Pasadena

by Sherri L. Smith

Beautiful clothes, bad habits, ugly secrets: Sherri L. Smith probes the vulnerable underbellies of a lot of toothy sharks in this page-turning California noir." E. Lockhart, New York Times bestselling author ofWe Were Liars
Bad things happen everywhere. Even in the land of sun and roses.
When Jude's best friend is found dead in a swimming pool, her family calls it an accident. Her friends call it suicide. But Jude calls it what it is: murder. And someone has to pay.
Now everyone is a suspect family and friends alike. And Jude is digging up the past like bones from a shallow grave. Anything to get closer to the truth. But that's the thing about secrets. Once they start turning up, nothing is sacred. And Jude's got a few skeletons of her own.
In a homage to the great noir stories of Los Angeles, award-winning author Sherri L. Smith'sPasadenais a tale of love, damage and salvation set against the backdrop of California's City of Roses. From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Realistic Fiction

Audio CD

First published September 13, 2016

About the author

Sherri L. Smith is the award-winning author of YA novels LUCY THE GIANT, SPARROW, HOT SOUR SALTY SWEET, FLYGIRL and ORLEANS. In October 2015, she makes her middle grade debut with THE TOYMAKER’S APPRENTICE from G.P. Putnam and Sons for Penguin Random House.

Sherri has worked in film, animation, comic books and construction. Her books have been listed as Amelia Bloomer, American Library Association Best Books for Young People, and Junior Library Guild Selections. FLYGIRL was the 2009 California Book Awards Gold Medalist.

She loves her family, travel, chocolate chip cookies, reading, and and a really good cup of tea.

Reviews

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/



I can’t even believe I’m about to admit this, but Goodreads gets the credit for me requesting Pasadena from the library. This was one of the “recommended to you” pop-ups that clog rarely show up on my feed and . . . . dat cover. The synopsis didn’t sound too shabby either.

After a superbadawful Jude decides to check out of the Hotel California and visit her father across the country. She barely touches down on the East Coast when she is given some horrible news – her best friend Maggie was found dead in a swimming pool . . . . .



Jude hightails it back to LaLa Land and begins questioning this so-called suicide. Yes, Maggie had threatened to kill herself before, but it was all for the drama of it – not because she was actually suicidal. And to be found with a bellyful of drugs? That’s definitely not Maggie’s style so Jude decides to take it upon herself to find out exactly what happened the night before Maggie’s body was discovered.

Like I said, I got this from the library. When I picked it up and discovered it had a blurb by E. Lokhart of We Were Liars fame, I was a little terrified. Imagine my surprise when I didn’t want to kill this one with fire. Maybe it was that I enjoyed the writing style more and though it to be a YA version of Megan Abbott, or that I wasn’t really that worried about the “whodunit” but instead just went with the flow of the story in general, or maybe it was because of Jude . . . .



Unfortunately I read a physical copy of this at my kid’s baseball game and couldn’t find my post-its so you’ll just have to trust me when I say she was a real snarky asshole and I couldn’t get enough of her – or go read Bonnie’s review since she knows how to use her words better than I do.

Whatever the case, I ended up finding Pasadena to be . . . .

[Stacee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I downloaded this on a whim because I loved the cover and the synopsis and I'm always intrigued to see how authors portray SoCal...this was not what I was expecting.

What I loved:

•The back and forth way the story was told. It was an effective way to "meet" Maggie and gave an interesting peek into their friendship.

•The noir feel of everything

•The explanation {even if it felt a bit like a cop out}

What I disliked:

•Pretty much everything else.

Sadly, I couldn't get behind Jude as a MC. I wanted to feel the heartbreak with her, but she's just so rude and bitchy and horribly mean to her friends that I couldn't. I struggled to root for her in any way.

Overall, this book had so much potential for me to love it, but ultimately it wasn't for me.

**Huge thanks to GP Putnam's Sons and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jude is visiting her estranged father on the East Coast when she receives the call about Maggie. They tell her she committed suicide. That she was found floating in her pool with a belly full of drugs. But that simply doesn’t make sense, because everyone loved Maggie Kim’s vivacious and charismatic attitude; she was a girl who truly had everything to live for. Jude flies back home immersing herself in the mystery surround her death, convinced that it wasn’t suicide and that she’s going to discover the person truly responsible for her death.

‘Maggie Kim was the sun in our universe. We all circle her. Never the other way around. And now that she’s gone, we’re shifting orbits.’

Maggie was Jude’s best friend, however, once her absence becomes all the more apparent, she begins to recognize that Jude wasn’t necessarily Maggie’s best friend. Her group of friends are a diverse bunch that come together to celebrate her life but clash constantly with one another. Maggie was the bond that linked everyone and now that she’s gone, there’s nothing left to keep the friendships from surviving. As Jude begins looking beneath the glossy veneer of Maggie Kim’s life, she starts to realize that there was a reason for it: to cover all those fine cracks hidden just below the surface. All the unexpected secrets slowly being uncovered that Jude would have expected a best friend to confide to her. We’re frequently shown flashbacks of time spent with Maggie, and with all the new knowledge she’s exposed, Jude reflects on these encounters with her best friend in a different light.

While the mystery itself was appealing on its own merits, the coming-of-age type story and self-reflection it causes Jude to go through is a surprisingly heavy yet affecting facet. The story uncovers Jude’s own past, the inner demons which she is constantly struggling with, and forces her to finally bring them to the light. The glitzy L.A. backdrop is vivid, describing the stifling heat and the wildfires that constantly consume the hillsides surrounding the city. Each aspect of this story is written with a startling intensity that manages to be completely captivating. Pasadena is just my second read by this author, Orleans being my first, and I continue to be riveted by each story she’s told, regardless of genre.

I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Dahlia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man I really liked this. Veronica Mars-esque noir-y stuff is completely my jam. I didn't really buy the actual story behind the way things went down, but apparently my tear ducts did not care because I totally lost it at the end.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The thing I’m finally learning is that someone can be your best friend in the world, but you’re not necessarily theirs.”

Pasadena is first and foremost a Noir story. I think it’s important to know going in. If you’re expecting a heartwarming tale of friendship and hope then you certainly came to the wrong place. There are a multitude of shadows surrounding these characters. No one is particularly innocent. Well… maybe a couple of the characters are genuinely good but everyone else consistently makes terrible decisions and has those shadows surrounding their souls. But that’s the key to any good Noir story, the characters are deeply flawed and sometimes there isn’t a happy ending.

The protagonist, Jude, is an asshole. Let’s not put on airs and try to pretend she’s not. She’s supposed to be an unlikeable protagonist. NOIR! However, even though you may not like her, she’s still pretty fascinating to follow along with. She draws you into her bitterness and you remain engrossed in everything she does. Without spoilers, something incredibly traumatic happened to Jude when she was a child. Instead of the fear or sadness that trauma survivors are commonly depicted as having, Jude is filled with RAGE . There is an inherent anger in being a teenage girl; let alone one who’s survived something horrible. It’s a very compelling character choice to show that unmitigated rage and let the character stew in bitterness. Usually this decision wouldn’t work but in the case of Jude it makes you root for her regardless of whether or not she’s a complete jerk.

“Maggie was my vice. All my bad habits and rash decisions balled up into one beautiful girl.”

Let’s take a moment and talk about Maggie…
THIS WAS THE DUMBEST REASON FOR SUICIDE THAT I’VE EVER HEARD OF! Literally. The. Dumbest. There are about 100 easily obtainable solutions for her “problem” that don’t involve killing herself. The fact that she would decide killing herself was the only solution is entirely inscrutable. I’m baffled by it. It makes zero sense. I think as readers we weren't supposed to understand and empathize with her reasoning. In Noir, sometimes bad things happen to good people for no reason at all. The inscrutability leaves the reader wondering how her thought process could have possibly gone and we will never get an answer. NOIR!


Pasadena was a great Noir story. So if you like that kind of story then this would be an amazing book for you. Personally, this wasn’t really a story that I would want to read again. I’m not saying it’s bad because it’s not. Pasadena is quite intelligent and character driven. It’s a great book in that respect. Personally my tastes just love a happy ending.

[Vikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I reminded me of Everything I Never Told You because it has a similar premise, teenage girl found drowned and everyone suspects suicide but the ones closest to the victim. Maggie is found dead in her swimming pool and her friend Jude is the only person to believe that it is murder not suicide. Maggie is a gregarious, smart teenager who has a lot of friends and was accepted into her first choice university but as the story progresses, she seems to be a different person to different people, being whatever that person needs her to be. As Jude tries to piece together Maggie's last days, she finds out secrets her best friend has been keeping from her, making her question how well she or anyone knew Maggie. This was a great young adult mystery book and I loved the character development and how the story slowly starts to come together.

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Penguin's First to Read Program with no requirement to review book.

[Journey · Rating 1 out of 5]

overdone, flat "i'm damaged because i was molested as a little girl and now i can't love anyone so i put on a tough face" female protagonist, and a really, really stupid cop-out ending. if you're curious: Maggie killed herself because she got into Brown University, which is expensive, and her brother needs an expensive surgery. maybe just... go to a different college?!?? postpone college??? christ

[☆☆Hannah☆☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a book with a whole lot of unlikable characters. Plus the ending was HORRIBLE. I almost gave this 2 stars but then the ending happened and I just couldn't do it.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars: A book with a biting, self deprecating main character, who is unafraid to expose the ugliness under all the glitz and glamour.

Jude is shocked to find herself returning back home to California to bury her best friend. How could Maggie Kim, a girl who was beautiful, smart and wealthy, and one who appeared to have it all kill herself? Jude doesn't believe that Maggie committed suicide, and she is determined to get to the bottom of her friend's death, even if it means exposing every ugly truth and detail, especially in the bright and pretty world of Pasadena, California. The deeper Jude digs, the more unsettling the mystery becomes. No secrets are safe and nothing is sacred when it comes to Jude's scrutiny. Bad things can happen anywhere, but Jude wants to know why Maggie killed herself. Can she find the truth?

What I Liked:
Pasadena is a edgy and biting book with a heroine whom is unfiltered, nasty and unapologetic. This is a book that exposes all the ugliness under the glitz and glamour and the hard truths that lie beneath the facade. This is an unforgettable book that makes no apologies. If you like in your face narrators with bite, this is a book to try.
*It takes some time to get used to Jude's voice, but once you do, the book works. Jude is nasty and her words are harsh. In fact, most of the time she is a straight up bitch. She keeps her friends at arms length and she refuses to let anyone get too close. She is determined and unapologetic when it comes to hunting down the truth behind Maggie's death. However, deep down, there is a scared little girl hiding beneath the mean girl facade. Jude is self destructive and self deprecating, and with good reason as Jude has a few skeletons that fuel her rage. She requires patience, and you may never like her, but she is a character whom you won't forget.
*I enjoyed the mystery. This is a book that is full of secrets. Jude quickly learns she didn't know her best friend as well as she thought, and that everyone has something to hide. I liked that the tale moved back and forth in time, and that I got to know Maggie through Jude's memories. As the story unwinds, there are plenty of secrets and motives for Maggie's murder, but I wasn't prepared for the harsh truth. This is a book that kept me guessing up until the end.
* I loved that this book exposed the truth beneath all the glamour and that the author didn't romanticize the California lifestyle at all. In a world of wealth and privilege, there is plenty of ugly underneath.
*The ending was realistic and satisfying. Even though I wanted a more for Jude. I appreciated that the story stayed true to her character. There are no loose ends or nagging questions with the finale.
*I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Sherri Smith. Ms. Smith is brilliant as Jude. Her voice is edgy and biting, and perfect for Jude's character. I thought the audiobook was fantastic, and if you are interested in this one, I urge you to try the audiobook.
And The Not So Much:
*I think the biggest disappointment for me was that I wanted to see growth and maturity with Jude's character. I think she grew somewhat, but I still wasn't happy where she ended up. I am glad that everything didn't end up rainbows and roses because that would have been completely out of line with her character, but I did want to see her tentatively moving in a new direction.
*This is a book with an entire cast of unlikable characters. I didn't like anyone, except for Joey. It is hard to love a book when you can't stand any of the characters. Still the characters worked for the story because it was all about seeing the secrets beneath the phony facades.
*I was left with a couple of questions about Maggie's death. I understood the how and why, but I still wasn't satisfied with the explanation.

Pasadena was a riveting read. This is not a book for everyone as it is edgy and ugly at times, still I liked the honest, unapologetic tone and the exposure of the secrets and ugliness beneath the glamour and faux veneers. This book features a narrator with a bite, and one who is edgy and mean. I enjoyed the mystery and the story, even if I didn't like the characters. Read this for the writing and the mystery, but don't expect to love the characters.

I borrowed this book from the library. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

intriguing heroine as well as mystery revolving around
her best friend. beyond that, i loved the themes of friendship,
loyalty, family, and secrets. a darkly satisfying read!

[Kate (Looking Glass Reads) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review originally seen on Looking Glass Reads.

Pasadena by Sherri L. Smith is a YA novel. Jude is suddenly called back from the east coast where she was visiting her aunt, cousin, and, theoretically, her father – her best friend is dead. They said it was a suicide. Jude’s just not convinced. It was murder. And she’s going to find out who did it.

Let me start with the small stuff. This is a YA novel. The book is written from the first person point of view. Jude is our narrator, the eyes through which we see. The entire course of the novels takes place in the span of a few days – from the arrival of Jude back in her hometown to the day of her best friend, Maggie’s, funeral. It touched on a lot of issues, a lot of things that should be talked about, most notably, suicide. And how to deal with those, and other issues, in your life.

Or, how to not deal. Because after finishing the novel Jude didn’t change at all, and didn’t learn any lessons. If anything, all she did was admit that she’d been a total ass to nearly every other character in the book, not that she seemed particularly sorry about any of it.

I did like certain things. It was a fast read, so that was good. The cover is pretty. And I actually really liked the flashbacks to conversations Jude had with Maggie throughout the course of the book. It helped us get to know Maggie better, meet her as a character outside of Jude’s inner thoughts, and give the reader insights that Jude couldn’t see or didn’t want to.

Now, for the heavier stuff.

I should be able to relate to Jude very, very well. I, too, lost a very good childhood friend to suicide. I was a year older than Jude at the time, just starting college instead of about to begin senior year in high school.

Theoretically, this should have hit me right in the feels.

Only it didn’t.

Not even close. All it managed to do was tick me off.

My god, I hate Jude. The only thing I can relate to her on is this: that moment when you first hear the news and you don’t believe it. It’s wrong. They’re wrong. It was something else, and you’ll figure it out.

But your brain catches up with your heart quick enough, and beats it back into submission. And then you just feel sad and pretty empty, torn between wanting to be left alone and clinging to the people you love. You aren't busy antagonizing your friends, because you're too afraid that you'll lose them, too.

Everybody except for Jude, that is, who really didn’t seem terribly upset at all. Sure, I get that she was channeling all that emotion into trying to find Maggie’s killer, but it just didn’t come across that way. Jude just came across as cold. She’s awful to her friends. She’s awful to her family. She’s awful to Maggie’s family. She’s even awful during the funeral. And when it comes to light why she might be acting this way? Well, that isn’t dealt with in any sort of meaningful manner. At best, its just a reason. At worst, it’s treated like an excuse, as if we should just forgive Jude of her misdeeds, her attitude, and except that she’ll just be that way forever. Which, now that I think about it, is pretty depressing, dark, and negative.

Also, the ending just didn’t hold up for me. After everything that happened, it was just flat. The delivery and realization of what happened was just…boring? Predictable? Either way, there was no pay out at the end to make me rethink my opinions on the novel.

All in all, Pasadena by Sherri L. Smith was a disappointing read for me. If you like YA books, or frustrating narrators by all means, give it a try.

*I received this book through First to Read in exchange for an honest review.*

[Jenny Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pasadena by Sherri L. Smith is an entertaining young adult novel that’s a compilation of a mystery- thriller and teenage drama.

I had some issues with this novel, but let me start out by saying that I did enjoy reading it. I did. It’s a quick read with interesting characters, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Jude’s best friend Maggie’s body is found dead in a swimming pool. Everyone has a different opinion about the cause of death — accident, suicide, or murder. With Joey’s help, Jude investigates Maggie’s death and unravels secrets in the process.

This novel is more than a story about a dead teenager. It’s about friendship and all of the traumatic crap we have to deal both at home and among our friends. There’s an element of peer pressure because not every character in this novel is into casual sex, drugs, and alcohol. The socioeconomic levels in this circle of friends are broad. Some of the teens live with two wealthy parents in a big house complete with a pool house while others have divorced parents who are dating a slim ball you don’t trust, so you have to lock yourself in your bedroom when he’s home.

What I liked about this novel is that the narrative voice sounded like an authentic gossipy teenager. It dealt with serious topics such as suicide, underage drinking, drugs, teenage sex, and STDs. Combine that with sarcasm and lots of teenage drama, and you have an entertaining novel.

This is a quick read that you can finish in a couple of hours. I was expecting more suspense. It’s hard to develop characters and a mystery plot in such a short novel unless it’s tightly written. This one is only 240 pages, which made it feel like a novella, and it still felt like the pacing was too slow. There’s too much filler that I didn’t think added to the story. That space could have been used to develop the plot and characters more to give the story more depth. There were times when I read a paragraph and thought So what? Move on.

Some of the characters were stereotypical such as Maggie who was beautiful and popular, but she tended to be an attention-seeking slut. Most of the characters either drank or got high, but usually it was both. There was a lot of discussion about fashion and who hates whom. I loved Jude and Joey’s friendship, although Jude took advantage of Joey. He was the ideal friend, but underappreciated. He’d show up at Jude’s house with her favorite coffee and chauffeur her around town. Who doesn’t want a friend like that?

Overall, it’s an enjoyable read. Some people may love this book. I liked it, but I’m just not in love with it.

I obtained a copy of this ARC from Penguin Random House’s First to Read Program in exchange for an honest review.

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[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very solid mystery with more than a few dark secrets to uncover. A quick read and deceptively light, in spite of its substance. Loved the surprise ending!

[Sunil · Rating 4 out of 5]

As first lines go, "Maggie always was a fucking trainwreck. Leave it to her to end up facedown in a swimming pool on the hottest day of summer" are some pretty good ones. These are the lines that call back Jude from her summer vacation to Pasadena to mourn her best friend, Maggie Kim, who apparently, unexpectedly committed suicide. But Jude doesn't accept that explanation: she thinks it was murder.

Pasadena is not the intense, thrilling murder mystery you'd expect it to be for a number of reasons, and these reasons are not necessarily criticisms. First of all, Jude is no Veronica Mars: she has no actual detectiving experience so her "investigation" is based on simple observations and jumping to conclusions, suspect to suspect (which, to be fair, isn't all that different from how Veronica works). But solving her best friend's murder is not an all-consuming drive for her. What the book really focuses on is Maggie's family and friends (ie, the suspects) and how they react to this new hole in their lives. Especially with regards to Maggie's circle of friends, who discover they have a different dynamic with each other now that she's gone. Also...most of them are awful people? This is noir, folks. So Jude goes around a lushly rendered Southern California with her friend Joey (who's totally into her) as she reflects on who her awful friends are, which ones are less awful, how awful she may have been to them, and Maggie's general fabulousness/awfulness (she really is like a Korean Lilly Kane).

I did have some initial qualms about the story revolving around the death of an Asian girl, but she's far from the only Asian character in the book, and the role of dead wild child so often goes to a white blonde girl that it ended up being a refreshing change. Maggie is one of the more fully rendered characters on the page, actually, thanks to Jude's flashbacks. She becomes a fascinating figure by the end.

Jude, on the other hand, is not a particularly compelling character for most of the book. I had a hard time getting a grasp on who she was besides Girl Whose Best Friend Died. The first-person noir narration doesn't allow her much room for emotion (it does leave her room for snark and wit but that's not her jam, apart from the occasional wry, world-weary remark). She feels closed-off, cold. But then again, isn't that the noir hero's way? Would I have felt differently about her had she been a male narrator? We expect that of them. Jude gets more interesting in the last quarter of the book, though, and much about her begins to make more sense.

Pasadena is utterly unlike Orleans ; I am impressed with Sherri L. Smith's range. Pasadena is a quick read, like a glass of iced tea on a hot summer day. That's what I like about it: it's this very noir tale told completely in the sunlight. Secrets don't just come out at night.

[Jess M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - review to come.

[sage · Rating 1 out of 5]

“One more year after this one,” I reminded her. The future, as they say, was wide open.”

Gonna start by saying it's an easy read. I can't really pinpoint the writing style. Like it's kind of a ''we were liars'' type of thing. And I hated we were liars but this was a BIT better, like it didn't have that atrocious writing that wwl had. I also liked this book for the fact we also got to see Maggie, and I quite liked Maggie tbh. We are gonna ignore the fact that I hated everyone else.
jude. Couldn't stand that bitch Jude. She had no motive to be so fucking bitchy and for what??? It wasn't even the kind of ''classy bitchy'' ''brat bitchy'', just ''narcissist bitchy'' and I hated that. HATED. If I see Jude on the street ITS ON. And her whole ''Edina is copying Maggie, omg'' YOU ARE DOING THE SAME THING BOO.
THEN JOEY omgggg stop being a bottom. Stop fucking being a puppy and go do your thing bro. I hate simps like that.
And the other characters were as irrelevant as my maths teacher will be in two years. Like they could just cease to exist and I couldn't care any less.
Parker, the brother was just meh. I thought he killed her I was kind of right tho.
Because I mentioned we were liars, this book had me believing for more than half of it that Jude has schizophrenia and SHE was the one that actually killed Maggie. It would've been EVEN better. Like I would've liked that and gave it more stars for that alone. It would've been a really good plot twist. Better than whatever that ending was.
The book could've done without those last two chapters, I actually wanted to stop but in the end I decided to read them (my mistake). Just think how cool it would've been for the book to end with Maggie saying ''I'll miss you all'' LIKE ICONIC SHIT RIGHT THERE. But no. We got whatever that ending was with useless info that literally didn't add anything to the plot, just filling those 250 pages.
Ngl I had this book on my tbr for so long because of the cover and name, but didn't expect much so it didn't change my opinion on what i thought it would be.

“August in Pasadena. Fire, heat, and ash as the Santa Ana winds blow out of the west, scouring the dead fronds from palm trees, igniting the manzanita and chaparral. It’s the song of Southern California, fire, mud, and earthquake; tear it down, build it up. The earth shakes, the houses burn, and people die, damned and unforgiven, or saved. But the rest of us remain.”

[charlotte, · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rep: Korean character, Chinese American character

CWs: suicide, sexual abuse, past rape, emotional abuse, stalking

there were just too many things that pissed me off tbh

• jude does not develop one bit, like there were hints that she could right at the end, but when i've sat through an entire book already?

• she's a bitch and everyone else is a bitch and i know she has trauma and all but god

• are u kidding me with that ending maggie rly did kill herself because she got into an expensive uni with no financial aid and her brother's medical treatment was also expensive and her family had money problems, are there not, i don't know, OTHER SOLUTIONS TO THIS

• also the treatment/descriptions of parker felt a bit ableist but i've not been able to find other reviews that discuss it, so

[Bryan Stubbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing!

[Kari · Rating 1 out of 5]

In Pasadena, Jude's best friend is found dead and it seems she has committed suicide. Jude comes back from vacation and is convinced that she was murdered. She spend the week leading up to the funeral trying to solve the mystery of what really happened to Maggie.

This was a random pick from my library. I did finish the book, but I can't really say that I enjoyed it. In fact, I didn't like it at all. I was hoping for a mystery, kind of like that of a Veronica Mars mystery, but I didn't find that here. I'm not sure what kept me reading. I guess I was hoping for a better ending than what I got. The ending was just awful. As in, I thought, "That's it?".

What really happened to Maggie was tragic, but honestly made little sense to me. Then again, maybe that is the point. Jude was such an unlikable character. I get that she has had a crappy life and had some awful things happen to her, but there was absolute no growth in her character at all. I felt bad for her friends, especially Joey. She didn't want to change and was content to be miserable. I can't get behind a character like that.

I don't think this is appropriate for younger YA readers as there is a lot of mature content covered in this book. But in reality, I'm not sure I would recommend this story to anyone.

[Tori · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was by far one of the worst books I have ever read (listened to). The only thing that kept me from abandoning it was the frequent mentions of streets and places I'm familiar with. I could only listen to this for about 30 minutes at a time because the protagonist was so awful I just couldn't stand it for longer than that. Jude is probably my most hated character I've ever read about. Worse even than Professor Umbridge.

In addition to the awful main character, the rest of the cast was sniveling and unrelateable.

And the writing? It was so pretentious it was like the color of the sky right before an earthquake. In other words, full of stupid metaphors and faux depth.

The end and who really killed Maggie was so weak. I'll admit I didn't see it coming, but only because I couldn't invest any actual brainpower in this story. It was so stupid. Like there were so many other options other than killing herself? She could have gone to a different school, she could have not gone to college, she could have GOTTEN A JOB?! There was literally no reason for her to die and it really just seemed like the author was trying to glorify teen suicide. Excellent message, Sherri L. Smith.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 4 out of 5]

GRADE: B-

Jude's best friend Maggie committed suicide, or was it murder? The coroner ruled drowning due to an overdose, but Jude isn't buying it. She thinks her friend was murdered and sets out to find the murderer.

Jude treats people unkindly. She's thoughtless with an acid tongue. For instance, at a wake with Maggie's friends, she asks one friend about his STD in front of the group and his girlfriend. She's been hurt by adults who should have loved and protected her and shows a surprising lack of grief for Maggie. Still I rooted and wanted her to do and be better.

I enjoyed Sherri L Smith's writing style very much and the voice she gave Jude was beautiful and believable. I wish Smith had made me feel more for Maggie or Jude, but the pain of Maggie's death felt more cerebral than emotional. The ending felt anticlimactic and unrealistic.

PASADENA is a quick read spanning several days between when Jude hears about the suicide and the funeral. I finished in several hours.

I received a complimentary e-copy of PASADENA from First Reads in exchange for my honest review.

[Julie Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Suicide is such a taboo and we never want to think about someone we love ending their life. But what if they do, what if they choose to leave us or dare we say it, someone ended it for them. In this amazing novel we follow Jude through the loss of her best friend. Jude does not think it's possible for Maggie to take her own life but how well do we really know our friends.

This novel is well written and brilliantly captures the raw emotion of loosing someone you love fort he first time. The character development was great and I loved the book and read it one setting. I recommend it for YA fans and those that like a good story about life.

[Nicholas George · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one called out to me because I live in Pasadena. (Actually, though, it could be set anywhere--the story takes place all over the L.A. area.) There's really not much to this. It reads like the outline of a Y.A. teen angst/romance/mystery. None of the characters are very well-defined. It was impossible to work up any concern about any of them.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Jude is visiting the East Coast, she learns that her best friend from home has just committed suicide. In shock, Jude flies back home immediately to participate in the funeral preparations, as well as gather information about the circumstances of Maggie's death. After speaking to Maggie's family and some of her friends, Jude comes to the conclusion that there is no way that this tragic death could possibly be a suicide. Jude is the only person who believes that Maggie was murdered, and she will burn bridges, distress her mother, and manipulate her friend circle until she finds the answers she is looking for.

Pasadena is a young adult noir that transports the reader into the seedy underbelly of the high school social strata. In many ways, this book reminds me of Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, but Smith's take on the teenage suicide story has a more youthful sensibility. Jude's narrative gives the reader a glimpse into the complexities of grief and trauma through the eyes of a girl who is trying to survive her teen years. A gruff, brassy person, Jude exemplifies the teen version of a hard-boiled sleuth, which gives her the edge as she navigates Maggie's motley crew of drug addicts, hangers-on, and beach bums. This edginess initially gives the reader the sense that Jude has a finely tuned BS-meter, but as the story progresses it becomes apparent that this is all bravado, and that she may be living with a dark secret behind this mask.

Read the rest of the review here: https://littlewednesday.com/blog/2018...

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Until the last chapter or so, this kept me turning the pages so quickly that I had planned to give it a fourth star. Then, the ending, such as it was, happened. I found the "revelations" about Maggie's character to be so difficult to believe that my enjoyment of the story was damaged, and the non-ending involving the main character only made that worse.
The "noir" aspects of the story really weren't. Yes, bad things happened. Yes, the main character was so damaged by what happened to her as a child that her behavior still hasn't recovered as a teen. That's not really noir...that's usually a brand of crime fiction, and while there is an ongoing mystery about Maggie's death, it's not really dealt with as a murder mystery. The "noir" label kept me guessing, to the point where I kept looking for clues, but they just weren't there for the most part. The subplot involving Luke and his photos finally made sense, but even so...I just couldn't like Jude, the main character. Yes, the story only takes place over the course of a few days, but the story suggests that there's been no character growth on her part over the course of several years, and she's just a jerk in ways that aren't justified...and all of her "friends" know it, and call her on it, repeatedly.
Was the book worth reading? Sort of, because there were some really good parts. Not a great book, though, because of too many characters that didn't seem like they were worth reading about.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this book wanted to be more mysterious and “noir” than it actually was. The MC, Jude, doesn’t believe her best friend Maggie could have committed suicide, so Jude’s dead-set on finding out who could have murdered her. But her whole process of “investigating” seems so ridiculously underwhelming. All of this is going one while we’re constantly being reminded we’re in Southern California.
I couldn’t help but think of:


Another thing that annoyed me, was how rude Jude was to everybody. She’s even rude to the only real friend she has left! As the book goes on, we’re given a “reason” from her past to sort of explain the person she has become, but it’s given so late, that it’s hard to turn back from that initial dislike.

At this point, the only thing that saved his book for me was the author’s writing, and the fact that she was able to keep me reading all the way to the end, so for that I was able to give an extra star.

[Ashlynn Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this really felt like a Veronica Mars fan fiction. The writing wasn't bad but the main character, Jude, was INCREDIBLY unlikeable. Naturally there is backstory that explains her really mean attitude.

Overall, I liked the story. I liked trying to figure out what really happened to Maggie Kim and in the end I absolutely cried when the truth is revealed. But Jude? Come on man. It wouldn't kill her to be freaking nice for five seconds.

It was really hard for me to enjoy the book because of how much I disliked Jude. Eventually EVENTUALLY she starts to get a little better and then NOPE back to the usual.

This isn't a very articulate review but basically, cool story, bad characters.

Also: HATED Jude's mom. A LOT.

[Taylor Watters]

In my book Pasadeana Maggie, Jude's best friend was found dead in her swimming pool. Jude is on a vacation and she has to fly back as soon as possible to see what has happened. The night before they think that Maggie was on a date with someone she had just met. So it could have been a date rape. When Jude arrives back to the scene she goes into Maggie's room as she sits on the bed she thinks what could've happened to her best friend. She thinks of the panties that Maggie told her about, they make her feel seductive. When Jude looks for the panties they are gone, and tests done revealed that there were date rape drugs in her system. So is it a pretty known fact that she was murdered.

A couple things I liked about this book were that it kept me wanting to read. It also was a problem that is kind of common today. I didn't like that towards the end it started to drag out. I would recommend this book to teenagers.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be a fun YA whodunit, but it was just kind of sad (in more than one way). The author kind of gave up on the thriller/mystery aspect of the story and kept trying to add in more and more things. I guess in the end it's about how suicide can seem like the only answer and the difficulty of moving on for the people left behind. And somehow it's also about Jude's trauma. I didn't really enjoy it but it was at least a quick read.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read or I should say quick listen as I read it on audiobook. I love books about Los Angeles and this one did not disappoint with its descriptions of Pasadena, Malibu, fires, earthquakes and the searingly hot season that is the Santa Ana wind time. The plot is somewhat predictable but the pacing is quick and the story is compelling. Nothing deep but a good read for the commute and for doing mundane tasks around home and office