Customer Reviews

Dead Girl in Love

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Amber Borden thought she was through being a Temp Lifer. The first time she found herself in someone else's body had been due to a mistake. The second time had been much sooner than expected. Amber's deceased grandmother, Grammy Greta, who is the head of the Temp Life program on the other side, knows Amber does not want a third time. But when Grammy Greta informs Amber that the living body who now needs a Temp Lifer is Alyce, Amber agrees to one last assignment. After all, who better to BE Alyce than her best friend Amber? Not to mention that Amber feels she let Alyce down during the last assignment. Alyce had needed Amber and Amber had not been there for her. Now is Amber's chance to make it up to her.

Alyce has always kept herself distant from others. Amber is her only true close friend. But Amber quickly learns how little she really knows about Alyce's private life. The surprises begin the first second she wakes up in Alyce's body to find herself enclosed in a coffin! Alyce has been searching for "The Lost". That is the only thing her Temp Lifer's Guidance Evaluation Manual (GEM) will tell her. Oh, and that Alyce's problem has to do with love.

Figuring out what "The Lost" is turns out not to be Alyce's only secret from everyone. Alyce's mother has a mental problem. Alyce has been hiding and dealing with her mom's mood swings, personality changes, and basically having to be a mother to her own mom. Lucky for Amber she has a few friends "in the know" to help her out. Dustin, Amber's hacker/geek/activist friend, can help with learning what "The Lost" is and locating it. Grammy Greta is only a phone call away since she is the Temp Lifer in Amber's real body. But nobody can help Amber with the biggest problem of all. The Dark Lifer known as Gabe Deverau is back and he knows where Amber is. Either Amber helps Gabe get what he wants or her boyfriend, Eli, will pay for her defiance.

***** O-M-G! Linda Joy Singleton gets better and better with every story she pens. Any time I feel as though this author can no longer surprise me, she throws in a twist that bowls me over. I love it! The story clearly showed to me that grown ups do not always know everything. (For example, Grammy Greta may have once been Amber's age, but times have changed and she is overwhelmed with the new things taught in school. Not to mention the class work is done with computers now.)

Since this is the last of the Dead Girl trilogy, much more is going on than the previous two titles (Dead Girl Walking & Dead Girl Dancing: A Dead Girl Book). There are things happening in this story that I do not mention in the synopsis too. Twists and surprises spring up everywhere. The story never slows down so I never became bored. The story opens with a bang and hooks attentions instantly. I end this with a warning; do not begin reading this until you have a lot of free time. Outstanding! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I just finished Linda Joy Singleton's DEAD GIRL trilogy. Great reads, for so many reasons. Real teen life blended perfectly with a wild paranormal adventure.Protagonist Amber Borden makes many bad decisions but uses logic and compassion to ferret her way out. She is a great role model for preteens & teens. Singleton's books bring out the dangers of being too trusting and going along with the crowd. Sure, everyone wants to be popular but at what price? Amber gets to confront normal teen problems like fitting in but also is thrown into a surreal dimension where her good common sense and clear thinking help her to make the best decisions for those she must save. A Mother & Daughter Must Read to spur on imortant life-lesson discussions.

After surviving a near-death experience, Amber Borden's life is not what one would call normal. Amber is a Temp Lifer, where every so often she inhabits another person's body, letting their soul rest and allowing for Amber to experience someone else's life and help them with their problems, whether she wants to or not. First, Amber was the popular girl in school, Leah, and then her boyfriend's older sister, Sharayah.

This third time around Amber is now Alyce, her best friend, while, surprisingly, her deceased grandmother inhabits Amber. Of course, as being BFFs one would think that the assignment would be a piece of cake, since BFFs don't hide anything from each other. However, Amber is in for a rude awakening, as her friend's life isn't as bad as she thought it was - it's even more complicated!

For one, Alyce's mother is not what Amber had believed her to be. Sure, she still scares the stuffing out of Amber just by looking at her. However, the only reason why she is the way she is, and the reason why Alyce spends most of her time with Amber, is because her mother has mental problems. Mood swings accompanied with changes in behavior and personalities, Alyce has always had to take care of her mother, not wanting her to go to an institution and not wanting anyone to know the problems she encounters right at home.

While discovering her best friend's home life, Amber also finds out that her best friend is looking for The Lost. This "Lost" might just be the answer as to why Amber found herself in her best friend's body in a coffin. It's a good thing Amber has Dustin to help her figure out the whereabouts of The Lost, since the GEM can't tell her much. Amber will do anything to help her friend, even if it means having to go on dates!

With the problems of her best friend's mother, The Lost, and threats brought upon her boyfriend by a Dark Lifer, one could say Amber's life is unique...but for Amber it's now normal.

It is just AMAZING how Linda Joy Singleton develops her characters and keeps the plot and storyline so original and mysterious, leaving the readers on their toes. Instead of just identifying the main characters, Singleton allows even the readers to inhabit the bodies of those who would be used as secondary characters in other novels.

This installment helps us wonder: How much do we really know about our best friends? And do we want to know all about them, or will the truth just be too much? DEAD GIRL IN LOVE is full of twists and turns, but in the end love is definitely in the air. This last installment wraps up this series nicely in both Amber's aspect of life and also Amber and her mother's.

Now we must sit and wonder whether Singleton will write another installment in the series, just because it would be as great as the first three. Or wonder what wonderful series will she cook up next!

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Definitely check out this series from the author who brought you The Seer! You'll fall in love instantly :) I won't ruin it, just check out this excerpt.


WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WOKE UP IN YOUR BEST FRIEND'S BODY?

Oh, wow--I'm my own best friend.
Or at least, I'm in her body!
Okay, this assignment will be quick and easy. Thanks, Grammy! See, my dead grandmother keeps finding people who have big problems and then I have the freaky experience of stepping into their life--and their body!--to provide help. This time, I'm in the body of my BFF, Alyce.
Since Alyce and I know everything about each other, I won't have to do a lot of detective work, which is a definite plus. But, as Alyce, I've got some really pressing questions to answer--starting with, What am I doing in this coffin?

Check out her website...full of fun links and Contests!
[...]

I've enjoyed all of the Dead Girl books, but the stakes are a little higher and a little more personal for Amber during this particular body switch, when she steps into the body of her own best friend, Alyce, who has been struggling (unbeknownst to Amber) with a terrible family crisis.

Things are also heating up in Amber's love life with the return of her boyfriend, Eli--although Amber is also strangely drawn to Dark Lifer Gabe Deverau, who tries to convince her he's not nearly as dark and dangerous as he seems.

I've always enjoyed Amber as a flawed but very real and likeable heroine, and this last installment of the Dead Girl series was a very satisfying conclusion to her story.

Such a cute and unexpected end to the "Dead Girl" series! Great for middle or high school...or young spirits like me! :)

I'm not going to delve into the story line because other reviewers have done a great job of that. My problem with this book is the main character: Amber.

I'm tired of reading about females who knowingly do something they aren't supposed to do, thereby creating loads of trouble for themselves and others, then deciding they won't tell someone in order to get help ... all in the name of "doing it on my own."

I'm a high school teacher and I see this in real life all the time! It's no great sin to ask for help and it's supreme arrogance to believe that we don't need help from time to time, as well as just plain stupid to refuse it - or at least give it a listen. Meanwhile, the problems get bigger and more serious.

Amber is portrayed as a heroine but I don't see her that way at all. Most every decision she makes flies in the face of what she's been told by those with special knowledge and experience - even her beloved dead dog, Cola! But SHE, of course, knows better.

The story is imaginative and contemporary for sure. I read this series because I really liked Singleton's SEER series and I'm always looking for books to recommend to my students in order to get them to read more. I will not, however, recommend the DEAD GIRL series.