Dead Girls Don't Lie [Book Review]

Disclaimer: I received a e-copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

Stats:

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Published September 17th 2013 by Walker Childrens

ASIN: B00DVL0MLC

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Synopsis:
Rachel died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text.
 
Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was before. . .before that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead. The police blame a growing gang problem in their small town, but Jaycee is sure it has to do with that night at the old house. Rachel’s text is the first clue—starting Jaycee on a search that leads to a shocking secret. Rachel’s death was no random crime, and Jaycee must figure out who to trust before she can expose the truth. 

My Thoughts:
Dead Girls Don't Lie starts out with a little bit of a "Pretty Little Liars" feel to it. It's full of drama and a mystery to find out who killed Jaycee's best friend, Rachel. It's not as superficial as PLL, which made it a little more enjoyable for me. There was more substance to it. Jaycee lives with her father who is incredibly overprotective of her. She is not allowed to get on the computer and she just got a cell phone for emergency usage before Rachel's untimely demise.

There are quite a few mysterious guys in the book - Skyler (Jaycee's boyfriendish), Evan (Skyler's older flirty brother), and Eduardo (who is linked to Rachel). Honestly, it was very hard to trust any of them. All of them were very shady. However, the ones that Jaycee chose to kind of trust were the shadiest of all. It was so much like watching a horror film when the ditzy girl is making the dumbest decision of her life. NOOOOOOO! Don't trust him! Run away! AHHH!

I had a few issues. I felt like the Hispanics in the book were a bit stereotypical...like all I could think was Cheech Marin and over-the-top. The shadiness was so obvious that Jaycee just seemed extremely naive. I'm not big on YA novels that disparage cannibis. I'm a big advocate on the legalization of cannibis and hate when any teen that uses it is automatically classified as a "drug addict." But I'm not going to get on the soapbox right now. I am not sure if I should be surprised or not about Jaycee's punishment being grounded for 3 whole days. That'll teach her!

Overall though, I did enjoy the book and got through it quickly and would recommend it to folks who liked Pretty Little Liars :)


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