rosamarie 's review for:

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

3.25

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I have a basic criterion that, for right or wrong, needs to be met in order for me to both love and feel invested in a book. I have to like the main character. And Jet was one of the most unlikable characters I've had the misfortune of reading about in a long time. Hence, it was really hard to feel much sympathy about her impending death. The writing and behaviour of the characters also felt extremely YA - regardless of how many expletives the author kept throwing in to try and make the book more adult. The audiobook narration was often irritating, with half the characters' voices sounding like the high-pitched whines that come out of small children which one usually tries to block out. However, I think the concept of the story - solving your own murder - was an interesting one (even though I had to suspend belief a few times regarding how Jet could perform such physical feats without triggering her aneurysm). And I always love trying to guess the killer in a whodunnit (although I had a fair idea in this novel so there weren't any huge surprise twists for me). Despite my negativity, this wasn't a bad book, I was just hoping for the wonderful character development, gritty themes and nuance that made AGGGTM such an exceptional read.