Review: Bad Girls Don't Die

Author: Katie Alender
Pages: 346
Publisher: Hyperion
Source: Library
Synopsis: When Alexis’s little sister Kasey becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own Goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they live in starts changing. 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. Kasey is changing, too. Her blue eyes go green and she speaks in old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time. Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey’s shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving 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?


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It's been a while since I shivered so much from a story. Bad Girls Don't Die is an awesome example of a creepy ghost story. I had such a good time reading it! I was freaking out a bit and I had goosebumps. It got scarier and scarier the nearer we got to the end. Loved it!

Alexis, our MC, was totally awesome. I respected her and admired her early on in the story. She was the kind of girl who'd always speak her mind and do what's right. She didn't believe in high school's pretentious cliques and though she didn't have many friends, she was fine with that because at least she was herself. Alexis loved and cared for her family even though she had a hard time showing it. I related to her strength and independence but vulnerability.

Enter Carter who wasn't as in to the story as I previously thought so at the beginning of the book. Carter looked like the perfect package. He had secrets though. He also had an inner vulnerability that I wasn't expecting. His character was so sweet and for once, I actually understand why he and Alexis had a little romance (and I fully encouraged it)!

Next awesome character is Megan. Megan seemed like your typical cheer captain but she wasn't. Her family was nothing like you'd expect. She had a very painful background and she wasn't as perfect as you'd expect. I love that about the cast here. All of them have issues that hurt. They all are strong in different ways though. While I can't say the story is without stereotypical characters, I can say they were written in a way that I didn't mind. I talked about the characters a lot in this review because I really liked them.

Now to the plot... The beginning isn't visibly creepy but there are important events. The further in you delve, the more secrets and the higher the stakes. There are ghosts here and possession but it's written in an original and spooky way. I did guess some of the twists but that's because I watch Supernatural all the time so I've seen my share of ghost stories. That doesn't make them any less enjoyable though. Bad Girls Don't Die is also incredibly readable. I was at 200 pages in what felt like an hour of reading.

So overall, if you want a frightening read, this book is for you. It also has surprisingly strong characters too and is in no way the story I thought it would be. I can't wait for more! 4.5 stars,

**** & 1/2 *