I loved the concept of Fyre Festival meets murder mystery. There were obvious parallels to the infamous Fyre Festival that occurred in 2017. The characters were fake and not super flushed out. They weren't likeable, which seems to be what the author wanted. The murderer's motive was super silly and not realistic. Overall though it was a fun read.

Plum Winter and her two best friends have snuck into the coolest, most extravagant festival of the summer, Pyre Festival. It's supposed to be filled with celebrities and influencers partying in lavish villas on a gorgeous island. But when the girls arrive, the festival isn't quite what was advertised, and they realize they may have been lured to this island under false pretenses, and they may not escape with their lives. This is a super fun, campy, murder-mystery that clearly pokes fun at the Fire Festival, as well as the dark sides of social media and influencer culture. It's light-hearted and silly, and it was an incredibly fun and quick read. I did think the killer and their motives could have been fleshed out a little more, and it lacked some suspense for being a thriller (even a comical one). But overall I had a fun time reading this, and I loved it.

I just finished this and it was a fun read that had some laugh out loud moments. Plum and her two besties, Marlow and Sofia are off to Pyre Festival – Light it up, Set the Night on Fire, Melt Your Face Off – but they’re attending under false pretenses. Plum’s sister, Peach, is a mega star social influencer who’s 10 years older than Plum. When the invitation for Pyre comes to Plum’s house, she keeps this piece of mail back and schemes with her friends to attend in place of Peach. It’ll be the best spring break of their lives is the hope but will actually lead to the biggest fight for their lives!

It doesn’t take long to figure out once they arrive that something is amiss. A small group, no welcome wagon, and none of the trappings the guests were expecting soon leaves everyone a bit wary but willing to make the most of it but when their first night ends in murder, everyone is suspect.

If you’re looking for a light fun read that unveils some of the harmful aspects of social media with a few sub-plots thrown in, You’re So Dead is a great choice!

Thank you, Penguin Teen for the DRC!

Review cross posted to Goodreads
Review will be posted to alisoninbookland.com on June 3
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You’re So Dead works well because it knows what it is. It’s not a serious book. It’s a murder mystery but with a touch of humor. The humor is subtle and makes the characters real. I was worried the humor would be over the top and a bit off putting like Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens. Instead we get humor that makes sense for the situation. Our characters are a bit over the top. They’re ‘influencers’ with an inflated sense of ego. It’s funny as a ‘normal’ person to see how highly these people think of themselves and their crafts. There is also the black humor that comes from dealing with an awful situation and short circuiting to laugh at inappropriate things/make jokes.

I liked the little nods to other pieces of media. If you’re familiar with the references, they’re nice. If you’re not familiar with them, you don’t miss anything.

The relationships between the characters wasn’t my favorite. They could have been developed a bit better. It’s not a big problem for me since this was more a plot book rather than a character driven book.

The ‘message’ of the story is a good reminder and isn’t heavy handed. Everyone is passionate about something. We all need to be a bit mindful about making fun of others online.

The book was a fun ride overall. I never knew what to expect. I didn’t want to put the book down which made it for a really quick read. The best way to describe the book is fun. It feels like a cheesy made for TV movie in the best possible way.

the characters were extremely annoying, the jokes were really were super cheesy, like the author has never spoken to a teen in their life. the book overall was just corny. it read very slowly and the book just was not for me.

Outside of a super annoying romantic sub-plot (because, I too am so obsessed with how my crush feels about me that I often forget what I'm saying...when there's a murderer running around), You're So Dead was a fun little homage to And Then There Were None.

YOU’RE SO DEAD is a YA thriller-comedy following Plum and her two best friends as they sneak into an influencers-only festival. Immediately the girls notice something off. There’s little food, no water, and almost no influencers— then, people start dying. Think a smaller, more personal Fyre Festival, but with a killer out for revenge.
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The pacing of this story is what hurt my reading experience. I didn’t go into this book expecting a 5/5 star read, but I did go into expecting a fun, campy slasher story. I think this book would have been a fun read for me if the first ~120 pages weren’t so slow. By the time the story really started, I was already pretty tired of these characters and I just couldn’t vibe with the cheesy jokes. It was super corny—which could be really fun— it was just such a chore to get to the interesting bits, and that greatly affected my view. If you like silly over the top stories, this could be a fun read for you.
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2.5/5 stars. YOU’RE SO DEAD by Ash Parsons is available June 15, 2021.
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Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for sending me an eARC to review!

This was like nothing I have read before.

This was a YA version of And Then There Were None and it was so interesting. Definitely not what I expected.

This book was so silly and fun! It reminded me a bit of the 2020 movie, Fantasy Island. I liked that I wasn’t able to guess the killer or motive until it was revealed, but the book kept me interested the whole time. I also liked that it seemed to be poking some fun at the failed Fyre Festival and social media influencers. The characters were all pretty exaggerated and annoying and the whole thing had a campy feel. This book was definitely over the top, but it was a fun read.

I got an ARC of this book and regret so much. This is NOT the right book for me. We follow a group of friends and our MC Plum, who has stolen her sister's place at an influencer island party. Except when they get there, they realize the party was a cover to get influencers to the remote island to murder. Dun dun dun. Every character is BARELY likeable and the themes explored are so tropey and overplayed, it's silly. It was over the top unbelievable...like Scooby Doo Mystery Island unrealistic. It's for someone, but not for me.

A deliciously clever romp through Instagram influencer culture.

When Plum intercepts an invitation to the exclusive Pyre Festival, intended for her half-sister, Instagram influencer Peach, she thinks its her chance to have a spring break to remember. She convinces her two best friends to tell their parents they're headed to a beach in Florida, leaving out the private island in the Caribbean part. But when they arrive, there's only a few other Instagram influencers there. It soon becomes apparent that someone wants them all dead, and they just might be trapped with a serial killer.

This book is wickedly amusing, mocking the influencers and their "thing" that made each of them go viral. But it also takes a more serious dive into influencer culture, including how people exploit others for likes and how some of them can make into a very successful, lucrative job.

Plum, Marlowe and Sofia are lovable as three fashion-forward teens who aren't supposed to be there. But as the body count stacks up on the private island, it brings their own secrets to light, including feelings that some of them have for each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I got this ARC in exchange for an honest review from @NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own.

This is good for fans of One of Us is Lying! Plum Winter has always felt like she was the second choice when it comes to her sister, Peach Winter.When Peach is invited on an all-expense trip that's been paid for, Plum intervenes. She takes the invite with her friends and they head to the trip thinking it will be the best time of their lives. A private island -what's not to love? But, when they get there the island is not in the best shape and people are dying. Someone has lured them there and Plum needs to find out who before she's next. I thought it was pretty good -especially once the mystery began. It's an interesting premise and this book also reminded me a little bit of The Lying Game by Sara Shephard.