Bad Girls Don't Die (Bad Girls Don't Die #1)

Reader reviewed by Lexie

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. Thats 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 Kaseys behavior is steady and believable. Especially
with their mother constantly working to earn a promotion and their
fathers inability to relate to them anymore, the fact that Kasey
begins to act out to gain attention is perfectly understandable&right?

It
was a little odd for me to see some of the things that Kasey did
explained away so easily. Ive done that before for my younger sister
and didnt really think twice on it. Irrational mood swings,
destructive behavior&even though there is a supernatural reason for
Kaseys 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 Im 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 werent given a lot of
time.

My only gripe is that certain things arent tied off
well. I wasnt really sure why Megans grandmother chose to open up to
Alexis about Megans mother, but not to Megan. I wouldnt think it
normal to tell your granddaughters houseguest private information you
havent even told your granddaughter yet. My guess is that it had to do
with how Megans 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.

((reprinted here with author's permission))

Reader reviewed by Debbie

This book was certainly a wild ride.  I really should be in bed right
now but I couldnt put this book down.  And boy did it scare the pants
off of me.  Ok, admittedly I am a scaredy pants.  I hate horror movies
and I hate dolls so I really dont know what possessed me (haha&bad pun
if you have read the book) to read this except it got such good
reviews.  As a story it was great, there were a few twists that kept
you off balance and unsure what exactly was going on.  Alexis was a
great character who for all her thoughts that the people around her
tried to hard to be something they were not I felt she also was
behaving the same way.  I think she accidentally ended up being the
bad girl and then felt like she had to live up to that reputation. 
That made it even sweeter the way she tried to protect her little
sister.  It was nice that the cheer leader, Megan, was able to break
out of the stereotypical superficial, airhead mold and tried to help
Alexis with the possession of her sister.  Im sure those of you who
are braver than I will love this book.  It was great although it does
remind me why I despise dolls.

Reprinted here with author's permission.

Reader reviewed by Kelsey

Alexis thought that she was just a normal girl with a dysfuctional family. Her sister is doll obsessed and she thinks nothing of it, but should she? After looking into some family history, Kasey begins acting very weird. Her beautful blue eyes turn green sometimes, she sometimes uses language that seems years and years old and she doesn't remember things that happen. She believes it's all in her head, but when it becomes something more can she change it all?

I really liked this book, creepy as it is. The way Alexis handles everything is really well; she doesn't back out of it... she fights it. This is a good novel that just came out, I would recommend it to all ages sixth grade and up.

Reader reviewed by stephanie

Reader reviewed by Deltay

In Bad Girls Don't Die, Katie Alender has spun a chilling tale. Alexis is an intriguing character - seemingly sterotypical at first, but after delving into her personality and throughout the course of the novel, she's animated, unique, and defies classification. A spunky rebel with pink hair and a flair for photography, her snarky and at times slightly sarcastic tone provides an amusing narration.

"To me, taking digital pictures is like finding something. But working with film is like making something." - Alexis Warren (Alender 88, ARC edition).

I don't know, Alexis - being one who works mainly in digital, I'd say that with post-processing and whatnot, digital photography can be making something too. ;) Alexis holds appeal, drawing in the reader with her quirky imperfections, making her all that more realistic. (That, and the fact that I've had pinkish/red hair at one point too.) In fact, I kind of wish I had the guts to go around sticking bumper stickers on the teachers' cars in the lot as well.

Overall, characterization throughout the novel was consistently beautifully done. Megan, Kasey, her parents - all hold attributes that we can all probably relate to, on some level at least. Carter is dreamy and a geniunely nice guy - the kind which [female] readers will definitely wish they knew, and [male] readers would want to be. Alender's impeccable skill in characterization definitely comes to light upon closer inspection of how her characters seem to fit the typical sterotypes at first - the cheerleader, the rebel misfits, the overachieving nice guy - but as the story progresses they come out of the woodwork and show how they transcend these flat classifications.

Personally I would have liked to see a big more sha-bam in the argument advertised in the teaser on the back of the book, a little more action in the climax, and a little more development in Carter and Alexis's relationship, but Bad Girls Don't Die manages to take on enough of a timeless quality that it's pretty much negligible.

Now, Bad Girls Don't Die - ghost story, right? Wrong. It's that, but it's also so much more. Sure, because of that paranormal aspect there are things involved that can't be avoided; but Alender has managed to put a unique spin on it through plot twists and beautiful characterization. Diction choice was well done, and credible. So what else is Bad Girls Don't Die? Well, it's definitely chockful of mystery. And this is definitely a well woven one - it keeps you guessing and tosses in red herrings - all in a setting that could very well be next-door.

With great flow, beautiful characterization and intriguing mystery, Bad Girls Don't Die is definitely an April release to be checked out. If you scare easily, unless you plan on finishing the novel in its entireity, I suggest not starting late at night. Whoosh. The book transcends classification as much as its characters transcend sterotypes - a brilliant debut for Alender.

Reader reviewed by Steph Su

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
somethings 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 friendsMegan Wiley, the head cheerleader at
Surrey High, and Carter Blume, the popular new kid whom Alexis might like more
than she shouldAlexis 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: dont read BAD
GIRLS DONT DIE, or you will feel the goosebumps on the back of your neck long
after you reluctantly put the book down! Katie Alenders 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, youd get Alexis. The
majority of the story centers around the evil ghosts 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 ghosts history and motivation.

Despite the sometimes
overwhelmingly fast pace of the novel, however, BAD GIRLS DONT DIE is truly a
remarkable read, destined to send shivers down your spine.