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A review by kalventure
Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Told in dual timelines, Dead End Girls is the sapphic thriller you didn't know you needed in your life! Tightly plotted, the book is full of action and high stakes that is utterly addictive and impossible to put down. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time while listening. Protect Maude & Frankie!
This plot is bonkers in the best of ways. From pseudocide to accidental murder and running from the cops (as well as their past), Maude and Frankie are going through it in this book and just trying to start over. Maude's a mastermind who's probably watched way too much True Crime Content and I'm honestly in awe of her brain. But as they find out: even the best laid plans cannot account for everything.
I love that we learn about Frankie's reasons for wanting to disappear through timeline POV chapters, slowly piecing together everything as the chapters get closer to the present-day. We learn so much about Frankie's character through these flashbacks.
Words cannot express how much I adore Maude and Frankie. They start out as partners-in-crime but their chemistry sparks and the their slowburn romance so good. Because honestly, falling in love while on the run from the police is just iconic.
Dead End Girls is explosive, gripping the reader from the first page until the last. I love the way things get more and more unhinged as they stray further from The Plan, doing their best and making some of the worst decisions possible. But this book also explores identity: as Maude and Frankie escape their lives, their narratives explore question the sexuality and gender, making Dead End Girls a beautiful coming of age story of self-acceptance in addition to a captivating sapphic thriller. Highly recommended and this won't be my last book from Wendy Heard!
Audiobook notes: 10/10 performance from Natalie Naudus & Taylor Meskimen! They really brought the story and characters to life and somehow managed to instill the page-turning sense of urgency with their narration.
Representation: nonbinary rep, wlnb, sapphic, fat rep
ALC provided by the publisher via Netgalley for my honest review. This does not impact my opinions of the book nor the contents of my review. Quotations are from an unfinished proof and subject to change upon final publication.
This plot is bonkers in the best of ways. From pseudocide to accidental murder and running from the cops (as well as their past), Maude and Frankie are going through it in this book and just trying to start over. Maude's a mastermind who's probably watched way too much True Crime Content and I'm honestly in awe of her brain. But as they find out: even the best laid plans cannot account for everything.
I love that we learn about Frankie's reasons for wanting to disappear through timeline POV chapters, slowly piecing together everything as the chapters get closer to the present-day. We learn so much about Frankie's character through these flashbacks.
Words cannot express how much I adore Maude and Frankie. They start out as partners-in-crime but their chemistry sparks and the their slowburn romance so good. Because honestly, falling in love while on the run from the police is just iconic.
Dead End Girls is explosive, gripping the reader from the first page until the last. I love the way things get more and more unhinged as they stray further from The Plan, doing their best and making some of the worst decisions possible. But this book also explores identity: as Maude and Frankie escape their lives, their narratives explore question the sexuality and gender, making Dead End Girls a beautiful coming of age story of self-acceptance in addition to a captivating sapphic thriller. Highly recommended and this won't be my last book from Wendy Heard!
Audiobook notes: 10/10 performance from Natalie Naudus & Taylor Meskimen! They really brought the story and characters to life and somehow managed to instill the page-turning sense of urgency with their narration.
Representation: nonbinary rep, wlnb, sapphic, fat rep
ALC provided by the publisher via Netgalley for my honest review. This does not impact my opinions of the book nor the contents of my review. Quotations are from an unfinished proof and subject to change upon final publication.