Review: Lessons From a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles

Title: Lessons From a Dead Girl

Author: Jo Knowles
Genre/Age: Young Adult
Publication: 2007
Source: Library

Lessons From a Dead Girl has a very interesting - and disturbing - premise. When Laine was a child, the popular and beautiful, Leah, befriended her. Soon, she discovered that Leah was manipulative and disturbed, frequently abusing Laine in her doll closet - what she called "practice" for when they were older. Laine never knew how to stop her, but she knew it was wrong.

When the story opens up, we discover that Leah, now 17, has just died, and Laine has very mixed feelings about it. She feels both relief and guilt. As the story progresses, we learn of how their relationship evolved, and that Leah herself was abused as a child. As the girls enter high school, they drift apart, and Leah relentlessly harasses Laine about their shared past, resulting in Laine's hatred for Leah.

I didn't love this book, but I thought it was still a decent read. Each chapter is a different "lesson" that Laine learned from Leah throughout her life. Each chapter is sort of like a vignette of its own. Because of that, I felt like the story wasn't as strong or as developed as it could have been. It was still a very fascinating and unique topic, just not as good as I had hoped. I feel it could have been expanded upon too, as it was a very short novel.

My Rating: 3/5