Customer Reviews

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You know that DEAD GIRLS DON'T WRITE LETTERS will be a page-turner from the initial hook. "Things had been getting a little better until I got a letter from my dead sister," says the 14-year old narrator, Sunny Reynolds.

Sunny's older sister, Jazz, has presumably died in a fire in New York City, although her remains are never found. Soon after they receive the tragic news, Sunny's family begins to unravel. Her mother becomes severely depressed and her father starts drinking heavily. The family, already torn apart by divorce, becomes even more dysfunctional.

Sunny is the only one in the family who is not upset by the loss of her sister; she had been living in Jazz's shadow her entire life. So when a letter from Jazz arrives in the mailbox, announcing that she will be returning home soon, Sunny does not share in her parents' excitement.

The girl who arrives at the house is not Jazz, but an imposter. Sunny and her father quickly realize the truth, but Sunny's mother wants desperately to believe that Jazz is alive. The tension is heightened when Sunny matches wits with the imposter. However, the plot suddenly twists and turns in unexpected directions and the story is wrapped up too quickly, leaving me to question what really happened.

DEAD GIRLS DON'T WRITE LETTERS is a psychological thriller that will cause readers to analyze the ambiguous ending and reach their own conclusion.

--- Reviewed by Renee Kirchner (renee.kirchner@usa.net)

WOW! Dead girls Dont Write Letters is a great book. i reccomend this book to someone whos into mystery and suspense would love this book.I liked this book because its was very interesting. Also i didnt want to put this book down. This book is so full of deatail and i didnt get lost at all but it was a little confusing because it is so wierd the vents that happen.
I really liked the ending of this book because it kindof wrapped the whole story up and like explained it. But this book for me left me on a cliff hanger. But if your not the type whos interested into non-fiction i wouldnt read this.

I'm reading a novel called Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles. I really enjoyed this novel so far because it's kind of like a ghost mystery...and I think that's a neat way to express the book. In this novel, Sunny has a hard life to face now that her sister, Jazz is gone. This book takes place in the present day and refers to the horrific death of Jazz. Jazz was killed in an apartment fire in New York where she lived. The only thing is that it's been 4 months and all of a sudden Sunny and her family receive a letter in the mail from Jazz. How can that be? She's dead. Or is she? Sunny lives with her mother in a farmhouse in Texas. But the letter wasn't the only strange thing...a few weeks later someone shows up at their home...is it Jazz?

Sunny is the main character that's around the age of 15. Right now things are tuff for her because she's having a hard time coping with the loss of Jazz. Sunny is a little lost and confused by the cause of her sister's death. Now she's determined to find out what happened and who did it. Sunny also becomes sort of attached to this stranger who comes to her house...and later when reality hits her she tells herself that all of her thought processing at first glance is false. Right now, for Sunny, her life is all confusing and fuzzy to her, and far from reality. Or what it should be.

"From a distance she looked like Jazz. But the face was all wrong. She was prettier than Jazz, her skin a little softer, her lashes a little longer and darker. Jazz was pretty; this girl was stunning. Her face held a hint of vulnerability that my sister's never had. Reaching out, Not Jazz took mom's hands in her own pressing them to her cheeks, " (Page:33) After being away for so long I never notice the details I should about people. When I was in D.C. for a school trip...I had only been gone for a week, and came back to notice that my brother looked a little different, almost like I'd never seen him before. He almost looked like an anti-brother.

I can connect this book to another called Bad by Jean Ferris. In her novel, Dallas has gone to a girls rehab center and returns home 5 months later, and takes a good look at her house. To her it looked so different. But really nothing had changed at all. I really enjoyed this book by Gail Gales. I love a good mystery, and I would recommend this book and Bad to any reader who likes a good mystery or ghost tale.

What do you do when your older sister, believed to have been killed in an apartment fire months before, suddenly sends you a letter claiming to be alive and well? If you're Sunny Reynold's, a girl who has always lived in the shadow of her older, much-beloved sister, you wait and day before you tell your parents that their most loved daughter is coming home.

Jazz Reynolds was the "it" girl--popular, outgoing, loved and praised and admired by everyone. When she up and left after high-school graduation to take on New York, leaving only a letter explaining her actions behind, her parents were devastated. But when they got word that dear Jazz had died in an apartment fire, devasted gave way to destroyed. Sunny's mother is incapable of taking care of herself, her father has turned into a raging drunk, and there's no one to take care of Sunny but herself.

But even though the prodigal daughter has returned, there's something wrong. Even though the girl claiming to be Jazz looks a lot like her, Sunny is convinced that this girl isn't Jazz. She's too nice, too sweet, too un-Jazz to be Jazz. Her father seems to agree, and together they set out to figure out what's going on.

I admit this book has a pretty interesting mystery, but it wasn't my favorite book by Gail Giles. Overall though, it's a pretty quick, entertaining read.

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gails Giles is a great book that many who like mystry and suppence will enjoy this book. When you start to read you cannot put it down. Sunnys' life changed when she got a letter in the mail from her dead sister Jazz. As Sunny says Not-Jazz knows too much about Jazz and start to investigate. When you think you know what happens the book just pulls another stunt on you. Dead Girls Don't Write Letters is a great book to read in one sitting and enjoy.

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters is a fantastic book with many twists and turns. I couldn't put it down. Anybody and everybody should read this book. In my mind this is one of the best books of all time. The ending left me thinking for days. Who really was the not-Jazz? Who did die in the fire? A great book that would be good for book discussions.

Gail Giles has another winner in this powerful study of human character, family relationships, and reality vs. illusion. With characteristic wit and style, Giles draws readers deep into the heart of a dysfunctional family and leaves them wondering how far a person will go, consciously or not, in order to cope with wounds that won't heal. Good luck trying to put this one down - you can't help but finish it in one sitting. The ending is chilling and thought-provoking.

The book I read for my review was called, Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles. In this book, a family struggles at the loss of their oldest daughter, Jazz. Everyone that is, except for her sister Sunny, who never liked Jazz. Then one day, Sunny, opens the mailbox and retrieves a letter that would forever change her life and the lives around her. The letter was from her sister-her dead sister. The letter told how Jazz had been out of town that very same weekend that her apartment complex had burned to the ground. She went on to tell how she would be returning home that weekend, and she did. However, when she arrived, everyone knew this wasn't their Jazz. Not the Jazz they all knew and loved. Was this girl a fake or was this girl really their Jazz?
Some things I liked about Dead Girls Don't Write Letters, is how the book kept you guessing what was going to happen next. Another thing I liked about this book was how instantly everyone could sense something was different about the girl that had come back into their lives after being dead for over a month. I liked this because it made you get the feeling that this was a close family. Some things I didn't like about the book was the ending. The ending had very little detail and was somewhat confusing.
Some people who might like this book are people who like to read. I thought this because if you don't like to read you aren't going to like this book. This book is so good that you never want to put it down, so therefore, you have to like to read a lot because I could never put this book down. I always wanted to know what was going to come next and who this girl was that came into their lives as their sister. Was she really their beloved Jazz, or was she someone else just trying to be Jazz? You also might like this book if you like books that keep you guessing. With this book, it kept me guessing with every turning page. You might also like this book if you like a little bit of mystery. I think this because this book has a lot of mystery with it when the girl arrives. I haven't read any books by this author, nor, have I read any other books that were similar to this type of book. It is a kind of book that I'm sure you'll enjoy!

Sunny was secretly relieved when her older sister, Jazz, ran away to New York, and never returned. After all, it's hard to go through life with everyone referring to you as "Jazz's sister," and asking you questions about your older sister's achievements. But then Jazz's apartment building is burned to the ground, and she is presumed dead, yet no remains of her, or anyone else for that matter, are found. Suddenly Sunny's family, already damaged by divorce, is plagued with depression, and alcoholism, leaving Sunny to chase after her parents and pick up the pieces without any thanks at all whatsoever. Things go like this for months, until Sunny receives a letter from Jazz saying that she's coming home, which makes no sense, because Jazz is dead.

In a sea of teen fiction, and chick lit, it is wonderful to find something out of the ordinary, like a needle in a haystack, but that's exactly what Gail Giles' book DEAD GIRLS DON'T WRITE LETTERS is. Filled with crazy new twists and turns on every page, and a fresh voice that will fill readers with mixed emotions; as well as a plot that is sure to scare, yet intrigue, and surprise all, DEAD GIRLS DON'T WRITE LETTERS is a book that cannot be missed, for it is like no other out there.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

What do you do when your older sister, believed to have been killed in an apartment fire months before, suddenly sends you a letter claiming to be alive and well? If you're Sunny Reynold's, a girl who has always lived in the shadow of her older, much-beloved sister, you wait and day before you tell your parents that their most loved daughter is coming home.

Jazz Reynolds was the "it" girl--popular, outgoing, loved and praised and admired by everyone. When she up and left after high-school graduation to take on New York, leaving only a letter explaining her actions behind, her parents were devastated. But when they got word that dear Jazz had died in an apartment fire, devasted gave way to destroyed. Sunny's mother is incapable of taking care of herself, her father has turned into a raging drunk, and there's no one to take care of Sunny but herself.

But even though the prodigal daughter has returned, there's something wrong. Even though the girl claiming to be Jazz looks a lot like her, Sunny is convinced that this girl isn't Jazz. She's too nice, too sweet, too un-Jazz to be Jazz. Her father seems to agree, and together they set out to figure out what's going on.

I admit this book has a pretty interesting mystery, but it wasn't my favorite book by Gail Giles. Overall though, it's a pretty quick, entertaining read.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"