Review: Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Title: Bad Girls Don't Die
Author: Katie Alender
Publisher:  Hyperion

Age Group: Young Adult

Category: Paranormal

Release date: April 21st, 2009

Pages:  346 (Paperback)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Source: Bought

When Alexis's little sister Kasey becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own Goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they live in starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in. Kasey is changing, too. Her blue eyes go green and she speaks in old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.

Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey's shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister — but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

Alexis is a pink-haired outcast.  She may not have many friends, but she spends most of her time immersed in her photography.  At night, both Alexis and Kasey notice a faint glow that can't be explained.  It seemed to have been in the house, but through the viewfinder of her camera, Alexis realized that the light wasn't getting larger- it was getting closer.  The next night, it seems as though her neurotic, oversensitive little sister, Kasey, changed.  She's more put together and begins to speak differently.

Alexis can feel something different about the old house they've lived in since they were children, as if there was another presence.  When strange things begin to happen, she pushes them aside, figuring that her sister had just gone off the deep end.  Eventually, she realizes that there's more at stake than she realized.  Lives are being threatened and she has to get as much information as she can muster up in order to save the people she never thought she'd get involved with.

I was torn whether to give this book a 4 or a 5 for rating.  I enjoyed it a lot.  It was a fast-paced read and the author kept the story interesting, with entertaining characters, dialogue, and unexpected twists and turns in the plot.  Around the time I picked this book up, I didn't hear much about it and looking at the summary, I thought it was just about a creepy doll.  Call me slow, but it didn't occur to me that it was about possession until someone mentioned it.  There were even parts in the book where I had to stop reading just to gather what had just happened.

This was the perfect read for Halloween (especially since it took place in October, as well).  I wouldn't call it a scary book, but it definitely had its creepy moments.  You know, the ones where you check over your shoulder or snuggle a little closer to your cat.  Or maybe that's just me.

I will definitely be looking into the sequel, From Bad to Cursed.