Bad Girls Don't Die

Photography-lover Alexis Warren lives in an enormous, rambling, slightly creepy house with her dysfunctional parents and younger sister, Kasey. Alexis may dye her hair pink and disdain most of the people at school, but her Kasey seems to be REALLY crazy: she has an unhealthy doll-collecting obsession, and has recently been acting weird, alternately crying tearfully and acting unlike herself. Almost as if she were…possessed.

Alex is further convinced that something’s not right with Kasey when strange things start occurring in the house: doors open and close on their own, appliances turn on all by themselves. With the help of unlikely new friends—Megan Wiley, the head cheerleader at Surrey High, and Carter Blume, the popular new kid show more whom Alexis might like more than she should—Alexis is going to find out what the evil spirit that seems to be haunting Kasey and inflicting harm wants.

If she can manage to do this without be killed.

Be forewarned: don’t read BAD GIRLS DON’T DIE at night, or you will feel the goosebumps on the back of your neck long after you reluctantly put the book down! Katie Alender’s debut YA novel is deliciously creepy; imagine the movie The Sixth Sense in novel form, and you can get an idea of what this book was like.

Alexis kicked butt as a protagonist; if Jessica Darling had a young sister who turns the popular crowd upside-down and unfortunately finds herself in a ghost story, you’d get Alexis. The majority of the story centers around the evil ghost’s mystery, which occasionally leaves the characters slightly incomplete, at least in my opinion. I would have no problem reading a hundred extra pages in order to better understand important characters such as Carter, Megan, Kasey, Alexis’ parents, and the ghost’s history and motivation.

Despite the sometimes overwhelmingly fast pace of the novel, however, BAD GIRLS DON’T DIE is truly a remarkable read, destined to send shivers down your spine. show less

The Good Stuff
•Fast paced and spooky
•Likeable heroine who reacts quite realistically
•Darkly funny
•Just one of those fun ghost stories that will keep you glued to the pages - & probably leave you sleeping with the lights on
•Love story is cute and fun - the dialogue between the two is hilarious
•Will be picking up the other two books in the series tomorrow
•Fabulous opening chapter, really sets you in that spooky mind frame - I was hooked right away
•Liked the bits about her photography, found it interesting and added some depth to her character
•Usually not a fan of creepy doll stories -- because well -- dolls creep me out (hmm hence the first night after reading, I didn't sleep well) but I still couldn't put it down

The Not show more So Good Stuff
•parents are sorta caricatures - not useless like in many YA books, but they still do not really have any personality or place in the story
•A wee bit confusing at times
•Librarian was a bit of a stereotype at first - but she redeemed herself - not really for this section but just want to get across that library staff are usually really cool people - so stop with the stereotypical rule obsessed librarian caricatures

Favorite Quotes/Passages



"I didn't know. If only there had been a poster in the clinic: HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SIBLING IS POSSESSED BY THE DEVIL OR JUST COMPLETELY MENTAL."

"The official diagnosis was psychotic schzizophrenia, and we all went along with it because the insurance company won't pay for "made friends with the wrong ghost."

"The corner of Mrs Ame's mouth twisted up into an almost-smile, and she cleared her throat. This was promising - this was "My day hasn't takene a nosedive yet, so this is kind of amusing," not "I've had it up to here." When you spend as much time around the principle as I do, you get to know her idiosyncrasies."

Who Should/Shouldn't Read
•Perfect for ghost story lovers of all age
•A good one for younger YA readers as it is scary without being gory and there is nothing inappropriate for younger readers

4 Dewey's



I picked up a copy of this at the Chapters Shawnessy show less

Very few young adult books keep the suspense going enough to terrify me. The Sweet Valley Twins books 97-100 (Too Scared to Sleep, The Beast is Watching You, The Beast Must Die and If I Die Before I Wake) and Saundra Mitchell's recent Shadowed Summer are part of the list. That’s the honest truth. Not terrified in the Freddy Kruger sort of way, but in hits too close to home sort of way.

Alender does a wonderful job of creating atmosphere and tension. The progression of Kasey’s behavior is steady and believable. Especially with their mother constantly working to earn a promotion and their father’s inability to relate to them anymore, the fact that Kasey begins to act out to gain attention is perfectly understandable…right?

It was a show more little odd for me to see some of the things that Kasey did explained away so easily. I’ve done that before for my younger sister and didn’t really think twice on it. Irrational mood swings, destructive behavior…even though there is a supernatural reason for Kasey’s behavior, it could have very easily been self-destruction and schizophrenia.

The suspense part of the book is well developed and even if Alexis is not always sure of what is going on, we know enough of the puzzle to say ’No Alexis! Wrong assumption!’ in exasperation. As for the non-Kasey supernatural portions I liked those the best. Perhaps I’m biased (much of what got Alexis in trouble in school I often caused during my HS years), but I think Alender perfectly captured the High School scene.

From the cheerleaders to the outsiders to the posers and not quite sures, they all inhabited certain stereotypes expected, but very often surprised me. There were, of course, several who still fit the bill perfectly of Queen Witch of the School, but in the end they weren’t given a lot of time.

My only gripe is that certain things aren’t tied off well. I wasn’t really sure why Megan’s grandmother chose to open up to Alexis about Megan’s mother, but not to Megan. I wouldn’t think it normal to tell your granddaughter’s house guest private information you haven’t even told your granddaughter yet. My guess is that it had to do with how Megan’s mother died, the circumstances surrounding that, but its not addressed or explained.

Read the book with the lights on. Its not scary, but it might make you a little paranoid about shadows and strange lights for a little while. show less

Whoa. Picked this up at the library because I wanted to do some research on the author's agent. Ended up dropping everything and devouring the whole thing. (Hint: Yesterday, both the guys were out of the house and I could have watched a movie while I worked out without bugging anyone. Instead, I spent my time on the ministep so I could read while I exercised.)

"Bad Girls" is paranormal contemporary YA horror novel that offers some terrific life lessons. Okay. It's a creepy ghost story. That's fun, too. But it also has a terrific sense of humor -- and the writer has a perfect sense of timing, not to mention a nice dark edge at times. I annoyed my family by quoting them bits like this, from the teenaged narrator who enjoys old-fashioned show more film-based photography and is worried that her parents are about to catch her outside, snapping pics, at three in the morning -- with her little sister Kasey, no less:

"_No putting yourself or Kasey in strange and/or potentially dangerous situations to take pictures_ was the latest incarnation of the rule that had once upon a time been _Don't go on the roof._ With every fresh misstep, the rule evolved -- _No taking pictures of retail merchandise; No taking pictures on other people's property; Don't use Kasey as a decoy to get photos of people who don't want to be photographed._ I was fairly sure that pretty soon it would just be _Put the camera down, sit on the sofa, and don't move._"

Alexis, the narrator in question, is going through a tricky patch with her parents just now. They're not evil, just a little too caught up in their own problems, a little too apt to throw out platitudes rather than tuning in to what's actually going on in front of them:

"'It wouldn't hurt you to show a little school spirit,' Mom said. As if she were a fan of high school football. Mom can take a simple observation, such as saying that it wouldn't hurt for a person to show a little school spirit, and say it in such a way that she might as well be saying, 'It wouldn't hurt you to stop clubbing those baby seals.'"

Of course, Alexis is not exactly an easy person to live with herself. She's perhaps a teensy bit judgmental:

"My mother uses a knife and fork on foods that were never meant to be eaten that way. I personally think a psychologist would have a lot to say about it."

Alexis posts flyers at her high school saying that "the vending machines on school property are a sign that our school district has sold out to the corporate-industrial establishment." She gives "honest feedback to a student teacher who should clearly quit while she's ahead." She throws "an anti-fashion show outside the gym during the choir's annual fashion show."

But she also cares deeply about her younger sister. And when said sister starts acting more than a little weird, and then starts displaying powers that seem positively otherworldly, Alexis throws all her wit and determination into figuring out how to save her family. Sometimes those bad girls are just the ones you want to have your back in a fight.

This book *ended* when it ended -- no loose ends, no outstanding mysteries, no "And what about Naomi?" As I've mentioned in other reviews, there's an annoying trend in YA fiction these days for first books to end on a cliffhanger. Somebody out there clearly decided that having series potential means that *every single new book in the world* can't just be itself, but has to be first in a series. Apparently Katie Alender went on to write a couple more books about Alexis and her family, and I'm excited to read them. I'm also very glad that she let this book finish telling its own story before she moved on to write more stories. show less

This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes

Cover Impressions: The colors here are beautifully muted and soft. The scrollwork adds a delicate detail and reflects the lace curtain. The image of the little girl hiding in lace is just creepy enough to set the tone, without over-doing the "freak out" factor.

The Gist: Alexis lives in the quintessential Halloween Haunted House. She has always liked it, until her sister starts acting strangely. Suddenly the house appears much more sinister and Alexis must enlist the help of those she least expected in order to save her sister and banish the evil that surrounds her.

Review: This is my second time reading Bad Girls Don't Die. Even so, I could only read it in bed if my husband show more was there. Katie Alender does an excellent job of creating that delicious sense of suspense that only truly great scary stories can achieve. She is also incredibly skilled at writing scenes that begin with the easily explained and end with the truly terrifying.

The story falls on the shoulders of Alexis who is, at best, a deeply flawed character. She is usually callous and sometimes mean. She often goes out of her way to spread rumors about those who have hurt her in the past. This is not the character you root for from the beginning. This is the character that you realize has a lot of growing up to do and hope that she does. I have encountered these types of character before, but I am very pleased that in Alexis' case, all of her growing up does not occur within the first book. She continues this development and I hope by the third book in the series will have become a character I can be proud of.

Alender also does quite a good job of painting realistic relationships, between Alexis and her "arch enemy", her crush and her sister. The cheerleader is not all villain, there is no insta-love and the sisters do not bond over boys and shopping. Instead, we see these relationships grow and develop (albeit under extreme circumstances) and Alexis begins to see the value in each, especially the love for her family.

There are far too few truly creepy YA books out there. We tend to gorge ourselves on this genre in younger years, with Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark, but we seem to lose it as we get older. Thank you Katie Alender for bringing me back to those childhood moments of sneaking a flashlight into my room and reading beneath the covers.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 13 and up
Gender: Both, though leaning a little more toward the females
Sex: A kiss
Violence: Attempted poisoning, death by gas, fire
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Abuse: None

Notable Quotables:

"Preps are like cheerleaders, only with less jumping"

"A Kasey-size shadow as way back in the darkest corner of the room, near the long-abandoned tool bench, making clanking noises as it dug through piles of discarded junk. Werewolf, my brain said. Zombie!" show less

Katie Alender's spooky novel tells of a girl who has to juggle the average high school drama with the possibility of a vengeful spirit possessing her little sister. Along with thrills of goosebump inducing scenes, I found myself laughing and connecting with the characters which made this novel a joy to read.
Alexis has her world all figured out. She has bright pink hair and hangs out with who she calls "The Doom Squad." Although these black-clad goth students are not her favorite people in the world, Alexis decides that this is what the high school hierarchy calls for. Her days of glaring at cheerleaders and mocking class elections come to an end when her little sister starts using out-dated words and seems to be targeting random people show more in the neighborhood for something.
Bad Girls Don't Die caught my eye with it's spooky cover and promise of an interesting ghost story and I was not disappointed! The novel opens up with Alexis taking pictures of her old house in the wee hours in the morning when she notices a glowing burst of light following her back into her house. There is never a lull in the story which I think is thanks in part tothe writing style. Alexis has such a witty and fun voice that she peaks the interest of the reader until the very last page. From the getgo I had decided who this mysterious spirit was but an interesting twist made me second guess my predicament which I think is what every good ghost story needs; if a plot becomes predictable it becomes boring.
All of the characters were wonderfully in depth with as many flaws as you would expect. With absent parents, I sympathized with both Alexis and Kasey as they struggled to deal with be shunned by their peers for their personality quirks. Characters like Carter were charming and I loved every interaction between him and Alexis. I noticed that Alender built many walls around Alexis only to have some of the key secondary characters break them down which was refreshing given the world of high school cliches. Alexis also has a really spunky personality that I just adored and made me root for throughout the entire novel. She spoke her mind and was extremely dedicated to her sister, regardless of the evil spirit that was currently living in her body.
Like I stated, the writing style really made this book for me. Alexis has this habit of repeatedly breaking the fourth wall by stating what would happen if this was a fictional event like in a movie or song which I thought was hilarious and entertaining. I also loved how Alexis was so open with her feelings, even though she has a "tough chick" exterior, her voice and thoughts tell an entirely different story which makes her even more interesting.
Bad Girls Don't Die is a really fun and spooky read. Alexis really made the story shine with her wit fragility, and the ghost story adds a spooky edge full of mystery and history.
I recommend this novel for everyone who loves a good ghost story with the right balance of light and entertaining moments. show less

This book was such a pleasant surprise! I bought it last year (another product of the panic that ensued when Borders closed) and forgot about it. While I was rearranging my bookshelves a couple of weeks ago I found it and decided to give it a go. I wasn't expecting much, and I couldn't have been more pleased that I was wrong. This was a fun and enjoyable read from the first to the last page. The characters were well-developed and diverse and the story, while familiar, was so well-formed that I finished the book in less than 24 hours. I love a good old-fashioned ghost story and Alender did a great job of bringing the classic haunted house to a YA book.

LIKES:

Alexis! I love the main character. She's such a sad character at first. Her show more parents don't understand her (welcome to being a teenager), her little sister is klingy and she has zero friends, in fact everyone at her school is afraid of her. As the book progresses she matures and begins to realize that the stigma she has attached to other groups of kids at her school (e.g. the cheerleaders, the preps and the jocks) may not be well-founded. The author uses Alexis to get across the message that people are not stereotypes, but individuals. There were times during this book where I forgot I was reading a horror story because the coming-of-age aspect of the book was so strong. That being said, Alexis maintains her weirdness and individuality through the book. She doesn't have to assimilate to be accepted and as cliche` as that may sound, that is not a message that got through to me all of the time in high school. Alexis's love and compassion for her obsessive, strange younger sister is also very sweet and that relationship and her need to save her sister drives the entire plot of the story. The supporting characters are also well-developed and those relationships don't seem forced or fabricated for the purpose of the message of the book. The best part about the book, though, is that it is actually really scary, and not in the headless-corpses-with-bloody-stumps-for-hands way, in the best way: psychological and subtle. There were times in the story where Alexis was talking to her sister and about half way through the conversation you realize it isn't her sister at all. Little things like that mad this book super creepy in the best possible way.

DISLIKES:

There really isn't anything that stands out to me as a dislike except maybe that the romantic aspect of the book could have been explored a bit more. There is an absolutely adorable guy, Carter, who doesn't get nearly the amount of page time he deserves, at least according to me. Maybe he'll play a bigger role in the next book (fingers crossed). The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because, while it was fun, it wasn't groundbreaking. It's just a good old fashioned ghost story. There aren't really any new concepts here and it isn't profound. But I think that's part of what makes it so enjoyable. It's a good lazy read. The over-arching concepts (family, acceptance, teen angst, etc.) aren't hard to grasp so the reader can kind of sit back and relax and get a little spooked.

AND CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THIS COVER FOR A MINUTE?

Oh my god. This is one of the creepiest covers I've seen in a long time. You can't even see her face! I literally had to flip this book over so it was cover down on my nightstand at night (I'm a giant baby). But really, it's just so creepy and for some reason her feet are what creep me out the most! As a pasty white person myself, I can promise you we aren't all vampires or ghosts, but there's just something very ethereal about this image while feeling very aggressive at the same time.

So basically, I haven't shut up about this book since I finished it and I probably won't for awhile. I also didn't realize until very recently that it is part of a series. This got me so excited that I nearly bought the second one right away before I realized I have a car payment due tomorrow and that money should really stay in the bank for the moment. I would definitely recommend this book to horror fans. And if you happen to be sitting in your giant old Victorian house on a gray day with nothing to do, you can't go wrong picking up this book. show less