Good drama with insight into the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings. Definitely not another dead girl story.

Thank you NetGalley! This was definitely different than other Young Adult novels I’ve read before. Very unique and I love the title

The main characters, who are teenagers are written very realistically. Their actions and behaviors really track with how I believe a real teenager would act. I will say, I wasn’t thrilled with the ending. I felt like it was abrupt and didn’t fit the rest of the book.

From the very first page of the prologue, I was immediately hooked with the story and wanting to know what happened. The author has a way of keep you interested with every page. There were twists and turns and so much mystery as you progressed further into the book. When a book can keep me guessing like this one did then it’s a winner! I did predict one part of the book, but the rest of the story had me guessing from start to finish.

Thank you to @penguinteen @penguinkids and netgalley for the ARC. #youngadukt #mystery #thriller #katesweeney #thisisnotadeadgirlstory

I think this is an important story. It’s a story mainly about friendship and grief under the guise of a thriller. I don’t think I was in the best head space to read this considering just recently I’ve been dealing with the loss of a friend of mine.

It's not often that I choose a book based on the comps alone, but this one had me hooked with "fans of Courtney Summers and true crime podcasts." Sign me up! This book truly lived up to my high expectations. I love a dark, mysterious vibe so this story definitely fit my mood. The main character Jules was the perfect foil to her popular-girl cousin, which really served her character arc. This was also elevated by her teaming up with a boy whose mysterious and troubled nature further enhanced the plot. I couldn't ask for more in terms of family secrets and page-turning reveals. Great read!

Thank you to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read this book. I really enjoy this fat paced twisty thriller.

This fast paced thriller dives deep into grief, self love, and friendship while providing unexpected twists throughout! There were great messages about body autonomy and mental health. The ending wasn’t as good as I’d hoped given how the rest of the story was told. But for anyone who loves a YA thriller where there’s little police involvement and the teens solve the crimes, this is a book for you!

An enjoyable YA thriller for fans of Sadie and One of Us is Lying! Fun and full of twists and turns.

#rtc

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one will be for fans of Courtney Summers. The storytelling has a heaviness to it that I usually associate with her books. Overall, it was a good story about a trio of friends where one dies and one disappears, so what do you do when you're the one left behind? I felt like this could've been tightened up a little bit in the storytelling, but it kept you guessing and second guessing as to what happened.

Overall, I'd recommend this for anyone into YA that has seriousness to it. This isn't a light and frothy read.

Things I loved about this read: the aura of suspense, the pace of the narrative, the main character's struggle with complex emotions and experiences, like grief. I liked that the pacing ramped up after a slow start. It was a great way to get me hooked, and set up the mystery elements well. Even in the moments where the narrative picked up, the story was more emotional and introspective than I had initially expected it to be (I had thought it would be more of a quick thriller vibe). I liked that timely topics, like internet safety and body image/positivity, were handled respectfully and thoughtfully.

One of the biggest things that left something missing for me was the lack of accountability for the characters. Withoiut giving too much away, their actions were questionable at times, and there would likely have been criminal consequences at one point. It was glossed over in a way that made me stop and say, "hey, wait a sec?," taking me out of the narrative.

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Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this title! This review contains my honest thoughts.

3.5⭐️ rounded down
This is one of those books that leave me really torn and especially wish Goodreads had a better rating system.

Thank you NetGalley and Viking Books for the Arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is hard to write without spoilers but I am going to try..

To start with the positive, this is a very fast paced book as in it’s 9:30 am, I’m finished and while I read the first 10 pages last night, I continued at 6:30 this morning. While I easily figured out the culprit (there were actually multiple) it didn’t bother me as it was well written and not in your face.

I liked the flawed narrator Jules as while she tried to sort things on her own, she easily lets go and doesn’t double down on trying to continue once her mother turns a key piece of evidence to the police. In so many YA books the teen detectives just reinforce efforts to circumvent the police which is a tired trope. Jules doesn’t fall victim to that and has good reason to not run to them immediately.

She also realist shares information with several people. It is a natural unfolding of what a typical teen would do. While it maintains the trope of the awkward sidekick to the popular girl, it doesn’t get bogged down by it. Her friend group whom she doesn’t think she connects with outside of her cousin Remy, actually like her and do not treat her poorly. It was refreshing.

The book had some good messages about body autonomy and how girls should view taking power over their bodies and such through the voice of reason, Jules mother. She of course isn’t always around as she of course worse overnights as a nurse (YA authors really need to start giving other professions to the Moms other than Nurse or other healthcare professional or the deadbeat parent trope)

The mystery aspect which has several subplots is decent as many things need to unfold, keeping the reader engaged.

Now for the other side of the coin.

The repetition of certain things wanted me to
Pull my hair out. The obsession Jules has for certain characters crosses the line of being a mental health issue that needs to be addressed. While she does learn things in the end, she has a lot of things that need to be dealt with insofar as her self worth and d emotional attachments and they are just left out there. This book which clearly was written as a self discovery type journey and to focus on certain historic issues, did a poor job of the resolution of those things. That is frustrating when dealing with a YA book that can leave impressions on a teen.

The book focuses on the girls taking control of things but fails to talk at all about the very real potential criminal consequences of their actions. I won’t mention what they did as not to spoil but what they did was 100% a crime. Failure to even mention that seems irresponsible of the author.

Also, tension is built up with certain characters being angry that they need to get paid. Some of them wanting that doesn’t make sense. Maybe they thought they should get their money back but that wasn’t made clear. And those that should have indeed been paid, the plot thread just seemed to disappear even after some strong “this must happen” type language. However, the girls were never out any money so it just seemed like a random thing to throw in to get action started and once it served it purposely it was abandoned without another word.

Finally, the ending. All I’ll say was it was just an awful way to end a book. It felt like a word count was met and they said “ok, time to stop.” It was Just bizarre.

With all that said, I do recommend reading it for those that like the genre. The description of the book doesn’t do a good job in telling you what you’ll get involved but for those that like crime type YA where the kids try to figure things out without the police, this may be for you when it gets published in August 2024.

Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

This may not be a dead girl story, but it is absolutely a gripping one. Kate Sweeney’s This is Not a Dead Girl Story follows our main character, Jules, through grief, betrayal, mystery, and a carefully spin web of lies.
As someone who is incredibly picky when it comes to mystery books— This one does it beautifully. The characters are unique, relatable, and I couldn’t get enough of it.
The story, while it started slow, hooked me. Once I had started it, I couldn’t put it down until the very last page. This book concluded with a fast yet phenomenal ending that left me in deep thoughts about life. I simply cannot recommend this book enough, it was raw, emotional, and the darker topics were handled with a care that I’ve personally found few to achieve.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This is Not a Dead Girl Story is a first person POV YA small town mystery following Jules, a high school student whose whole world is her cousin, Remy, and childhood friend, River. When River dies and Remy goes missing, Jules learns that she never really knew either of them and tries to figure out what happened to Remy.

This was a lot more introspective than I was expecting and moves at a slower pace. It really contributes to the small town atmosphere and makes the story feel more personal as Jules wrestles with her complicated feelings towards herself, her body, her relationships, and her life. There is a vulnerability that I think many can relate to, especially if they were awkward as high school students.

Jules is a very quiet character, rarely speaking and is even stated to barely talk to others. I really liked this choice for this story because it creates a juxtaposition between Jules and Remy and their friends while also showing a strong voice and a look into Jules’ inner world.

Remy is later revealed to be involved in an Only Fans-style website that is supposed to be only available to people at their high school. She made this as a way to take back control of her body and got several other girls involved, creating an entire system that she controlled. This plot element feels extremely relevant to today’s world as we discuss bodily autonomy in the age of the internet and the ways different people make different choices for their bodies while exploring the dangers of teen girls being involved in these kinds of websites and how predators come in all ages.

I would recommend this to readers of mystery who prefer explorations of the impact of technology on our lives, fans of YA who like slower pacing and more introspective works, and those looking for a YA small town mystery.

Nothing is what it seems in Black Falls, NY. This YA tale of mystery, secrets, and murder took me by surprise and had more depth than I expected for a YA book. While I am much older than the intended audience, I still found it to be a fun and easily binged read.

Thank you for the ARC.

This is Not a Dead Girl Story is another book about a missing popular, teenage girl and the people she leaves behind who are desperate to find her. The first thing that sets this book apart from other books with similar premises is the way it's written. The prose and detail of this book are absolutely gorgeous. I highlighted countless quotes and paragraphs.

"He told me about the way wildflowers drop their seeds at the end of the summer and then they just wait there all winter long, in the dark. He made it sound like the most romantic sacrifice anyone has ever made. I was sure my love was like that seed, waiting for him under the soil."

Even though River is dead and Remy is missing, the two of them along with Jules, are the three main characters. There's another quote at the beginning that I love, describing them as a triangle. River is the top of the triangle, the north star and most important and Remy and Jules are parallel and opposite of each other. The love that Jules has for the both of them is obsessive, co-dependent, and borderline toxic. Now, she's alone and desperate to hang on to any crumbs she has left of them, such as spending time with River's cousin, Sam. Jules had such an idolized, pedestal view of River, but as she learns more about him and Remy, and what secrets they were hiding from her, she realizes both of them weren't as perfect as she thought they were.

Sam and Jules work together to figure out what happened to River and Remy, and get some help from Remy's friends as well. Who are also Jules friends, kind of. But not really. I loved the small side plot of Remy's friends seeking out their own revenge. The girlies getting revenge against the men the wrong them is one of my favorite book tropes. "Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first" or whatever Taylor Swift said.

Overall, really enjoyed this book. The descriptive writing and prose was my favorite thing about it. I have read and enjoyed Kate Sweeney's other two books, but this one was by far my favorite. I look forward to reading whatever she reads next in the future!

This is Not A Dead Girl's Story
By: Kate Sweeney
Publishing Date: August 6th, 2024

"This Is Not a Dead Girl's Story" is a thought provoking journey of grief, true self, and coming of age. Through a haunting story, the author tells a tale that challenges society expectations and challenges the idea of loss. I loved experiencing Jules, the main character journey towards self-discovery, it is both heartbreaking and uplifting. With its raw honesty and emotional depth, this novel is going to resonate with readers.

I can't help but imagine how this story would have changed my perspective during my teenage years. The wisdom and heartfelt storytelling are going leave a lasting impression on all readers, making it a must-read for teenagers and adults.

Thank you Netgalley, Kate Sweeney and Penguin Group/ Penguin Young Readers Group for all allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

* Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

This Is Not a Dead Girl Story is a complicated book about complicated girls, and how uncomplicated men treat them. A few days after her boyfriend dies, Remy goes missing - her cousin/best friend, Jules, is left to pick up the pieces after the two most important people in her life are gone.

I loved Jules, and how she struggled with viewing herself, her body, her friendships, her life. Despite having an empowering mother, Jules still struggled with being a girl in this world, and often fought the urge to be the Good Girl that didn't hurt or anger anyone or say no. Everywhere she turned was a man who wanted something from her, wanted to take something from her. And it was painful, witnessing the realization that these adult men, some who swore to protect her and others, were going to continue hurting her and other girls if she didn't stop them.

In a lot of ways, This Is Not a Dead Girl Story hurt my feelings. I still loved it. You should read it.

"To anyone who has experienced girlhood, whether by choice or not. May this book help you find a little joy and violence in your heart."

This book was so good! I really liked seeing how they figured everything out, the story came together so nicely while still leaving room for the reader to try to figure things out. I also loved the ending, it was so sweet and it wrapped everything up nicely.

As a true crime fan, this story was exquisitely executed. It was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and Sweeney did not disappoint. Aside from the perfectly paced-plot, this book does a great job of not only telling a (possible) "Dead Girl Story" but also asks what makes one of these stories and who gets the tell it. The addition of the Fawn plot is so timely and something teen readers desperately need to see in YA literature.