Member Reviews
I read this book in record speed bcs it was un-putdown-able. Fast paced, dark and thrilling, everyone seems to have a motive/reason to kill, angsty teenage drama... It was such a ride! My only little setback is I wish the climax-toward-ending (the moment they were discovering who is really responsible and how they were handled) was somehow a bit stronger? Like it pales at the end of such thrilling ride. But overall, I enjoyed it a lot!
< Review copy received via Netgalley in exchange with an honest review >
Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets is such an amazing book, it helped me out of a book funk I've been in for weeks now. I finished this magnificent book in less than a day and it did not disappoint. It is such an attention grabber and there was not one second or part in the entire book where I got bored or lost interest. This book is filled with such great imagery and shocking plot twists, just when you think you know who is responsible, it whips you back to the drawing board in the most incredible way. The ending left me with my jaw to the floor as well as with tears in my eyes. I was more than content with this book and I can't wait to purchase this next year. Thank you Chelsea Ichaso and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets.
*Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review*
Now this is what I call a fast-paced thriller!
This book wasted no time. It got straight into the story and added background story in between chapters.
I felt a bit strange about it at first, because I thought the pacing was way too fast. But, the backstory was well done and I did end up enjoying it. Lately young adult thrillers aren't really fast paced as advertised, so seeing this was refreshing.
There were twists after twists so even when you think you've figured it out, you haven't. And while at times I felt it might be a bit too much, and the mc, Savannah, made some rushed/questionable choices, it kept me on edge and turning pages. I wanted to know who dun it!
I also liked the conclusion and the way things ended and I really enjoy Chelsea Ichaso's writing style.
All in all, it was a fun quick thrilling read and I liked it just as much as Little Creeping Things. Chelsea's def in my auto-buy authors' list! Can't wait to see what's next!
I love a great ya mystery thriller. I crave the twists and the mystery. However this one was a bit to predictable and kinda fell flat for me.
This one gave me a lot of mixed feelings. First, I love the cover. I think it is definitely appealing along with the title itself. I did like that Savannah, the narrator, wasn't perfect or an ideal student/teen. There was conflict in her family; she had definitely made some bad moral choices as a sister, daughter, friend, and person, but I think that helps teens relate to characters. I think students will either relate to her or have strong feelings about her actions; either way, those feelings will keep them reading. I think the mystery itself is well done with Piper and the clues and happenings, but sometimes Savannah and her actions had me feeling a little....skeptical. She accuses/suspects literally every character and is sure it is them each time. Then, even after saying she needs to be careful and keep this a secret as she looks into her sister's accident, she confronts every suspect about what "evidence" she found and then once they say, "it wasn't me" tells literally all of them about her plan and what she has found. It just felt like it was a storyline connecting the dots and not like genuine event or encounters would go. Maybe that is just me. I do think that teen readers will enjoy it, and I would buy it and recommend it to my students.
“Nothing I find is going to change what happened on september sixteenth. It wont fix what i did”
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“An unreliable narrator.
A camping trip.
A girl in a coma.
Someone knows what happened to Piper Sullivan, but will they tell the truth?”
- In this book we follow Savannah Sullivan on her quest to find out what truly happened to her sister Piper.
Everybody’s keeping secrets. Savannah included.
Everyone’s got a motive, a reason to want Piper gone.
- A sister. A boyfriend. A best friend. A new friend. A club. A teacher.
- The question that lingers is: What happened september sixteenth?
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I enjoyed this book so much. Hooked from chapter 1, “Dead girls cant tell secrets” is honestly such a fun ride. The amount of suspicions I had, and that were always so right and so wrong at the same time. And, at the end of the day, te final outcome was something I never even saw coming.
You get characters you love, characters you hate, characters you love to hate and hate to love.
I think that the one thing missing in this book is a prologue. I found the ending a little abrupt, and I wish we could’ve got to know more about what happened next.
Overall it’s one of my favorite YA’s i’ve read recently and a story I think people of all ages would enjoy!
cant wait for everyone to be able to read this april 5, 2022
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC. This is an intriguing, quick read, and honestly I would’ve given it 4 stars or more if not for the main character Savannah. I really struggled with continuing reading because I disliked her so much. Perhaps a younger reader might not have found her as off putting as I did-she just seemed like a whiny, untrustworthy brat to me, and completely unlikable.
That said, the story itself is intriguing, and I especially liked the flashbacks, which gave the backstory leading up to Piper’s alleged suicide attempt. She is definitely a likable character, and one I’d read more about (if this book leads to another). I will definitely pick up more books by this author in the future.
**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review**
It took me a while to get into this one but I came to really enjoy it. I liked that the storyline was split between the present day and things that happened in the run up to Piper's "fall". There were lots of twists and turns and several red herrings that lead me to make all kinds of conclusions before the truth was revealed.
I admit, I was expecting something darker, heavier, reminiscent of Karen McManus when I picked up this book—but it ended up being a slightly more lighter-topic, fun page-turner.
First off, Ichaso’s writing is pretty phenomenal. Savannah’s voice rolls right off the page; her character is distinct, the hints and tension in the beginning were expertly teased, and the concept was pretty intriguing: a sister who attempted suicide, and more people lying than you can count. And there are some moments of true suspense.
But unfortunately, after the characters depart for their hiking trip, the story becomes underwhelming. I found the reveals to be disappointing, and the motives/lies to be shallow.
I think this would qualify as younger YA, despite the protagonists being seniors/juniors (and the premise being a girl who attempted suicide), but if I had read it as younger YA I think I would’ve enjoyed it more straight-off. As it was, I kept expecting something the big reveal, some earth-shattering soul-searching or dark conspiracy.
What it ended up being was a fun romp, a delightful mystery with some good tension and excellent voice, that was a quick, page-turning read. 3.5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!
-A
the pacing of this book really threw me off - the beginning felt super haphazard and shaky
but it smoothed out by the end
the amount of twists in this book began to feel gratuitous after a while and savannah was SO STUPID oml like girl you can't just go around accusing every single breathing creature of murdering your sister and hoping to get somewhere because it won't work (unless ofc you're in this book and it does, in fact, work)
final reveal felt super anticlimactic
there just wasn't a ton that i enjoyed about this book other than the fact that it flew by
Savannah's sister, Piper, has been in a coma for a month. Everyone believes that it was a suicide attempt on Piper's part, but Savannah isn't ready to swallow that information, especially because she would feel guilty if it were suicide.
Savannah decides to join the Survival Club, her sister's latest extra curricular, to find out what really happened. She uncovers potential threats against Piper and then decides to spend a weekend camping with the club.. to find out who tried to murder her sister.
This was definitely a quick read, but Savannah was hard to root for because she made some dumb decisions. And then there were A LOT of coincidences and everyone was THE suspect at one point. Just really annoying. I think it could have been better crafted without all the twists and turns. It seemed like when one potential suspect was revealed, Savannah would confront them, and then it would be found out that they were innocent.. the next page. Overall, just a little silly.
Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets was ok. The story was interesting enough to keep me reading, but I felt like the narrator didn't do much actual investigating--she mostly just stumbled onto evidence, and reacted to what was happening. I also found it weird that she started out wanting to keep her investigation secret, but almost immediately started accusing everyone she came across of being the culprit. There were so many red herrings that the final reveal felt very anticlimactic; almost any of the other possible solutions would have been more interesting than what the solution ultimately turned out to be. Overall, I don't regret reading this book, but it's not one I would reread, either.
Piper Sullivan fell from a cliff during a hiking accident. Piper's sister, Savannah, is unraveling with grief. Savannah finds a note in Piper's locker asking her to meet at the very cliff she fell from that day. Savannah suspects her accident may not have been a suicide attempt or accident after all. She joins the hiking club to ask questions of the other club members to find their secrets. What Savannah isn't telling is that she has secrets of her own. Great suspense for grades 7+.
Chelsea Ichaso has created a world full of teens with secrets that still manages to feel believable as the twists unravel. The pacing of Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets was just right — information withheld and divulged at just the right moments to keep readers engaged. The characters are interesting, and having an unreliable first-person narrator allows for readers to go on an exciting whodunit journey where they’re never quite sure what’s true. I truly felt like I was in the midst of a murder mystery dinner set around a campfire. I’ll definitely be reading more by Ichaso in the future! Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Piper Sullivan has been in a coma for a month as a result of a strange hiking accident. The outcome doesn’t look good and its highly likely that Piper will not be waking up. Her sister Savannah is devastated. She and her sister were not on good terms before the accident, and a text message sent to Piper in the heat of the moment has her wracked with guilt.
While borrowing a sweater from her sister’s locker at school, Savannah discovers a startling note inviting Piper to attend a meeting of the wilderness club. This meeting was to take place in the same location, on the same day of Piper’s accident. Her accident was no accident. Determined to find the answers shes looking for, Savannah joins the club. She quickly finds out that her sisters seemingly perfect life isn’t so perfect. Savannah attends the wilderness club’s weekend long camping trip at the same location Piper was last seen. Everyone is a suspect and things quickly escalate as secrets are revealed and friendships are tested.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel going into this but I quickly, and unexpectedly got sucked in. I could not stop reading, and as I anxiously turned the page, I was filled with anticipation. I thought I knew who Savannah was looking for, however I was wrong multiple times. The plot twists were pretty good. I did not see them coming and the final reveal truly surprised me. I really enjoy books where I cannot predict how it ends and this one definitely delivered.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
I had a good time reading this. It's only 200 pages so I got through it in one sitting. I appreciate Ichaso's no-frills style it was refreshing to be thrown in the deep end of the mystery within the first few chapters. It reminded me of those old Nancy Drew games for the PC, good times. However sometimes, I found it moved a little bit too fast that all the twists failed to really pack their punch. Having a large ensemble of characters within a relatively short book made all the motives hard to keep track of.
I think the best way to describe this plot is in terms of a cat puzzle. When you buy a cat puzzle you assume that it has all the pieces that make up the image of a cat. You begin the puzzle with all the pieces in a messy pile, but you know that'll eventually make up that final image. Ichaso's 'Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets' felt like someone just started adding pieces from a lizard puzzle and tried to force it into the one of the cat. With every plot twist, the justification was something that was never really mentioned in the novel, just seemed to be thrown in to just have it make sense. I felt as if they came a bit out of left field and ended up being confusing.
In all, it was a compact mystery YA book that I couldn't put down!
I was really excited for this book, and while I did enjoy it quite a bit, there were quite a few things that didn't appeal to me.
the characters had no depth. I could not connect with them in the slightest.
the plot twists really had me, but sometimes too many of them really degrade the quality of the book. It also depends on how shocking the plot twists were because most of them were very predictable.
Let me just say this is one of those mystery/ thriller books that you will feel like you are twisting down a rabbit hole with all the whodunits and the mystery behind everything. That being said, if you love a good mystery then this should be your next big read!
Piper had an accident on a cliff that is known for suicide, while everyone is convinced because of events that had happened that she tried to commit suicide. Her older sister is racked with guilt because of what she did to her sister earlier that fateful day, she is determined to figure out what actually happened that day because she does not think that it was suicide.
Savannah starts trying to put different clues together to unravel the events leading u to Piper's accident and what she discovers is chilling! Everyone is lying to some extent and everyone has a secret involving Piper that they want to keep hidden. Savannah decides to join one of the clubs that Piper was involved in, she knows someone in this club has the answers she's looking for! Will Savannah find out what happened to her sister? Are you excitable by the twists and turns of a mystery? Check out this book to find out what happened!
I loooveee this book!!! The twisted plot. I tried to guess who the bad guy is because everyone seems suspicious.
Well written but just felt disappointed when I’d finished it. There are so many red herrings in this book, that the reveal at the end didn’t seem worth it. It’s a good premise but I don’t think it’s been executed well.