Skip to main content

WISH YOU WERE DEAD by Todd Strasser



copyright date: August 2010
primarily marketed for: young adults (14 and up)

This was a deliciously creepy mystery.  It is reminiscent of the Christopher Pike books I used to read when I was younger.  Just as bloody and just as edgy. 

I Wish You Were Dead begins with blog posts from a mystery blogger wishing Lucy Cunningham were dead.  The story continues by describing Lucy’s kidnapping without giving away the culprit.  Immediately, I was hooked. 

Then the action switches to following Madison Archer, a high school student who was friends Lucy and was one of the last people to see her alive.   Most of the story is told through Madison’s perspective, but interspersed with her story are the blog posts, the crime scenes, and the voice of the kidnapper.  

This is a mean girls story mixed with romance, suspense, blood, gore, and the elements of a classic mystery.

The language and the crime scenes in this book are definitely targeting mature readers, but none of it ever crosses the line. 

If you like drama and clues that help lead you to solve the crime (or at least allow you to think you’ve solved the crime) before the characters do, you will love this book.  It is the first in a Thrillogy series by Strasser, though the books don’t seem to be related other than by genre (the setting, storylines, and characters seem unrelated from what I can tell). 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

  1. Ms. YinglingFebruary 23, 2012 at 5:24 AM

    Yeah, the others are only related by genre and cover. They've been very popular, but it's been hard to get copies of them for some reason.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE MISFITS by James Howe

copyright date: 2001 primarily marketed for: grades 4-8 In honor of No Name-Calling Week, the idea for which originated with this book, I thought I would post a review of The Misfits by James Howe.    This book has one of my favorite leads: "So here I am, not a half-hour old as a tie salesman and trying to look like I know what I am doing, which have got to be two of the biggest jokes of all time, when who should walk into Awkworth & Ames Department Store but Skeezie Tookis. " I think I like it because it is such an inviting introduction to Bobby and Skeezie, two of the four friends referred to in the book’s title.   Bobby, Skeezie, Addie, and Joe are seventh graders who decide to create their own political party to run in the student council election.   Their goal is simple: to put an end to name-calling.   Who doesn’t think that is a good idea? The wonderful things about this book aren’t limited to the positive messages about acceptance and k...
5 comments
Read more

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

You knew it was coming.  How could I not share?  EVERYONE MUST READ JOHN GREEN’S LATEST WORK OF ART: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS .  Throughout my life (well, at least from 4 th grade, when I was introduced to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl until now, the 7 th month of my 34 th year of noticing the universe) the name ‘Augustus’ immediately evoked an image of a chubby, stubborn, chocolate-loving boy, doted upon by his mother, with the last name of Gloop.  The name ‘Augustus’ made me giggle about this character’s gluttonous follies inside the chocolate factory. Until reading John Green’s beloved new book The Fault in Our Stars . From now on, the name ‘Augustus’ will forever evoke an entirely different image and an entirely different set of emotions.  A casually hot, lean, limping ‘Augustus Waters’ has forever replaced the ‘Augustus’ of the book I treasured as a child—an unlit cigarette held loosely between his lips.  A longing sigh ...
9 comments
Read more

PLAYGROUND by 50 Cent

I had seen this book all over the place since I attended the NCTE convention in November.  Every time I see it, I am drawn to the cover.  The cover claims that Playground is “The Mostly True Story of a Former Bully.”  However, I was hesitant to buy it because I had little faith that it was quality literature.  Sure, it might be appealing enough for some of you to pick it up and read, but was the story really going to be the kind of message I wanted my students to read?  Was it really based on 50 Cent’s experience?  Would it really send a message about the negative effects of bullying?  Then I came across Crazy Quilt Edi’s book review of the book.  She said after reading she wondered, “Did 50 Cent really write this on his own?”  That was all I needed to know.  Her question told me it must be better than I thought it would be.  And it was. Aside from the gratuitous use of mild swear words and some minor, but noticeable e...
5 comments
Read more