Drop-Dead Gorgeous

Rotten Apple #3

by Elizabeth Lenhard

With Rachel's flair for fashion, it's easy to stand out---especially in a town as dead as hers! But when a new girl shows up at school looking tall and pale and totally tragic, suddenly Rachel's not the only one turning heads!

Rachel has a plan to take Lily's style from rags to runway-ready, but she can't help noticing Lily's a little, well, odd. She won't let Rachel near her family and spaces out so much she could pass for a zombie.

Could there be more to Lily's problems than terrible fashion sense?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Horror, Childrens, Fiction, Supernatural

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Nhu]

I loved the friendship between Rachel and Lily. Enjoyed their getting to know and understanding each other.

~~~~~

Only small annoyance was the supposedly boy crush. Don’t need it, don’t want it. Friendship was good enough. Plus, there was more chemistry between Lily and Rachel. Not a big annoyance, it’s all for fun. I laughed at how much I thought “Where’d he come from?”, “What is this tension?”, and “This is unnecessary”. Although cute scenes, I’d rather Lily and Rachel develop, if there were to be any romance. I mean, feelings happened after Lily arrived, they’ve know each other for a while so why only after Lily’s transfer that anything happens? Hmm? Not needed.

Mrs. Greene, isn’t it slightly against child labor laws that you make one kid makes all your dozen of costumes by herself? The poor girl.

Loved how the community accepts the entire zombie family and they even have jobs to help clean the town. In real life? Ahaha.

[Marsha]

I have to admire Rachel Harkness’s spunk. She’s stuck in a one-horse, podunk little town. But she doesn’t let its limited resources depress her. She has a quirky sense of fashion, her own unique style, that rebels against the t-shirt-and-shorts mentality of the other children. While the other students gawk and stare at her wacky ensembles, she blithely goes about creating her own fabulous clothes and dreaming of being a fashion designer in a big city.

The author ties this in with the new girl in school, a literal zombie (although it takes Rachel a long time to figure that out). Rachel befriends her, gives her makeovers, shares her clothes and tries to ignore Lily’s odder...proclivities. Rachel isn’t a mean girl or a popular girl. But her natural sunny disposition means she’s eager to welcome Lily. Her innate decency holds fast even when Lily reveals her true nature.

This YA story is about a true friendship between an odd couple. Rachel is determined to accept Lily for who and what she is and to help others do the same and succeeds against all odds. (At times, she tries a little too hard, even when common sense would dictate saving her own skin over that of a member of the rampaging hungry undead.) It’s so much more delightful than a problematic romance between a teenage girl and her centuries-old vampire boyfriend.

Kids who like stories about zombies and muse about how you would make an existence with them will enjoy this unusual slant about these so-called brain munchers.

[NBT Writer]

It was a good book that I highly suggest. However, it did take a little while to get to the point. But I also enjoyed the pacing, again I also wished it got to the point. I highly recommend.

[baz]

Read a childhood book to pass time. This is so surprisingly gory for something made for 4th graders but I rock with it

[Anne]

Silly, junior high zombie, fashion book. A fun, quick read.

[Breanne]

Lu en français

[Rori simmons]

LOVED IT!

[Vivian]

I loved this book a lot. It made me laugh and even sad at times. Overall it was interesting and I plan to read it again for fun.

[Aliya Hassan]

I like this book because it has a fashion geek. Rachel wants to make lily look glamurous but then she figures out her big secret. i reccomend this book

[Elizabeth]

this is one of my favorite because it expresses how to treat people that have flaws and how to care for them.

[Terris]

I think it was good when the new girl came in omg but Rachel is like way into fashion am I right or am I right and I think Rachel was like jelly over the new girl a little but the new girl was kinda odd. so I don't really know. but im very intresting