Meh!

This book should have been better.

I love these type of stories, YA finding themselves in a dire situation, reminds me, in some ways, to the teen slasher movies - minus the gross.

The pace was a problem for me. It was way too slow and by the time the plot picks up, I had lost interest

I wanted so much more from this book.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me.

I'm not opposed to superficial YA mysteries, but this one had too many similarities to other (and better) teen thrillers from the past few years. I tried to hang on, but the bland writing, unlikeable narrator, and convenient plotting was too much to look past. One of those YA books that I think will unfortunately not resonate with older readers.

I normally like a ‘who done it’ type book, but I felt like this one drug on. I didn’t love the ending.

2/5⭐

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the arc in exchange for a review!

The premise and vibes for this novel were quite promising, however, the execution was mediocre... It was just like every other YA murder mystery novel I've read. It was fast-paced and kept me entertained till the end, although it was generally a little underwhelming. At one point, I didn't even care who was to blame for the accident.

I don't completely remember everything that happened but-
TW: su!cide attempt? and I do mention it in the review.

Plot:
The story is about two sisters, Piper and Savannah. They are completely different in every aspect. Piper is really smart and cares about her education a lot (would be considered the "teacher's pet") while Sav is athletic and doesn't really care about school, she just wants to get a soccer scholarship. The book starts with Piper in a coma after she presumably jumped off a cliff, so Sav is trying to find out if her sister tried to commit suicide or if someone pushed her off. Her clues lead to her sister's survival club, so she joins and goes on a camping trip to study everyone and figure out who it may have been.

It was kind of very predictable, even if the suspects changed every chapter, I always kind of knew who it was because it's always the same with these kinds of books. I thought the turns and twists were entertaining, but I expected something more. It was a little basic.
Also, if you think of a camping trip, you expect completely different vibes than what this gave. I don't know how to explain it, but it didn't give me the mystery, dangerous, adventurous, dark vibes that camping trips usually give (even more in mystery books).

Characters:
- Savanah: I really despised her character, she came off as annoying and obnoxious. Savanah's main reason for investigating the accident wasn't the fact that her sister was in a coma and she was worried about her, it was because she might have been the one to push her sister into committing suicide. It was because she felt guilty for the way in which she treated her sister, she didn't want her parents to find out that she was the reason why they might lose their "favorite" daughter. And the way she handled the whole investigation was so stupid like she might as well have gone around asking people if they tried to kill her. And she would literally reveal information she had discovered to random people! even some that she didn't trust. I have to admit that the last plan at the hospital was really smart, but apart from that she definitely shouldn't be an investigator.

The rest of the characters were pretty one-dimensional and the fact that my favorite character was the one in the coma should tell you some things about the rest of the cast. Piper deserves way better.

If you enjoy basic YA mystery, that's easy to read without having to think much, definitely recommend this one! It was entertaining at least :)

"I'm one well wish away from ending up a puddle on the crusty linoleum floor."

I was gifted an ARC of this book to review, thanks to NetGalley.

Savannah Sullivan is struggling to cope since the hiking accident a few weeks ago that rendered her younger sister, Piper, comatose. Especially considering she doesn't think it was an accident at all. No one does, but Savannah thinks it's her fault for not being the best big sister in the world.

So, when she finds a suspicious note in Piper's locker, a note that suggests Piper may have been lured to the spot of her 'accident', Savannah has to investigate. What she doesn't know is that her investigation will take her into the wilderness, and lead her to question everything she thought she knew.

Okay so first things first, this was a page Turner. I finished it in under 12 hours. I did find myself needing to know what would happen. However, I found a lot of the writing cliche and I wasn't a fan of the way that the plot progressed so that's why I'm giving it the 2 stars. It feels harsh, and it probably is, but I want to be as honest as possible.

Issue 1: Savannah isn't a likeable narrator. She honestly sucks. And not in a flawed tragic way but in a way that is infuriating to read. She does some things over the course of the book that I was stunned by, both due to stupidity and selfishness. She's a classic meangirl, but a mean girl trying to solve a whodunnit in the woods, and a mean girl who has exactly 0 skills to do so and won't stop jumping to conclusions.

Issue 2: this book is in first person present, which is, in my mind, very fanfictiony if not done well. It's not done well.

Issue 3: the development of other characters. Secondary characters are left almost completely undeveloped. I learned nearly nothing new about any of them. They are all assets to Savannah's narrative, which I get, but there is no need to make it so obvious.

I love YA mystery, and this one does have lots of twists and turns, but I prefer the work of Karen McManus, and if you are looking for more books like McManus and come across this one, you will be disappointed as it is not on par with popular YA mystery.

This is a thriller in the wilderness. Piper was in a strange hiking accident and has been in a coma for a month. Her older sister Savannah is afraid that Piper may never wake up. She is determined to find out the truth about what happened. To investigate, she joins the wilderness club on their weekend camping trip. She finds some clues that she is following up on. She has to be careful because everyone in the club is a suspect. This story keeps you guessing as to who knows the truth about what happened to Piper. I recommend this book.

When Savannah's younger sister Piper goes into a coma following a traumatic fall, Savannah does not believe her sister was trying to kill herself. With a great deal of guilt surrounding the sisters last interaction, Savannah is determined to find out who caused Piper's fall. The list of suspects changes and grows as Savannah discovers Piper had some secrets of her own.

Overall I enjoyed this book and the different twists the author implemented to keep the reader guessing.

I was given this book via Netgalley for my honest review and man did she move quick! This was a fun little read that I literally read in three hours one morning. It was a fun, heartwarming mystery. I say heartwarming because it has a really great ending, one filled with hope. I just got done reading a really dark, mystery series so this was the breath of fresh air I needed. Still intriguing enough to keep me reading but not dark enough that I need to take mental breaks from it.

I thought about 65% of my way through the book that I had it figured out, but it really does keep you guessing until the very end.

Now some negatives. I didn’t really love the character development as there really wasn’t any and I didn’t really get a grasp on the characters personalities. The descriptions of the characters were vague and not very strong or compelling. Even though I liked the fast pace of the book, I think in this case, it hurt the overall world and character building. It really does thrust you right into the plot without much build up and world/setting building. With that being said, I really didn’t develop a relationship with any of the characters. I found their secrets intriguing, but I didn’t care about their overall wellbeing.

To end on a positive note, I really did enjoy the ride. It was a compelling mystery that kept me reading and guessing until the very end. I just think the book would have benefited for some more characters and setting content to make me care about the characters involved.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
“… you never really know people the way you think you do.”

Piper is the golden child of her parents and Savannah has always been the neglected one. Savannah wanted her parents’ attention but it can’t be possible in presence of Piper. One day Piper had an accident and as a result, is in a coma. Savannah used to have wild fantasies about life without Piper but not like that. She doesn’t believe that her sister can commit suicide so she is on the mission of finding the real reason.

“But here we are, bonded by our mistakes. Bonded by something dark.”

If I’ll have to define this book in a word, it would be BASIC. This book was definitely easy to read and had a promising start but with time it just turned boring and bland. The attitude and reasoning while solving the case were so childish or sometimes even stupid. Savannah was an idiot MC who thinks so highly of herself. It was funny how no one wasn’t able to keep secrets and openly call each other murderers.

Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets / 5 stars

Piper Sullivan, the perfect teen, was involved in a hiking accident that let her to a hospital bed, in coma. After finding threats in her sister's school wilderness club backpack, her older sister, Savannah, joins the club determined to find the truth about her sister's accident. Was it a suicide attempt? Was it an accident? Was it on Purpose?

Everyone is a suspect, and everyone is hiding their secrets about the day she fell.
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Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets caught my eye from the very first page. There are so many twists in the story about who did it and why that you can't help but keep reading.

There are many characters in the story, but I always felt as if I knew all I needed to know about them in order to understand the story and their behaviors. The plot was also always clear in my head, which made it easy to read and enjoyable. The ending was not what I expected but it doesn't feel as if the story was unfinished, which is perfect! I definitely recommend this book!
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I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a riveting story! Excellent plot, fast paced and absolutely unputdownable!
The author has drawn the characters so well, each of the teens is relatable and realistic.

Piper is on life support after she is found unconscious at Suicide Point. Everyone has a guilty conscious for some reason. While her sister Savannah herself feels at fault, she is desperate to find out what really happened to her sister.

While the plot of the story was good, the execution kind of lacked in excitement. The writing felt forced and Savannah was a bit obnoxious and annoying. It was fun trying to figure out who had done it, and it bounced so much through each person that at the time, you believed whole heartedly it was them. I honestly didn’t expect it to be who it was, so that was a nice surprise. I enjoyed when it bounced between Piper and Savannah’s points of views, but didn’t really enjoy so much the writing through the first person in this book. Savannah’s character just continuously repeated herself. Overall, the book was, okayish.

A quick-paced, twisty, whodunnit. I pride myself in being able to pick up on where a thriller/mystery is headed and often times I can predict them pretty well. But with this one, I had NO clue. I changed my mind every few pages and never really had a concrete idea of what I thought was going to happen. It is very quick-paced taking place over just a couple days, and it made it hard to put down. I appreciated the chapters laced throughout from the victim's POV, I think it made the overall mystery heighten. At first I was a bit upset with where the ending was headed, but I think it wrapped up nicely and the end leaves you wanting more (in a good way). Overall a very good, quick read that a lot of mystery/thriller readers will enjoy!

This is a younger book for those going into it but I didn't feel it affected the overall story as it sometimes does.

Weeks ago, Savannah's younger sister Piper was in an accident that left her in a coma. Everyone wrote if off as a suicide, and although Savannah doesn't totally believe it, she knows more about the situation her sister was in than she is letting on. Trying to cope with this big change, Savannah stumbles upon a note in her sister's things that draws into question everything that she thought she knew. The note is from the exact day of the accident and mentions the location in which the accident occurs. Is it possible that someone was there with Piper before she fell? Determined to find out more, Savannah inserts herself into the clubs her sister was apart of to try and uncover the truth. But when she starts to dig, she finds herself in a position where she may just have to spill her own truth to figure out what truly happened to her sister. Who really is to blame here?

Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets was a suspenseful read that kept me interested throughout. I will continue to read Chelsea Ichaso’s books and share them with my students. Excellent young adult addition to the classroom.

When her little sister falls off a cliff, everyone thinks its an attempted suicide, but guilt-ridden Savannah knows it’s something else. The main suspects are all going on a survival trip in the same area and so Savannah decides to join them and investigate things on her own. This book offered nuggets of exploration into relationships, including an exploration of toxic dynamics. Granted the exploration was superficial but then again, a YA thriller isn’t necessarily the best place for in-depth reflection. I particularly enjoyed trying to weed through the actions of the potential suspects and try to pinpoint who was the guilty party. I preferred this book over Ichaso’s Little Creeping Things, which was included in last month’s round-up and am looking forward to her next titles.

*TW: While the description of this book claims the fall was seen as an accident as a trigger warning they do refer to it as a su*cide attempt*

This book starts off with Piper, the favourite younger sister of the main character, Savannah, in a month long coma due to a supposed accidental fall down a mountain. The tone shifts when Savannah finds a note in Piper’s locker claiming a club meeting at the place the accident took place on the same day. Savannah takes it upon herself to dig deeper into the club her sister was in, ironically called the Survival Club, and find out who she met with and who has been threatening her. Everyone, even Savannah, is hiding something and just when you think a suspect is cleared the spotlight swivels back on them.

I thought this book was great. It kept you guessing the whole time as more clues came to light along with characters admitting to secrets having to do with Piper on the day of her fall. This book was simply written and that allowed for it to be fast paced and it hardly felt like I was reading a book. The amount of twists and turns and who I tried to place the blame on was a lot of fun. I felt that the ending was a little rushed and was hoping for a little bit more more in terms of the aftermath of it all. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole premise and would recommend this book to a thriller/mystery fan!

*Free ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

3.75/5
Thanks to netgalley for the eARC in exchange of and honest review. Its definitely a super fast and light mystery book. It can be easily read in one day since it hooks you from the first chapter. Savannahs character development was so raw and amazing throughout the book all because of her sister. It was definitely interesting how it touched some delicate topics without being so heavy but with the right approach. Is the definitely a fast YA mystery book perfect to get put of reading slump

As YA thrillers go this is fantastic - a plot twist I didn't see coming, really well-written characters and a great storyline that doesn't have to lean in too far to adult plot lines.

This is a wonderful gripping YA high school thriller about Savannah who is convinced that her younger sister, Piper hadn’t tried to kill herself and that someone was threatening her. While trying to unravel the mystery of the last weeks of Piper’s life she ends up unearthing a lot of secrets and betrayals.

There might be a few spoilers ahead but not very explicit ones.

Ok off the bat I really liked Savannah’s character she was a fresh change from the typical stereotypes we have for our heroines. She is not the typical loner, unpopular girl who is always trying to do the good. She is an extremely Ely flawed character and makes several mistakes with the people in her life especially Piper. I also feel quite bad for her with the way she was treated by her parents and I love the person she becomes at the end of the book.

Piper sweet Piper honestly deserved so much better, I really feel very sad about what she was going through in the book. I won’t go it to details but damn she had it rough. She is the friend and sister who always had your back even when you didn’t deserve it.

The other relationships, secrets and betrayals were also written wonderfully and the story does have quite a few turns. While I do like the way we catch the person I am not very happy with the reasoning behind it. The book also didn’t have a major twist like the one that gets you really really shocked but this is also a YA thriller.

I loved the ending and am hoping things will only go upward from now, with the characters mending their broken relationships. This is a good exciting read. Would recommend. My rating is 3.75 stars out of 5.

Thank you for netgalley and the author for giving me this e-Arc.


Ps this cover is beautiful.

Many thanks Netgalley, Sourcebooks Fire and Chelsea Ichaso for letting me read this book earlier!

This was a fun!

This book was a quick YA mystery and it really lives up to those promises! I really liked the storytelling style, it fit the genre really well and it keeps you curious, hooked in the story without ever slowing down too much. The only thing to keep in mind is that this book is a mystery to young adults, so it has those parts where the protagonist makes some dumb decisions, and in some cases we get pissed off at her, so it's important to remember that.
I really liked the dynamics between the main character and the others ones, it was very interesting and something that was well worked! With that, I liked the book, it was a good read for the beginning of vacation, for me 3.5.