Bad Girls Don’t Die (Bad Girls Don’t Die #1) by Katie Alender

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
Series: Bad Girls Don't Die #1
Published by Disney Hyperion on April 21, 2009
Pages: 346
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased by Reviewer
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Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

A fresh and funny take on the classic possessed-doll-poltergeist story.

I love Katie Alender. Her writing is clever and carries that kind of quick-wit charm you see on the big screen or current television shows aimed at teens. I really enjoy Katie’s writing and her simple yet effective characterization. I first fell in love with Katie’s writing in her book, Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer. You can check out my review of that one, here.

Alexis is our narrator, and she is your typical teenage girl who soon discovers her younger sister isn’t just being a spoiled brat; she’s POSSESSED. Alexis is easy to relate to and unlike many characters in horror films, she’s smart and rarely made me want to slap her.

Kasey, Alexis’s younger sister, is a character we end up feeling sympathetic for despite her demonic demeanor. I LOVE when an author does that with a character you naturally feel like you should hate. I continually felt conflicted about Kasey, and I loved the dimension that aspect of her character added to the story.

While there is a thin thread of romance in this story, it takes backseat but promises to be more center-stage by the end of the novel.

Now he had turned his whole body to face me. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

I felt an urgent, almost magnetic pull between us. It made my throat feel dry and airy.

“This is so weird, ” I said, but it came out as a whisper.

He studied my face for a moment and then smiled.

Oh God, was it obvious that my heart was pounding? It was like those scenes in movies where the girl thinks the guy’s going to kiss her, so she closes her eyes and puckers up. Except I wasn’t just puckering my lips- I was puckering my whole soul.

This book is filled with all kinds of wonderfully-creeptastic scenes that will make you want to sleep with the lights on. The world-building is nicely done, the pacing was reminiscent of a teen thriller,  and overall, this book is an entertaining and light-read that is definitely worth an add to your TBR list.  Here’s one of my favorite and most infuriating scenes from the book:

“Go to bed, Kase.”

“Why did you want me to come in here?” she asked, looking around.

Was she kidding? “What are you talking about? I didn’t want you in here… It’s the middle of the night!”

She slumped and leaned away. Her hand brushed the hair back away from her face. It was a gesture of elegance, practiced and casual.

Then she reached out to my arm. Her fingers brushed my skin. “We can be friends,” she whispered.

I felt a sharp burn and looked down to find four red marks across my skin, where she’d touched me.

“You know what?” I said. “I’m sick of this. Get out of here.”

Kasey stood up suddenly, and grabbing the yearbook from my nightstand, threw it at the wall as hard as she could.

“What–?”

Then, with hard eyes, she backed away and hit herself in the face.

It took me a moment to process what I was seeing- my sister with an angry red mark on her jaw- and by the time I realized what she’d done, she was huddled on the floor screaming at the top of her lungs.