A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Everyone in Fairview, Connecticut knows the story of Andie Bell–the pretty, popular high school senior who was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, before he killed himself as the evidence against him mounted.

Five years later, the town is still haunted by the tragic deaths and the mystery that still surrounds the case.

Pippa Fitz-Amobi remembers Sal Singh and has never believed he could be capable of murder. Now a high school senior, Pip plans to prove it by investigating the Bell case herself for her senior project.

With access to case files, Andie’s best friends, and Sal’s younger brother Ravi, Pip has all of the pieces she needs to solve this puzzle. But as she gets closer to the truth, Pip realizes that some people don’t want the truth to be uncovered. And they’ll do whatever is necessary to stop Pip from solving this case in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2020) by Holly Jackson.

Find it on Bookshop.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is Jackson’s first novel. It’s worth noting that the novel was originally published (and set) in the UK before being moved to Connecticut for the American editions although the story and characters still feel very British. Pip is white (her step-father is Nigerian and her younger brother is biracial), Sal and his family are Indian.

With suspect and witness interviews, case ephemera, and Pip’s engaging project logs between chapters, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is fast-paced and leaves plenty of room for readers to solve the case alongside Pip (possibly even before Pip depending on their own familiarity with mystery tropes).

Jackson subtly amps up the tension as Pip gets closer to the truth and realizes that there might be bigger consequences (and dangers) to her investigation that passing or failing her senior project. While Pip makes some bad decisions inherent to amateur investigators (always bring back up!), the story is engaging enough that Pip’s false starts are barely noticeable as the full scope of the case begins to unfold.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a fine addition to any YA mystery collection. Fans of true crime podcasts in the vein of Serial will be well served by the audio production which features a full cast recording with Bailey Carr acting as Pip.

Possible Pairings: Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich, Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus, In the Hall With the Knife by Diana Peterfreund, Sadie by Courtney Summers

Killing Time: A Review

With so much small town charm, it’s easy to think that bad things don’t happen in Ferry, Connecticut.

Which is why everyone is so shaken when local teacher Mrs. Halsey is found dead. Murdered. Even the local crime reporters are shocked by the violence of the crime.

Natalie Temple always thought she’d have a chance to apologize tom Mrs. Halswy after their in the middle of senior year. Mrs. Halsey is the reason Natalie is going to her dream school to study journalism.

Instead, Natalie’s favorite teacher is dead and no one knows why or who to blame.

Mrs. Halsey taught Natalie and her best friend Katie all about the power of true crime as a genre–an interest Natalie’s strict and overprotective mother has never been willing to entertain. Now, Natalie knows the best way to honor Mrs. Halsey is to find her killer. The investigation could also help Natalie take her “blood drenched” podcast Killing Time to the next level–something she’s sure no one would appreciate more than Mrs. Halsey.

Investigating the murder will bring Natalie face-to-face with the seedier side of Ferry–and some uncomfortable truths about her own family history–as Natalie learns that secrets never stay buried forever in Killing Time (2022) by Brenna Ehrlich.

Find it on Bookshop.

Killing Time plays out in two timelines alternating between Natalie’s investigation into Mrs. Halsey’s death and flashbacks to her mother Helen’s first year at college. All main characters are presumed white.

Natalie’s first person narration is filled with smart references to narrative conventions in true crime stories and observations about the divisions between East and West Ferry–parts of town separated by train tracks as much as income brackets. Unfortunately, Natalie’s singular focus on her investigation leaves little space for Natalie to gain dimension beyond her fixation on solving Mrs. Halsey’s murder–most of the on page interactions with her best friend revolve around the podcast. Although Ehrlich explores more of Helen’s past in the flashback chapters, Natalie’s relationship with her mother remains very one note for most of the story without fully exploring any of the dynamics inherent to growing up with not just a single parent but one who had Natalie very young.

Where Killing Time excels is in highlighting the knife edge journalists and true crime afficionados walk while trying to balance morbid interest with compassion for the real people who are impacted by these crimes. As with many ethical questions, there are no right answers but Ehrlich explores both the good and the bad through Natalie and Helen’s timelines.

Readers looking for a new true-crime-fueled story in the vein of Courtney Summers or Holly Jackson will find a lot to enjoy in Killing Time.

Possible Pairings: They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, The Cousins by Karen M. McManus, Sadie by Courtney Summers, The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration.*

Lucky Caller: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“It doesn’t devalue what you had with them, the stuff you experienced, the time you spent with them. That’s still valid, even if it wasn’t built to last. It’s not any less significant.”

Nina is fine coasting through high school. After all, it’s called the path of least resistance for a reason. Taking radio broadcasting as her elective is one more way to have an easy senior year.

Until it isn’t.

Nina’s radio team is not at all who she would have chosen. There’s Joydeep–who is happy to steer their radio show toward the easiest theme possible and steps up to host despite his obvious lack of comfort behind the mic–and Sasha–a girl who has never slacked on anything and doesn’t know what to make of this group of misfits. Then there’s Jamie, the childhood friend Nina has been actively trying to avoid since middle school.

Turns out, no one on the team knows what they’re doing with the radio show. Nina’s home life is on the verge of a big change as her mom gets ready to remarry. And Jamie, confusingly, might want to talk to her again. Then just when Sounds of the Nineties seems to be hitting its stride as a show, internet rumors and rogue fandoms threaten to ruin their fragile success.

When it starts to feel like nothing is made to last, Nina will have to decide if some things are actually worth working for in Lucky Caller (2020) by Emma Mills.

Find it on Bookshop.

Mills’ latest standalone contemporary is set in the same world as her previous novels and once again taps into themes of fandom and belonging to great effect.

Nina is a self-proclaimed passive participant in her own life. She doesn’t like to think too deeply about anything and she avoids conflict. Both of which led to her years-long avoidance of her best friend Jamie despite his living in the same apartment building.

While the plot of Lucky Caller centers Nina’s radio show and her family dynamics as she adjusts to the idea of her mom remarrying, Nina’s willful ignorance about her father’s short-comings as a long distance parent and her own potential for change add a secondary layer to this otherwise straightforward story. As Nina works through these self-delusions she, along with readers, begins to get a clearer picture of her own life compared to the performative persona Nina presents in public to make things easier.

Despite the lack of self-awareness, Nina is incredibly pragmatic and acknowledges that a lot of life is transient and changing. She knows relationships, like so many other things don’t always last, but she also learns that a set expiration date doesn’t make a friendship or any other relationship any less valuable.

Lucky Caller is a thoughtful, sentimental, laugh out loud funny story with one of my favorite plot twists of all time in the final act. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, Now That I’ve Found You by Kristina Forest, The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo, Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally, Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke, The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe, A Disaster in Three Acts by Kelsey Rodkey, Past Perfect by Leila Sales, How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West, Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner

Sadie: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

The only thing that has ever really mattered to Sadie is her little sister, Mattie. Sadie pins all of her hopes and dreams onto Mattie. She gives her the care and affection their mother can’t usually manage. Mattie is better and more and she deserves everything Sadie never thinks to want for herself.

But then Mattie is murdered.

The trail is cold and the police don’t care. After all, she’s just another dead girl.

But Sadie knows who did it. And she knows she is the only one who can make them pay–even if it means losing herself in the process.

Weeks later West McCray hears about Sadie while he’s recording a radio segment on small, forgotten towns in America. The police might not care, most of the town might not care, but West finds that he does. What starts as a podcast soon becomes a much larger project as West delves into Sadie’s past and tries to follow her trail before it’s too late in Sadie (2018) by Courtney Summers.

Find it on Bookshop.

Summers’ latest standalone alternates between Sadie’s first person narration and West’s podcast segments as he follows her trail.

Sadie is a brutal story about the disasters left in the aftermath of loss and poverty. Despite the violence surrounding Mattie’s murder and Sadie’s own revenge quest, the prose never sensationalizes it. Through West, Summers makes a deliberate choice to never make Mattie into a plot point and never to appeal to the lowest common denominator by glamorizing violence.

Sadie is a calculating and singular narrator. Her shrewd narration contrasts sharply with dialog as she navigates the world with a severe stutter (a speech impediment that could have been fixed when Sadie was a child if her mother had bothered to pursue treatment). That contrast in particular highlights the way that Sadie explores poverty and privilege–particularly as West begins to unpack his own privilege in being able to initially dismiss Sadie’s disappearance as too common and not interesting enough for a podcast.

Nothing here is neat or simple–including Sadie herself. While the ending leaves readers with a lot of questions it also places the decision of how her story will unfold, back in her own hands–a freedom that was impossible to imagine at the beginning of the novel. Sadie is an incisive story about agency and feminism as well as an utterly engrossing thriller. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: All These Bodies by Kendare Blake, Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich, The Gaps by Leanne Hall, Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson, A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry, The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis, Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus, The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed, Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten, Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration at BookExpo 2018*

The Possible: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“What if life was all about letting go?”

Kaylee doesn’t remember much from when she was really young. She knows her biological mother is in jail but the details of her arrest for killing Kaylee’s brother and the trial are memories from another life.

Kaylee is happy now with her adoptive parents and her perfectly normal life. She’s a rising star on the school softball team and she is working on a plan to attract the attentions of her longtime crush. Simple.

Until a woman shows up at Kaylee’s house wanting to interview her for a podcast investigating Crystal.The Possible podcast is going to spend a season looking into the telekinesis claims that made Crystal a media sensation as a teen, her trial after her son’s death, and what she’s like now in prison.

Kaylee is desperate to be special. To be noticed. Being involved in the podcast seems like the perfect chance to see if maybe, just maybe, she might have some of Crystal’s powers. As the podcast starts to air Kaylee gets exactly what she wants. But she does’t count on the bitter taste of notoriety or the secrets that begin to surface when she looks into her own past in The Possible (2017) by Tara Altebrando.

Find it on Bookshop.

In her latest thriller Altebrando taps into the wide popularity of investigative podcasts as she and her characters ask a simple question: “What if?”

Kaylee is a totally reliable narrator but she’s also eager to be swept away and believe that some of the hype surrounding Crystal, and by extension herself, might be true. Kaylee is athletic, a little self-centered, and striving for that elusive better, more popular, and generally more appealing version of herself. In trying to embrace telekinetic powers and familial connections that may or may not exist Kaylee realizes that she has to let go of what she wants other people to see when they look at her and focus on being herself in whatever form that takes.

The Possible is a tense, fast-paced story focusing squarely on Kaylee and the podcast. Most of the novel is narrated by Kaylee with pieces of the story being told in newspaper articles, podcast excerpts, and interview transcripts. While Kaylee reaches some conclusions for herself by the end of the story, the narrative stops short of actual answers leaving readers to decide the truth for themselves in this gripping story. Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers, true crime, and anyone who’s ever asked themselves “what if . . . ” Recommended.

Possible Pairings: Like Never and Always by Ann Aguirre, The Devil You Know by Trish Doller, Breaker by Kat Ellis, The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle, The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee, My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier,  We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, Soulprint by Megan Miranda, Pretending to Be Erica by Michelle Painchaud, Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Be sure to check out my interview with Tara!

Waiting For You: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Marisa is ready for her sophomore year to be different. After waiting for so long for the perfect person to come along and for the rest of her life to start, Marisa is tired of waiting. This is going to be her year. It has to be.

When cute, popular Derek asks Marisa out, it seems like her waiting really is over.

But it turns out, waiting or not, things don’t always go smoothly. Instead of living a dream, Marisa’s perfect family starts to shatter and dating Derek isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The only bright spot in what is turning out to be a way less than perfect year is DJ–the anonymous podcaster that the whole school listens to. Even when everything is a mess, DJ seems to understand exactly what Marisa and the rest of the school need to hear.

Even dealing with her lab partner/neighbor Cash is way harder than she thought filled with missed signals, confusion and a general pervading awkwardness. This is definitely not what Marisa has been waiting for in Waiting For You (2009) by Susane Colasanti.

Find it on Bookshop.

Waiting For You is Colasanti’s third book. Like her others, it is also YA. Despite that, and the age of her narrator, this book felt much younger to me. If not for the focus on dating and relationships, I would have pegged this as a Middle Grade title rather than a Young Adult one.

While the story resonates with teens who share Marisa’s frustrations about waiting for something and seemingly never finding it, this was not my favorite Colasanti read. Although the story was interesting–Colasanti always manages to pack in a lot of fun extras besides the core story–I never connected with Marisa as a narrator.

Consequently, I’m sorry to say the story did not resonate with me. Marisa is immature and rash, jumping to random conclusions with seemingly no confirmation and missing other, larger, things completely. Other principal characters like Cash felt much more developed compared to Marisa, not to mention being more entertaining, despite Marisa being the one narrating the story.

Waiting For You has its fans, and it will appeal to some readers. For others, like me, it won’t. But that’s okay because Colasanti has a lot of other books that are sure to do the trick.

Possible Pairings: The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti, What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart, Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan, How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford, Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee