Published: 2011
Pages: 303 (Paperback)
Genre: Mystery
Long Story Short: Loved it! Especially for the language...
Goodreads synopsis:
Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren’t enough, now he’s depending on Hartley to clear his name.
But as much as Hartley wouldn’t mind seeing him squirm, she knows he’s innocent, and she’s the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school’s resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer’s next victim.
I bought this book mainly because of bookshelf tours I watched (and it seemed to appear in every single one), but also because I have never read a mystery. I just didn't think I'd like that kind of story, but Deadly Cool made me change my mind. Because it was amazing.
What I loved most was the language. Deadly Cool is told from the main character, Hartley's point of view and she's the most snarky, sarcastic girl I've ever read of / met. The great thing is the consistency of the tone. It doesn't just appear in special situations, but the whole story is told like that and that does not only round it up very well. It also kept me grinning and laughing the entire time.
Hartley was a great character. She just went along with everything that got in her way. She was never whiny, never annoying but confident most of the time which I love in characters. She was not the typical high school stereotype that either does stupid things and is popular or makes wise decisions and is considered a freak and social outcast.
Normally, I would list some negative aspects in this section of my review, but I just can't find any - I loved this book just so much. All the characters were so sympathetic, the mystery was (at least for me) not easy to figure out and the relationship/love interest aspect pretty much doesn't exist which I found to be refreshing.
The book is fast paced. You start reading, you stop reading and somehow notice there's only five pages left.
As for the love aspect in the book - it was there. And that was perfect. So refreshing to read about a teen girl that cares about boys but not ALL the time. I hate when in contemporary books every other thought of a girl is about the boy that you just KNOW she will end up with in the end. In Deadly Cool there were some - very cute - boys but they weren't the main focus.
All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot. It saved me from moving into a reading slump after being so disappointed by Dark Storm and kept me laughing. I'd recommend it to really everyone!
RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties
AHHHH, awesome review! I loved this one as well. Just read Social Suicide; it was fantastic! Now, I will say I loved Deadly cool just a bit more, BUT like you said, Hartley is so likable. I could read about her adventures and never get tired of her snark ;)
ReplyDeleteNinja GIrl
Thank you! And I have read Social Suicide now and loved that one, too! Hartley really is so cool, I'd love to have her as my best friend!
DeleteI bought this book and haven't read it yet. Think I'll put it in next week's lineup. I agree with you about the relationship thing. Don't you get so sick of books that consist mostly of the girl drooling over a guy/guys? It's always a breath of fresh air when the chick's got enough sense to think about the rest of life.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
It is! I hate when they introduce themselves during the first 30 pages, then the guy comes in and nothing happens anymore until they're finally together :P
DeleteGreat review! I loved this book so much, the next one is just as fantastic. I regret not reviewing them when I read them since it seems a lot of people don't want to bother reading them and they are just too wonderful to ignore.
ReplyDeleteSo true! Ever since I've read these books whenever life gets bad or I'm really unhappy about myself I just think of Hartley and her laid-back attitude and I feel better! These books never fail at cheering me up :)
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