Dead Girls Don't Write Letters

by Gail Giles

Fourteen-year-old Sunny Reynolds is stunned when a total stranger shows up at her house posing as her older sister Jazz, who supposedly died out of town in a fire months earlier.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Suspense

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 23, 2003

About the author

Gail Giles is the author of six young adult novels. Her debut novel, Shattering Glass, was an ALA Best of the Best Book, a Book Sense 76 selection, and a Booklist Top 10 Mystery for Youth selection. The novel is about an high school boy named Simon Glass that is helped to become one of the most popular dogs in school by other students. Her second novel, Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters, was an ALA Top 10 Quick pick (2003) and a Book Sense 76 selection. Her third novel, Playing in Traffic, is an epic story about a boy trying to help a gothic girl.

She is a former high school teacher who grew up in Texas and now lives there happily with her husband, two dogs, and three cats. Gail has one son and two grandsons.

Reviews

[Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sunnys Schwester Jasmine ist bei einem Wohnungsbrand ums Leben gekommen. Seitdem ist Sunnys Mutter total depressiv, der Vater flüchtet sich in Alkohol, und Sunny ist einfach nur froh, dass ihre Schwester weg ist. Sie mochte Jasmine nicht. Doch dann taucht plötzlich ein Mädchen bei ihnen auf, das behauptet, Jasmine zu sein…

* Meine Meinung *
Das Buch richtet sich hauptsächlich an jugendliche Leser im Alter von 13 bis 15 Jahren. Der Schreibstil ist angemessen einfach und leicht, so dass sich das Buch recht schnell lesen lässt.
Als einen echten Thriller würde ich das Buch aber nicht bezeichnen, denn dafür fehlen für mich der Nervenkitzel und die Spannung, auch wenn man berücksichtigt, dass es ein Jugendthriller ist.
Zwar war die Geschichte durchaus spannend, denn man ist einfach neugierig, wer nun dieses Mädchen ist, aber richtig gepackt hat mich die Story nicht.
Auch konnte ich nicht alles nachvollziehen, vor allem die Gefühle der Mutter waren mir total fremd. Sie liebt Sunny nicht, weil sie als Baby so schwierig war?! Babys sind nun mal keine leblosen Puppen…
Dennoch hat mich das Buch recht gut unterhalten können. Wenn man keinen fesselnden Thriller sucht, und wenn es nicht so anspruchsvoll sein soll, dann liegt man mit diesem Roman sicher richtig.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What sunny was going through was very hard for anyone. For all her life, she was second best to her older sister Jazz. However, when jazz dies in a fire in new york, shes left to pick up the pieces. Her dad's drinking sky rockets and her mother's depression gets worse. Her faily has never liked her much, espexically with her sister around. But now hat her sister is dead. She finds herself having to deal with and take care of the family that never wanted her. Not only is she only ten, shes also one of the strongest characters oin the story, nto willing to show weakness. THe ending confused me though. It made me wonder if Sunny was really delisional or is it her parents that have gone crazy. I really liked this book, it had many turns and twists.

[Maricela · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Independent Reading Project*

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters written by Gail Giles is a very catchy book. It's been a while since i haven't read it. This book is also confusing since it's mysterious and while you are reading you have to keep up with it. The main character, Sunny, was living with her whole family but was never feeling loved by her parents. Unfortunately, Sunny's sister, Jazz, was said to be one of the people who didn't survive this fire in her college.
Before this fire Sunny and Jazz didn't have a very good relationship. They would always argue. When the family was told that Jazz was dead, the parents got really heartbroken and devastated. A few days later, Sunny received a letter from "Jazz". In this yellow letter, written in Jazz's handwriting and ink, she stated that she was not dead and that in reality she had gone to a trip. It also said that she was going to come home the next day. This startled Sunny because it didn't seem reasonable for her to do that plus, she was enjoying herself without Jazz.
When "Jazz" arrived home Sunny still couldn't believe it but her parents did and gave her a great welcome. Sunny started seeing that even though this "Jazz" looked like the real Jazz there was something very fishy about this one. "Jazz" seems to know everything about this family but she has her own secrets. That's when Sunny suspects that this "Jazz" is an impostor. It's up to Sunny to prove that fact so she always kept her eyes wide open.
In the end we see how she has tried to persuade her parents that she is an impostor and that the real Jazz is dead. We also get to see that in the end Sunny receives a letter. What this means is that everything that she has been saying and seeing is actually all part of her imagination. She has some mental problems. I recommend this book to all the mystery lovers. If you have read the book Catcher in The Rye, i would say it is kind of similar specially in the end.
This book makes you want to read none stop so that you could figure out if what Sunny was saying is true or false. There are many details to prove that she is or that she isn't. This book can also be self relating since all families have problems. Sunny's mother was using anti depressants and her father was a drunk. If you want even more details then I would suggest to read this suspenseful story. :)

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the protagonist receives a letter from her sister, who was supposed to be dead, her life is turned upside down.
Dead Girls Don't Write Letters is short, interesting, full of twists and turns and leaves the readers feeling ambiguous, but lacks the quality that would make it an epic read.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

What do you do when your older sister, believed to have been killed in an apartment fire months before, suddenly sends you a letter claiming to be alive and well? If you're Sunny Reynold's, a girl who has always lived in the shadow of her older, much-beloved sister, you wait and day before you tell your parents that their most loved daughter is coming home.

Jazz Reynolds was the "it" girl--popular, outgoing, loved and praised and admired by everyone. When she up and left after high-school graduation to take on New York, leaving only a letter explaining her actions behind, her parents were devastated. But when they got word that dear Jazz had died in an apartment fire, devasted gave way to destroyed. Sunny's mother is incapable of taking care of herself, her father has turned into a raging drunk, and there's no one to take care of Sunny but herself.

But even though the prodigal daughter has returned, there's something wrong. Even though the girl claiming to be Jazz looks a lot like her, Sunny is convinced that this girl isn't Jazz. She's too nice, too sweet, too un-Jazz to be Jazz. Her father seems to agree, and together they set out to figure out what's going on.

I admit this book has a pretty interesting mystery, but it wasn't my favorite book by Gail Giles. Overall though, it's a pretty quick, entertaining read.

[Jennifer Larsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dead girls don’t write letters

The name of the book is Dead girls don’t write letters and it’s about a girl named Sunny. She had a sister, Jazz, but she died in a fire. Sunnys parents were crushed and her father, Dan, started to drink a lot. Her mother, Lily, took sleeping pills and didn’t do much at all. She lied in bed almost all day. One day Sunny gets a letter from her dead sister, saying that she didn’t accually die in the fire and that she will come home soon. When she finally comes home, Sunny noticed that it’s not her sister Jazz, who could it be?
The books genre is thriller and Gail Giles wrote the book. It’s a very easy book to read and it’s not hard to read english in it. I didn’t like the book that much because nothing really happens in it, but maybe that’s just me? There were parts in the book that was interesting and one of the things is when Sunny realize Jazz is not really Jazz. The ending in the book is a bit confusing, so try to understand what’s happening, because I didn’t understand at all.
I think the point of the book is that you should not give up on your family, because it’s the best thing you can get in life.
I recomend the book for people that want something really easy to read and likes to think.

[✧.* chels de haas · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really liked this! i would’ve loved if it was longer and went more into it but i still really enjoyed it!

[Asho · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book primarily because it fit a segment of the Winter Seasonal Reading Challenge. I don't normally read young adult novels (I didn't even read them much when I WAS a young adult) but this was the only book I could find at the library that fit the particular challenge so I thought I'd give it a chance since the blurb on the book jacket sounded intriguing.
I was mostly just disappointed, though. This book went very quickly (I finished it in an hour and a half) and I did find the plot suspenseful. But the characters were completely unbelievable and one-dimensional. I just can't believe any parents could so blatantly favor one child over the other (even the thought that Sunny could have made it all up in her head didn't make it seem reasonable). Also, the evidence Sunny used to solve the mystery didn't all add up to me and the ending just kept piling up one surprise after the other, but it was one surprise too many and left me thinking that the whole thing had been too far-fetched and overblown rather than clever.

[God O'Wax · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Some SPOILERS* This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't particularly good either. At first, I found myself empathizing with the main character quite a lot, and the basic premise was very interesting. I liked the idea of someone showing up as a dead relative, and how a family would deal with that intrusion into their lives - as blessing or impetus for total meltdown. However, I felt that it wasn't all that believable - who would go along with this for so long? and the end was far too abrupt. There was too much tangible evidence to pass this off as a wish fulfillment fantasy of the main character's, and I don't like how easily she accepted that explanation. This does seem like the first book in a series though, so maybe subsequent books will address my concerns. As for a teen audience, I can see the appeal - the idea of living in the shadow of an older sibling, the unfairness of sibling relationships, and the nature of grief in a family would make this appealing to a lot of the YA audience, particularly if they have siblings.

[Sesana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunny's sister Jazz died in February. You can imagine her shock when she gets a letter from Jazz in the mail in May. You can also imagine her shock when Jazz shows up and isn't the sister Sunny remembers.

I love Gail Giles, so it is kind of surprising that I never read this, one of her earliest books. It is a very, very short book, and an incredibly quick read. This doesn't give the suspense quite as much time to percolate as I would have liked. But the story itself takes place over a very short period of time. And I do so love reading a suspense novel with a heroine whose actions I can understand throughout.

The ending is ambiguous, to say the least. I like that. And it doesn't matter which way you take the ending, it's equally horrifying. This would've made for a good episode of The Twilight Zone, which for me is pretty high praise for a suspense story with a twist.

[McCaid Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

*5 twisty stars*
This was so much more than what I imagined it would be. While it was a fast-paced mystery/thriller, full of startling twists, it was also packed with heavy themes, and a dark truth swimming just below the surface. So much was thrown into this small book. Twists, suspense, character growth, and, ultimately, the message of always staying true to who you are, even when you feel like becoming someone else.
The effective red herrings, the slow-burning mystery, and the clever use of foreshadowing, made this absolutely flawless.
This was so much more than just your typical, everyday murder mystery.
I will definitely be returning to this again someday and checking out more of Gail Giles' books.
If you're into heavy mysteries full of false identities, dramatic, yet suspenseful scenes, with a "psychological" vibe, then this is for you!

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gail Giles’s Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, is a fast-paced story packed with mystery and suspense. Giles’s novel (or novella) is set in a small town in Texas, where the protagonist, Sunny, lives with and takes care of her severely depressed mother. Sunny’s family was never perfect, but the semblance of normality and happiness they once had disappeared with Sunny’s older sister, Jasmine—Jazz, for short. Jazz left home when she turned eighteen, ran away to New York where she died in a building fire, or so Sunny’s family is told. This destroys Sunny’s parents, who (Sunny believes) have always loved and admired Jasmine more than anyone or anything else: their father, formerly a talented reporter, falls further into alcoholism and anger, and their mother can barely function, even with Prozac and oodles of sleeping pills; only Sunny, the victim of her sister’s teasing and manipulation, seems to have survived the ordeal and the past year relatively unscathed and intact. But she is bitter. When she finds a letter in the mailbox from her sister, who writes to inform her family that she is not, in fact, dead and will be coming home, Sunny doesn't know whether to be upset or hopeful for her parents’ sake. Sunny must confront more than these confused feelings, though, when the girl who comes come back claiming to be her sister is not really Jazz but a smooth-talking, similar-looking impostor. Sunny’s mom accepts the look-alike as her daughter, but Sunny is determined to figure out the truth: Who is this girl, and how does she know so much about Jasmine, her life, her family? Why would someone steal Jasmine’s identity and life? Who would do this to Sunny’s family, and why?

These questions are answered, but not before Giles introduces layers of suspense, tension, and family drama. I thought that, for the target audience—young teenagers—the suspense was sustained nicely until the “exposition” towards the end of the story. I didn't exactly dislike or disbelieve the explanation given for the mystery that I (and readers in general), like Sunny, had become invested in, but I did think it was underdeveloped and hurried in relation to the rest of the story. Everything after the exposition was the same: rushed, a birds-eye view of what followed for Sunny and her family that brushed on but didn't resolve the family and identity issues Sunny dealt with in the preceding pages. On the whole, though, I found this to be a fun little read, reminiscent of my beloved Lois Duncan novels from my “tween” years.

I think that the ALA was right to market this book to reluctant readers; I also think that “tween” readers would find this novel engaging and fun to read. The story is fast-paced and captivating from the get-go: the first sentence introduces a mystery, and what follows is packed full of surprises, suspense, and new questions that will keep readers reading on. There are not difficult words, concepts, or narrative elements that will trip up readers, just a mystery enmeshed in a broken family’s problems. I don’t mean to imply that this book is overly simplistic or “fluff”; rather, it reminded me of a tightly woven mystery-suspense movie or TV show. Far from being “simplistic,” the novel raises questions and considerations about family, truth, belonging and acceptance, and identity. The ending could produce different interpretations, which might be a launching point for discussion and analysis in classroom or group discussions of the book.

**Picked this up from the Public Library during class visit**

[Corey Wessel]

The book I read was Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters by Gail Giles. The genre of this book is fiction. This book is about a girl named Sunny. And her sister ran away to New York and Sunny is happy about that. Because Jazz (Sunny’s Sister) is the girl that everyone likes and is the best at everything, she's the better of the two. But then they hear that her apartment burned down and she was thought to be dead. Once she is thought to be dead her parents become a mess. All of a sudden she started getting letters from Jazz. how can this happen? Read the book to find out. The book takes place mostly at Sunny’s house. The theme of the book is to be happy with what you have because in a second it can be gone. I thought that the author should have put in more information about their before life, before she ran away and how life was like, and why Sunny didn’t like Jazz being around. I thought that the author's writing style was nice the way that she explains the events and things that happened in Sunny’s life. I can connect to the book because I also have lost someone that was close to me and its hard to get over the fact that they are gone, and in the book Sunny’s losses her sister, even though she is more liked than Sunny she still lost someone and that's hard. I would recommend this book for someone who likes a mystery books, or someone around 8th grade.

[Susan Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when it first came out, but just re-read it in anticipation of booktalking it to middle schoolers in January. There's a bit of language and some uncomfortable situations like the dad's drinking and the mom's addiction to anti-depressants, but I'm hoping that the teens can overlook that part and just enjoy the story. Has anyone else booktalked this one? And if so, to what age group?

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was one of the worst I have read. The plot was incredibly boring which is unfortunate since the premises is super cool. The characters were one dimensional and I didn’t like any of them. The entire book was boring up until the very last chapter which was honestly confusing and stopped abruptly. I still don’t understand the ending.

[Kerry mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

i want to read this book because it looks so interesting and who doesnt like a book that "Dead Girls Don't Write Letters" to me i really want to read this book i think that i read this i will be satified really im not lying.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good short mystery for those that want some action without reading a trilogy of books or that aren't great readers.

What would you do if the person that was supposed to be your dead sister shows up at your door and you KNOW that it's not really her, but a girl pretending to be her?

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Dead Girls Dont Write Letters is a really good book about a girl who has a sister who died in a fire but then she reappears saying that she never died. This was a really good mystery book. I would recommend it to people who like mystery books.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read! This was a short book, and very fast paced. Overall a quick, enjoyable book.

[Kaylee Rowley]

Sunny Reynolds is the unfortunate younger sister, but not a younger sister anymore after her sister Jazz passed away in a house fire that happened in New York City, but her body was never discovered after the event. Her dad is living his life with a bottle to his lips every second of everyday and Sunny is trying to hold her family together,even tho they’re going through a divorce, with her mom falling apart more and more, day by day. One day, Sunny received a letter with her name on it written in Jazz’s handwriting and becomes very confused and scared, but avoids opening the letter for a couple of days. When she does, Jazz wrote that she will be coming home in a couple days, but Jazz is dead, how is that possible? Throughout this book I found that the main character, Sunny, was my favorite. Sunny, as a ten year old, goes the whole book without showing weakness and is the strongest character in the book. Her family doesn’t really care about her and never has but she still loves them and cares for them. This story did keep me on the edge of my seat because when “Jazz” does come back, the story takes a turn and continued to keep me guessing to what was going to happen next. I did not like the conclusion of the story wrapped up so fast. It did not give me enough time to process what exactly was going on and understand the characters emotions because they were not very clear. I give this book three out of five stars but it was a good, fast and easy read. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in mystery or for last minute book they need to read.

[Haley Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters by Gail Giles is an easy read. If you’re looking for something quick and easy to read I’d pick this book. It’s about a dead girl named jazz who writes a letter to her family. She writes about how she apparently isn’t dead. She writes to her family about how she didn’t die in the apartment fire that had happened a few weeks ago.

[Peyton Rollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot because there was some thrilling twists in this book. First, in this book there was a family that included a mom and a dad, two sisters who were name Jasmine, and Sunny. Jasmine didn't get along because Jasmine was getting all the attention. However, once her death came, Sunny had to take care of her depressed mom, and her drunk dad because they were giving most of the attention they had to Jasmine. Adding on, by the middle of the story, Sunny got a letter from "Jasmine", even though she was dead and it said that she was alive and she was going to come home so that she could see the truth behind the letter. Once Jasmine comes back home, after a while Sunny realized that Jasmine who was in her home, was not her sister Jasmine, so she nicknamed her "Not-Jazz". Lastly, by the end of the book, Sunny was confusing the whole story because I was wondering if she was going insane and just picturing things in her head or was it because of her parents and the actions that they made. Overall this book was a good book and I recommend!

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book i read was Dead Girls Don't write Letters. Its about how this family loses their oldest daughter Jazz to an apartment fire. the family basically crumbled after that. the father became a heavy alcoholic and the mother was depressed and couldn't even do anything for herself anymore. the youngest daughter Sunny is basically left alone to do for herself and to take care of the mother because i guess the parents split up and went their separate ways after Jazz dies. After a while Sunny notices a letter in her room, and its from her sister Jazz. at first she's confused, and thinks that the letter is one from before Jazz's death. but nope it was recent, and it said that she was still alive and that she would return home to prove that she was still alive. when Jazz did come home, the dad and sunny know right off the bat that this girl was not their jazz. but the mom believed it and embraced jazz with open arms. the creepy part is that this girl claiming to be Jazz supposedly doesn't look anything like the real Jazz but she knows so much about the family and picked up the same habits and mannerisms that Jazz had. Since the ending to this story was really bizarre im not going to ruin it for anyone! all i can say is that i honestly didn't expect for that ending to come along, you just have to read it to understand what im talking about.

i gave this book five stars because i personally connected with the main character Sunny. we both get compared to people in our families and we haven't really truly found who we are yet. we both imagine things to be one way just so that we don't have to see/hear the truth. basically we like to live in la la land, and shelter ourselves from the world around us. i also gave this book 5 stars because of the author Gail Giles. she's personally one of my favorite authors besides Harlen Coben. she definitely knows how to write fantastic stories for teens/young adults.

"I know you miss her. Everybody does." Yes indeedy. Everybody misses Jazz.Everybody but me." (Giles,10). i picked this quote because Sunny's sister supposedly just died! and even if they didn't have a good relationship with each other i would still be upset that i lost my sibling. when i read this i knew that there was something clearly wrong with Sunny's mind. like along the lines of needing therapy or something. yet at the same time i found myself relating to her and feeling sorry for what she was going through.

A connection i can make to the class is that the writer used a lot of similes and metaphors. and even though this book wasn't humorous i think i would kind of say there was a lot of exaggeration especially on Sunny's part. she's really just a sarcastic kind or person in the book.

i would recommend this book mostly to teens, specifically girls, or fiction/suspense lovers. this book has a huge twist at the end that i honestly had to re read a few times just to realize what just happened. because at first i didn't believe it , but overall it was a really good book and im sure most people will appreciate it.

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sunny’s sister Jazz ran away to NYC and died in a fire. When Sunny heard, she was secretly glad, because Jazz had been the bane of her existence. Things were not easy after her sister’s death, however – her parents basically fell apart. Her father drowned his sorrows in alcohol and her mother retreated into a quiet refuge of psychiatric drugs. Sunny was left to handle things as best she could. Then, one day, a letter arrives – a letter from Jazz – which reveals that she’s not dead after all and that she’s coming home in a few days time.

The entire family waits with a mixture of trepidation and expectation, but the girl who shows up is definitely not Jazz. And they’re not sure what to do about it. Sunny and her father try to determine who she is and what kind of relationship she might have to Jazz (since she seems to know so much about her), and Sunny’s mother seems oblivious to the fact that Not-Jazz is definitely not her daughter.

Things come to a head when Sunny outs Not-Jazz, and then allows her to make an escape. Both parents deny that Not-Jazz ever existed and Sunny calls her grandmother for help. Grandma comes to stay and whips everyone into shape – including Sunny – whom she sends into therapy. No one seems to believe that Not-Jazz actually existed except as a phantom in Sunny’s head. Even Sunny starts to doubt herself. And then, just as she’s adjusting well to her new boarding school, she gets a letter…

This short, suspenseful novel only runs 126 pages, and is sure to delight reluctant readers looking for a fast-paced read. Lots of mystery and suspense here, and even a wee bit of tantalizing fright – is Not-Jazz dangerous? Plenty of surprises in store, so if you booktalk this one, don’t give them away. First there’s the letter from the dead girl, then she’s not actually dead, then she’s not actually Jazz, and then we’re not actually sure any of it even happened. Fascinating.

[Kylie Buzzard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very entertaining and interesting. If you like mystery or problem solving books then this is the perfect book to read. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. It also has quite a bit of drama in the book. I love the authors creativeness in the book. I love the thinking process.
The characters are just like your everyday people you come across. Neglecting children, the favorite child, a drunk, and depressed. I love how the author mixed all these different characteristics into the characters it makes the book more interesting and appealing. A lot of people can relate to the characters and maybe family situation. This book is just a must read.
The main character Sunny and her father have their own investigation when something doesn't seem right about her "sister" and "daughter" that was supposably dead. They find out shocking news after interviewing people and talking to the police. They have a decision to make and try to decide how they are going to solve the problem. The father just wants it to play out to prove to the mother. But Sunny has her own agenda on what to do.
I feel bad for Sunny. She has to go through so many things, so many emotions at just the young age of 14. Nobody at that age should have to go through these things. If you want to know what "things" I am referring to I guess you will just have to read the book to find out. But I guarantee you would relate to this book somehow in someway. I know it may not sound like it because of the title but if you read the book you would see what I am talking about.
At the end of the book it leaves you hanging. Like their should or will be another book. I like how the author did that, leaves you wanting more. I am definitely going to read more of her books. Her mind just interests me.

[Mango · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was actually really lazy to finish reading this book. I'm actually really glad I did though.

One of my favourite points about this book is how they know that she's not Jazz. To make things "better", they call her Not-Jazz. haha.

OK, so the girl who is pretending to be Jazz(I'm gonna call her Not-Jazz even though she has an actual name).She is pretty phsyco. Crazy scary. "Dangerous", like certain people describe her. I think that her Jazz "identity" i the second one she's stolen, correct? The thing the thing that worries me is the ending. Oh, shit the ending. She is going to take Sunny's identity. But you don't know what happens... I want to know what happens because it's just the curiousity taking over. WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN! Is she gonna be successful and take Sunny's identity or will some random twist happen! When I look back, Sunny should have let her dad get the cops, that way, she wouldn't be out trying to steal Sunny's identity.

Not-Jazz is a great actor. Even though Sunny, her dad and her mom saw through the facade, she was a pretty good actor... I dunno, I just seem to think that for some reason... Blehy.

So, realy Jazz is jealous because Sunny gets no attention from her parents, while Jazz on the other hand gets all the attention. When I realized this while reading this book, I thought, 'we all want what we don't have'... But then I thought, suck it up Not-Jazz... Er, I mean, Jazz? Yeah, I think it is Jazz.

I think the whole concept of the book was great. The characters, setting, events were great. Which is why I gave this book 5 stars. For being one of those thin-death-kinda-books-but-are-unique-which-makes-them-good. LOL.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

After re-reading the book with more time and focus, I found myself feeling like this was a "forgetable" book. I still found the character of Sunny very flat for a protagonist and I like reading novels that are geatly character driven. Sunny didn't seem to drive the novel for me. Actually non-Jazz seemed to drive the story more for me.

About believing in non-Jazz, I find myself on the fence. I don't want to believe that Sunny went crazy, however that would be a logical reaction to losing a sister to a tragic fire. I also don't want to believe that there could be people in the world that need to pretend to be someone else in order to feel loved. During those moments that I believed non-Jazz was actually there, I felt bad for her. And Giles made non-Jazz believeable because those children who find themselves in foster homes are all just looking to be loved. So even after a second read, I cannot make a decision either way about non-Jazz.

I think this book is going to go into a reluctant reader's shelf. After hearing in class that the author, Giles was once a SpEd teacher, I realized why the characters were kind of flat and the book was very simplistic. I teach SpEd kids and believe me I could find a lot of students who would read this book because it is easy to read. So although this look was not one of my favorites, it could have a lot of appeal for many of the students who come into a library. Its easy to understand, easy to read, suspenseful, and on the shorter side.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sunny's family is a wreck. Since her sister Jasmine was killed in a fire a few months before, her mother is basically catatonic and her father is always drunk. They thought the world revolved around Jazz, but Sunny knew the truth. Jazz was mean and manipulative, and Sunny is not upset that she's gone.

When Sunny receives a letter from Jazz, she isn't initially concerned. She figures it probably got lost in the mail and tucks it away to read later. No reason to tell her parents, it would just upset them. When she finally does open it up, the letter reveals Jazz is alive and well, and coming home the next day. Sunny has no choice but to tell her parents, who are ecstatic. Sunny is less than thrilled.

When Jazz finally does come home, the family is in for a shock - the girl is not Jasmine. She kind of looks like her, she certainly acts like her, and she knows intimate details about their life. But she's not Sunny's sister. The family decides to play along ans Sunny and her dad try to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Giles is so great at creating real suspense in a short amount of time. Imagine your surprise if a complete stranger came in your house pretending to be your sister, and knew everything about your family! Even when you think you've got it figured out, Giles has another twist for you. The ending is kind of over-the-top, but it's still entertaining.

[Abigail Morales · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book called “Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters,” by Gail Giles. This book is about a young girl named Jasmine that has been stated to be dead for almost a year but she’s not dead. Jasmine as sent a letter to her family stating that she’s not dead and that she’s okay. Not only Sunny her younger sister receives her letter but she also gets to see her dead sister, that’s supposedly alive. Sunny couldn’t believe her sister was alive.
In the letter Jasmine states that she will be home soon. That day came by and her mother, father, and Sunny couldn’t believe that Jasmine was alive. Her mother believed that was Jasmine but the father and Sunny knew exactly that “Jasmine,” who just now arrived home wasn’t the real Jasmine, it was a different person. Sunny & her father had to investigate who this person was and how she knew everything about the family. You’ll know who this person is once you read this book.
Overall I loved this book, it was shocking and a sad book. There is also a part that I don’t agree with, and it was the ending. At the end of the book everything goes back to normal till Sunny received another letter stating “Took a while to find you. Planning to see you soon,” I’m wondering why come back? I recommend everyone to read this book? You will enjoy reading it.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written, concise, portrait of a self-destructing family and Sunny, the 14 year old anchor that holds them together. Although Sunny is made up of hard edges and a sharp tongue, she manages to win over the reader's pity and support.
Sunny dislikes living under her perfect sister Jasmine and although Jasmine dies unexpectedly in an apartment fire, Sunny is still left to pick up the pieces of her drunk father and depressed mother.
It seems as if life with Jasmine was torturous and life without Jasmine is still bleak. Sunny is determined to push past it and continue to support her parents.
Until one day … Jasmine writes her a letter.


Gail Giles does an incredible job drawing up this family hung together by strings of memories of Jasmine. The book is short, measure up less than 130 pages, but every plot point is crafted to pull the reader through the mystery one realization at a time. And although there seems to be a definite end and resolution, Giles draws the reader into a false sense of security summed up in the final pages.
PERFECT SUMMER READ.