A review by aichaa
Dead Girls Don't Talk by Joanne Carlton

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

since this book was said to be “two versions of the same story” i thought it was gonna be something like:
syl’s story – viola mistreated me and killed me
viola’s story - syl was manipulative and i acted in self defense
but it actually was:
syl’s story – viola mistreated me and killed me
viola’s story - i mistreated syl and killed her but it wasn’t totally my fault
i just read the same story twice, when i expected the same story to be told differently. 

viola’s POV was just “yeah i did all that but it was because syl was the daughter of someone who destroyed my family.” she didn’t feel realistically manipulative to me, there was no point in her keeping syl around. yeah, she needed to feel superior to someone, but she wasn’t getting that feeling from syl anymore. viola kept coming back because she couldn’t deal with being replaced, which many psychos like her do, but this didnt match her behavior at all – she got NOTHING out of having syl around anymore. she actually hated it so much ahshhsjd

then there was syl and that last moment “plot twist” of her being actually manipulative too. that didn’t feel well constructed at all to me, especially her getting a gun?? where did that escalation come from? and swerving the car to kill viola??? there was no hint of this type of personality in any other scene of hers. even when she stood up to viola it wasn’t nasty just “wow she’s finally speaking up for herself”.

then the last scene where viola was like “everyone thought i swerved the car to save myself and kill syl but actually syl was trying to swerve to kill me :((“ (….) “and then i swerved to save myself and kill her. oh this is my big secret.” girl there’s no drama there. she tried to kill you, you saved yourself. why the hell would you complicate this whole thing?

i also didn’t feel like viola trying to “protect” syl after her death felt genuine. it was supposed to be a “they hated each other, tried to kill one another, but also toxically love one another” moment. but it wasn’t. other books have done it sm better. but these bitches didn’t hate each other in a deep, meaningful, almost loving way; they didn’t give a fuck about the other at all. 

also why tf didn’t syl ever say that viola swerved at the last minute??? she was so adamant on blaming viola and didn’t tell the truth about that???? WHAT WAS ALL THIS FOR THEN???

finally, i feel like there was no need for this story to have a ghost at all. we didn’t get anything from syl’s pov of what happened after she became a ghost and there were no more paranormal things in the story. the idea i have wouldn’t work for a “flip over” version but i’m sure the author could’ve come up with something. 

so much wasted potential.
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