Monday, October 31, 2011

Review: Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Bad Girls Don't Die
Katie Alender
Published April 21st, 2009
by Hyperion

When Alexis's little sister Kasey becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own Goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they live in starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in. Kasey is changing, too. Her blue eyes go green and she speaks in old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.

Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey's shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister — but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

The best definition of this book is Creepy. It's definitely a chilling read. Ghosts and strange happenings that made my hair stand on ends: it was off to a great start. However, it's so full of clichés that it never develops into anything very intense or much interesting. The lack of originality is easily the biggest downfall of the novel and makes it extremely predictable. I've watched a lot of thriller/horror movies of this kind though, maybe I have just seen it all?

As expected, we have the outcast loner girl who, somehow, easily gets the hot guy. Not only has this been overly done in YA already, the whole romance aspect in Bad Girls Don't Die doesn't have a purpose in the book at all. It doesn't add any charm to the story and only amounts to getting you annoyed with it. The love interest; the awkward dialogue; the character's reactions: it all feels a bit too juvenile for modern day YA. I could see younger teens -12, 13 years old - enjoying this much more.

If you can get passed that and focus on the plot, the book is actually not so bad; I did enjoy getting spooked. Ghost stories are my weakness. They freak me out, but I can't help myself from wanting to hear them all. The writing is good, simple, and it's a fast read that wraps up quickly and nicely. All in all, I liked it well enough for it's creepy factor - it isn't a waste of time, but it's nothing to write home about either.

3 Hot Espressos