A review by brunettegeekgirl
Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

4.0

"Str-S-d: I'll begin with Lucy. She is definitely first on the list. You can't believe how it feels to be in the cafeteria and turn around and there she is staring at me likeI'm some disgusting bug or vermin. Does she really think I WANT to be this way? I hate you, Lucy. I really hate you. You are my #1 pick. I wish you were dead." The day after anonymous blogger Str-S-dwishes the popular girl would die, Lucy vanishes. The students of Soundview High are scared and worried. Especially frightened and wracked with guilt is Madison Archer, Lucy's friend and the last person to see her the night she disappeared.As days pass with no sign of the missing girl, even the attention of Tyler, an attractive new student, is not enough to distract Madison from her growing sense of foreboding. When two more popular students disappear after their names are mentioned on Str-S-d's blog, the residents of Soundview panic.

Meanwhile, Madison receives anonymous notes warning that she could be next. Desperate to solve the mystery before anyone else disappears, Madison turns to Tyler, but can she trust him when it becomes clear that he knows more than he's sharing?The clock is ticking. Madison must uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances . . . before her name appears in Str-S-d's blog.In the spirit of stories like "I Know What You Did Last Summer," Todd Strasser updates the teen thriller for the techno age with "Wish You Were Dead," the first installment in a new "thrill"-ogy.

From Goodreads.

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The cover:

One of two reasons for me deciding to give this book a try was the cover. It looks creepy and indeed the story is too.

One of my favorite covers although it's simple :).

The storyline:

This is where the mystery lies. At first, I had no idea what was going on or who the narrator was. After, almost 50% thru the book, I started getting my grip on the story and the characters and from then, I fell in love with this book.

Just so you know, this book is only suitable for 18+ readers because it contains murder, drinking mentioned, gruesome images and it's so scary, and I mean so scary!

Now back to the book. This read is definitely one of my favorites.

I can't tell you how the story progresses or who the narrator is or the blogger is because I'll be spoiling this review, so I'll just do a bullet list :).

What I loved:

The characters were so unusual. They were cruel, rude and mysterious all the time.
The story developed from being boring to completely exiting and breath taking.
I loved the horror and the gruesome aspect of this story, it kept me on the edge and expecting the worse to happen, guess what? It exceeded my expectations!! *_*
The story itself was interesting in so many ways and it was realistic (maybe?!).
Tyler and Madison no questions asked!
What I hated (mostly disliked only):

The beginning of the story was awkward. When I started reading it at first, I felt lost, there’s no introduction to what’s going on and you find yourself directly in the middle of the story!
The characters:

Str-S-d: The poor girl had no bad intentions, but things end up badly for those she wrote about on her blog. With that being said, she’s a very nice and shy girl :).

Madison: The nicest popular girl in the school. Everybody loves her and think she’s cool. When her best friends start disappearing and two of them die, we find how smart and courageous she is.

Tyler: He’s one new mysterious guy. Madison totally likes him, but is he trustworthy? You’ll find out when you read the book ;).

Favorite quotes:

There are hardly any quotable passages in this book, it’s full of dialogues that would spoil the story or give a hint on who is who.

“No—I mean, yes. It’s just that some of us, the harder we try, the less cool we are. The problem is, if we don’t try, we’re not cool, either. In fact, no matter what we do, we’re not cool.” --- Chapter 15.

“But we all stereotype, don’t we?” Mr. Osmond asked. “How many of you have been in an airport and saw someone who looked Middle Eastern and felt nervous that this person might be a terrorist? Or walked down a block at night and saw a black man approaching? Or saw some guy come to school wearing a long black trench coat?” --- Chapter 18.

“So? Better this than just wait here to die. There’s no way she’s just going to leave us behind.” “How do you know?”

“Because they’re called serial killers, not serial leave-victims-behind-to-help-testify-against-them. Keep an eye on the door.” --- Chapter 21.

Conclusion:

This is one of my favorite Horror/Thriller/Mystery books ever. I plan on reading more like this book in the future.

If you’re into serial killers’ stories, horror books or just thrillers, you’ll love this. One more advice, don’t read it at night or you’ll end up checking the doors and windows every 5 minutes ;).