Review | Bad Girls Don't Die (Bad Girls Don't Die, #1) by Katie Alender

Series: Bad Girls Don't Die
Pages: 352
Date Released: 2009

     When Alexis's little sister Kasey becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks she is just being her usual weird self. Things get weirder, though, when their house starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner blasts cold air. Kasey is changing, too. Her blue eyes go green, she starts using old-fashioned language, and she forgets chunks of time. Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey's shoulder. The formerly gentle child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?


     As you can tell from my blog, I have been in the worst reading slump in my entire life. This year has been an absolute fail with me only reading less than 60 books! That's unheard of for me! Anyway, Bad Girls Don't Die may have risen me from the cemetery of bad books. I liked and disliked Alexis. She was kinda hypocritical. She had opinions about everybody acting like someone they're not, when she was doing the exact same thing. I had an awesome time watching her grow though. I loved her personality of individuality. She was just too quick to judge people.
     Kasey was also a wonderful character. She was a bit....eccentric for a normal thirteen-year old, but normal is overrated anyway. She really felt like nobody liked her which is why she was so susceptible to being possesseed. Her "visitor" was very scary and creepy. I couldn't imagine being in Alexis's shoes.
     The main thing that made this book so awesome was the writing. Katie was incredibly detailed and vivid in her descriptions. She made me feel like I was a fly on the wall during every chapter, getting a firsthand view of everything going on! The action was never-ending, too. The ghost stirred up some major trouble and the plot thickens with every turn of the pages. I loved the complex back story that came out as the story went on. All in all, my expectations went out of the window with this book and I hope to have them flee again when I read the sequels!

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Review | Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Series: N/A
Pages: 245
Date Released: March 17, 2009
           
HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

     I started this book an hour and a half ago. Literally. No exaggerating at all. I am a huge fan of Jennifer and I loved Such A Rush, which was the first book of hers that I read. Going Too Far was exactly on par with Jennifer's expertise and excellence. I loved, loved, loved Meg. She was a bad girl and not that I've never read about other bad girls, she just stood out. She had reasons for her being a bad girl. She struggled with her panic attacks and she didn't feel that it made her weak. She wasn't doing it to get back at her parents. She did it for herself, to live. I loved all her twists and turns because I didn't find out the clear answer until the middle ending of the book and it was totally not what I expected. I was so surprised! But I loved it.
     I am also a big fan of John, too. Although, I couldn't find anyone who wouldn't be. His Matt Damon body and sleepy brown eyes? No one is immune. I loved him from the start because of how he treated Tiffany at the beginning and shook off Meg's insults. He was deep and his story was also more complex than I originally thought. He was obsessed with the bridge, which I thought was totally loony-toon until I understood the full severity of its importance.
     Going Too Far totally exceed all my expectations and had me giggling all the while at Meg's antics and Johnafter's cop humor. I enjoyed the wild journey from beginning to end and cannot wait to recommend them to my best friend.

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