Book #26: Dead Girls Don't Write Letters

I can't remember where I saw Gail Giles's Dead Girls Don't Write Letters mentioned, but after finishing it, I really wish I could. This book has a crazy twist, and I really want to know what kind of list it was on that got me to read it in the first place.

High schooler Sunny is in a rather dysfunctional family situation. A few months prior to the present of the story, her older sister, Jazz, left home to pursue a life in New York City. After Jazz dies in an apartment fire, the girls' parents are devastated--they separate, and the mother falls into crippling depression while the father seeks solace in alcohol. Sunny, though sarcastic and annoyed at how her parents totally ignore that fact that she is still alive and part of the family, isn't all that upset that her sister is gone. Jazz always purposely overshadowed Sunny, see, manipulating their parents and pretty much everyone else to not like Sunny. Or at least so Jazz thought.

Everything takes a turn, however, when Sunny receives a letter from Jazz in the mail saying that she is alive and well. She was out of town at the time of the apartment fire and just recently became aware that people thought she had died. Much to Sunny's chagrin, Jazz writes that she'll be returning home--the prodigal daughter returned. Things get even stranger, though, when the girl who shows up isn't Jazz. But she does know an awful lot about Sunny and her family...

I don't want to say any more about the plot and risk giving away the amazing ending of this quick novel. I'm personally not much for thrillers, but this book had me flabbergasted and trying to figure out the ending the whole evening after I read it. The writing isn't the most well-developed, but it suits the fast pacing of the story. I'd suggest this book to anyone who enjoys short eerie tales and YA psychological thrillers.