Reviews

Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles

readingtravesty2313's review

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

A book that left a strong impact on me when I read this book in high school.

hoihoi's review

dark emotional reflective sad

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

cewhaley's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

tracyreadsandrambles's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

lilacwine17's review

4.0

This book is very palpable. It may just be me but this book hit home to me. My family is a foster family and I've seen first hand the effects of being abused but, being able to get into the mind of someone being abused really put things into perspective for me. I highly recommend this book. It's short but so much deep material stuffed into 215 pages.

hollyxbear's review

3.0

This book was good but it was hard to read. The darkness and sadness really made this a difficult read.

lunababybat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I think if I read this as a teen, it would have been 5 stars. It's a very heat wrenching story. Almost the epitome of "hurt people hurt people." It's sad, painful, and hard to stomach sometimes. But I am glad for the tiny amount of hope left at the end. I'm also thankful the trule awful scenes weren't graphic. Sometimes, you can convey abuse situations without all the details.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide

shadylane_00's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jordieq's review

3.0

pretty good book

kalliste's review against another edition

3.0

Wow, I didn't really know what to think coming into this book.

This is the story of Leah and Lainey. Leah was the popular, pretty girl that everyone wanted to be friends with and then one day she chooses plain Lainey to be her best friend forever.

Lainey is so excited to be accepted but finds out there is a price to pay and endures the secret meetings with Leah in the Doll Closet.

I really liked that all of the chapters were lessons for friendship and a situation that Leah and Laine had been in together and whether she (or Leah) had passed the test.

I can't really decide whether I liked Leah or not. I know you're meant to try and see the inside but all I see is Laine's point of view and how Leah taunts her.

Overall this was a better read than I expected and I couldn't put it down in the end.