted long. Quickly the story kept reeling me back in!! The plot is One of a kind!!! The idea is super cool and so imaginative! I feel like the author did phenomenal! But I must admit, the entire time Death was around I wished it would turn into a romance 🤣 but im a smut reader lol so thats bad on me. Lol sorry not sorry. The girls were all so lovable, even Riley !!! This story had many emotions. Many ups and downs. The ending was a bit wild. It seemed like in reality all along the death of Adeline was always done by Roslyn and it was fate. Like that was always the plan. Like the tv show DARK on Netflix. Idk. Maybe im wrong. It seemed very time bending futuristic past type scenario. All in all it could be 5 stars for me, but I seen Chloes name in the drawing twice, When death held Roslyns hand yhe first time Adeline said Rosyln so I knew Roslyn was there when she dies so it kinda gave it away, another thing was Shiloh said something that made it seem like she too was there the night adeline died when she said adelines dying wish.. but she wasnt there. . Idk didnt make sense to me. I really dislike not being 100% positive on book reviews but those things didnt match to me. Maybe the book wasnt final when I got it, or maybe im not understanding properly and its a me issue. But the plot was great. 10 stars for the plot.
Review contains spoilers.. .. so beware!!!! Spoilers are near the end.
I really loved this story !!! I want to give it 5 stars but there were a few instances that seemed off. Thing that didnt match up. But that is only my opinion. The story started out amazing and immediately captured my attention but then it kind of slowed Down. But it never lasted long. Quickly the story kept reeling me back in!! The plot is One of a kind!!! The idea is super cool and so imaginative! I feel like the author did phenomenal! But I must admit, the entire time Death was around I wished it would turn into a romance 🤣 but im a smut reader lol so thats bad on me. Lol sorry not sorry. The girls were all so lovable, even Riley !!! This story had many emotions. Many ups and downs. The ending was a bit wild. It seemed like in reality all along the death of Adeline was always done by Roslyn and it was fate. Like that was always the plan. Like the tv show DARK on Netflix. Idk. Maybe im wrong. It seemed very time bending futuristic past type scenario. All in all it could be 5 stars for me, but I seen Chloes name in the drawing twice, When death held Roslyns hand yhe first time Adeline said Rosyln so I knew Roslyn was there when she dies so it kinda gave it away, another thing was Shiloh said something that made it seem like she too was there the night adeline died when she said adelines dying wish.. but she wasnt there. . Idk didnt make sense to me. I really dislike not being 100% positive on book reviews but those things didnt match to me. Maybe the book wasnt final when I got it, or maybe im not understanding properly and its a me issue. But the plot was great. 10 stars for the plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4 stars
The drama and angst of teenage girlhood in all its facets is explored in this story of sisterhood and found family with a supernatural twist. An eccentric tribe of teenage girls shows up one summer and takes Rosalyn's sister Adeline with them as they travel the country in their gypsy-like caravan. When she returns, Adeline is different, seems to have turned into the daughter their parents had hoped she would be. Shortly after, she disappears and is found dead in a plastic playhouse not far from their home. Rosalyn is hollowed out by grief, just going through the motions of living without truly being alive. When she crosses paths with the same girls who had taken her sister, she is drawn to their leader and joins them on their journey.
The supernatural aspects of this story revolve around the deal with death that each of the girls has made. Rosalyn's deal is to kill for death like the rest of the girls in exchange for finding out the truth of what happened to her sister. As the girls move from town to town and killing to killing, the bonds of their friendship become as strong as family.
I really enjoy stories of female friendship. Being a teenage girl is hard and dramatic. This story navigated that really well. There is mental illness representation, a sapphic romance, and plenty of creepiness and horror. I especially appreciated the way the author dealt with death the dying.
I would recommend this to fans of YA horror, sisterhood, coming of age, and female friendships.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Randomhouse for the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The drama and angst of teenage girlhood in all its facets is explored in this story of sisterhood and found family with a supernatural twist. An eccentric tribe of teenage girls shows up one summer and takes Rosalyn's sister Adeline with them as they travel the country in their gypsy-like caravan. When she returns, Adeline is different, seems to have turned into the daughter their parents had hoped she would be. Shortly after, she disappears and is found dead in a plastic playhouse not far from their home. Rosalyn is hollowed out by grief, just going through the motions of living without truly being alive. When she crosses paths with the same girls who had taken her sister, she is drawn to their leader and joins them on their journey.
The supernatural aspects of this story revolve around the deal with death that each of the girls has made. Rosalyn's deal is to kill for death like the rest of the girls in exchange for finding out the truth of what happened to her sister. As the girls move from town to town and killing to killing, the bonds of their friendship become as strong as family.
I really enjoy stories of female friendship. Being a teenage girl is hard and dramatic. This story navigated that really well. There is mental illness representation, a sapphic romance, and plenty of creepiness and horror. I especially appreciated the way the author dealt with death the dying.
I would recommend this to fans of YA horror, sisterhood, coming of age, and female friendships.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Randomhouse for the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
When I Was Death is a great Young Adult introduction to horror with a haunting premise of young girls reaping on behalf of Death to remain alive themselves. The unease of the situation oozes through the pages, setting a great stage to continue on deeper into the genre. Be mindful; this story is heavy on subjects of death, grief and rage.
I personally was expecting more horror and suspense, but overall the story tends to focus more on grief and the complexities of being female and female relationships. This leads to the second act delivering as more of a tragedy than a horror. I think it's a great introduction, but personally would have liked to dive deeper into Death, and the mechanics of the reapings and bargains made.
"There is tragedy, and then there is horror. The two overlap, but they're not the same."
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. When I Was Death comes out in March 3rd.
Summary: A year after Roslyn’s sister died under mysterious circumstances, the caravan of girls that her sister had spent her last summer with rolls back into town. Strange, beautiful, and intriguing, the girls are closed off from the world. And as it turns out, they’re brought together by a force more sinister than Roslyn could ever imagine: Death himself. Death has spared the girls from untimely endings, and to pay for their lives, the girls travel the country reaping souls on his behalf. Now Roslyn must decide if finding closure of what happened to her sister is worth the price of striking the same deal.
I personally was expecting more horror and suspense, but overall the story tends to focus more on grief and the complexities of being female and female relationships. This leads to the second act delivering as more of a tragedy than a horror. I think it's a great introduction, but personally would have liked to dive deeper into Death, and the mechanics of the reapings and bargains made.
"There is tragedy, and then there is horror. The two overlap, but they're not the same."
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. When I Was Death comes out in March 3rd.
Summary: A year after Roslyn’s sister died under mysterious circumstances, the caravan of girls that her sister had spent her last summer with rolls back into town. Strange, beautiful, and intriguing, the girls are closed off from the world. And as it turns out, they’re brought together by a force more sinister than Roslyn could ever imagine: Death himself. Death has spared the girls from untimely endings, and to pay for their lives, the girls travel the country reaping souls on his behalf. Now Roslyn must decide if finding closure of what happened to her sister is worth the price of striking the same deal.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A haunting story about grief, second chances, and what it truly means to live and die well.
Roslyn is unraveling after the death of her larger-than-life sister, Adeline. Where Adeline lived recklessly and broke every rule, Roslyn chose a careful, predictable life. Now, in the wake of her sister’s apparent suicide, Roslyn is left searching for meaning and for answers.
When a mysterious, seemingly carefree group of girls draws her in, Roslyn is desperate enough to follow. Her pull toward them becomes irresistible once she discovers Adeline was once part of the group herself. Whatever they’re hiding, Roslyn needs to know.
The truth is darker than she imagined. Each girl was meant to die young but instead struck a bargain with Death, serving as his agents by guiding souls to the other side, through murder. Roslyn makes a deal of her own: she’ll join them, and if she proves herself worthy, Death will reveal what really happened to her sister. But when everything goes terribly wrong, Roslyn must decide whether she can outwit Death himself or if the cost of answers is more than she can survive.
Emotionally devastating and unsettling, the story delivers sharp twists as Death’s bargains grow increasingly complex. Death emerges as the most compelling figure, elusive, eerie, and impossible to fully understand, while the girls, especially the free-spirited Skye, add depth and humanity. The melancholy ending lingers, leaving you to reflect on how we choose to spend the limited time we’re given.
Thank you to Penguin Teen for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Roslyn is unraveling after the death of her larger-than-life sister, Adeline. Where Adeline lived recklessly and broke every rule, Roslyn chose a careful, predictable life. Now, in the wake of her sister’s apparent suicide, Roslyn is left searching for meaning and for answers.
When a mysterious, seemingly carefree group of girls draws her in, Roslyn is desperate enough to follow. Her pull toward them becomes irresistible once she discovers Adeline was once part of the group herself. Whatever they’re hiding, Roslyn needs to know.
The truth is darker than she imagined. Each girl was meant to die young but instead struck a bargain with Death, serving as his agents by guiding souls to the other side, through murder. Roslyn makes a deal of her own: she’ll join them, and if she proves herself worthy, Death will reveal what really happened to her sister. But when everything goes terribly wrong, Roslyn must decide whether she can outwit Death himself or if the cost of answers is more than she can survive.
Emotionally devastating and unsettling, the story delivers sharp twists as Death’s bargains grow increasingly complex. Death emerges as the most compelling figure, elusive, eerie, and impossible to fully understand, while the girls, especially the free-spirited Skye, add depth and humanity. The melancholy ending lingers, leaving you to reflect on how we choose to spend the limited time we’re given.
Thank you to Penguin Teen for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Roslyn's sister died a year ago under mysterious circumstances and she is having a hard time moving on when a group of girls show up in her town. They invite her to a party and revel they knew her sister before she died. They ask her to travel with them across the country like her sister did. Desperate to know what happened to her sister and why she changed so much before she died she decides to go with them. She soon finds out these girls have a deal with Death himself to reap souls for him in return of their lives being spared by Death. She then has to decide if knowing what happened to her sister is worth making the same deal.
I really enjoyed this book as it was not like anything I have ever read before. You feel for these girls and the predicament they are in. It makes you look at yourself and think if you could do this as well or if it would be too much. Could you take someone who was destined to die anyway or would your human nature make you want to save them all? It makes you question your own moral compass.
The one thing I had a hard time understanding was from Roslyn's perspective why does she feel she needs to know what happened to her sister. Autopsy was inconclusive, but also she is gone, there isn't anything you can do to change that. I guess I wouldn't think making a deal with Death would be worth knowing what happened to her, so in that aspect I got frustrated with her and her choices. The other girls made the deals to save their own lives, but Roslyn just wanted knowledge in return.
I really enjoyed this book as it was not like anything I have ever read before. You feel for these girls and the predicament they are in. It makes you look at yourself and think if you could do this as well or if it would be too much. Could you take someone who was destined to die anyway or would your human nature make you want to save them all? It makes you question your own moral compass.
The one thing I had a hard time understanding was from Roslyn's perspective why does she feel she needs to know what happened to her sister. Autopsy was inconclusive, but also she is gone, there isn't anything you can do to change that. I guess I wouldn't think making a deal with Death would be worth knowing what happened to her, so in that aspect I got frustrated with her and her choices. The other girls made the deals to save their own lives, but Roslyn just wanted knowledge in return.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Roslyn is consumed with the mysterious death of her older sister, Adeline. Her grief is all-encompassing and, despite the passage of time, she cannot get over it. Enter a strange caravan of teenage girls, apparently passing through town. They stop at the diner where Roslyn works and invite her to a party that evening at an empty house that is for sale. During the evening, Roslyn discovers that these girls knew Adeline in the months before her death when she was sent to visit her aunt up north. The girls invite Roslyn to travel with them, much like her sister did. Hoping to find out more about her sister’s death, Roslyn agrees and heads off with them to parts unknown. But Roslyn’s new band of friends have a secret that they don’t wish to share and that secret is death, himself.
This was an unusual book, but not exactly my cup of tea. The premise of “Death” as a corporeal being who selects teenage girls to do his bidding is an interesting one. However, the novel contained just a tad too much teenage angst for me. Not much happens in the book, except for various deaths assigned to the young women to complete. There is a budding relationship between Shiloh and Roslyn, however, it is ambiguous and never really gets off the ground.
I note that this novel’s genre is YA and maybe that’s why it didn’t do much for me.
I’d like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel.
This was an unusual book, but not exactly my cup of tea. The premise of “Death” as a corporeal being who selects teenage girls to do his bidding is an interesting one. However, the novel contained just a tad too much teenage angst for me. Not much happens in the book, except for various deaths assigned to the young women to complete. There is a budding relationship between Shiloh and Roslyn, however, it is ambiguous and never really gets off the ground.
I note that this novel’s genre is YA and maybe that’s why it didn’t do much for me.
I’d like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel.
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