Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls

This is one of those mindf*** books.

The kind of book that you honestly have no idea what is going to occur. The one that makes you nervous for what is to come. Anxious and on the edge of your seat waiting for what you suspect may be the inevitable.

And then, with one sentence or a few words, everything you thought you suspected is flipped on its head and you’re back at square one. Confused as hell but completely caught up in the madness.

That’s what the experience of Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls is like.

And I loved it.

June and Delia’s world is not one I want to be a part of. It’s extremely unhinged and unbelievable. Obviously, stuff doesn’t happen like this to teenagers…right? Were my teenage years incredibly boring compared to theirs? Yes. Would I change that? Hell no. I’d take my weekends inside playing video games over suicide notes and murder investigations.

But is sure is interesting to read about.

I was confused most of the time (in a good way), but was ultimately stumped with the cheating thing. I feel like that could have been excluded from the book entirely. Just your typical overly dramatic teenage drama thrown in there for a reason that wasn’t made clear to me.

But that’s the only complaint I had. Everything else was great.

I read this book in a few hours. While on vacation. Sitting on the beach (resulting in a sunburn) caught up in the lives of these characters with major issues.

Fast paced and constantly surprising, Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls is the book you won’t be forgetting for a long time. Equal parts thriller, mystery, and mind distortion.

I need it made into a movie.

I need a book of Sebastian’s past.

The synopsis for this book is just a couple of lines. When I first saw that, I was nervous. It means going into this book knowing next to nothing, but it is perfect. Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls is a book where you think you know exactly what is happening. Up until close to the halfway point I was thisclose to putting it in the DNF pile and moving on. Am I ever glad I didn't. Just when you think you have everything figured out and know exactly where this plot is going (and start getting annoyed at it for being so dang predictable) EVERYTHING CHANGES. I mean it. I can barely write this review because discussing the awesomeness of this book means also revealing some of the twists and turns that make it incredible. And there are some twists and turns. My entire view of the plot and the motivation of the characters changed several times. Weingarten seems to have mastered the art of allowing the reader to get comfortable in the plot and then smacking them in the face with something they never would have expected but which makes a lot of sense on reflection.

The plot in the beginning is a little slow which lulls the reader into a sense of security. It starts to look like this is going to be just another run of the mill mystery with an easily guessed outcome. But once the first big twist is revealed everything changes. The plot becomes intriguing and exciting as we try to figure out exactly what is happening. The writing flashes back and forth in time as we discover what led up not only to the "break up" between June and Delia but also to her suicide. The side characters come off a little bland and could use some development but June and Delia are fantastic. Everywhere that June is careful and thoughtful, Delia is wild and erratic. It is really her character that is the standout. Much of the novel concentrates on discovering just what motivates Delia's actions and examining the odd relationship between her and June.

There are some issues within this novel that would stop me from recommending it for younger teens. There is a great deal of underage drinking and drug use as well as crude sexual remarks and attempted rape. Some of this is pivotal to the plot, but I'm not sure all of it was strictly necessary.

Bottom Line: If you think this book is just an average, run of the mill mystery, stick it out. It will surprise you in the most incredible ways.