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mythically_bookish 's review for:
Girls Who Play Dead
by Joelle Wellington
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Girls Who Play Dead is Joelle Wellington's take on the suburban gothic (Ex. Stepford Wives) with this story of Kyla and Mikky. After Kyla's best friend is murdered, Mikky comes back to his hometown to help Kyla grieve and solve the mystery of her killer.
First and foremost, I LOVE Joelle Wellington and she plays with genres masterfully. What can't she do?! This take on the suburban gothic is fantastic. The atmosphere is so eerie and Cook Cosmetics being apart of everyone's lives feels so cultish. The way they drop product placement from the cosmetics lines so smoothly in the writing is so cool. I usually am not a gothic reader, but this was such an interesting read (and I'll read whatever Joelle Wellington writes because I think she always has such unique takes and is so profound in her writing)
I loved the two budding relationships and the way they really seemed to get each other. It feels like so much of this story is really about Kyla finding out who she is and wanting to feel seen even though she is guarded, and Mikky trying to guide her in that after he went through similar discovery post move.
While Wellington always has some anti-capitalist messaging in her stories, to which this is no exception, I thought what she had to say about mothers in this one was very interesting.Kyla dnd Mikky's mom not wanting to be a mom and bucking against the idea that women have to be maternal was very interesting. And Erin and Jason's mom turning out to be the ultimate "boy mom" in a sense was unexpected. I had absolutely no idea that she would be the killer and the reveal was very well done.
5 Stars! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC! Cannot wait to buy the book!
First and foremost, I LOVE Joelle Wellington and she plays with genres masterfully. What can't she do?! This take on the suburban gothic is fantastic. The atmosphere is so eerie and Cook Cosmetics being apart of everyone's lives feels so cultish. The way they drop product placement from the cosmetics lines so smoothly in the writing is so cool. I usually am not a gothic reader, but this was such an interesting read (and I'll read whatever Joelle Wellington writes because I think she always has such unique takes and is so profound in her writing)
I loved the two budding relationships and the way they really seemed to get each other. It feels like so much of this story is really about Kyla finding out who she is and wanting to feel seen even though she is guarded, and Mikky trying to guide her in that after he went through similar discovery post move.
While Wellington always has some anti-capitalist messaging in her stories, to which this is no exception, I thought what she had to say about mothers in this one was very interesting.
5 Stars! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC! Cannot wait to buy the book!