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dnyv's review against another edition
5.0
This was the first book I read this year.... And one I bought like a decade ago and finally gave the chance to read.
It was a really good book to start the year, catching and pretty easy to read. The characters are approachable and friendly. It's easy to follow her around the death world.
It is also s book full of small hidden gems, things that make you think about how important is to be real and to do what you believe before it is too late.
The friendship with Scarlet is mesmerising, I wished they would have know each other before her death, but I guess that way things wouldn't have been that good.
Friendships all along are really important in this book and they show you more about yourself than about the others.
I really liked it
It was a really good book to start the year, catching and pretty easy to read. The characters are approachable and friendly. It's easy to follow her around the death world.
It is also s book full of small hidden gems, things that make you think about how important is to be real and to do what you believe before it is too late.
The friendship with Scarlet is mesmerising, I wished they would have know each other before her death, but I guess that way things wouldn't have been that good.
Friendships all along are really important in this book and they show you more about yourself than about the others.
I really liked it
books_plan_create's review against another edition
1.0
Extremely dull, boring, etc. I hated the main character!
constantin's review against another edition
4.0
Very nice and refreshing story. It has a good plot for its genre and it gives you the feeling of "Chilling at home on a Sunday afternoon and watching something between goosebumps and American teen movies".
priscilainthesky's review against another edition
3.0
Fue una de las primeras trilogías que leí, y el sostén para lanzarme al mundo de la lectura. Muy entretenido, fácil de leer y con la enseñanza que la vida es demasiado corta para lamentarse por todo, deberíamos animarnos a todo y no importa lo que los demás piensen ni pensar mal acerca de los demás.
mckenzierichardson's review against another edition
2.0
I'm kind of conflicted about this book. There were parts I liked and parts I didn't like. So please excuse the ramble that is about to follow.
I really liked the concept of the book. It took an old concept (ghostly unfinished business) and put a cool new spin on it. There were parts of the plot that really made me want to keep reading and I was intrigued by the storyline.
However, I absolutely hated the characters. They all felt so interchangeable. They didn't seem like individual entities, but like they were based off the same snarky, sarcastic archetype. Charlotte was the worst. She was just so dense, it was irritating. It's hard as a reader to know the character is doing everything wrong, but are too wrapped up in themselves to realize it. I finished this book quickly, partly because I wanted to get as far away from Charlotte as possible.
The writing wasn't that great either. There were some typos and a lot of awkward phrasing. I had to read a lot of sentences many times to figure out what the author meant to say. Also, many of the events are just not plausible. I'm not talking about the fantasy elements, I'm talking about the real, everyday stuff that would never happen (driver's ed debacle, everything surrounding the dance- convincing adults to use that location, cleaning up in time, etc.)
Most of the book is based on mean girl stereotypes and obsession over popularity. This led to many eye-roll moments as a reader and really frustrated me. The girls in the book are all horrible to each other (slut shaming, stereotyping, bullying, taking advantage of each other) and a lot of that doesn't really get resolved. Also, many of the comments came at awkward times and seemed out of character for the person who said it, reinforcing the whole interchangeable character thing. Most of the time it just felt like the author wanted to gain popularity by showing how snarky she herself could be. How's that for ironic for you.
I did like the cover, which was the reason I bought this book out of the clearance section in the first place. I also enjoyed the little shadow illustrations at the start of each chapter. It is definitely a cool little book.
But another tiny, little thing that impacted my opinion of this book was the physical book itself. I was first drawn to it, because of its tall, thin, coffin-like shape. However, once I started reading it, I realized how annoying this design decision was. It hurts your hand to try to read one-handed after a while, because it is so tall. But when I read it with two hands, I kept having to reposition my fingers, because they were always in the way of the text since the book is so narrow. It's a tiny point, but it definitely made reading this book less enjoyable.
So I'm still conflicted. I loved the idea of the book, but I hated the execution. I'm settling with 2 stars, because I think the things I didn't like outweighed what I did like about this book.
I really liked the concept of the book. It took an old concept (ghostly unfinished business) and put a cool new spin on it. There were parts of the plot that really made me want to keep reading and I was intrigued by the storyline.
However, I absolutely hated the characters. They all felt so interchangeable. They didn't seem like individual entities, but like they were based off the same snarky, sarcastic archetype. Charlotte was the worst. She was just so dense, it was irritating. It's hard as a reader to know the character is doing everything wrong, but are too wrapped up in themselves to realize it. I finished this book quickly, partly because I wanted to get as far away from Charlotte as possible.
The writing wasn't that great either. There were some typos and a lot of awkward phrasing. I had to read a lot of sentences many times to figure out what the author meant to say. Also, many of the events are just not plausible. I'm not talking about the fantasy elements, I'm talking about the real, everyday stuff that would never happen (driver's ed debacle, everything surrounding the dance- convincing adults to use that location, cleaning up in time, etc.)
Most of the book is based on mean girl stereotypes and obsession over popularity. This led to many eye-roll moments as a reader and really frustrated me. The girls in the book are all horrible to each other (slut shaming, stereotyping, bullying, taking advantage of each other) and a lot of that doesn't really get resolved. Also, many of the comments came at awkward times and seemed out of character for the person who said it, reinforcing the whole interchangeable character thing. Most of the time it just felt like the author wanted to gain popularity by showing how snarky she herself could be. How's that for ironic for you.
I did like the cover, which was the reason I bought this book out of the clearance section in the first place. I also enjoyed the little shadow illustrations at the start of each chapter. It is definitely a cool little book.
But another tiny, little thing that impacted my opinion of this book was the physical book itself. I was first drawn to it, because of its tall, thin, coffin-like shape. However, once I started reading it, I realized how annoying this design decision was. It hurts your hand to try to read one-handed after a while, because it is so tall. But when I read it with two hands, I kept having to reposition my fingers, because they were always in the way of the text since the book is so narrow. It's a tiny point, but it definitely made reading this book less enjoyable.
So I'm still conflicted. I loved the idea of the book, but I hated the execution. I'm settling with 2 stars, because I think the things I didn't like outweighed what I did like about this book.
ash_ton's review against another edition
4.0
I think I was like, 10/11 when I read this, so around 2008/2009. I'm gonna give it 4 stars for now because I remember really liking it. I was obsessed with ghosts and death and was a weird lil emo kid.
libraryrobin's review against another edition
1.0
Lame, predictable story filled with stereotypes. Such a disappointment.
quintiola's review against another edition
4.0
Read it as a teen. Had all three books. Read them all. Liked them.( I was a teen). Gave them away cause I knew I wouldn’t read them again. Recommend to TEENS. Praise Satan.
eviecheesepuff's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book is such a ✨wild card✨
The aesthetic! I remember being 15 years old and wanting this book so bad! 😭 But I couldn’t afford it and my library did not have a copy, so when I saw it on the thrift store last month…I shrieked!
Charlotte, our MC, will make this HER year. She talks to her crush, plans to defy the mean girls and revamps her look. All of that hard work is for nothing however, when she chokes on a gummy bear (yes 🤦♀️) and dies on her first day back to high school. Now she wakes up as a ghost, surrounded by other dead teenagers and stuck in high school even after death.
Honestly the secondary characters (a deranged cast of young ghosts… from the one who drowned in her own vomit on a crazy wild night to the one who got murdered on prom night) made this book so interesting! I also loved Scarlet's character. The only teen who can see Charlotte 😊
Look, the reason why I'm giving this book 3 stars instead of 4 is because I legitimately though that Charlotte and Scarlet were endgame. They were so cute together but of course this book was written in the 2000's and as fun as that was when it came to references and slang, the LGBTQ+ representation is very lacking. Alexa! play I Wish You Were Gay by Billie Eilish ✌️
LESSONS LEARNED:
- This book was a lot darker than I expected. It provides very good commentary on popularity and prioritizing all the wrong things as a teen.
-Be careful when you eat candy 👀 chew it well.
notes
- if you’re in your mid/late twenties this book is just worth reading to revisit the 2000's culture ❤️ omg.
- not the author quoting Evanescence!🤘no wonder my teen goth self wanted this book so bad. Amy Lee is and will always be an absolute icon.
- this book is so goddamn pretty! The cover, the little doodles on the corners, the silver edges, the bicolored chapter pages 🙌 I'm in love!
The aesthetic! I remember being 15 years old and wanting this book so bad! 😭 But I couldn’t afford it and my library did not have a copy, so when I saw it on the thrift store last month…I shrieked!
Charlotte, our MC, will make this HER year. She talks to her crush, plans to defy the mean girls and revamps her look. All of that hard work is for nothing however, when she chokes on a gummy bear (yes 🤦♀️) and dies on her first day back to high school. Now she wakes up as a ghost, surrounded by other dead teenagers and stuck in high school even after death.
Honestly the secondary characters (a deranged cast of young ghosts… from the one who drowned in her own vomit on a crazy wild night to the one who got murdered on prom night) made this book so interesting! I also loved Scarlet's character. The only teen who can see Charlotte 😊
Look, the reason why I'm giving this book 3 stars instead of 4 is because I legitimately though that Charlotte and Scarlet were endgame. They were so cute together but of course this book was written in the 2000's and as fun as that was when it came to references and slang, the LGBTQ+ representation is very lacking. Alexa! play I Wish You Were Gay by Billie Eilish ✌️
LESSONS LEARNED:
- This book was a lot darker than I expected. It provides very good commentary on popularity and prioritizing all the wrong things as a teen.
-Be careful when you eat candy 👀 chew it well.
notes
- if you’re in your mid/late twenties this book is just worth reading to revisit the 2000's culture ❤️ omg.
- not the author quoting Evanescence!🤘no wonder my teen goth self wanted this book so bad. Amy Lee is and will always be an absolute icon.
- this book is so goddamn pretty! The cover, the little doodles on the corners, the silver edges, the bicolored chapter pages 🙌 I'm in love!