A review by miarae
Dead Girls Don't Talk by Sandra J. Paul

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The book is written from two different POVs, in a turn-over style. Definitely a fun new thing for me to try. I started with Syl's POV, which was interesting and well written. Then I switched to Viola's POV and it was as though it was written by a completely different person. There were quite a few spelling mistakes, sentences that went nowhere, and even a whole part that was out of order.
Viola blaming Syl for her mother having an affair with her dad, and then only finding out pages later that her dad supposedly had an affair with Syl's mom
. If I had started with Viola's POV I don't know if I would have been able to finish the book. For an eighth edition, this book is in desperate need of a proper edit.

Aside from that, I mostly enjoyed the story; I enjoyed that you didn't know who to trust, but in the end it was a gimmick more than a proper good story. Both characters were unlovable and while some of it could be chalked up to their past experiences, they had very few redeeming qualities, making it hard to care about either one of them. At the end, I was reading more to find out the truth than because I enjoyed the book.

Considering I got this book as a Christmas present, I am disappointed in the overall execution of the story.
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