Recommended? Yes. If you like YA and murder-mysteries, this book is well-worth reading.
The main reasons I decided to read this book are (A) the cover/title/catch-phrases are pretty intriguing and (B) Gemma Halliday is represented by Holly Root. Usually, the teen-Nancy-Drew-sleuth thing isn’t what I’d consider reading but I liked the way the back of the book sounded, the first couple of pages were pretty interesting/witty/funny, and the cover was beautiful so I figured, why not? And I’m so glad I did.
The books not perfect. There are slightly silly (on the verge of stupid) things, like the whole “censorship” throughout the book. Teens don’t censor themselves when they talk, trust me, when I was sixteen I wasn’t using the word ‘effing’. Besides, censorship in general is just idiotic. Forbidding the use of words only gives those words more power. Plus, if I read ‘effing, in my head it’s fucking, no one is fooled by it and it means the exact same thing so why not just say it? Be authentic. And then, of course, the whole reveal thing at the end — like with any murder-mystery — was just kind of there. I was surprised, I think, by who it was, but the whole ‘I’ll take a minute to explain everything to you’ bit was a little… unattractive. Plus, everyone who isn’t Hartley (main character) and Sam (man character’s bff) is kind of a stereotype. That was a little annoying, too. I’m also unsure if I really believe the motive behind the murders, but whatever. Crazy is as crazy does.
Aside from that, the voice is great.I can always overlook a couple of plot issues when the writing and voice combined are nearly perfect. It’s actually a really amusing story line and I really liked Hart, Sam, and Chase. No books perfect but this is really worth reading. One of my favorite parts of the book is how Hart starts out trying to find the murderer for her cheating ex-boyfriend but ends up doing it for herself. She needs a little help here and there, but in the end she pretty much figures out who did it all by herself. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes a good murder-mystery with a witty, clever, likeable, strong leading female. There’s a second book called Social Suicide, I haven’t read it yet, but I plan to. I just have so many books that I’ve bought and haven’t gotten to yet…