Scan barcode
leahkarge's review against another edition
4.0
***I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
SUMMARY:
DEAD LITTLE MEAN GIRL starts at the end. Quinn Littleton, the aforementioned mean girl, is dead in her family's garage. Told from the point-of-view of her stepsister, Emma, we learn of all the ways in which Quinn manipulates, uses, and abuses everyone around her, and how those very people manage to survive Hurrican Quinn.
------
REVIEW:
I love this book. I love it for the characters, for how well it's written, but most of all for how real it is. There are people just like Quinn and her posse, and chances are, most of us have encountered them and come out mostly unscathed. (Either that or we are the Mean Person.) We build walls, means of self-defense, which is exactly what Emma and her family do in order to survive Quinn.
I loved how Darrows wrote all the characters and their interactions with each other. There are so many different layers and complexities, depending on who you're with, and in each character, we received their anger, their love, their vulnerability, their guilt, and so much more.
A noteworthy aspect of this novel is that the focus is not on the romance. Not that there's anything wrong with that, because lord knows I love me some romance. That's not to say there isn't a romance aspect! It's so simple and easy-going, with no drama. But don't come into this thinking it's basically a Cinderella retelling where Emma gets swept away and saved by the Prince. More than anything, this book is about siblings (or pseudo-siblings), family, divorce and how it affects children, the meshing of families when new relationships are formed, and the coping mechanisms we develop.
It's may be rough to read in certain spots, as it pokes and prods and potentially reopens barely healed wounds, but it's absolutely worth the read.
SUMMARY:
DEAD LITTLE MEAN GIRL starts at the end. Quinn Littleton, the aforementioned mean girl, is dead in her family's garage. Told from the point-of-view of her stepsister, Emma, we learn of all the ways in which Quinn manipulates, uses, and abuses everyone around her, and how those very people manage to survive Hurrican Quinn.
------
REVIEW:
I love this book. I love it for the characters, for how well it's written, but most of all for how real it is. There are people just like Quinn and her posse, and chances are, most of us have encountered them and come out mostly unscathed. (Either that or we are the Mean Person.) We build walls, means of self-defense, which is exactly what Emma and her family do in order to survive Quinn.
I loved how Darrows wrote all the characters and their interactions with each other. There are so many different layers and complexities, depending on who you're with, and in each character, we received their anger, their love, their vulnerability, their guilt, and so much more.
A noteworthy aspect of this novel is that the focus is not on the romance. Not that there's anything wrong with that, because lord knows I love me some romance. That's not to say there isn't a romance aspect! It's so simple and easy-going, with no drama. But don't come into this thinking it's basically a Cinderella retelling where Emma gets swept away and saved by the Prince. More than anything, this book is about siblings (or pseudo-siblings), family, divorce and how it affects children, the meshing of families when new relationships are formed, and the coping mechanisms we develop.
It's may be rough to read in certain spots, as it pokes and prods and potentially reopens barely healed wounds, but it's absolutely worth the read.
brandinh's review against another edition
4.0
Im finding it difficult to rate this book accurately and compose my thoughts, but I will do my best.
First of, I really enjoyed this book. Emma is a fantastic and relatable main character. Her mom and the relationship between Emma and both her parents is actually great (despite her dad being absent due to work, when he is around, he is good). Emma’s friendships and eventual relationship, also gold. Bonus, Emma has great t-shirts. 😊
Yet Quinn (the titular Dead Little Mean Girl) is diabolical and truly awful. As other reviewers have stated, we never really see many redeeming qualities in Quinn and Emma’s eventual enlightening about the reasoning behind Quinn’s horrible behavior (she was actually just a hurting girl, desperate for help) would be easier to swallow had we been given any real evidence to back this up. Also, Quinn’s parents were just, probably realistic, but pretty terrible. Karen seemed like a good woman who was completely lost about how to parent her own child, perhaps understandable, but she certainly never figured it out. Yet, after reading the author’s note (packaged as acknowledgments, a mistake because many readers skip them) it turns out that Darrows was making Quinn horrific on purpose, in response to society’s tendency to vilify teen girls. Media typically portrays mean girls as mean for mean’s sake, which in my experience, is rarely true to life. Certainly it happens, but sociopaths don’t really make up that large a percentage of our population. (See the National Institute for Mental Health for specific data). I’m not sure Darrows entirely pulled off what she was going for, as mentioned above this would have been easier to swallow had we seen more redeeming behavior or had more insight into Quinn’s feelings. But overall, I find this to be surprisingly feminist take on the mean girl trope.
First of, I really enjoyed this book. Emma is a fantastic and relatable main character. Her mom and the relationship between Emma and both her parents is actually great (despite her dad being absent due to work, when he is around, he is good). Emma’s friendships and eventual relationship, also gold. Bonus, Emma has great t-shirts. 😊
Yet Quinn (the titular Dead Little Mean Girl) is diabolical and truly awful. As other reviewers have stated, we never really see many redeeming qualities in Quinn and Emma’s eventual enlightening about the reasoning behind Quinn’s horrible behavior (she was actually just a hurting girl, desperate for help) would be easier to swallow had we been given any real evidence to back this up. Also, Quinn’s parents were just, probably realistic, but pretty terrible. Karen seemed like a good woman who was completely lost about how to parent her own child, perhaps understandable, but she certainly never figured it out. Yet, after reading the author’s note (packaged as acknowledgments, a mistake because many readers skip them) it turns out that Darrows was making Quinn horrific on purpose, in response to society’s tendency to vilify teen girls. Media typically portrays mean girls as mean for mean’s sake, which in my experience, is rarely true to life. Certainly it happens, but sociopaths don’t really make up that large a percentage of our population. (See the National Institute for Mental Health for specific data). I’m not sure Darrows entirely pulled off what she was going for, as mentioned above this would have been easier to swallow had we seen more redeeming behavior or had more insight into Quinn’s feelings. But overall, I find this to be surprisingly feminist take on the mean girl trope.
katlikespie's review against another edition
4.0
"Quinn Littleton was a mean girl - a skinny blonde social terrorist in stilettos. She was everything Emma MacLaren hated. Until she died."
After Emma's parents got divorced, her mother found solace in a local divorce support group. Solace, and love - and now her mom's new girlfriend Karen is moving in with Emma and her mom, and so is Karen's daughter, the incredibly bitchy Barbie-doll-esque Quinn, who takes over the school and rules it with a perfectly-manicured fist. Until, that is, she dies.
This book didn't go exactly where I expected it to (though looking back, I'm not exactly why that is), but I enjoyed it. Emma is a relatable character going through some interesting times, just trying to live her life. Quinn is... mean. Evil maybe. But maybe there's a reason for it all?
After Emma's parents got divorced, her mother found solace in a local divorce support group. Solace, and love - and now her mom's new girlfriend Karen is moving in with Emma and her mom, and so is Karen's daughter, the incredibly bitchy Barbie-doll-esque Quinn, who takes over the school and rules it with a perfectly-manicured fist. Until, that is, she dies.
This book didn't go exactly where I expected it to (though looking back, I'm not exactly why that is), but I enjoyed it. Emma is a relatable character going through some interesting times, just trying to live her life. Quinn is... mean. Evil maybe. But maybe there's a reason for it all?
emilyyjjean's review against another edition
2.0
Quinn was more than just a mean girl, she was straight up evil.
This book took too much time explaining everything before she died than what the description actually states: Emma realizes there was more to her stepsister than anyone ever realized. The last sliver of the book is Emma realizing things about Quinn, but it's nothing that would actually justify the way Quinn acted. She was insane!
It was a smooth read and I finished it quickly. The end just kind of flopped for me.
This book took too much time explaining everything before she died than what the description actually states: Emma realizes there was more to her stepsister than anyone ever realized. The last sliver of the book is Emma realizing things about Quinn, but it's nothing that would actually justify the way Quinn acted. She was insane!
It was a smooth read and I finished it quickly. The end just kind of flopped for me.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
Oh, this story was so great, we knew what was going to happen, but not all of the details, and oh, it was a fantastic story!
brecklypete's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, and Toxic friendship
rbritt515's review against another edition
2.0
Emma is your average geek girl…until her mother’s new partner moves in and she finds out her new sister is a grade A mean girl, purse dog and all. And Quinn isn’t just any mean girl, she gets teachers fired and ruins people’s lives. Emma thinks nothing could possibly be worse than living under the same house as Quinn, but then Quinn dies unexpectedly and suddenly Emma finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew.
I thought the premise of this book was really interesting, but I feel like it probably could’ve benefited from either being restructured or twice as long… I enjoyed it, but the main premise of Emma’s stepsister dying and causing her to question what makes a mean girl mean is so central to the book that it is literally a part of the title…but then it doesn’t happen until 2/3 of the way through the book. Which is fine in a way, except that I spent the first 2/3 wondering when it was going to happen since usually big spoilers aren’t revealed on the back cover unless they happen pretty early. And then it also made all of Emma’s big “revelations” about Quinn’s reasons for being so mean feel pretty rushed. I understand the need for all the set up at the beginning, but I still think it might’ve been better had Quinn’s death happened much more quickly, with at least equal portions of the book focusing on life before Quinn and after Quinn.
I liked the idea of exploring what causes a person to act in the ways that they do (particularly in a character where we might not usually like the classic mean girl), but I felt like—again, with the issue of being rushed—it didn’t feel like we got to really fully do that. I needed more time to explore Quinn’s backstory, to let me empathize with her after spending so much of the book disliking her.
I don’t want to finish this review without mentioning any of the things that I did like about the book, though, so here are some things I did appreciate: the smattering of lgbtq representation, Emma’s voice, and the complex portrayal of Quinn (allowing to be truly, unbelievably awful, while also sometimes being—or, well, trying to be—almost nice).
So, I enjoyed Emma’s POV and the book was a fun, quick read, but ultimately I felt let down by what could have been.
*I received this book for free from the publisher through a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.*
I thought the premise of this book was really interesting, but I feel like it probably could’ve benefited from either being restructured or twice as long… I enjoyed it, but the main premise of Emma’s stepsister dying and causing her to question what makes a mean girl mean is so central to the book that it is literally a part of the title…but then it doesn’t happen until 2/3 of the way through the book. Which is fine in a way, except that I spent the first 2/3 wondering when it was going to happen since usually big spoilers aren’t revealed on the back cover unless they happen pretty early. And then it also made all of Emma’s big “revelations” about Quinn’s reasons for being so mean feel pretty rushed. I understand the need for all the set up at the beginning, but I still think it might’ve been better had Quinn’s death happened much more quickly, with at least equal portions of the book focusing on life before Quinn and after Quinn.
I liked the idea of exploring what causes a person to act in the ways that they do (particularly in a character where we might not usually like the classic mean girl), but I felt like—again, with the issue of being rushed—it didn’t feel like we got to really fully do that. I needed more time to explore Quinn’s backstory, to let me empathize with her after spending so much of the book disliking her.
I don’t want to finish this review without mentioning any of the things that I did like about the book, though, so here are some things I did appreciate: the smattering of lgbtq representation, Emma’s voice, and the complex portrayal of Quinn (allowing to be truly, unbelievably awful, while also sometimes being—or, well, trying to be—almost nice).
So, I enjoyed Emma’s POV and the book was a fun, quick read, but ultimately I felt let down by what could have been.
*I received this book for free from the publisher through a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.*
taylor_nic0le's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good, quick read. The author did a good job at making me hate Quinn pretty easily, so I think that speaks well to her writing style.
marque's review against another edition
2.0
Какой интересный концепт и какое разочарование! Как можно было эту тему раскрыть. Какой психологический и социальный подтекст могла иметь эта книга. Но, нет, вместо этого Ева Дэрроуз преподнесла на людской суд что-то невразумительное с невнятным посылом.
Типичная школьная "неудачница", Эмма Макларен вела примитивный и лишенный каких-либо шансов на светлое будущее образ жизни. Так и бы и продолжалось, если бы мать Эммы случайно не влюбилась в женщину-адвоката, по имени Карен. Эмме в принципе плевать на то, что у мамы новая любовь и она будет жить с ними, лишь бы ее не трогали. Такое наплевательское отношение у нее, кстати говоря, ко всему. Но, с Карен приезжает и ее дочь то первого брака - Куинн.
Как можно было понять из аннотации и названия, основная канва сюжета в том, что Куинн умирает и это очень сильно сказывается на жизни Эммы. А ведь все так классно начиналось! Нам описывают мертвое тело Куинн, которое нашли в гараже.
Так как сама аннотация не сказала ничего конкретного, половина людей полагали, что это убийство и история уйдет в сторону детектива, я же считала, что Куинн наложила на себя руки и Эмма будет разбираться в причинах. Не произошло ни того, ни другого. Если не вдаваться в подробности, то можно сказать, что Куинн просто умерла.
Мораль-то у истории неплохая: относись ко всем с добротой и пониманием. Но в контексте этой истории, она воспринимается как "если тебя бьют по щеке, то подставь другую и помалкивай". Куинн непросто тупая школьная стервочка, она, в прямом смысле, ломает жизни. Г-жа Дэрроуз, вы не можете просто прописать персонажа-гомофоба, которая мешает всем жить, а потом сказать, что она просто напуганная девочка, которой трудно пережить развод родителей. И я бы могла это принять, честно! Но, только в том случае, если у бы в книге были главы от лица Куинн или Эмма бы нашла ее личный дневник, который пролил бы на этого героя свет, то еще куда не шло. Но все это представлено именно в виде теорий в голове Эммы, которые не получили никакого подтверждения или опровержения. Именно поэтому во весь этот бред, про напуганную социапатку Куинн верится с трудом.
Единственный плюс этой книги в том, что она довольно короткая. Я потратила на нее полтора часа.
Типичная школьная "неудачница", Эмма Макларен вела примитивный и лишенный каких-либо шансов на светлое будущее образ жизни. Так и бы и продолжалось, если бы мать Эммы случайно не влюбилась в женщину-адвоката, по имени Карен. Эмме в принципе плевать на то, что у мамы новая любовь и она будет жить с ними, лишь бы ее не трогали. Такое наплевательское отношение у нее, кстати говоря, ко всему. Но, с Карен приезжает и ее дочь то первого брака - Куинн.
Как можно было понять из аннотации и названия, основная канва сюжета в том, что Куинн умирает и это очень сильно сказывается на жизни Эммы. А ведь все так классно начиналось! Нам описывают мертвое тело Куинн, которое нашли в гараже.
Так как сама аннотация не сказала ничего конкретного, половина людей полагали, что это убийство и история уйдет в сторону детектива, я же считала, что Куинн наложила на себя руки и Эмма будет разбираться в причинах. Не произошло ни того, ни другого. Если не вдаваться в подробности, то можно сказать, что Куинн просто умерла.
Мораль-то у истории неплохая: относись ко всем с добротой и пониманием. Но в контексте этой истории, она воспринимается как "если тебя бьют по щеке, то подставь другую и помалкивай". Куинн непросто тупая школьная стервочка, она, в прямом смысле, ломает жизни. Г-жа Дэрроуз, вы не можете просто прописать персонажа-гомофоба, которая мешает всем жить, а потом сказать, что она просто напуганная девочка, которой трудно пережить развод родителей. И я бы могла это принять, честно! Но, только в том случае, если у бы в книге были главы от лица Куинн или Эмма бы нашла ее личный дневник, который пролил бы на этого героя свет, то еще куда не шло. Но все это представлено именно в виде теорий в голове Эммы, которые не получили никакого подтверждения или опровержения. Именно поэтому во весь этот бред, про напуганную социапатку Куинн верится с трудом.
Единственный плюс этой книги в том, что она довольно короткая. Я потратила на нее полтора часа.
bridgidthepirateelf's review against another edition
2.0
There was no redeeming quality of Quinn. She was just a stereotype. So was Emma. The description said it was going to show how Quinn had more too her than Emma thought but we didn't get that.