Undead Girl Gang

by Lily Anderson

So when Riley and Fairmont Academy mean girls June Phelan-Park and Dayton Nesseth die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone’s explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life.

Unfortunately, Riley, June, and Dayton have no recollection of their murders. But they do have unfinished business to attend to. Now, with only seven days until the spell wears off and the girls return to their graves, Mila must wrangle the distracted group of undead teens and work fast to discover their murderer . . before the killer strikes again.

• ISBN10: 045147824X
• ISBN13: 9780451478245
• Publish Date: 14 May 2019 (first published 8 May 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Razorbill
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451478245

Reviews

[leahrosereads]

Oh man, I know I'm gonna be in for a ride when a book can tug at my heartstrings super early on. Which of course happened here. I liked the writing, and thought the plot was pretty interesting, but there was so much not explained here (which I wish were because it probably would've been a four star book).

Oh well. This was a fun time but didn't have a re-readability factor, so I'll probably be handing this book off to a used bookstore. Hoping another reader will have a good time reading it.

[layawaydragon]

[Jo]

Originally published on Once Upon a Bookcase.

Trigger Warning: This book contains discussion of suicide, unintentional offensive language surrounding suicide, faith-based discrimination, and body shaming.

I have been really looking forward to reading Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson ever since I first heard about it. A protagonist who practises Wicca and calls herself a witch, with a murder mystery? Give me this book now! However, it really wasn't the book I was expecting.

When Mila's best friend Riley drowns in the creek within days of when two mean girls, June and Dayton, at school hang themselves, everyone believes it was a suicide pact. But Mila doesn't believe it; she knows Riley, and knows Riley wouldn't have. She knows someone killed her, but no-one else will even consider the possibility. Riley was a practising Wiccan, and Mila went along with it and got involved, and Mila knows she must use witchcraft to find answers. However, the only spell that looks likely to get her any answers is a spell to bring the dead back to life for seven days. So Mila casts the spell to raise Riley from the dead, but mistakenly also brings back June and Dayton. None of them know who killed them, though; in fact, they forgotten a number of days leading up to their deaths. Nor are they that bothered with finding their killer as they come to terms with the fact they're dead, and only have a few days left. It's up to Riley to try and figure out who might have killed them before they're seven days are up, but there are very few suspects.

I was really disappointed in Undead Girl Gang for a number of reasons. I think we've been kind of misled. I loved that this was a book that featured a fat, Mexican Wiccan, but, although Mila calls herself a witch, Wicca was more Riley's thing, and though she got involved, she could take it or leave it, really. And despite a spell here and there, including the one to bring Riley, June and Dayton back from the dead, there's also very little spellcasting. We learn very little about what Wicca is as a religion, about what they believe, about the spells they cast. The only spellcasting we see is the fictional, fantasy magic, like raising the dead. Wicca is a real religion, no matter what you may think of it, but there was very little of the religion in the book. Ok, so Mila and Riley had candles of various colours, crystals, essential oils, various plants and herbs, a moon chart, and a number of spell books, but we only get the most basic understanding of what they're used for.

Also, although the three girls are raised for the dead, and occasionally look like it, and a few other spells cast that have consequences, this felt more like a contemporary novel than a paranormal mystery. The description above says the three girls have unfinished business, which implies, to me, there are people they want to get revenge on, but nope. There's no unfinished business. They don't really do a huge deal. They want to attend their memorial, and get annoyed at the fake mourning and taking advantage of their deaths, and they miss their families, but know they can't visit them. But other than helping Mila with her spells, which doesn't happen very often, they don't really do very much but eat, drink, and bitch. There conversations can be kind of funny, it is amusing at times, but nothing much happens for a long time.

And as to the mystery, there isn't one. I mean, yes, there is a murder on the loose, but this isn't the kind of book where there are multiple suspects with various motivations to kill them, where you, as a reader, come up with multiple theories you come up with to then discard and replace with another as you find out more information. There is one potential suspect, and that's with a loose motivation. It's more of a, "maybe they did it because of X, because there doesn't seem to be anyone else who would have, but it's not much of a reason." There's no sitting on the edge of your seat as danger creeps ever closer. No suspense, no thrill, no nothing. So it's kind of slow.

It does pick up when we do start getting answers, but then I ended up rolling my eyes. I get it, but at the same time, really? The reason for the murder kind of made sense, but the why behind the reason, in my opinion, didn't. Because I can't see people actually giving a damn, so that seemed a little unrealistic to me. Also, how were the murders committed? Riley is one thing, but we know June and Dayton were hanged, but how? I'm pretty sure it would be a bit of a struggle trying to hang two people at once. So how did it actually happen? What did the murderer do, and how did they do it? We're not told.

If you don't go into Undead Girl Gang expecting a paranormal murder mystery, or learning much about Wicca, I'm sure it's quite a fun, light hearted read. But that is what I was expecting, so I was quite disappointed. There have been a number of people who really enjoyed this, though, so do read other reviews before deciding whether to read it or not.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: 4.5 stars fo sho!

So, after reading so many series and long books in a row I needed a short novel as a break, and boy did I find a gem! I absolutely loved this. Girl powerrr!

I could give it 4 stars just based on the, um, not the most... proper language use, as I curse like a sailor in real life! Probably more to come but I’m movin’ on! Trying to pick my next book!

Probably full RTC but no promises haha

[readingwithwrin]

4.5 stars

Thank you to firsttoread for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

"The problem with your best friend dying is that there's no one to sit with you at funerals."

I went into this book a little nervous because of how hyped up it's been. It is so worth the hype though. This is a fun lighthearted slightly dark book, that deals with friendship and bullying.

Mila is such a sarcastic character and I loved it. She was real about her grief and didn't let others change her opinion on things she thought she was sure about. Mila is also the one that brings back three girls from the dead. Who she thinks have been killed by a serial killer.

She brings back her best friend Riley, and June and Dayton who were the schools mean girls. With the help of these three girls, she wants to find out who killed them and why. This is not an easy task considering that these three girls are supposed to be dead and therefore cannot be seen by anyone, making it so Mila has to do most of the work especially when it comes to doing witchy things.

"The dead do not walk. Not ever. Not even for a moment. In metaphors or allegories, maybe, but never literally. It's against nature. It defies the will of the Goddess."

Overall I really loved this book. The mystery was so good, and I wasn't able to figure it out until the end when the other characters did. The friendship we see start and grow in this book was so nice to see and really show how someone can be completely different from who you thought they were.
I also really liked the sibling relationship between Mila and her sisters. It was so realistic to me and we don't just see them arguing or being angry at each other. Her sisters are really worried about her and want to make sure she's okay in the only way they know how to as siblings.
As for the witch part of this book, I found it fascinating and I really liked how certain things were explained and how it was mentioned how dangerous it can be if not done right.

I really enjoyed this book, and now I am even more excited to read Anderson's other books!

"The dead do not walk. Not ever. Not even for a moment. In metaphors or allegories, maybe, but never literally. It's against nature. It defies the will of the Goddess."

Blog Twitter Instagram Facebook