Thursday, October 25, 2012

Review: Death and the Girl Next Door

DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
Darynda Jones
Paranormal Young Adult
274 pages
St. Martin's Press
Available Now
Received from publisher via NetGalley for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace.  Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home.  For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be.  Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it,  standing outside her house in the dark, night after night.  Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school.  Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity.  What does Jared know about her parents?  Why does Cameron tell Jared he can't have Lorelei?  And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real?  


Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones's first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

MY THOUGHTS
Death and the Girl Next Door is a bit of a surprising read, the synopsis preparing us for a very familiar setup as we assume a love triangle is imminent between Lorelei, new stalker Cameron, and new student in general Jared, but instead we are refreshingly treated to an entirely different dynamic that has us devouring the pages like word consumption addicts. While Jared and Cameron are both competitive to a fault, the conflict causing them to continually and violently clash is thankfully not romantic in nature, allowing us to breathe a sigh of relief even as our anticipation over the true cause of their seemingly mutual hatred grows each time they face off. Every time we worry the story may be crossing into well-known territory, Ms. Jones either throws a road block in our paths to force us to change direction or she has one of her highly entertaining characters charmingly mock whatever situation they’ve found themselves in, thus ensuring we’re either too surprised or too amused to grow complacent.

Lorelei is a joy of a main character, an often self-deprecating woman with wit in spades who has us easily wrapped around her finger in the opening chapters. She at times exhibits typical teenage girl behavior, namely an intense appreciation for Jared’s physical attributes and the effect those attributes have on the butterflies currently taking up residence in her belly, but she prefaces these moments of swooning with a warning to us as readers that we’re about to witness what she calls a “sad part”, something that consists of heart palpitations and general feelings of fluffiness from her burgeoning crush. She’s absurdly adorable and manages to keep calm under stressful situations, and even on the rare occasion when that calm evaporates, she owns up to her reactions and takes responsibility for the mistakes she makes when she acts out of fear.

The highlight of this story is by far the relationship between Lorelei and best friends Brooke and Glitch, friends she’s had since elementary school who match her sparkling wit with enormous personalities of their own. They have a camaraderie that feels authentic and utterly genuine, the easy banter they toss back and forth attesting to the length of their friendship, and we are instantly at ease with all three of them knowing the casual insults they pass back and forth will never be taken as anything other than what was intended. They have no secrets from one another (except for one I believe may exist on Glitch’s part with regard to his feelings for Brooke) and it never once occurs to any of them to keep any information, however extraordinary or unbelievable it may seem, to themselves, instead opting to include the other two in anything and everything they do.

The only minor criticism of this humorous and engrossing first installment is the story at times seems to jump quickly from one plot point to another; a few extra spokes existing in the larger plot wheel than are necessary to move the story forward. There’s a brief snippet with a poltergeist causing problems for two of Lorelei’s classmates that feels a touch superfluous, and we can’t help but want to do away with any such small impediments that keep us from getting back to Jared and his relationship to both Lorelei and Cameron. Overall though, Death and the Girl Next Door is fun and flirty but not without an edge of darkness to balance the light, and Darynda Jones has just become an auto-buy author for me with this hugely gratifying young adult debut.

Rating: 4/5

42 comments:

  1. Aw!!!I Loved this book and I agree the friendship between Lorelai and her friend was so wonderful. And .. OoOO Jared...

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    1. JARED!!! Definitely our kind of boy Danny:)

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  2. This is actually the first positive review that I have seen. Everyone else have felt like it was lacking something. And I do understand since they all compare to her other series and that must make it tougher

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    1. I haven't read her other series, so this was the first book of hers I've tried. I thought it was fabulous and funny and it was just what I needed at the time:)

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  3. Awwwwww I'm so glad you liked this! This is on hold for me but I really loved the friendship between Lorelei, Brooke and Glitch as well:) I'll most likely resume reading this very soon~

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    1. I'm getting the sense that I might be in the minority in my all out love for this one, but I thought it was really fun:)

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  4. I seriously can't look at the cover without thinking Emma Stone. Haha. Anyway, glad this worked out for you. Hearing this ain't your average teenage angst complete with love triangle type of book! Wonderful review, Jenny. :D

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    1. I see Viggo Mortensen on the right! I was thrilled there was no love triangle, I may have done a happy dance:)

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  5. Great review! though I found this a tad less enjoyable, I agree about her best fiends! and I also agree on how this novel jumped from one plot to another.

    - Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf

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    1. I just had fun reading it, and that was enough for me:)

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  6. Great review! Although this book wasn't my favorite, I did enjoy the author's writing style and her use of humor had me laughing out loud! I might check out some of her adult reads. Great review, Jenny!

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    1. I really want to try her Charley Davidson books, I've heard good things about them:):)

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  7. Loved this review! I so want to read this. I love a good book with great guys and good girl friends. I know what you mean when the plot jumps around. Thanks for sharing Jenny :)

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    1. Thanks Savy! I really enjoyed this one despite some of the unnecessary plot elements and can't wait for the next book:)

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  8. I thought this book was a bit young for me, but still enjoyed it overall. Darynda Jones became an auto buy for me after the second Charley Davidson book. :)

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    1. This one didn't read as young for me, maybe because I read so much YA and the fact that I haven't read her adult books so I didn't have anything to compare them to:) I need to get to those though!

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  9. Brilliant review Jenny, I felt the same with you on many accounts, I adored the friendship between Brooke, Glitch and Lorelei and I loved how Jones was able to stun us into silence in so many ways. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this and honestly can't wait for the next book! :)

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    1. Yay! Glad you enjoyed this one too Jasprit! I'm really excited for the next book too, and I think we only have to wait until March or something. Love that:)

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  10. I'm quite conflicted over this book. Some days I think I liked it more than others, but I did have mixed feelings overall. I was also relived to find that the Jared/Cameron thing wasn't because they were both love interests. Glitch and Brooke really entertained me too! Hopefully book 2 will impress me more, but I did enjoy this one enough. :) Great review, Jenny!

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    1. I've read a couple books that have left me confused as to my thoughts on them. Usually I have to give those books a range in the rating because I'd give them a different number each day:) I'm glad you enjoyed it for the most part!

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  11. Love the sound of this one. Sounds very similar set up wise to Charley Davidson. I realized that Ms. Jones's books tend to have multiple plot lines and the transition isn't all that smooth. Still looking forward to meeting these characters!

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    1. I need to read Charley Davidson:) She's definitely on my list after following the read-along!

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  12. I've been hearing good things about Darynda. I can't remember the name of her adult book although I can picture the cover. I think I'd like to try her adult books first.

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    1. It's First Grave on the Right:) I thought this one was great, she clearly has a good sense of humor and I love that there was no love triangle in sight despite the fact that the cover and blurb made it seem like a foregone conclusion!

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  13. Teheee, I have so many books to read and your reviews are not helpful at all. They're all SO great and I just want to devour all of these books, but I can't, I'd read myself to grave if that was the case, lol. I hate it when the plot doesn't concentrate enough on the things that matter and jumps quickly from one scene to another. Rushing is not good. However, when the author concentrates too much on something, it can get tiresome, so I think it's great if the author finds balance. Well, cannot please everyone, right? Yet another amazing review and I'm glad you like the books you read, since it's easy to disappoint, but harder to surpass the expectations.

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    1. Hahahah thank you, I feel like my mission has been accomplished. I need other people to buy just as many books as me so I don't feel alone in my addiction:) There were some flaws with this book sure, but sometimes with the number of books I read and review I feel like I can get overly critical and I forget to read and judge a book on how well I'm entertained. This one entertained me thoroughly, so it gets a 4:)

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  14. I appreciate you reviewing this. I just listened to First Grave by her and I didn't love it. So, I'm glad to know you enjoyed this one. I think I'll like it and I'm not overly familiar with her other series/books, so I won't have any pre-conceived notions.

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    1. I think possibly if I'd read her adult series first maybe this series wouldn't have lived up to it, but having no other work of hers to compare this one to, I just went in looking for fun and found it:)

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  15. Your review reminds me a lot of Darynda Jones's adult series. If you haven't picked it up yet, you should consider it. Might be a good thing to occupy your time while you wait for the next book in this series. ;)

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    1. It's on my list for sure. I'm kind of waiting for the next book to come out, then I'll have 4 books I can read straight through with no waiting:) Win. I'M COMING REYES, FEAR NOT!

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    2. Coming for Reyes? Yes. Definitely. Totally. ;)

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  16. Awww...I've seen this book around and skimmed other reviews but yours really caught my attention....and I love the idea of a strong circle of frinds!

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    1. I loved that aspect of it. Friendships are usually secondary to the romance in YA, and I liked that that in this case, the friendship was of equal importance to the romance:)

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  17. You need to read the Charley books. I've only read one (I just need time for the others) and you will see the adult version of Jared. *fans self* Oh my....

    I really enjoyed this one as well. I loved the friends she had too! I think that was my fave part.

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  18. I second Melissa...you must read Charley. This books is subtle in snarky humor compared to Charely. I enjoyed this one but didn't love it nearly as much as Charley, .I agree about the plot jumping, and wasn't a fan of the ending but Charley Davidson books always resolve no cliffhangers!

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  19. I'm so happy you enjoyed this one, Jenny! I've seen a lot of mixed reviews of this one actually, so I think I'm going to check out Jones' adult series before returning to give this one a try, but it seems like a ton of fun! Fantastic review, dear! :)

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  20. I really like Darynda Jones's adult series and am happy to hear that here that her YA is cute, too! Most excellent that there's a good buddy-buddy partnership--love!

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  21. I had been super excited for this but then saw loads of reviews that weren't so great. Now your review has me super excited to read it again! If you found the MC to be great then I should too. ;)
    Can't wait to read it!

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  22. Well, I'm impressed because I admit I had this one pegged as being incredibly cliched! And I'm even more impressed that you felt the strength of this novel lies with the friendship between the three girls and not in the romance. This one sounds awesomely refreshing! I really am so surprised and a bit ashamed that I immediately discounted this one based on my first impression. Thanks for setting me straight, Jenny!

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  23. I've see so many mixed reviews so I've been a little hesitant to pick this up, but you're review has me excited again. I'm also set to go see this author is a couple of weeks so I better get on it. Wonderful review Jenny. :)

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  24. I've heard so many mixed reviews, ranging from underwhelmed readers to readers who utterly adored this, so I'm torn whether I should read this or not... BUT, your review is quite convincing Jenny, so I'll definitely give it a try :) Btw, Word Consumption Addicts is brilliant, hon!

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  25. I haven't read this one yet but I really like that you don't get a cliched love triangle. Hmm, I wonder who I'll like better: Cameron or Jared?

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