Author: Lynn Weingarten
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication date: July 7, 2015
Pages: 320
Price: $19.99 CAD (Hardcover) at Indigo Books & Music Online
Synopsis
They say Delia burned herself to death in her stepfather’s shed. They say it was suicide.
But June doesn’t believe it.
June and Delia used to be closer than anything. Best friends in that way that comes before everyone else—before guys, before family. It was like being in love, but more. They had a billion secrets, tying them together like thin silk cords.
But one night a year ago, everything changed. June, Delia, and June’s boyfriend, Ryan, were just having a little fun. Their good time got out of hand. And in the cold blue light of morning, June knew only this—things would never be the same again.
Now Delia is dead. June is certain she was murdered. And she owes it to her to find out the truth…which is far more complicated than she ever could have imagined.
– Goodreads
First Sentence
“I’d forgotten what it was like to be that alone.”
Review
This book was really peculiar. I was interested in reading this novel because I saw a bunch of people reading it on Goodreads and thought “Why not?” A couple of weeks later I landed upon it at my library. As said in the synopsis, this novel is about a girl named Delia who decided to take her own life. But her former best friend, June, thinks someone actually murdered her and used suicide as a cover-up. I really like mystery and murder novels so this one sounded really interesting to me!
“The messed-up thing is how so many people think your body is their business, especially if you’re a girl.”
― Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls
Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls is a very well written novel, although it felt like it lacked a bit of detail. Some pieces did not really add up in the story and I have so many unanswered questions. I loved how thrilling the first half of the novel was but in the second half, thinks got weird and I’m not exactly sure I fully understood. Let’s say, I had to make a lot of deductions on that second half and you might have to too if you decide to read Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls.
Although, Delia’s character was probably what was the trickiest. I can usually relate to any character somehow, but there were no connections with me and Delia. I did not understand her motives. She is extremely possessive and compulsive. Did she like June? I think she did but they never did anything about it and she has not even seen June in so long! Also, who the heck are half of these people? Where did they get a cabin? How did they get so much money? This book was interesting, sure, but it was in no way realistic at all. Stealing bodies, giant sums of money, secret cabins, body-guard friends? Aren’t these teens supposed to be studying for their chemistry test or something? There was also the scene where they killed Delia’s step-father which was really uncomfortable and awkward for me to read because yeah, I know her step-dad was a brat but there is viable proof that Delia is in fact a pathological liar. She exaggerated many situations and told June a bunch of stuff that was lies! I don’t know, I think June was clueless to how messed up Delia is and how obsessed Delia is with June. (Even though they haven’t hung out in like a year?) Overall, this book was a pretty good read except for all the things I just pointed out because they were nagging at me and made me like this novel a little less. This is not one of my favorite novels but it did keep me entertained for the four hour drive to my grandparents house!
“Finding a best friend is like finding a true love: when you meet yours, you just know.”
― Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls
Final Review|Recommendation
I give Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls two out of five stars because the main idea of the novel was genuinely interesting but I did not really enjoy the approach the author took it and how it sorta just drifted of after a couple of chapters. The inaccuracy was also really bugging me. I just don’t understand why you’d write a contemporary novel if you are going to stretch it so much like, ya might as well tell us that Delia’s actually a fairy and call this book an urban fantasy!
I’d recommend this novel to someone who likes some murder mystery, has a good sense of deduction and would not mind a stretch in the novels realism. (I know this bothers me, especially in contemporary novels like this one!)
“The world is only as fair as you make it.”
― Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls
I really liked the burnt matches in this cover though, it makes sense with the story and looks cool!
Let me know what you thought of this book or my review!
Have a great day!
-Emma 🙂