Began reading: 13.5.2017
Completed reading: 18.5.2017
Overall rating: 4 stars
It's been three months since Alexis helplessly witnessed Lydia Small's violent death, and all she wants is for her life to return to normal.
But normal people don't see decaying bodies haunting photographs. Normal people don't have to deal with regular intrusions from Lydia's angry ghost, sometimes escalating to terrifying attacks.
At first it seems that Lydia wants revenge on Alexis alone. But a girl from school disappears one night, and Alexis spots one of Lydia's signature yellow roses lying in the girl's dresser the next day. Soon it becomes clear that several of Alexis's friends are in danger, and that she's the only person who can save them. But as she tries to intervene, Alexis realises that her enemy is a much more powerful ghost than she's ever faced before... and that its fate is tied to hers in ways she couldn't possible imagine.
Not even in her worst nightmares.
As Dead As It Gets by Katie Alender is a young adult novel that contains paranormal, horror and fantasy elements. The only words I have for this book are: YES YES YES! I thought that things began to pick up after half-way through the novel, but I loved it when the excitement started to peak. Let’s break the book down, shall we?
Lydia’s untimely death three months ago still has consequences on Alexis – everyone sees her as Lydia’s murderer, and she can see ghosts. They appear in photographs and on tv, leaving Alexis to avoid taking photos and watching shows. Things become more chaotic when Lydia’s ghost continues to follow her around, and experiences frightening attacks that leave her bloodied and bruised. Alexis has every reason to believe that Lydia is responsible for these attacks on her, especially after she finds a yellow rose – the same ones that were used in Lydia’s funeral. However, girls from school begin to disappear and some are found murdered, leading Alexis to doubt she is Lydia’s sole victim. As Alexis continues to communicate with Lydia, Alexis realises that Lydia is innocent and that something bigger and extremely dangerous is behind the attacks, and she is the only one who can stop it. Alexis will be pushed to her limits, but will she be capable of the unthinkable if worst comes to worst?
As expected, the book was well-written. I found no errors, the plot was structured just right, and the pacing was steady. The use of literary techniques added a great deal of detail to the narrative, as well as emphasising the tension and emotions within a particular situation. There were also some great quotes, including:
Since I was twelve years old, photography has been like a part of me – the best part. When everything else in my life was going wrong, I could retreat into my own little universe and see the world as I wanted to see it.
And now I don’t even want to go near my camera. I don’t want to look at my photos.
Because they’re full of dead people (p. 3).
‘Do you know how hard it is to find someone who doesn’t want to be found?’ (p. 130).
Need seemed like a really powerful word – a powerful word containing a lot of powerlessness (p. 167).
‘You don’t have to ask your friends to worry about you. That’s just what they do. It’s why they’re your friends’ (p. 227).
‘Everyone has moments of weakness,’ I said. ‘But that doesn’t make you weak’ (p. 237).
‘At the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you. You can’t live for someone else. You can’t let your guilt define your life’ (pp. 288-289).
More quotes from the book can be found here.
The plots of the previous two books were enjoyable because they were kind of isolated from each other – I mean, the first book’s plot affected the characters in the second book, but they had a new complication to overcome. The same went for this book, as everything was reaching its climax. There was a heightening of drama and suspense, which kept me intrigued. I had a lot of difficulty putting the book down because I was so in love with the storyline.
This series has been promising horror themes since the beginning, but I had only felt creeped out rather than scared, which has been a good thing (I don’t handle horror very well). I must say, this book definitely amped up its scare factor because imagining myself in Alexis’ position would have freaked me out. Moving ghosts in photographs, girls wandering the forest in a dress and holding yellow roses, and even a strangely behaving boyfriend had me thinking: nope! I admire Alexis’ courage because if most of us were in her situation, we would have gouged our eyes out. She handled everything so well that she deserves respect.
One thing I love about plot twists is that they have the power to leave us questioning everything we know – when they’re done correctly. In this case, the major plot twist was predictable and unpredictable at the same time. It left me shocked, even though I saw it coming, but I was still in awe. It led to the most dramatic scenes in the book, so I was even more pleased with the twist. Of course there was more than one shock, but the main one regarding Alexis’ relationship with Jared was the most surprising. I think that this twist was the reason why I loved this book so much!
As this text was the final one in the series, I was looking for answers to my questions. Unfortunately, some of the characters weren’t even addressed in the conclusion, which left me disappointed. From the previous book, what happened to Adrienne? If Alexis’ parents believe/know of her crime, why are they so accepting? What the heck happened to Lydia’s ghost? So you see, I have so many questions that will go unanswered.
Despite my last argument, I enjoyed the conclusion and the small amount of closure that it provided. The issue that I had with it was how unrealistic it was. The series itself shouldn’t really be described as realistic, but the characters behaved in somewhat of a realistic way – until the conclusion of this story. I won’t say what Alexis did, but know that it was criminal. It was witnessed by 24 people, including her parents, and yet she’s welcomed back into the community like it never happened. Agent Hasan covered Alexis’ tracks by claiming it was self-defence, but if it was witnessed by so many people, how could she get away with it without any consequences? If it happened in the real world, she’d most likely be imprisoned – self-defence or not, right? Because the victim had a spotless record and was never violent, why would everyone just assume this person suddenly became violent?
My favourite character was Alexis because she was protective, courageous and smart. She remained loyal to her sister’s safety, as well as her other friends’ safety. Lydia was a notable character (I never thought I’d say that!).
*WARNING: SPOILER* I could not believe that Jared had changed so much since we met him in the previous book. I was hoping that he and Alexis would be the perfect couple because they had so much in common. He was really sweet and considerate, so I wonder what changed within three months to turn him into the psychopath that we found in this book.
My favourite part of the book was from chapter 36 onwards because that was when the plot really began to pick up. Chapter 36 is a very brief one, but it was dramatic and brimming with tension. The tone of it reflected how Alexis would have felt – distant, numb and speechless. The chapters following this were gripping, as it gave us an insight into what happened after the crime was committed. Was Alexis going to be punished? If so, how? How did her parents react after witnessing it? It was just so dramatic and I was hooked!
Recommendation time! If you like Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe, the Ruined series by Paula Morris, The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington, and Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes Annabelle, the Paranormal Activity series, All Cheerleaders Die, and the 2010 version of Mother’s Day.
My reviews for Bad Girls Don’t Die and From Bad to Cursed can be found by clicking on the titles.
Happy reading!
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