Literally Dead Book Club discussion

In my hardcover physical copy the chapter that just ended at page 249 is called WEDNESDAY MORNING.
Please don't read anything below until you've hit this spot!
If you've read further than this page, please avoid any spoilers for later in the book.

1. Any theories to share?
2. Favourite and least favourite character?
3. Has this book done anything to impress you or frustrate you?

Two thirds in and the plot is thickening. Little squares of information that were left empty in the first part are getting filled in, and we start to get an inkling of what might have happened. My main criticisms are that it takes to long to get to the heart of the story and I had to plow through a lot of teenage angst and heartache so far.

1. Theories: Eve’s behaviour is sketchy to say the least. And I don’t understand why Jessa doesn’t fight back when she is being bullied by Eve, that doesn’t make sense.
We are now in a situation where we have to follow the money to get the answers and I just hope it won’t be too obvious.

2. Fav character must be Max. The most annoying is Jessa as she is a petulant, spoiled brat. I’d wish the main character would have had a bit more depth to her.

3. The frustration is that the pace is very slow and the main reason is that there is a lot of romance, which isn’t what I look for in a thriller at all.

1. I like that we are in more of a mystery thriller part of the story. My theory from the beginning has been that Caleb isn’t dead and he just wanted it to look like he is. I wasn’t sure why though. Now that we are seeing how sketchy Eve is and also the comment about no photos from when Caleb was young makes me think maybe Eve like kidnapped Caleb from his real family and Caleb figured it out. I also think another possible thing is caleb’s dad is not dead and so Caleb is trying to find his dad. (Like maybe Eve is crazy so his dad left and made sure to leave Caleb money). I also think that is why Eve needs to leave with almost nothing. Idk but i think there is a strong possibility that Caleb is still alive and is looking for truth from his past.
2. I really don’t care that much about Jessa but I think Max is a good guy who is just trying to be a good friend. I think Eve is just too sketchy so I don’t like her at all. I thought Mia was super annoying at the beginning but she is growing on me. Especially after the closet scene. (I think she is just trying to follow her mom’s directions and that’s why she was annoying)
3. I’m a little frustrated that the story didn’t pick up sooner, but I feel like the last 2/3 are going to be faster paced. I’m a little confused why Jessa’s parents just don’t care that she is spending all this time in her dead ex’s bedroom??

I like your theories here ^^

What I can't get past.. is why in the world Eve would make Jessa clean out his room as some kind of punishment. Especially if she's in a hurry to get out of town. Just bag the stuff up and go.

We think Mia knows Caleb is alive right? And maybe still has contact with him? Why else would she say he needed his glasses to see? (By the way, this scene reminded me so much of Veda and Thomas J in My Girl.. 'he can't see without his glasses')

The plot thickens. I have been wondering all along if Caleb is still alive. I wonder if he is, I wonder if he faked his death for his mom to get money. But why are there no younger pictures of Caleb? If he was kidnapped, where did the money for his schooling come from? I have more questions than answers right now, but I want to keep reading.

I really like Max as a character, and Jessa seems spoiled, but I feel for her. Why is Caleb’s mom punishing her to pack up the room?

I’m looking forward to reading the last third of the book.

Well,
I’m frustrated to say the least. It’s taking way too long, I think Caleb is still alive and I think Eve knows it. I adore Max but I could do without Jessa. I’m just ready for the conclusion because to me it’s boring

1. I have bad vibes from the mom. She is up to no good and set up Jessa. I mean who asks an ex girlfriend this sorta thing.
2. I am not really attached to any character, but Hailey has some good moments as a friend.
Also I agree with the majority, this book is very slow.

1. The sister and the mom give me bad vibes, but not in any specific way.
2. Favorite character would probably be Max. Least favorite would be Jessa or Eve.
3. I mostly find this book frustrating. This whole plot device of the ex-girlfriend cleaning up the boyfriend's room is getting flimsier and flimsier the longer this goes on. Ready to be finished with this book now.

Rating so far still hanging around a 2.

Starting to enjoy the story a lot more!

1. I think Caleb is still alive and wanted to escape his family/home life. I feel like it would be too obvious for the mom to have anything to do with his disappearance, so I hope that won’t be the case. Also, it would not make any sense for her to let Jessa clean out Caleb’s room if she had anything to hide...

2. I think Max is a great character and I honestly quite like Jessa and him together (even though it’s obviously quite a tricky thing for them to date). My least fav thing is the family dynamics in Jessa’s family. There are slight hints about the family dynamics but, thus far, nothing of importance has come from these hints. I feel like she’s just complaining about her family but not taking any action to resolve the tension between them.

3. It wish the speed would pick up a little. Not that much has happened yet in 249 pages

1. I think Caleb isn’t dead and he faked his one death due to something happening in the family. I think there is probably more too it but not sure yet what else is happening
2. I don’t live Eve and for some reason something about Caleb is rubbing me the wrong way. I don’t have a character I really like yet Jessa isn’t the most interesting main character
3. I think the only issue is it is a little slow, I like the fact it has gotten more to the mystery side of things but still not sure how I feel about it all.

1. something definitely happened between Jessa and Max in thinking after Jessa and Caleb broke up. I still think Caleb is actually alive and staged the crash knowing that the police would have a slim chance finding a body in this type of an accident and would just pronounce him dead after so long. maybe he did it so Jessa and Max could be together??

2. Max right now is my favorite even tho I don't think its cool to be into your best friends girl but he seems like a caring loyal friend.

3. for being my first mystery/thriller I am enjoying it. I'm always up for some love triangles in my books as well.

Mystery-wise, the 'Wednesday Morning' chapter probably had the most clue in this part. By this point, I was a bit over Jessa-Caleb relationship (I got it, it was beautiful at the start, but dwindled down quickly in the months after - typical teenage love).

1. Any theories to share?
So my guess about Jessa-Max fling from the first part was correct, and my second guess about potential financial problem seemed to be a big possibility in this part, even though it looked like it involved more people than just Caleb (Shaun and Eve?). My third guess about Julian having a bigger part in the story didn't come true - he barely made any appearance in this part.

More theories:
* Caleb is not dead, he's faking his own death and run away due to fights with Shaun. He has scars which indicates past abuse, could be from Shaun, but could also be from Eve, his own mum.
* The girl (Ashley?) he claimed to be ex-girlfriend is related somehow - most likely not an ex, but part of his disappearance plan.
* Eve has something to do with the missing inheritance money.
* Eve asks Jessa to tidy up Caleb's room in the hope that she finds clues to find him.

2. Favourite and least favourite character?
None of the characters has made any strong impression to me, but out of everyone, I like Max the most. The rest just blurs in the background (including Jessa).

3. Has this book done anything to impress you or frustrate you?
The concept of telling a story based on fragments of memories linked to items left by someone close to us is still impressive to me - I really like this idea.
What could be frustrating is that the mystery unfolds very slowly, and telling the supposedly-dramatic story from the very narrow view of the world from a teenager's point of view is not my preference. I could see a similar story concept told from the point of view of, say, a wife of someone she's been married to for 10+ years would be a lot more interesting to me.

1. I feel like Caleb faked his death, and he's either still alive and possibly with his dad OR he planned on faking his death, and then he was (accidently?) murdered by someone else (I honestly don't know who could have killed him though - Sean? Eve?)

2. I like Max, Jessa is just kinda meh for me, cannot stand Eve. The other characters haven't been featured enough for me to have a big opinion on.

3. In a lot of other YA mystery thrillers, I feel like the main protagonist is oblivious to a lot of things when it's super obvious what is happening. I don't think Jessa is that clueless, but she really needs to stop assuming that Caleb ran off with his ex or another girl. Also, Eve just pisses me off lol, like what the hell was with her just grabbing Jessa's purse? I wish the pacing was quicker, but I'm still enjoying it, still hovering around a 3-3.5 star.

1. The author is definitely leading us to believe that maybe Caleb faked his death. There is some weird things, like the missing money, why he was at the track meet, and the email and footsteps after his supposed death that is leading us to that conclusion. But is it just that they want to believe it?
2. I like Max and Jessa. And I like them when they are together.
3. I'm still frustrated with the very slow 1st section. I feel like it picked up right at that mark. I prefer my mysteries to have reveals throughout the whole book. And I still don't like the overall darkness of the book but what else would I expect when you are cleaning out a dead persons room?

1. I definitely think Caleb is still alive OR his death was set up and orchestrated to get at his money.
2. I like Max the best and Caleb the least. Jessa is a bit annoying.
3. This book has been frustrating and im just trying to get it over with not gonna lie.

1. I’ve read this part of the book thinking "please, don’t the answer be that he’s still alive." Because I would really hate this conclusion - it’s the easy solution and I don’t want that. Although near the end the characters in the book also started to think that he might not be dead and this gives me hope that he really IS dead - it would be too early to reveal it after all and characters are usually always wrong. I really hope it’ll turn out that he was murdered by Julian or something.
Also I think that Eve is NOT Caleb’s biological mother. His father is dead but mother is still alive and SHE’s the one who send Caleb that note. Or Ashley who might be his (half?) sister. And the money’ll then go to the mother/sister.
2. No fave/disliked characters - they’re all pretty bland YA cliches (nothing against YA, but I‘ve seen these characters before and these people bring nothing new to the table
3. I like the atmosphere - dealing with death, conflicting emotions, that sort of things. You know - all of that would be ruined by revelation that the guy is actually alive and well.
The frustrating part is the timeline - really? Is she going to clean up that room for a week? I’ve moved twice in my life and have 10x the sh*t this guy had and I was packed faster than this. And I had to move furniture too!

1. My theories so far are:
- That Caleb is alive
- they mention that another Man died by driving over the bridge which could be connected? Maybe that’s where Caleb got the idea from to fake his death because he knew the police would write it off as a death without needing to find a body as confirmation as it’s unlikely to find a body in these cases.
- I said in the first discussion that I got the impression that Sean was violent towards Caleb and In this second part we find out that Caleb has a lot of scars. Maybe this is from Sean or it could just be a detail that the author thought to put in.
2. My favourite characters are Max and Hailey and my least favourite is Eve obviously. Not only because she seems like a horrible person but also because I think her character is just unbelievable which is the fault of the author.
3. I have found most of this book frustrating to be honest, mostly because of how slow the plot is unfurling and how the “filler” parts feel irrelevant. E.g when Max was detailing the ins and outs of how they organise their garbage collection system? Who cares? I also didn’t like how we just casually find out how Caleb “died” in a conversational setting between Eve and Jessa. The first part of the book had set that up to be a part of the mystery and then it just pops up like we should have known it all along.

1. I mean, I feel like as soon as we found out that there is no proof that Caleb was dead we all suspected he’s not. I don’t want to go deeper into my theories because I’m listening to the audiobook and I can’t remember what information was revealed in later chapters and don’t want to spoil anything for other readers.
2. Don’t know that I have a favorite character, but I’m surprised how many people dislike Jenna. She just seems like an average teen girl to me? My least favorite is Eve. She’s just plain cruel to Jenna. I know she’s grieving (or is acting as though she is grieving), but so is Jenna. I felt real anger when she insisted on going through Jenna’s purse before she left to make sure she hadn’t taken anything. What an invasion.
3. This book isn’t exactly thrilling.

1. I knew there was something suspicious about Jessa and Max!! I haven't decided if I like them together yet though...As for other theories, I think Caleb is alive.
2. My least favourite character is definitely Eve, she is so cold and brutal towards Jessa and her actions don't seem warranted at all. I really dislike her a lot. I like Julian as the protective older brother. Caleb honestly seems like a bad boyfriend, there hasn't been any stand-out parts that he's shown that he really loves Jessa.
3. I am impressed that there is a little story to tell with every "fragment" that Jessa finds in Caleb's room. I can't wait to see how the rest of the story unfolds from all the pieces, and I really hope the ending answers a lot of the questions.

1. I seem to see that a lot of people have the same theory as myself. I’ve been thinking that Caleb might not be dead after all, only pretending to be. The timing would have been perfect with the flash raining. I’m also wondering if his dad might still be alive as well and that is where he’s gone off to.

2. I don’t really have a favourite character. Personally I don’t see the problem with Jessa, other than the fact she is letting Eve treat her like she is. I guess I like Max, but again, he doesn’t stand out to me, no one seems to.

3. I find the pacing is still slow, but I am not minding the way the little stories come up whenever a certain thing arises. It’s different, something I have never seen.

1. My original theory of Caleb still being alive seems to be correct. I think he faked his own death and I also think his father is still alive as well and maybe Caleb ran away to be with him. He talked about how he can’t wait to turn 18 and then college, which sounds like running away from something, possibly his mom. I knew something was going on with Jessa and Max and it’s kind of irritating because it seems like she never should have been with Caleb, she should have been with Max all along. Eve is shady but I can’t tell what her angle is.

2. Favorite character, if I had to pick, would be Max. Least favorite character would probably be Eve just because she’s so rude and mean and it seems like she’s that way with her kids too. Jessa is pretty annoying in that teenage girl ‘woe is me’ way but she’s not that bad.

3. This book has been pretty frustrating to read because of how slow it is and because of how much teenage angst is in it. I find myself rolling my eyes at Jessa a lot. The plot is pretty slow and it takes a while to get to anything of substance. I’m trying to get through this but I’m finding no motivation to pick it up and read.

1. Like a lot of the other comments, I'd say that Caleb isn't actually dead and is now with his father, who's also still alive. I think the suspicious note isn't from an ex girlfriend, but his father.
2. Favourite character is probably Max, since he seems the most genuine. I don't mind Jessa; to me she just seems like a typical teen. My least favourite character is definitely Eve. If I was Jessa I would have left her to pack up on her own a long time ago!
3. Nothing has really stood out to me so far- seems like a pretty standard YA "thriller." They can be hit or miss for me, and I'm unfortunately just trudging through this one because I like being a part of this book club lol.

1. I hate to say unfortunately, but unfortunately I think Caleb is still alive. I think he was told his dad was dead but I think Eve did kidnap him and possibly something Jessa did unwittingly made Caleb discover dad wasn’t dead. That’s why Eve can’t stand her. $$ and note and bus ticket all relate to Caleb returning to dad, but somehow he left bus ticket? Just wild guessing

2. Max is sweet so probably my favorite. Also like Julian as protective older brother. Eve is awful but if I’m wrong above and she lost her son, who could blame her? I don’t mind Mia. She is a little girl missing her dad and her brother. And I was an annoying teenage girl at one time so jessa doesn’t bother me.

3. Don’t r

3. Oops, didn’t finish #3.
I’m not a big YA reader, and i think this book pinpoints why. The problems that absolutely teenagers feel like they have seem tragic to them but, in the grand scheme of things....anyway, I wouldn’t consider this a thriller - more a mystery, which is fine.
I do find the way this is written - each chapter focusing on an item she comes across - to be a really fun way to delve into flashbacks. I’ve upped my rating to a 3,but I think Megan Miranda’s writing has gotten SO MUCH BETTER since this book.

1. At this point I think Caleb is alive, but I hope he's not since that's too obvious. Also I believe Caleb's dad is alive and the bus ticket and the note somehow are related to him. Eve seems very sketchy and definitely she's hiding something.

2. I really like Max and Hailey and I can't stand Eve and Sean.

3. Surely this book is very slow but the only thing that frustrates me is that I have the feeling that I'm reading a conteporary romance instead of a mystery/thriller.

1. I don't believe Caleb is alive, somehow I just don't get the feeling that this is that kind of book. My theory is that Eve said or did something that led Caleb down this path and that's why she's so upset with Jessa.
2. I don't feel like I know most of the characters well enough to have favorites and least favorites. Jessa is just a teenage girl and I feel bad for her because she clearly went through a lot. I know her relationship was only a year, but clearly it meant a lot to her and the end of her relationship with Caleb really hurt her. I do like what I know of Max, I think Mia is a good kid. I don't particularly care for Caleb, but I also don't know what was going on in his head. I don't like Eve much, but again, I feel like we just don't know her well or what she's going through. She isn't treating Jessa well, and that's something that she definitely needs to apologize for.
3. Honestly, this book is so slow and I feel like I'm missing half the picture and that annoys me. Quite frankly, this book feels like a less good version of history is all you left me by Adam Silvera.

1. Theories: I don’t think Caleb is alive. As much as I want to believe that he could be alive and some sketchy truth will come out about the mother... Like is it a coincidence that Calebs father and Caleb died from a vehicle accident? Probably, but a little strange. And the money is a centre topic here, one way or another the book always comes back to money, so I have a feeling that plays a huge role.


2. Characters: I really dislike Jessa. I don’t like how whiny and entitled she’s being portrayed. I feel bad for her sometimes because in her young life she has had to deal with so much. I also dislike the mom. There’s something sketchy there. If Caleb was contributing to the bills, where did all that money go? Also, what does the mom do in the garage all the time? My favourite character so far is Max. He just seems like good people, but I don’t really know him well enough.


3. Story: This book is SLOW! I want it to get to the point and move on or just give me something to hold onto. I also wish things weren’t repeated so much; I feel like there’s so much room where the author writes what we’ve already read. I love the writing style, but the story telling is too slow for me. I mean, I’m at a part now where I want to keep reading, just wish I didn’t have to go 249 pages into the book to get there, lol!

1. I have a feeling that Caleb is not dead. He just wanted to get away. If he is dead, I believe that his best friend was behind it.

2. I honestly don't care for any of the characters. I can't connect to any of them. If I really needed to choose, then it will be Eve. Why would she traumatize a young girl continuously by making her clean out his bedroom.

3. So far I am not impressed. I juat cannot connect with anyone! Does anyone else feel this way?

Had to DNF literally halfway. Way too slow, not keeping my interest at all.

1) Maybe I'm just terrible at this, but I just can't piece together what I think is going to happen- I feel like maybe Caleb isn't dead, or that if he is it was a planned suicide for some reason. In the back of my mind, I still think Julien could be involved some way, but I can't figure out how or why. Some of the theories in here are great, and I'm getting more interested in finding out the truth.

2) Max is my, and seemingly everyone's, favourite! I don't dislike Jessa as much as some other people do but I'm also just much more interested in Caleb's story than in her relationship to him. It was clear to me from the start that she didn't know him very deeply, finally she's realising it too!

3) I'm really enjoying the short chapters, it makes it feel fast even though in general the book is quite slow. I also like that it's only been over a few days, not long and drawn out within the book's timeline. I like that we're getting the stories as snapshots of their relationship, rather than the whole thing being told beginning to end chronologically.

1) ugh. so many hypothesis but none fully cooked. Caleb obviously ran away....but why? Did he kill?? Sean? Those dragging marks in the attic are terribly suspicious.

2) fave: Max. I truly hope he's not going to turn out to be the bad guy. I would not be able to handle that. dislike: still Eve, but more so now. and Sean.

3) not super impressed by anything but also not frustrated. glad the pace finally picked up.

1. I am almost a 100 percent sure that Caleb is not dead. There is something that he has been cooking up for a while and I think he finally decided to do it (whatever it is) when Jessa broke up with him.
I still think Eve and Mia don't know anything and that they truly are broke.
2. I guess my favorite chapter is the one where Jessa finally tells us why they broke up. I was curious about that from the very beginning.
3. It definitely has done nothing to impress me. So far I have been able to predict what's going to happen. I am frustrated at the fact that now over half way is when things are starting to get a bit more interesting. I just hope the ending won't be rushed.

1. I just read in the discussions that many people think that Caleb is alive. But seriously I don’t think so. The book is really trying to make us feel that way right now but I don’t think it can be that easy.
And I really think Max and Sean have something to do here. Although Max is finally being portrayed as a great guy now, he still seems very suspicious to me. And we can’t forget the fact that he liked Jessa too. Maybe that might have to do something here.
The money part is also raising some doubts. So I think maybe Sean came to know that Caleb was inheriting money from his father he planned something for his disappearance. And Caleb became aware of Sean’s plans and that somehow led to his death. Eve made Jessa clean the house because she knows about Sean’s involvement and wants to get hold of anything that may incriminate him. And Jessa is only one capable of finding out the hidden aspects of Caleb’s life.
Caleb’s ex is also someone I am looking forward to see in the upcoming chapters.

2. I like Julian and Mia. I hate Eve.

3. The book got really slow after page 119. I have struggled to reach the current page. The slow pace has definitely frustrated me. It is just from the last 2 chapters that it gained a little pace. But now I think it will rush into the ending (this is something I absolutely hate in a book tbh). I hope there is nothing as to what I have predicted above in the upcoming chapters.

I wish we knew more about Jessa as a person. We just finally got some idea of future goals(become a pediatrician) and life outside of Caleb from her. I know this whole book premise is about her reminiscing about Caleb and their relationship, but really I would like to know about her more as an independent human so that I can actually give a care. Really its becoming tedious.
I even think their (Max and Jessa) lives would be better in a way without him if he really did fake his death. No matter the reason, thats cold man. To do that to his Mom and little sister. His best friend and the woman he loved. I really don't like Caleb that much. I'm glad Jessa is seeing how secretive and closed off he always was with her.
Overall though I am still enjoying it in the moment. I don't believe it will have a very high rating from me in the end, but still. Not terrible reading experience. Yet anyway.

It's still kind of...fine? I'm not bored, but not desperate to keep reading either. I really wish I was more invested. The stakes seem incredibly low.

I'm disagreeing with the majority here, but I don't think Caleb is alive. That just seems too easy. I think he's dead, but there's more to his Dad's backstory than we realised.

I kind of also think Max is too good to be true? I like him as a character, but this is a mystery/thriller, so surely the nice guy has to be shady. Or am I just a cynical bitch?!

So behind reading this book.
Honestly can it be any slower? I couldn’t believe that we went 100 plus pages without anything really happening, then another 120 just for one more thing to happen.

Everything Jessa touches induces a memory. EVERYTHING!

Almost 300 pages and still very little has happened. I just want it to end. And I won’t DNF it ‘cause I just like to torture myself.

Calebs not dead. It would be a surprise if he actually was. But then again why write the book if there wasn’t some twist that the author has built up painstakingly slow for?