Review: Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

Title: Playlist for the Dead

Author: Michelle Falkoff

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date: January 27th, 2015

Pages: 288
Audio Length: N/A

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Series: Standalone

Source: Book 

 

Here’s what Sam knows: There was a party. There was a fight. The next morning, Sam’s best friend, Hayden, was dead. All he left Sam was a playlist of songs—and a note, saying that he took his own life. But what Sam doesn’t know is: Why?
To figure out what happened, Sam has to rely on the playlist and his own memory. But the more he listens, the more he realizes that his memory isn’t as reliable as he thought. Especially when someone claiming to be Hayden starts sending him cryptic messages, and a series of violent attacks begins on the bullies who made Hayden’s life hell.
Sam knows he has to face up to what happened the night. But it’s only by taking out his earbuds and opening his eyes to the people around him—including an eccentric, unpredictable girl who’s got secrets, too—that Sam will finally be able to piece together his best friend’s story.
And maybe have a chance to change his own.

What made me pick this book up: 

The cover caught my eye, and Playlist for the Dead almost sounds creepy. 

What did I like about the cover:

The color of blue it is, is so pretty. So I definitely noticed that and the silhouettes of the girl and the guy with the headphones. It matches the book well. 

What made me read this book: 

I was told it would be like 13 Reasons Why and I love 13 Reasons Why.

What did I like the most: 

The story itself was good, and also very sad. Any book about suicide is sad. But I think the author did a really good job in portraying the emotions in the book. So the writing was very well done.

The characters were written well. I think the way she wrote how the MC was trying to deal with the death of his best friend is both accurate and very realistic. 

I loved Astrid's best friend, Eric, and also Jimmy and Rachel. Those three were my favorite characters. 

I also really loved that they were geeks. I also love reading about geekery and pop culture. They were playing MMOs and going to the comic store. They're the kind of people I'd love to be friends with. 

The whole playlist thing was pretty interesting, though it didn't really make much difference to the story. More about that later.

But at the beginning of each chapter there was a song title and the artist, and I thought that was pretty cool. I added a few songs to my playlist from there. 

What didn't I like:

Astrid. I really wanted to like her, she was the cool badass, she's exactly who she wants to be type person. But I just really did not like her. At all. She was annoying and just... blah.

Also the ending was kind of blah. 

AND I was lied to. The only thing about 13 reasons why, is that it involves a suicide. 

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I have a few by the same author I want to read.

It was a really good book about suicide awareness. Very realistic.

 

“If there's one thing I learned from the playlist, it's how important listening to people can be.” 
― Michelle Falkoff, Playlist for the Dead