Review : Social Suicide by Gemma Halliday
Summary (from Goodreads)
Twittercide [twit-er-sahyd]: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting.
Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper’s brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went... a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the Homecoming Queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH’s resident body finder, I’m stuck trying to prove that Sydney’s death wasn’t suicide.
I’m starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos...
Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper’s brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went... a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the Homecoming Queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH’s resident body finder, I’m stuck trying to prove that Sydney’s death wasn’t suicide.
I’m starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos...
Personal Thoughts
Deadly Cool was one of my favorite books of 2011. With her sarcastic and witty attitude, Hartley Featherstone charmed me! Social Suicide was one of my most anticipated books of 2012 and when I finally got the book, I was honestly very excited. The cover of the book only heightened my interest. Look at how pretty it is ! Needless to say, Social Suicide wasn't one of those books with a deceiving cover.
Hartley Featherstone is back ! She's now working for The Herbert Hoover High Homepage along with the editor, Chase. While working on a cheating article, Hartley comes across an expelled student's dead body floating in a pool. Everyone assumes that Sydney, the dead girl, committed suicide while tweeting. However, Hartley doesn't believe so. As usual, Hartley can't resist a case, so she along with Sam and Chase decide to prove that Sydney didn't really kill herself.
Hartley, like in the previous book, was an adorable main character. She's so fun and fluffy I wished she was a friend of mine. She was that easy to like. Hartley wasn't afraid to uncover the truth and at times she went to lengths to find out what's really going on. Her bravery was sometimes accompanied with awkwardness. It's really fun seeing her solve the cases. One thing is sure though, Hartley is a smart girl. She followed her gut instincts and she reminded me a lot of Nancy Drew. When solving the case, she put her heart and soul into finding out the real murderer and her willingness to do anything for justice was really admirable. Plus, the girl can be hilarious at times. Compared to Deadly Cool, Hartley was a lot more mature in this book. She has undergone tremendous growth, but she hasn't lost her clever, humorous and her sarcastic nature, which is of course a good thing! Her relationship with her mother has somewhat strengthened. Sure, she was a little bothered by the fact that her mom had started dating again, but it was clear that Hartley really supported her mom, although she never showed it. Overall, Hartley was a fabulous main character who was refreshing in the YA world.
There wasn't much improvement in the romance department in Social Suicide. The pace of the romance is painfully slow. In my opinion, it was way too slow. Nothing much happened in the book except for some really awkward situations. Both Hartley and Chase can't figure out their feelings for each other and at times when they were together there was a tension between them. Both were really confused as to what it was that existed between them. After Deadly Cool, I wanted them to be together, but nothing really happened up until the very end. There wasn't even a single kissing scene (which frustrated me). Still, I am happy that their relationship is developing slowly because it seems very believable that way. Hartley and Chase make a very good team !
The secondary characters consisted of mostly Sam, Hartley's best friend, Chase, Hartley's mom and Detective Radley.
I mentioned in my review for Deadly Cool that Sam was on of my favorite characters ever. I loved her supportive and caring side. She stuck with Hartley through thick and thin. While reading, you could totally feel the sincere friendship that existed between the two. The two of them were really hilarious at times, but they were really cute together.
Chase was still the bad boy that he was in Deadly Cool. Even though he didn't show it often, he was protective of Hartley. Plus, he's very mysterious. I would love to learn more about him in the next book.
Detective Radley was also epic in this book. He's annoyed as usual that Hartley was near his dead bodies, but his relationship with her really grew in this book.
Overall, the secondary characters were all kick-ass!
This time around, the plot was too predictable. When the murderer was first introduced in the book, I knew instantly that he/she was the guilty party. Nevertheless, the book was still highly enjoyable. There's something about Gemma Halliday's writing that draws you in. It's light and smooth, but there's something really addictive to it.
If you're looking for a book that's a cozy mystery that's entertaining and enjoyable, then Social Suicide is the book for you. However, don't go into to the book expecting something meaningful and realistic because Social Suicide is definitely not one of those. Gemma Halliday blends mystery, murder, friendship, budding romances, family and humor to bring Social Suicide to you !
Rating
Cover : 5/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
Deadly Cool was one of my favorite books of 2011. With her sarcastic and witty attitude, Hartley Featherstone charmed me! Social Suicide was one of my most anticipated books of 2012 and when I finally got the book, I was honestly very excited. The cover of the book only heightened my interest. Look at how pretty it is ! Needless to say, Social Suicide wasn't one of those books with a deceiving cover.
Hartley Featherstone is back ! She's now working for The Herbert Hoover High Homepage along with the editor, Chase. While working on a cheating article, Hartley comes across an expelled student's dead body floating in a pool. Everyone assumes that Sydney, the dead girl, committed suicide while tweeting. However, Hartley doesn't believe so. As usual, Hartley can't resist a case, so she along with Sam and Chase decide to prove that Sydney didn't really kill herself.
Hartley, like in the previous book, was an adorable main character. She's so fun and fluffy I wished she was a friend of mine. She was that easy to like. Hartley wasn't afraid to uncover the truth and at times she went to lengths to find out what's really going on. Her bravery was sometimes accompanied with awkwardness. It's really fun seeing her solve the cases. One thing is sure though, Hartley is a smart girl. She followed her gut instincts and she reminded me a lot of Nancy Drew. When solving the case, she put her heart and soul into finding out the real murderer and her willingness to do anything for justice was really admirable. Plus, the girl can be hilarious at times. Compared to Deadly Cool, Hartley was a lot more mature in this book. She has undergone tremendous growth, but she hasn't lost her clever, humorous and her sarcastic nature, which is of course a good thing! Her relationship with her mother has somewhat strengthened. Sure, she was a little bothered by the fact that her mom had started dating again, but it was clear that Hartley really supported her mom, although she never showed it. Overall, Hartley was a fabulous main character who was refreshing in the YA world.
There wasn't much improvement in the romance department in Social Suicide. The pace of the romance is painfully slow. In my opinion, it was way too slow. Nothing much happened in the book except for some really awkward situations. Both Hartley and Chase can't figure out their feelings for each other and at times when they were together there was a tension between them. Both were really confused as to what it was that existed between them. After Deadly Cool, I wanted them to be together, but nothing really happened up until the very end. There wasn't even a single kissing scene (which frustrated me). Still, I am happy that their relationship is developing slowly because it seems very believable that way. Hartley and Chase make a very good team !
The secondary characters consisted of mostly Sam, Hartley's best friend, Chase, Hartley's mom and Detective Radley.
I mentioned in my review for Deadly Cool that Sam was on of my favorite characters ever. I loved her supportive and caring side. She stuck with Hartley through thick and thin. While reading, you could totally feel the sincere friendship that existed between the two. The two of them were really hilarious at times, but they were really cute together.
Chase was still the bad boy that he was in Deadly Cool. Even though he didn't show it often, he was protective of Hartley. Plus, he's very mysterious. I would love to learn more about him in the next book.
Detective Radley was also epic in this book. He's annoyed as usual that Hartley was near his dead bodies, but his relationship with her really grew in this book.
Overall, the secondary characters were all kick-ass!
This time around, the plot was too predictable. When the murderer was first introduced in the book, I knew instantly that he/she was the guilty party. Nevertheless, the book was still highly enjoyable. There's something about Gemma Halliday's writing that draws you in. It's light and smooth, but there's something really addictive to it.
If you're looking for a book that's a cozy mystery that's entertaining and enjoyable, then Social Suicide is the book for you. However, don't go into to the book expecting something meaningful and realistic because Social Suicide is definitely not one of those. Gemma Halliday blends mystery, murder, friendship, budding romances, family and humor to bring Social Suicide to you !
Rating
Cover : 5/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
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