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kdickerson38 's review for:

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
4.5
dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
Holly Jackson’s first adult novel (and it did not disappoint!)

  • Tropes/themes:
    • Ticking clock
    • Complicated family dynamics
    • Self-empowerment
    • Justice and revenge
  • An amazingly clever plot that was so intriguing.
  • It was kind of hard to keep everyone straight in the beginning and then the writing style still read as a YA book a little bit so it took me a good bit of the book to stop forgetting that the characters were adults.
  • Loved the MC and her wit and sarcastic banter
  • Great execution and character development
  • So intricately designed
  • Never knew who to trust and it had me constantly theorizing
  • Very hard to put down
  • The end was bittersweet and the final twist was amazing- I just wish it wasn’t all revealed so quickly (in only one final chapter) because it felt rushed.
  • HIGHLY recommend
  • Content warnings:
    • Death/murder
    • Child death
    • Gun violence
    • Suicide
    • Blood / gore / injury detail
    • Fire / Fire injury
    • Medical content
    • Medical trauma
    • Abandonment
    • Alcoholism
    • Grief
    • Infidelity

Special thank you to Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine Books / Bantam, Holly Jackson, and NetGalley for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Releases 7/22/25!
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