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jaycinders 's review for:
The Lives of Desperate Girls
by MacKenzie Common
The Lives of Desperate Girls by MacKenzie Common is a great YA read! Part-thriller and part-social commentary, the story revolves around Jenny, a high school student who is heartbroken over the disappearance of her friend, Chloe. Jenny has her own beliefs about Chloe's disappearance that she can't bring herself to share with the police, so she instead throws herself into a sometimes dangerous investigation of the murder of Helen, a different classmate whom Jenny didn't know very well.
The story told by Common is a compelling one that kept me lying awake in bed, reading the phone on the small screen of my phone, even after my eyes and brain were too tired to want to keep going. Jenny finds herself in the awkward position of wanting her friend found, but not wanting to share the bullying that Chloe was experiencing and the resulting out-of-character choices Chloe was making with her life. Because of her continued loyalty to her absent friend, Jenny finds herself pulling away from her classmates and finding a new friend in another outcast, Tom.
At times, The Lives of Desperate Girls lacked cohesiveness and read like two separate stories - one about the death of Helen and the disappearance of Chloe, and the other about the discrimination faced by First Nations people in Canada, but it didn't take much away from the story. Jenny's reaction to her best friend's disappearance felt natural and I found myself connecting to the character and her infatuation with a new friend who reminds her of Chloe. Rather than facing the truth of the secrets she was keeping to protect Chloe, Jenny becomes determined to find out who killed Helen and make sure the police know that she believes they aren't spending enough time on solving Helen's murder because Helen is Native and not a beautiful white girl like Chloe.
When Jenny finally comes clean to Chloe's parents about her knowledge of Chloe's disappearance the relief can be felt in the writing. By giving herself permission to let go of Chloe, Jenny is able to put her own life in perspective and stops pushing away the people whom she has grown to care about during her investigation of Helen's murder.
At one point, Jenny goes along with Tom's plan to get revenge of three of the people who were catalysts for what Jenny saw as Chloe's deterioration, but afterwards she laments her decision and finds herself repentant, not because she believes them to be innocent, but because she discovers that expressing her anger does nothing to make her feel better in the end.
Overall, despite some disjointed moments, this book is a great read. Common is able to share some history about the First Nations people, bring attention to the way minority victims are treated by agents of institutions of system racism, AND provide a thriller for young adults that doesn't shy away from sex, drugs, and violence.
The story told by Common is a compelling one that kept me lying awake in bed, reading the phone on the small screen of my phone, even after my eyes and brain were too tired to want to keep going. Jenny finds herself in the awkward position of wanting her friend found, but not wanting to share the bullying that Chloe was experiencing and the resulting out-of-character choices Chloe was making with her life. Because of her continued loyalty to her absent friend, Jenny finds herself pulling away from her classmates and finding a new friend in another outcast, Tom.
At times, The Lives of Desperate Girls lacked cohesiveness and read like two separate stories - one about the death of Helen and the disappearance of Chloe, and the other about the discrimination faced by First Nations people in Canada, but it didn't take much away from the story. Jenny's reaction to her best friend's disappearance felt natural and I found myself connecting to the character and her infatuation with a new friend who reminds her of Chloe. Rather than facing the truth of the secrets she was keeping to protect Chloe, Jenny becomes determined to find out who killed Helen and make sure the police know that she believes they aren't spending enough time on solving Helen's murder because Helen is Native and not a beautiful white girl like Chloe.
When Jenny finally comes clean to Chloe's parents about her knowledge of Chloe's disappearance the relief can be felt in the writing. By giving herself permission to let go of Chloe, Jenny is able to put her own life in perspective and stops pushing away the people whom she has grown to care about during her investigation of Helen's murder.
At one point, Jenny goes along with Tom's plan to get revenge of three of the people who were catalysts for what Jenny saw as Chloe's deterioration, but afterwards she laments her decision and finds herself repentant, not because she believes them to be innocent, but because she discovers that expressing her anger does nothing to make her feel better in the end.
Overall, despite some disjointed moments, this book is a great read. Common is able to share some history about the First Nations people, bring attention to the way minority victims are treated by agents of institutions of system racism, AND provide a thriller for young adults that doesn't shy away from sex, drugs, and violence.