I truly hated this book.

What a lazy ass ending. It had potential but so many questions were left open-ended and it annoyed me. Would NOT recommend.

Gripped by the title and premise I borrowed this from the library years ago. It was a fascinating premise however predictable which followed in the vein of gone firl& 13 reasons why. I wouldn't recommend it but I'm glad to have read it

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions are my own and this did not affect my review in any way.

I started reading this book without really knowing what it was about. The title caught my attention and it was a short audiobook so I decided to give it a go. Although this book ending up being not what I expected I still enjoyed the reading experience and the plot twist the story provided.

In Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls we follow June and Delia, who used to be closer than anything. Best friends in that way that comes before everyone else—before guys, before family. But, they say Delia burned herself to death in her stepfather’s shed. They say it was suicide. But June doesn’t believe it.

The beginning of this book was outstanding, the premise, the characters, the story line. It was so intriguing and it made me want to finish the book in one day. However, by the middle of the book, when the big plot twist is reveled I was a little disappointed.

Like I said, the beginning was excellent. We get to meet the main character June and we follow her grief as she tries to find out how to deal with her best friends death. We follow her through her thought process to try to figure out what happened and it is really compelling to see her as she tries to understand everything. June is such a strong main character and it was sweet to see how much she cares about the people in her life.

However, after the excellent beginning when we get to the big plot twist reveal that’s where it all went downhill from. The plot twist was so far-fetched and it made no sense honestly, Delia was such an unlikeable character and honestly an overall terrible friend. I understand why June is willing to help and do everything in her power to right so many wrongs, but I do believe she was taken advantage of, and it was very unsettling to read about it.

Overall I still don’t know how to feel about this book I both love it and hate it and it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to say about it. Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls has a very interesting premise, and although what the author decided to do with that premise was not necessarily my cup of tea, I can still admit that the story was interesting and it kept me hooked until the last page.

‘Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls’ by Lynn Weingarten is a taut thriller about a Svengali teen relationship. The plot is not beyond belief to me because, *blush*, I read a lot of news media and I watch movies besides spending my time reading books. I know there have been a few girl friendships in real life where affection and teen friendship spun up into madness.

In some ways, the novel reminded me of the movie ‘Heavenly Creatures’ which is based on a true story. https://youtu.be/kJ2yZjnPwQc and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly_Creatures

There also was the true crime story of two twelve-year-old girls who tried to kill one of their best friends in a bizarre ritual : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slender_Man_stabbing


Now that I probably have you interested to some degree, I feel reluctant to write of the plot of ‘Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls’ in too much detail. But I’ll spill it a little.

I recognized that the main narrator, June, was in a Svengali relationship with her best friend Delia after a few chapters, although that fact is not explicitly mentioned at all. I could tell Delia was the Svengali, and maybe a psychopath.

The two girls met in the sixth grade and they each immediately felt the other was their soul mate. Some of Delia’s past, revealed in flashbacks strategically remembered by June, show that Delia has been an outlaw kid who colors outside the lines for a long time. She uses people when there is an opportunity to do so as if they were chess pieces to amuse herself since she was only eleven years old. She seems fearless. Her mother remarried, and Delia despises her stepfather, a university professor. She hears him abuse her mother. She despises her mother for being weak-willed. However, she doesn’t have a master plan or goals until an incident occurs when she is a junior in high school.

June, Delia’s best friend, is oblivious of how far Delia can go when she has reason to do so. June is a follower. Everything Delia does beguiles and enchants June. June is an innocent despite her alcoholic mother and her occasionally scary life at home. June is conventional and kind without much insight into Evil or darker motives.

Both girls share feelings of depression, and of not fitting in. June is afraid of anyone finding out about her mother’s alcoholism - except for Delia. She can tell Delia anything! June spends many comfortable years going over to Delia’s house after school. They are inseparable - until Ryan asks June out for a date. June is thrilled! Delia has boyfriends too, like Jeremiah, but she does not seem as thrilled with them as June is with Ryan. Then Delia makes a play for Ryan. June cannot forgive her friend. She stops seeing Delia.

Then in home room, it’s announced Delia is dead from a horrible fire! Delia had left a voice message before the fire on June’s cell which she had not bothered to answer. What could have happened! Everyone believes it was suicide. That cannot be! Delia hated fires!

There is a puzzle here. June begins to ask around the high school if the kids knew what Delia had been doing, who were her friends, what parties had she attended. June needs to know what happened to her best friend!

I have noticed many on Goodreads who have read this YA thriller are disappointed in the novel. Some think it too unrealistic - they don’t believe in what I know is a Svengali relationship can actually exist. I suspect they never heard of that. Others hate the ending because it is a trick ending.

Spoiler

I think Delia lied about her stepfather trying to rape her, but I believe she was extremely angry that her stepfather beat up on her mother. As a psychopath, Delia would have easily seen that in meeting the other three criminals, which is not explained by the author but I suspect was through meeting Ashling at a party by Tig, the drug dealer, was an opportunity to do something about her boring life and her stepfather. I think June wrote the suicide note at the end and left town with Delia and her friends. June was in too deep. Although June was terrified of their murderous criminality and cruelty, I think that a follower-type character would have crumpled under the strength of Delia’s will whatever her horror, plus she WAS guilty as an accessory. However, I wouldn’t place any bets on how long she would stay with the gang. June might run like a rabbit at some low emotional point because of guilt. Delia certainly could give the order to kill June if June was a threat to the gang’s safety.

The book has its faults, but I think it was a very satisfying YA [b:Gone Girl|19288043|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554086139l/19288043._SY75_.jpg|13306276] clone except for that full-stop mysterious ending! It put the brakes on too suddenly! It wasn’t simply too baffling. It was too bewildering.

wth. So convoluted

Spoiler

Language, violence, murder, sexual abuse, drugs, drinking, abortion. It's got it all.

This was...rather creepy.

Hmm. Started off string and then I was confused. Not sure how I feel...

i straight up did not have a good time with this book. the plot twist was interesting but the ending of the book was .... not fun. maybe shouldve ended it by page 200.
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“But I know that I am finally choosing her, choosing Delia the way I should have back then, even though she is not here to choose anymore.”

"I'm nothing if not completely inconsistent."

Wow. Okay I did not expect that ending AT ALL. Every time I thought that I knew what happened a new twist appeared and now Im just left reeling and with so many questions!! It was a great book, pulling you in quickly with the mystery of what happened to Delia as June tries to put together the pieces of what truly happened to her friend. June's own unreliability as a narrator fashioned the story into a magic trick- she misdirected you in a way that distracted you from the truth.

Overall: Great suspense with an AMAZING plot twist. Definitely worth a read.