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Deadgirl #3
Goneward
Between junior and senior year, a magical time exists . . . the final summer of high school.
Lucy Day and her friends (mostly) survived last year's encounter with serial killers, a teenage sorcerer, new romance, and drama class. But - as usual for Team Deadgirl - the horror never ends, there's more monsters to slay, and magic is the worst.
A roadtrip for answers leads to new questions, strange allies, and the wrath of an ancient undead girl named Imogen Dane. What strange locales will they discover? Will they all make it back home? Did anyone bring snacks?
Dying's Easy. Revenge is Hard.
Lucy Day and her friends (mostly) survived last year's encounter with serial killers, a teenage sorcerer, new romance, and drama class. But - as usual for Team Deadgirl - the horror never ends, there's more monsters to slay, and magic is the worst.
A roadtrip for answers leads to new questions, strange allies, and the wrath of an ancient undead girl named Imogen Dane. What strange locales will they discover? Will they all make it back home? Did anyone bring snacks?
Dying's Easy. Revenge is Hard.
- GenresYoung AdultParanormal
404 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 30, 2017
2 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
B.C. Johnson
12 books59 followersB.C. Johnson lives in Southern California with his beautiful wife Gina, his fluffy/angry Corgi-mix Luna, and his destructive Viking sons Dash and Wyatt. He writes about snarky characters being snarky while supernatural things try to eat them. When he’s not playing video games, watching Marvel movies, or just generally being a ninth-level dork, he’s thinking about doing all that stuff. All of his books, blogs, essays, and manifestos can be read at bc-johnson.com.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 18, 2018
The Deadgirl series comes highly recommended by one of my favorite bloggers, Roberta at Offbeat YA, and I’m so glad I picked it up. One of the best things about her blog is that, whether or not I love the books she recommends, it’s guaranteed that I will have never read anything quite like them before. As advertised, she truly has a knack for finding the strange and unusual. If you’re tired of the mainstream or at all interested in YA fiction that doesn’t fit the mold, I couldn’t recommend her blog more. There are spoilers ahead for Deadgirl and Deadgirl: Ghostlight. Spoilers for Goneward will be clearly marked. Trigger warnings: death, blood, violence, body horror.
After finally admitting to her parents that she’s a phantom, Lucy and her friends take off on a (not entirely approved) roadtrip to visit her mentor, Puck, in Arizona. The deal she made with the wraith, Imogen, is coming back to haunt her in a serious way. Since Lucy didn’t deliver three souls to her, Imogen is now bent on destroying Lucy’s life and everyone she loves. With Puck’s help and Zack picking up minor tricks from Anika’s spellbook, they’re hoping to find a way to stop her forever–but Imogen’s power and thirst for vengeance may be even greater than they expected.
This series just keeps getting better. While Deadgirl was pure middle of the road for me, it had a lot of potential, and it’s so exciting to see that play out in the following books. Ghostlight was better and, if possible, I think I like Goneward even more. Johnson’s paranormal world is solidly established but still comes with an array of problems for the characters to face, and it’s unlike any other world I’ve ever seen. It might have things in common with other afterlife stories like Christopher Pike’s Remember Me, but it is entirely its own thing. I love how much I don’t know what to expect (but not because the rules of the supernatural world are flimsy or changeable–they are rock solid and unforgiving), and how Johnson isn’t afraid to take his characters into the darkest of places. This book does pull in some Hopi mythology, and while it felt respectful to me (with the inclusion of a few interesting Native American side characters), I would defer to #ownvoices reviews for the final word on that.
The cast has grown on me so much. Lucy’s narrative is still distinctly sassy, but it’s toned down so that it isn’t interrupting the story so much. I like that she has a smartass comment even in the face of things worse than death, and I think that’s a feature that teenage audiences will appreciate as well. Her love interest is sidelined somewhat in this book, but I’m hard-pressed to see where he would have fit more into the story. In contrast, Zack’s character takes a much larger role. This is the first book to have a POV that isn’t Lucy’s, and while Zack is a fairly run-of-the-mill narrator by comparison, it works for the story that’s being told. It also made me appreciate Lucy’s quirks that much more. Morgan, my queen, is also front and center in this book. She’s back in fighting form after the last book’s setbacks, and she’s pretty much always the toughest character on the page (barring Lucy, who can take a lot more punches considering her general deadness). Lucy’s family also continues to play a strong role, which is both realistic (where are all the parents in YA fiction?) and sometimes heart-warming. I still wanted more Puck in this book, but I also appreciate that Lucy has to handle most of her problems without her mentor. Better character development that way.
The alternating perspectives keep the plot moving at a quick pace (although there’s occasionally some confusion about whose chapter it is). I’m not sure about the timeline though. There’s a beginning chapter that comes from the middle of the plot that doesn’t seem particularly necessary; it doesn’t really set up tension, and it’s a little confusing without later context. It feels a little like someone plucked it out of the middle of the book and stuck it at the front. The rest of the timeline is straightforward though, and the action never really lets up. Lucy and her friends face worse and bigger threats than ever, and the consequences are high. Ghostlight should have prepared me for how dark this book was going to get, but it didn’t–it really didn’t. It’s far grittier than the average YA, even for YA horror. I’m anxiously awaiting the final installment to see how things work out for these characters.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. TURN BACK BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.
I was in no way prepared for Cortney’s death. Lucy has supernaturally bad luck when it comes to love interests. I’m surprised/sad to see him gone, but the stakes are high enough that the novel probably needed a main character death. It’s also a little circular that Lucy saved him in Ghostlight only for him to die here anyway, and I wonder if Daphne has anything to say about fate in that respect. In some ways, Morgan’s ending is even worse, since she lost everything that makes a life “her life” except her own personality and a couple friends. It was sadder than I expected, but I’m glad she’s still in the story and interested to see how she handles that. (But what are we going to do without all the descriptions of Morgan’s bangin’ body?)
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
After finally admitting to her parents that she’s a phantom, Lucy and her friends take off on a (not entirely approved) roadtrip to visit her mentor, Puck, in Arizona. The deal she made with the wraith, Imogen, is coming back to haunt her in a serious way. Since Lucy didn’t deliver three souls to her, Imogen is now bent on destroying Lucy’s life and everyone she loves. With Puck’s help and Zack picking up minor tricks from Anika’s spellbook, they’re hoping to find a way to stop her forever–but Imogen’s power and thirst for vengeance may be even greater than they expected.
This series just keeps getting better. While Deadgirl was pure middle of the road for me, it had a lot of potential, and it’s so exciting to see that play out in the following books. Ghostlight was better and, if possible, I think I like Goneward even more. Johnson’s paranormal world is solidly established but still comes with an array of problems for the characters to face, and it’s unlike any other world I’ve ever seen. It might have things in common with other afterlife stories like Christopher Pike’s Remember Me, but it is entirely its own thing. I love how much I don’t know what to expect (but not because the rules of the supernatural world are flimsy or changeable–they are rock solid and unforgiving), and how Johnson isn’t afraid to take his characters into the darkest of places. This book does pull in some Hopi mythology, and while it felt respectful to me (with the inclusion of a few interesting Native American side characters), I would defer to #ownvoices reviews for the final word on that.
The cast has grown on me so much. Lucy’s narrative is still distinctly sassy, but it’s toned down so that it isn’t interrupting the story so much. I like that she has a smartass comment even in the face of things worse than death, and I think that’s a feature that teenage audiences will appreciate as well. Her love interest is sidelined somewhat in this book, but I’m hard-pressed to see where he would have fit more into the story. In contrast, Zack’s character takes a much larger role. This is the first book to have a POV that isn’t Lucy’s, and while Zack is a fairly run-of-the-mill narrator by comparison, it works for the story that’s being told. It also made me appreciate Lucy’s quirks that much more. Morgan, my queen, is also front and center in this book. She’s back in fighting form after the last book’s setbacks, and she’s pretty much always the toughest character on the page (barring Lucy, who can take a lot more punches considering her general deadness). Lucy’s family also continues to play a strong role, which is both realistic (where are all the parents in YA fiction?) and sometimes heart-warming. I still wanted more Puck in this book, but I also appreciate that Lucy has to handle most of her problems without her mentor. Better character development that way.
The alternating perspectives keep the plot moving at a quick pace (although there’s occasionally some confusion about whose chapter it is). I’m not sure about the timeline though. There’s a beginning chapter that comes from the middle of the plot that doesn’t seem particularly necessary; it doesn’t really set up tension, and it’s a little confusing without later context. It feels a little like someone plucked it out of the middle of the book and stuck it at the front. The rest of the timeline is straightforward though, and the action never really lets up. Lucy and her friends face worse and bigger threats than ever, and the consequences are high. Ghostlight should have prepared me for how dark this book was going to get, but it didn’t–it really didn’t. It’s far grittier than the average YA, even for YA horror. I’m anxiously awaiting the final installment to see how things work out for these characters.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. TURN BACK BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.
I was in no way prepared for Cortney’s death. Lucy has supernaturally bad luck when it comes to love interests. I’m surprised/sad to see him gone, but the stakes are high enough that the novel probably needed a main character death. It’s also a little circular that Lucy saved him in Ghostlight only for him to die here anyway, and I wonder if Daphne has anything to say about fate in that respect. In some ways, Morgan’s ending is even worse, since she lost everything that makes a life “her life” except her own personality and a couple friends. It was sadder than I expected, but I’m glad she’s still in the story and interested to see how she handles that. (But what are we going to do without all the descriptions of Morgan’s bangin’ body?)
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
July 4, 2017
4 Stars
Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the author. This has not influenced my review.*
This book was great, but I had a couple small issues, so I'll get those out of the way first and then I'll get to the good stuff.
The first chapter threw me off because it was like a prologue that jumped forward in time, and then Ch. 2 jumped back to the time where the previous book left off, but it didn't explain any of that. There was also a new POV introduced that wasn't in the previous books (Zack's), and sometimes time would jump back a bit when we switched POVs to cover a time period that already happened in the other POV, so that threw me off too, but I got used to it all after a bit and enjoyed having both POVs.
I also felt kind of confused about things for the first half or so, but I wonder if that was on purpose. The method of withholding information about things until the last minute made me feel tense and unsettled, and I think the characters were feeling that way too. There was a very ominous feel to the whole book.
Speaking of the mood of the book, like the others, there was some darkness and heaviness in this one, bad things happened, and everything wasn't wrapped up in a neat little package. Except I'd say this was even darker. All the characters had already been so affected and lost so much, and this time they gave up even more. I don't wanna say too much, so I'll just talk about how even just the way they gave up memories in order to help Lucy when she needed to feed was unsettling. Her friends did it willingly, so I don't mean that Lucy did anything wrong, just that I can't imagine giving up my memories, especially ones as important as what they gave. And memories were not the only thing some of them lost.
But one of my favorite things about these books is how realistically the characters have been affected by the horrible things they've been through. They're just teenagers. And they've dealt with things no one should have to deal with. And it has scarred them emotionally. In fact, it's even scarred some of them physically.
Another great thing is the moral question that comes up about whether or not Lucy should even be alive. A lot of paranormal books are about characters who die and then come back, but they rarely ever question the morality of it. In this series though, Lucy's undead status has wrought havoc on the lives of her friends, and so she does sometimes wonder if maybe she should've just stayed dead the way most people do, and it's a good question. But of course it's understandable that she wants to live.
And yet another great (and less heavy) thing was how teenage the characters were. Sometimes Lucy's humor didn't quite work for me, but the characters did feel like teenagers, not overly mature. And I liked the little scenes of them all hanging out and just being teens, breaking stupid rules, arguing over music in the car, etc. I don't know about you all, but, when I was in high school and just hanging out with my friends, we did and said the strangest and most random things. And I feel like that's something that's lacking from most YA books.
So overall, this was a darker and even more thought-provoking addition to a unique series!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in B.C. Johnson's Deadgirl Saga. Anyone who likes YA paranormal, unusual supernatural creatures, and teenage characters who actually act like teenagers.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
---------------------
First Thoughts:
Well I don't... I don't know how I feel about that. Like, it was a good book! It was dark and thought-provoking and unique. But things happened that have made me sad :-( Full review soon!
Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the author. This has not influenced my review.*
This book was great, but I had a couple small issues, so I'll get those out of the way first and then I'll get to the good stuff.
The first chapter threw me off because it was like a prologue that jumped forward in time, and then Ch. 2 jumped back to the time where the previous book left off, but it didn't explain any of that. There was also a new POV introduced that wasn't in the previous books (Zack's), and sometimes time would jump back a bit when we switched POVs to cover a time period that already happened in the other POV, so that threw me off too, but I got used to it all after a bit and enjoyed having both POVs.
I also felt kind of confused about things for the first half or so, but I wonder if that was on purpose. The method of withholding information about things until the last minute made me feel tense and unsettled, and I think the characters were feeling that way too. There was a very ominous feel to the whole book.
Speaking of the mood of the book, like the others, there was some darkness and heaviness in this one, bad things happened, and everything wasn't wrapped up in a neat little package. Except I'd say this was even darker. All the characters had already been so affected and lost so much, and this time they gave up even more. I don't wanna say too much, so I'll just talk about how even just the way they gave up memories in order to help Lucy when she needed to feed was unsettling. Her friends did it willingly, so I don't mean that Lucy did anything wrong, just that I can't imagine giving up my memories, especially ones as important as what they gave. And memories were not the only thing some of them lost.
But one of my favorite things about these books is how realistically the characters have been affected by the horrible things they've been through. They're just teenagers. And they've dealt with things no one should have to deal with. And it has scarred them emotionally. In fact, it's even scarred some of them physically.
Another great thing is the moral question that comes up about whether or not Lucy should even be alive. A lot of paranormal books are about characters who die and then come back, but they rarely ever question the morality of it. In this series though, Lucy's undead status has wrought havoc on the lives of her friends, and so she does sometimes wonder if maybe she should've just stayed dead the way most people do, and it's a good question. But of course it's understandable that she wants to live.
And yet another great (and less heavy) thing was how teenage the characters were. Sometimes Lucy's humor didn't quite work for me, but the characters did feel like teenagers, not overly mature. And I liked the little scenes of them all hanging out and just being teens, breaking stupid rules, arguing over music in the car, etc. I don't know about you all, but, when I was in high school and just hanging out with my friends, we did and said the strangest and most random things. And I feel like that's something that's lacking from most YA books.
So overall, this was a darker and even more thought-provoking addition to a unique series!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in B.C. Johnson's Deadgirl Saga. Anyone who likes YA paranormal, unusual supernatural creatures, and teenage characters who actually act like teenagers.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
---------------------
First Thoughts:
Well I don't... I don't know how I feel about that. Like, it was a good book! It was dark and thought-provoking and unique. But things happened that have made me sad :-( Full review soon!
October 31, 2025
Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Imaginative plot. Strong mix of adventure and paranormal occurrences with focus on friendship. Characters manage to feel realistic in the middle of mayhem, and will warm your heart.
Cons: Very dark in places (though tempered with funny dialogue/inner monologue). Some chapters (especially the first ones) might sound confusing due to time and perspective shift.
WARNING! Horror and heartbreak around the corner. Some language.
Will appeal to: Those who enjoy a mix of laughters and tears, action and strong feelings. Those who like brave teens who don't pose as heroes.
First off...DISCLAIMER: I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. And the author being B.C. Johnson, you all know I've been campaigning for his first Deadgirl book with all my might since 2013, when I read the original version. Also, B.C. Johnson and me have stayed in touch, if sporadically, for the whole time. I'm not what you would call a friend of his though, only a fan of his work. And an unbiased one. As usual, this review is the love child of my penchant for quirky, uniquely worded books and B.C. Johnson's ability to deliver them. Also, please note: my reviews are usually rather straightforward, though I always do my best to refrain from spoilers. But this one will probably be my vaguest review ever, because there's so much I can't discuss without uncovering relevant plot points. Here goes...
SURPRISE FEAST
This series always manages to surprise me. Building strongly on the mythology established since Book 1, every installment will bring you to a different place nevertheless, where the only common denominator are strong emotions and an ever tighter ensemble cast. Lucy may be the star of this story, but her friends are given more and more screentime, not to mention weight. Deadgirl: Goneward is the first book in the series to feature a double POV (which I found thoroughly enjoyable, though sometimes a little confusing), and the first one where the relationship between Lucy and her closest friend is explored to the fullest. B.C. Johnson has proven himself more than once, when it comes to capturing the shades of his female characters and creating a solid palette. This book is no exception, and still makes you see Lucy and Morgan in a new, enhanced light. In the meantime, tension never lets up, and unexpected events (of the dangerous kind) heap on one another, while Team Deadgirl's quest for answers about Lucy's nature leads the readers in places they didn't anticipate. And with a few unexpected allies... [...]
Whole review here.
Pros: Imaginative plot. Strong mix of adventure and paranormal occurrences with focus on friendship. Characters manage to feel realistic in the middle of mayhem, and will warm your heart.
Cons: Very dark in places (though tempered with funny dialogue/inner monologue). Some chapters (especially the first ones) might sound confusing due to time and perspective shift.
WARNING! Horror and heartbreak around the corner. Some language.
Will appeal to: Those who enjoy a mix of laughters and tears, action and strong feelings. Those who like brave teens who don't pose as heroes.
First off...DISCLAIMER: I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. And the author being B.C. Johnson, you all know I've been campaigning for his first Deadgirl book with all my might since 2013, when I read the original version. Also, B.C. Johnson and me have stayed in touch, if sporadically, for the whole time. I'm not what you would call a friend of his though, only a fan of his work. And an unbiased one. As usual, this review is the love child of my penchant for quirky, uniquely worded books and B.C. Johnson's ability to deliver them. Also, please note: my reviews are usually rather straightforward, though I always do my best to refrain from spoilers. But this one will probably be my vaguest review ever, because there's so much I can't discuss without uncovering relevant plot points. Here goes...
SURPRISE FEAST
This series always manages to surprise me. Building strongly on the mythology established since Book 1, every installment will bring you to a different place nevertheless, where the only common denominator are strong emotions and an ever tighter ensemble cast. Lucy may be the star of this story, but her friends are given more and more screentime, not to mention weight. Deadgirl: Goneward is the first book in the series to feature a double POV (which I found thoroughly enjoyable, though sometimes a little confusing), and the first one where the relationship between Lucy and her closest friend is explored to the fullest. B.C. Johnson has proven himself more than once, when it comes to capturing the shades of his female characters and creating a solid palette. This book is no exception, and still makes you see Lucy and Morgan in a new, enhanced light. In the meantime, tension never lets up, and unexpected events (of the dangerous kind) heap on one another, while Team Deadgirl's quest for answers about Lucy's nature leads the readers in places they didn't anticipate. And with a few unexpected allies... [...]
Whole review here.
June 18, 2017
Ok guys. Time to get serious! This is the third book in the the Deadgirl series by B.C. Johnson and by far, beyond everything you are looking for in a paranormal, young adult adventure. The characters are perfect. The action is perfect. The sarcasm and comedy and references Johnson creatively throws around the story line is perfect! I have pretty much ready every big author in the paranormal realm and B.C. Johnson is definitely one to watch! He may have started Indie... but not for long! This is a seriously impressive series. He goes where many authors choose not to tread and it definitely pays off. There is no predictability here. There is no cheesy, "They lived happily ever after". Definitely consider this for your next read. The writing is smart, (did I mention hilarious) and real. The story moves fast and the end will make you angry that you have to wait for the next book. But yay! There will be another Lucy Day adventure. Johnson.... hurry up and write!!!!
October 28, 2017
Please read this entire series (so far) if you:
Having said that, this is an emotional beatdown for sure; the parallels to Empire Strikes Back, a comparative romp, are not even a little bit subtle. Pyrrhic, as they say in English.
I look forward to the Ewoks in the next book. I assume they will be there. Also ironic and symbolic use of weaponry in a vaguely feminist way would be cool. I'm just spitballing here.
• Have no heartI devoured this book. I even was able to keep my focus on it sitting in a large, extremely crowded, noisy room for two hours.
• Have a heart which is already dead
• Enjoy having your heart pulped
• Are a fan of the works of other quirky paranormal YA authors such as Sarah Rees Brennan, Rachel Hawkins, and Stacey Kade
Having said that, this is an emotional beatdown for sure; the parallels to Empire Strikes Back, a comparative romp, are not even a little bit subtle. Pyrrhic, as they say in English.
I look forward to the Ewoks in the next book. I assume they will be there. Also ironic and symbolic use of weaponry in a vaguely feminist way would be cool. I'm just spitballing here.
February 18, 2024
Lucy Day and the gang go in a road trip! But not a regular, fun teenage road-trip. This one is of course riddled with paranormal mysteries, real world crime, and danger. A definite page turner.
The pacing is remarkable in this installment of the series, with all you’ve come to love from BC Johnsons talents of creating engaging, flawed, in depth characters!
The pacing is remarkable in this installment of the series, with all you’ve come to love from BC Johnsons talents of creating engaging, flawed, in depth characters!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews