Social Suicide (Hartley Featherstone, #2) (Deadly Cool, #2)

by Gemma Halliday

Twittercide: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting. Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper's brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went ...a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the homecoming queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH's resident body finder, I'm stuck trying to prove that Sydney's death wasn't suicide. I'm starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos...

• ISBN10: 0062003321
• ISBN13: 9780062003324
• Publish Date: 24 April 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperTeen
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062003324

Reviews

[lizarodz]

I just love Hartley. I think this amazing protagonist is what makes the story. Hartley is witty, quirky, funny, a great friend and a not so good investigator (she’s getting better though). Hart comes across like a real teenager (believe, I have one) in a world in which technology has taken over, Twitter, Facebook, IM, ipods, texting, the internet and even Match.com are all big players in the book.


Chase is again Hart’s love interest, well sort off; we know they each care for each other, but they’re taking things slow, which I like. I do hope that they get to have that date on book three *sigh*. Sam is, as always, a good and loyal friend, even when it goes against everything she believes in; as I said, ‘a really good friend’. We see a few of the characters from book one as well. More importantly, Hartley’s mom is now dating a certain detective *wink, wink*


The plot is a bit predictable, but nevertheless I enjoyed the ride. The writing is amazing, so funny that I laughed out loud more than once. I mean, who would have thought of committing ‘Twittercide’? Ms. Halliday, that’s who!
I cannot wait for book three, whenever it’s published, I’m so there. If you like Nancy Drew when you were younger, if you like mystery and a light, funny story, look no further than the Deadly Cool series.


About the cover: The cover is really beautiful, although the model looks less like Hartley. I like the font and again the headphone cable that forms the word “suicide”.

[Stephanie]

What I Loved: Hartley Featherstone brings a smile to my face every time I think about her! Thankfully in Social Suicide she seems to have gotten smarter in the personal safety area. Hartley is still pretty snarky and I love it! Gemma Halliday carried the tension of Hartley and Chase’s non-relationship into Social Suicide.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the Pretty Woman-esque moment of the prom scene. I can only imagine the look on Chase’s face when Hartley came down the stairs. :)

Overall Social Suicide was a great fun read. I’m hoping Gemma Halliday will continue with the series.

What I Could Have Lived Without: Honestly I can’t fault Social Suicide. I thouroughly enjoyed it.

Recommended For: Readers looking for a mystery filled with snark and fun.

Avoid If: You’re looking for a dark and serious thriller.

[Amanda]

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/05/30/review-social-suicide-by-gemma-halliday/

I went into Social Suicide wanting a light, fun read, and that’s exactly what I got. Hartley and the Deadly Cool series reminds me fondly of the days when I devoured Nancy Drew books. Hartley is an updated version of Nancy (at least, from what I can recall of the books) with a definite sarcastic bent that you know is a complete win for me. And, like many young and inexperienced sleuths before her, there is a certain unrealistic aspect to the book (and series) — why do all these deaths occur around Hartley? — but… I don’t care. No, really, if you read these books, I think it’s a requirement to suspend a certain amount of disbelief. And just run with it.

Social Suicide went remarkably fast; I picked it up in the evening and finished it the same evening. Though there wasn’t necessarily a lot going on, the story line was engaging enough to the point where the only thing that matter was moving forward. Not necessarily just with the mystery, but, you know, things with Chase, and, of course, Hartley’s mom. Hartley’s interactions with her mom just plain cracked me up. And with Chase? Not much happened. But the tension (at least on Hartley’s end) is there, and sometimes Chase made me swoon even more than he perhaps would have if they had actually been dating. The quirks of his mouth? Killed me.

Anyway. The mystery is pretty standard. Nothing noteworthy or terribly exciting or over the top, but like I said, that wasn’t what I was after. I believe the text speak was not as prevalent in Social Suicide as it was in Deadly Cool and for that, I was thankful. Too much and my head explodes, you know. But I also felt that Hartley sounds and acts like a true teenager, as does the rest of the cast of characters. And that gives Social Suicide a different feel than some other YA books. Hartley isn’t trying to save the world. Mainly, she’s just trying to find a murderer and not get killed in the process.

I approve.