Monday, June 21, 2010

Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

Summary (courtesy of GoodReads):  "The day after anonymous blogger Str-S-d wishes the popular girl would die, Lucy vanishes. The students of Soundview High are scared and worried. Especially frightened and wracked with guilt is Madison Archer, Lucy’s friend and the last person to see her the night she disappeared.
As days pass with no sign of the missing girl, even the attention of Tyler, an attractive new student, is not enough to distract Madison from her growing sense of foreboding. When two more popular students disappear after their names are mentioned on Str-S-d’s blog, the residents of Soundview panic.
Meanwhile, Madison receives anonymous notes warning that she could be next. Desperate to solve the mystery before anyone else disappears, Madison turns to Tyler, but can she trust him when it becomes clear that he knows more than he’s sharing?
The clock is ticking. Madison must uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances . . . before her name appears in Str-S-d’s blog."


And here's what I thought:   Sounds creepy, huh?  Definitely.   This story starts out with blog entries from Str-S-d, so you're reading an anonymous person's thoughts, and getting reactions from other (anonymous) people.   And then, the story kicks in, starting with what happens to Lucy.    Madison then takes us through the rest of the story, which is interspersed with more blog entries from Str-S-d, as well as disturbing messages that Madison is getting.   It felt like Todd Strasser kept dropping hints throughout the story, but every time I thought I knew who was behind Lucy's disappearance, or the messages being sent to Madison, I would read something else and completely change my mind.  

However, it felt like the story started to spiral a little out of control at one point.  There are too many possibilities as to who might be a good person, or a bad person, and who Madison can really trust.  While Madison's character was well-written, the other characters at times seemed a little predictable.  In fact, I had moments where I was having flashbacks to the movie Heathers (Tyler reminded me a lot of Christian Slater's character).  And, frankly, I just didn't buy the ending.  But maybe that's just me.  I thought the pace was great, and I kept reading, just because I really wanted to know what was going to happen ---- but the ending left me a little flat.   

Where I got this book:  Library!

2 comments:

Faye( Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm) said...

i've been wanting 2 read this one 4 a while! great review!

Kirthi said...

Ooooh, it definitely sounds scary! I'm not sure whether to read it or not!

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