Title: Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls
Author: Lynn Weingarten
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publishing Date: July 7th, 2015
Pages: 320
Genre: YA Mystery/Noir
Genre: YA Mystery/Noir
Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audio
Source: Audio
They say Delia burned herself to death in her stepfather’s shed. They say it was suicide.
But June doesn’t believe it.
June and Delia used to be closer than anything. Best friends in that way that comes before everyone else—before guys, before family. It was like being in love, but more. They had a billion secrets, binding them together like thin silk cords.
But one night a year ago, everything changed. June, Delia, and June’s boyfriend Ryan were just having a little fun. Their good time got out of hand. And in the cold blue light of morning, June knew only this—things would never be the same again.
And now, a year later, Delia is dead. June is certain she was murdered. And she owes it to her to find out the truth…which is far more complicated than she ever could have imagined.
Sexy, dark, and atmospheric, Suicide Notes from Beautiful
Girls will keep you guessing until the very last page.
I have recently read Bad Girls With Perfect Faces and loved it. I Loved it so much and I was excited to read more by this author. I was a little disappointed in this book. Just a little. I think if I would have read this book when it was released and then I wouldn't feel the way I feel about this book. I think I was so wowed by Bad Girls With Perfect Faces that I was expecting a little more from this read. It was still good though, I really did enjoy it.
Delia and June have been friends since before high school started. They did everything together. June was the careful one, the shy one, the one that was always trying to keep up with Delia the wild one, the brave one, the exciting one. Recently, in the last year, they had a falling out. They are no longer friends and they have gone their separate ways. June comes back from Christmas vacation and hears that Delia has died. She wants to get to the bottom of her ex-friends death. She is said to have committed suicide, June does not believe this and will prove what really happened. This investigation leads to secrets from the past and in the present.
So where to start with this review. The things I really enjoyed about this boo, the noir feel, the dual timeline narrations, the secrets and the discoveries. I did like the writing. This author really has a beautiful writing style. The story moved at a great pace, never slowing, never lacking. For the most part, I really enjoyed this read. I liked the writing, the feel, and the tone of the book. I think It just didn't wow me like her other book I recently read. That book was still on my mind.
The only thing that really stopped me from really loving this book I think was the character connection and the ending. I don't always have to like the characters, but I do like to connect with them, understand them, and feel for them. I just couldn't get on board with these characters. I felt they were too flawed and not redeemable. I felt June was weak and didn't know how to live without Delia paving the way for her, telling her what to do, and making her a road map of life. I didn't like Delia at all. She was too self-centered and too self-sabotaging. She wanted something in life and couldn't figure out what. I never knew if I could believe her and I think June believed her way to quickly. Neither girl knew how to think of the consequences of their actions and never really thought anything out.
I understood the girls were broken, I couldn't really understand why they were so broken. That was the missing piece for me. This story needed the brokeness. It's about the brokenness and the unhealthy relationships. It's about the lies and the secrets and the questions. But I needed something to get on board with their choices. I needed more of the past that caused all the pain. I just needed more to the story.
I didn't like the ending much either. I don't feel that it gave me closure or resolution. I was confused still at the end of what really happened. What was made up, what was imagined, what was real and what was perspective. I just didn't feel satisfied at the end.
The actual story was interesting and for sure a page-turner. I was never bored and really needed page-turner happened. I think this is why the ending just didn't resonate with me. I needed to know more and it was kind of an open ended ending. I have liked only a handful of those kinds of endings.
Even though I didn't connect well and didn't like the ending, the story had enough for cause of enjoyment. I still liked the book and would still recommend the read. I would just put a disclaimer with the recommendation.
It had some issues for me but I still actually enjoyed it.
The only thing that really stopped me from really loving this book I think was the character connection and the ending. I don't always have to like the characters, but I do like to connect with them, understand them, and feel for them. I just couldn't get on board with these characters. I felt they were too flawed and not redeemable. I felt June was weak and didn't know how to live without Delia paving the way for her, telling her what to do, and making her a road map of life. I didn't like Delia at all. She was too self-centered and too self-sabotaging. She wanted something in life and couldn't figure out what. I never knew if I could believe her and I think June believed her way to quickly. Neither girl knew how to think of the consequences of their actions and never really thought anything out.
I understood the girls were broken, I couldn't really understand why they were so broken. That was the missing piece for me. This story needed the brokeness. It's about the brokenness and the unhealthy relationships. It's about the lies and the secrets and the questions. But I needed something to get on board with their choices. I needed more of the past that caused all the pain. I just needed more to the story.
I didn't like the ending much either. I don't feel that it gave me closure or resolution. I was confused still at the end of what really happened. What was made up, what was imagined, what was real and what was perspective. I just didn't feel satisfied at the end.
The actual story was interesting and for sure a page-turner. I was never bored and really needed page-turner happened. I think this is why the ending just didn't resonate with me. I needed to know more and it was kind of an open ended ending. I have liked only a handful of those kinds of endings.
Even though I didn't connect well and didn't like the ending, the story had enough for cause of enjoyment. I still liked the book and would still recommend the read. I would just put a disclaimer with the recommendation.
It had some issues for me but I still actually enjoyed it.
Lynn Weingarten is a New York Times bestselling author living in Brooklyn. Her fifth young adult novel, BAD GIRLS WITH PERFECT FACES, was released in the US on Halloween 2017. It will be out in the UK on January 11th, 2018.
Her previous books include SUICIDE NOTES FROM BEAUTIFUL GIRLS (a NY Times bestseller, a YALSA Teens’ Top Ten book for 2016, one of Vanity Fair’s list of Best Books for July, and on The Guardian’s list of 5 of the Best in Young Adult Fiction), and WHEREVER NINA LIES (an ALA Top Ten Popular Paperback for Young Adults, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, a YALSA Teen’s Top Ten Nominee and a Sequoyah Book Award Nominee)
In the past, Lynn edited books and developed ideas for Alloy Entertainment. She is currently Creative Director of Dovetail Fiction, a new sister company from the book packager Working Partners.
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