Hi Readers ! Welcome to my stop for " Dead End Girls" by Wendy Heard. An huge thanks to Tbr and Beyond tours for this chance and to Little, Brown Books for the earc !
TITLE: Dead End Girls
AUTHOR : Wendy Heard
PUBLISHER : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
GENRE : Young Adult Thriller
PUBLISHING DATE : May 10, 2022
BOOK LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indigo | IndieBound
In one week, Maude will be dead. At least, that’s what
she wants everyone to think. Afteryears of research, Maude has decided to fake
her owndeath. She’s figured out the how, thewhen, the where, and who will help
her unsuspectingly.The why is complex: revenge, partly. Her terrible parents
deserve this. But there’s alsol’appel du vide, the call of the void, that
beckons her toward a new lifewhere she will be tiedto no one, free and adrift.
Then Frankie, a step-cousin she barely knows, figures out whatshe’s plotting,
and the plan seems like it’s ruined. Except Frankie doesn’t want to rat her
out.Frankie wants in. The girls vault into the unknown, risking everything for
a new and limitlesslife. But there are some things you can never run away from.
What if the poison is not in thesoil, but in the roots?This pulse-pounding
thriller offers a nuanced exploration of identity, freedom, and falling inlove
while your world falls apart.
Wendy
Heard is the author of two adult thrillers: The Kill Club and Hunting
Annabelle, which Kirkus Reviews praised as “a diabolically plotted creep show
from a writer to watch.”She’s Too Pretty To Burn, which Kirkus called “a wild
and satisfying romp” in a starred review, marks her YA debut. She is a member
of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of
America, is a contributor at Crimereads.com, and co-hosts the Unlikeable Female
Characters podcast. Wendy lives in Los Angeles, California.
Like every year, Maude is
preparing to leave for the traditional family vacation in Hawaii, but this trip
will be different. In fact, Maude intends to stage his death, thus making his
traces disappear so that he can start a new life far from what he no longer
considers his family. But even the best of plans can sometimes have
hitches. Unexpectedly, Frankie, her stepfather's niece, has managed to uncover
her plan and if Maude doesn't want to be discovered she has no choice but to
take Frankie with her too. Maude and Frankie will face many obstacles in the
course of their escape, ending up putting their own lives at risk. Will the two
young fugitives be able to carry out their plan or will they end up being
discovered?
I read this book in one
breath thanks to the fast-paced and flowing plot. For the entire duration of
the reading, I did nothing but wonder if in the end the two protagonists would
be able to carry out their purpose. This because the author has managed to
increase the tension and interest of the reader, who will perpetually remain on
edge, gradually over the course of the narration.
The two protagonists of
this daring escape are Maude and Frankie, who vaguely reminded me of the young
Thelma and Louise.
Maude is a very smart and
intelligent girl, and she is the real architect of the plan. Even in the most
difficult moments she will be able to remain lucid and not panic, always
managing to find a solution for any unexpected events. Since her parents
divorced and formed new families, Maude feels invisible as if she were just a
passing guest in their lives. It will be this sentiment that will prompt Maude
to orchestrate her death during the annual family vacation to Hawaii, a plan
she has been working on for the past two years. Although he thought of every
little detail, he certainly hadn't come to terms with Frankie.
Frankie is her
stepfather's niece and the only member of her new in-laws that she tolerates.
Frankie lives alone with her father, who does nothing but squander his fortune,
and with her stepmother. The real head of the family, however, is the cold and
uncompromising grandmother, who controls the family business as well as her two
children. Frankie isn't having a good time. She does not yet have a clear
understanding of her sexual identity, and therefore indefines herself in a no
binary gender. Feeling inadequate with herself has brought her a psychophysical
discomfort. The situation at home doesn't help her. Frankie feels responsible
for her father's financial problems, and therefore only a burden. At school she
is constantly mocked and bullied by her classmates. In the last few weeks prior
to her departure, she was also the victim of some strange and potentially
dangerous incidents, which led her to believe that someone very close to her
was trying to kill her. When Frankie then discovers Maude's plan, she decides
to follow her.
During their escape they
will encounter various unexpected events and will end up involved in some
crimes in spite of themselves. The relationship between Maude and Frankie will
evolve over the course of the narrative. In fact, for the first time Maude will
understand that she has strong feelings towards a girl, which at first will
destabilize her. Once she finds out that what she feels is reciprocated, she
finally finds the courage to explore her sexuality with Frankie, the only person
who can fully understand it.
"Dead End Girls"
is an incredibly gripping young adult / thriller that manages to entertain the
reader from the first to the last page.
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