Monday, October 31, 2011

Review: Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender

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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
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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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26 Responses to “Review: Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender”

  4. Kristan

    I love creepy books but I don’t think I could get past everything else about this book. I might just hold off on getting the book for awhile. Great review as always!!!

    Kristan

  10. Ron C. Nieto

    Thanks for the great review! The title caught me attention, and the fact that the main character is weird and Goth helped too – my personal weaknesses!

    But that’s about the point where I decided this one was not for me. Cliché I can survive. Sometimes. If the rest of the thing is spectacular. But the spectacularity tends to ride hard on the characters when the plot becomes too easy to predict, and, by the looks of it? I’d be wanting to strangle Alexis before midway through the book. Or cheering Kasey on.

    There’s little that annoys me more than non-believable, which is funny taking into account my strong preference for Paranormal. But hey, there’s inner logic, and there’s the fact that mundane aspects make sense. Impossible love, poor dialogue, reactions I can’t understand? Noooope, not for me.

    So.. yeah, my most heartfelt thanks for the honest review!

    Ron @ Stories of my life

  11. Meghan @ Books and a Cup of Tea

    Great, honest review!

    I am definitely the type to be able to predict exactly what’s going to happen in movies and books, so sometimes the fact that a book is predictable isn’t a great thing.

    I started reading this one a while ago and I’ll definitely have to pick this one back up to see if it’s predictable :).

  13. Giselle

    Just an FYI, if you planned to read this, I suggest you still do because I heard book #2 was much better and lots more fun. I plan to read it soon.

    Thanks for all your comments! *kisses*

  15. A. Knight

    I was actually getting into the summary, but when I read your review, my original opinion took a total 360. I, unfortunately, am not a reader who can get passed annoying dialogue and a super irritating romance. It will irk me throughout the entire read and will end up being a total waste of time, since I won’t be enjoying it. Thanks for the honesty, really useful!

    -Asher (from Paranormal Indulgence)

  19. Allison

    I agree with you totally. I actually got the second book of this series for review before reading this one, so I read both – the second book (in my opinion) is a lot better…

  21. Candace

    I couldn’t get into this one ages ago when I picked it up. It just wasn’t working for me at the time and so I did a giveaway. This makes me feel a little better and feel like I’m not the only one. Glad you still enjoyed it even if you didn’t love it.

  22. JP

    Wow! The synopsis sounds so good, I was ready to drive to Barnes and Noble to buy the book!

    Then I read your review, and my wallet thanks you. It’s unfortunate that such a promising book went no where of any interest. Thanks for the honest review!

    New GFC Follower: JP