Review: Poor Little Dead Girls by Lizzie Friend

Poor Little Dead Girls by Lizzie Friend

Release Date: November 29th 2013
Publisher: Merit Press
Format: ebook

Pages: 285
Genre: Young Adult – Mystery/ Thriller
Source: NetGalley
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
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Perfect people aren't just born. They're made.

The first time she is blindfolded and kidnapped, star-athlete and posh boarding school newbie Sadie is terrified. She wakes up in a dark room surrounded by hushed whispers, hooded strangers, and a mysterious voice whispering not-so-sweet nothings in her ear.

But once the robes come off, she realizes it’s just an elaborate prank designed to induct her into the group that’s been pulling the strings at Keating Hall for generations. The circle has it all--incredible connections; fabulous parties; and, of course, an in with the brother society’s gorgeous pledges.

The instant popularity is enough to make Sadie forget about the unexplained marks on her body, the creepy ceremonial rituals, and the incident that befell one of her teammates the year before. So the next time Sadie is kidnapped, she isn’t scared, but she should be. The worst of Keating Hall is yet to come.

I went into this book without reading the synopsis and that made a big different to me. Not knowing why she was being abducted made a more suspenseful story. Because of that I am not going to talk about that part of the story, just in case there are other people that do the same thing as me.

This story follows around Sadie. She has received a full ride Lacrosse scholarship to Keanting Hall, a prestigious, all female, boarding school for the rich. She is very worried that she won’t fit in, but she feels it is a good change. This also almost guarantees she will get scouted and land a scholarship to college. Her dad had apprehensions on her attending this school because it is across the country from her home in Portland, Oregon. She is an only child and her mother passed away from suicide after being committed to a mental hospital. Dealing with her mother has left her family in major debt.

The school is very set on its rules, although with enough money, who needs rules. At least that’s how it seems in this school. Sadie’s roommates are minor celebrities and they pretty much come and go as they please with no repercussions. This also seems to happen quite a bit with Sadie and some of her other classmates. With how strict the head lady was I really thought that we would see the girls getting into more trouble. That was pretty much nonexistent though.

After Sadie is kidnapped, drugged, and interrogated for hours, she is thrown into a world that she never could have imagined. She also starts to learn things about her own life and mother. With the help of her friends that she has acquired at Keating and a special boy from the boy’s equivalent of Keating, she has to save herself.

Without giving too much of a spoiler. I feel that a lot more could have been done with her boyfriend, Jeremy. This could have made the story much more suspenseful. This book is categorized as a thriller but I’m not sure if it quite falls into that. There is definitely some mystery though and I enjoyed those parts. There seemed to be quite a bit of research done to make this story more believable. I enjoy the writing and the story was successful in holding my interest. I would recommend this for older teens because there is drinking and some sexual references made.

The ending was good but it was sort of anti-climactic. I wasn’t too worried about what was going to happen. It was a quick read though and I finished it in one day. So I would still recommend it if you are into boarding schools and interrogations from hooded figures.

My Rating:

closer to a 3.5/5 star

*I received this book from NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.