hollyk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved this book. Point blank.
Pretty Dead Queens follows Cecelia Ellis following the wake of her mother's death, as she moves to northern California to live with her prolific writer of a grandmother. Her grandmother's success? Writing mysteries, the first of which was based on the true story of a homecoming queen in the town some fifty years earlier. When a second homecoming queen turns up dead, Cecelia throws herself into the mystery--both present and past, for answers. But in this small town, secrets are aplenty, and no one is completely innocent.
Alexa Donne knows how to write teenagers. All of the teens in this book act like their age. Does that mean at times my decrepit 22 year old self was internally screaming at some of the actions? Yes. But what is being a teenager if not being reckless and involving yourself in a murder investigation? Okay, maybe not the latter, but you get my point.
There are essentially two mysteries going on, while Cecelia is dealing with (read: avoiding) the grief of losing her mother. The two mysteries are eerily similar: homecoming queen found dead in the school's pool. But fifty years earlier, the supposed culprit was caught. Or was he? The twists! The turns! I loved it. I could have done without the
I did call it towards the beginning, but I was definitely questioning myself throughout which is always a good thing! I am also never going to be upset by guessing an ending--I feel vindicated when I get it right.
Cecelia's group of friends are great, diverse, and very supportive. They also have distinct personalities and do push back against her at times--oftentimes I think new friend groups in YA tend to just fully accept the new girl right off the bat, but not so here.
There's a small love triangle, but nothing like cheating or a lot of conflicted pining, which is always appreciated.
Cecelia is a smart girl, if a bit hasty in actions--she's a complex person and I loved her as a character. And she likes K-pop so we're basically besties. I haven't lost a parent, so I can't understand that aspect, but my mom did have breast cancer, and I know the stresses and fears that come with that. Cecelia deals with her grief by hyper-focusing on something else--the murders.
This book isn't just about solving a murder (or murders, as it may be), it's also about the complexities of mourning and how there are different ways of grieving. Alexa Donne effortlessly weaves deeper issues into her work without overwhelming the reader and keeping the entertainment factor high.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who loved The Ivies, loves an overlapping in old cases and new cases, and loves small town murder mysteries.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)
TW (contains spoilers):
Pretty Dead Queens follows Cecelia Ellis following the wake of her mother's death, as she moves to northern California to live with her prolific writer of a grandmother. Her grandmother's success? Writing mysteries, the first of which was based on the true story of a homecoming queen in the town some fifty years earlier. When a second homecoming queen turns up dead, Cecelia throws herself into the mystery--both present and past, for answers. But in this small town, secrets are aplenty, and no one is completely innocent.
Alexa Donne knows how to write teenagers. All of the teens in this book act like their age. Does that mean at times my decrepit 22 year old self was internally screaming at some of the actions? Yes. But what is being a teenager if not being reckless and involving yourself in a murder investigation? Okay, maybe not the latter, but you get my point.
There are essentially two mysteries going on, while Cecelia is dealing with (read: avoiding) the grief of losing her mother. The two mysteries are eerily similar: homecoming queen found dead in the school's pool. But fifty years earlier, the supposed culprit was caught. Or was he? The twists! The turns! I loved it. I could have done without the
Spoiler
Luke and Caleb being in a secret relationship--the whole secret gay relationship trope feels a bit problematic? Especially since there was a lesbian couple in the book and there wasn't homophobia outside of an incident in middle school that's briefly mentioned? But I am also not a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, so I may be out of my depth here.I did call it towards the beginning, but I was definitely questioning myself throughout which is always a good thing! I am also never going to be upset by guessing an ending--I feel vindicated when I get it right.
Cecelia's group of friends are great, diverse, and very supportive. They also have distinct personalities and do push back against her at times--oftentimes I think new friend groups in YA tend to just fully accept the new girl right off the bat, but not so here.
There's a small love triangle, but nothing like cheating or a lot of conflicted pining, which is always appreciated.
Cecelia is a smart girl, if a bit hasty in actions--she's a complex person and I loved her as a character. And she likes K-pop so we're basically besties. I haven't lost a parent, so I can't understand that aspect, but my mom did have breast cancer, and I know the stresses and fears that come with that. Cecelia deals with her grief by hyper-focusing on something else--the murders.
This book isn't just about solving a murder (or murders, as it may be), it's also about the complexities of mourning and how there are different ways of grieving. Alexa Donne effortlessly weaves deeper issues into her work without overwhelming the reader and keeping the entertainment factor high.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who loved The Ivies, loves an overlapping in old cases and new cases, and loves small town murder mysteries.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)
TW (contains spoilers):
Spoiler
Blood, murder, death of a parent, grief, drugging, strangulation, kidnapping, attempted murder, knives, adult-minor relationship, homophobia, blackmail</spoilers>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Cancer, and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Mental illness, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident and Lesbophobia
More...