Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by myeternaljk
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
did i finish this book or did this book finish me?
the tears have dried on my cheeks by now but damn.
i was so excited to get this new holly jackson book in my hands, knowing how much i had loved all of her previous books so far. i trusted for it to get me out of my current reading slump and seeing how i finished it within just over a day, i think it did.
the story picked up immediately, you just got to know jet and next thing you know, she’s dead. well, almost. the concept of her trying to solve her own murder within only a week was super interesting to read, very different and unique.
i must admit i had also hoped for her to survive this somehow, even though i already knew it’ll have a sad ending (holly jackson said so on her socials). and boy was it sad. i started tearing up during jet‘s voicemail message to billy and then fully started sobbing reading the goodbye letters. the one to the dog??? brutal. and yes, sophia is indeed a c*nt.
i liked how deep and multifaceted these characters felt, all of them had such detailed back stories and a lot of them had made mistakes in their past, some bigger ones than others. especially luke stood out, i never really knew if i could trust him or not, if i like him or not. i didn’t know how i was supposed to feel about him and i honestly still don’t, and that’s okay. it makes a great character. i also enjoyed getting to know so much about our love interest and side kick, billy. his past, his fears of not being loved back, his urge to people-please. he deserves the world.
while trying to solve this murder alongside the victim herself, my mind jumped from suspect to suspect, however no one really stood out to me. there were so many other twists and turns being revealed throughout the story, some more predictable than others, that made it hard for me to guess. the red herring in the end, making billy look suspicious? i wouldn’t have been able to forgive holly if it had been true. i’m not sure if billy‘s dad‘s motive is ‚enough‘ for me to really make it believable, but i like how it unfolded.
i really liked jet as our protagonist, seeing her character development of turning into someone who can finally live with accepting people‘s help without feeling useless. and even if you feel useless sometimes, that’s okay too. there’s more to life, and that was nice to read.
all in all, amazing book. i’ll be here waiting for the next holly jackson release.
the tears have dried on my cheeks by now but damn.
i was so excited to get this new holly jackson book in my hands, knowing how much i had loved all of her previous books so far. i trusted for it to get me out of my current reading slump and seeing how i finished it within just over a day, i think it did.
the story picked up immediately, you just got to know jet and next thing you know, she’s dead. well, almost. the concept of her trying to solve her own murder within only a week was super interesting to read, very different and unique.
i liked how deep and multifaceted these characters felt, all of them had such detailed back stories and a lot of them had made mistakes in their past, some bigger ones than others. especially luke stood out, i never really knew if i could trust him or not, if i like him or not. i didn’t know how i was supposed to feel about him and i honestly still don’t, and that’s okay. it makes a great character. i also enjoyed getting to know so much about our love interest and side kick, billy. his past, his fears of not being loved back, his urge to people-please. he deserves the world.
while trying to solve this murder alongside the victim herself, my mind jumped from suspect to suspect, however no one really stood out to me. there were so many other twists and turns being revealed throughout the story, some more predictable than others, that made it hard for me to guess. the red herring in the end, making billy look suspicious? i wouldn’t have been able to forgive holly if it had been true. i’m not sure if billy‘s dad‘s motive is ‚enough‘ for me to really make it believable, but i like how it unfolded.
i really liked jet as our protagonist, seeing her character development of turning into someone who can finally live with accepting people‘s help without feeling useless. and even if you feel useless sometimes, that’s okay too. there’s more to life, and that was nice to read.
all in all, amazing book. i’ll be here waiting for the next holly jackson release.