Poor Little Dead Girls

by Lizzie Friend

The first time she is blindfolded and kidnapped, star-athlete and posh boarding school newbie Sadie is terrified. She wakes up in a dark room surrounded by hushed whispers, hooded strangers, and a mysterious voice whispering not-so-sweet nothings in her ear. But once the robes come off, she realizes it's just an elaborate prank designed to induct her into the group that's been pulling the strings at Keating Hall for generations. The circle has it all--incredible connections; fabulous parties; and, of course, an in with the brother society's gorgeous pledges. The instant popularity is enough to make Sadie forget about the unexplained marks on her body, the creepy ceremonial rituals, and the incident that befell one of her teammates the year before. So the next time Sadie is kidnapped, she isn't scared, but she should be. The worst of Keating Hall is yet to come.

• ISBN10: 1440563969
• ISBN13: 9781440563966
• Publish Date: 1 November 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation
• Imprint: Merit Press
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[meowstina]

I received a copy of this book for free as part of Goodreads’s First Reads program.

I was expecting another typical book about boarding school and snobby mean girls. The less well-off new girl with no personality arrives, the beautiful popular girls make snarky remarks, new girl is a loner until she finds a sinister plot behind the popular girls’ facade, new girl gets a chance at popularity, etc. I am extremely happy to say (for the most part) this book completely exceeded my expectations. I actually really like it!

Sadie and the other characters have personalities, which is a huge factor in whether or not I enjoy a book, and the writing is pretty good as well. Sure a lot of the characters are commonly used tropes, but because of the writing and Sadie herself I don’t mind as much. Upon reflection, I overlooked a lot of things I usually don’t like. I like the writing, though, and everything is weaved together so well that I didn’t notice as I was reading, or didn’t care. I still really enjoyed reading the story.

Things are not as murder mystery as I thought they would be. Instead they give way to a creepier, more serious plot. The suspense is held pretty much until the very last minute, which makes for some intense reading. I never suspected the true motive, which turns out to be a little scary.

Even though some of the characters can be predictable, nothing is what it seems. And for that which is, the writing and story make up for it.

[Joni Reads]

Recieved from Netgalley

There were things I loved about this book and things I disliked about it. The characters were well developed and I really liked Sadie. She is a well developed character and I found no flaws with her. The friendships seemed genuine and I loved reading about the boarding school atmosphere. My issues are with the suspense part of the novel. One night Sadie is tied up, drugged, and taken from her room to a mysterious location to be inducted into a secret society. The next morning she basically just accepts that it happened and then does nothing about it. SHe doesn't even seem freaked out, more like annoyed with the idea. If I was 16, in a strange new school and then drugged and taken out of my room I would be freaking out, not mouthing off to the people who did it to me.

I found myself enjoying the part of the book that was not about the mystery and the secret society more than I enjoyed the dramatic parts.

The romance played out well and I they were some of my favorite scenes.

As the book ended the more weird it became. The secret society was obviously weird but they take to it a whole new level when Sadies finds frozen eggs taken from her body and all the female members. Her and her friends uncover a totally bizarre plan for this society. The book started out believable and ended feeling very off. Didn't love it but didn't hate it. I would give the author another chance but as for this book, I'm still not entirely sure if I loved it or not. All I can say is read it and decide for yourself.