Laine can’t quite believe that Leah Green, her one time best friend, is dead. But Laine was there when Leah ran off the road and wrapped her black sports car around a tree. And while she feels both guilt and shame, her biggest feeling is relief. Because now she’ll finally be able to come out from under the shadow beautiful, popular Leah has cast over her life since fifth grade. When they were little, Leah used to take Laine into her toy closet to “practice†what they would do with boys when they grew up. Then Leah maliciously used the secret of the closet to blackmail Laine into doing what Leah wanted. Why wouldn’t Leah just leave Laine alone? How could she have been so kind and so brutal at the same time? Laine tries to figure out the reasons behind Leah’s cruel manipulations in the days after her death, and as she explores each “lesson from a dead girl,†she begins to understand Leah was part of a cycle of abuse—a cycle that Laine can now bring to an end. This suspenseful, disturbing debut will help older teen readers understand that abusers are victims, too. If you enjoy the emotional, gritty work of E.R. Frank or Ellen Hopkins, you’re gonna love Jo Knowles.
i think this book is the most interesting book i have yet to read. i finished the book in one day. this book makes you not want to stop reading. And so i didnt stop reading because i wanted to know what happened next. More stories like this should be put in books.
I wish there was a sequel, this book is sexy,
Tantilizing,
and Hypnotic, its good for both genders, Jo Knowles knows how to write.\
Recomended books\:
Lessons from a dead girl.
Uninvited.
A certain Slant of light.
IT.
Marked.
May god, Erebus and Nyx bless you all.
Best Regards.
Thanks for the suggestions, Vampyre. Hope to see some more of your comments around the blog;) I particularly like A Certain Slant of Light and IT. I’m a huge Stephen King fan!
This book was…very liberating in a way to me…when I was about 10 yrs old my best friend (girl) raped me…well, obviously not full on whatever rape since we’re both girls, but I always felt like she would tell people if I did something she didn’t want me to do…well, we moved about a year ago, and every day I still lived in fear of her telling my friends that I left behind. But after reading this book I really couldn’t care less, and I know there’s nothing wrong with me and it WASN’T my fault…ya know?
I think that’s the greatest power of YA books–to help readers know that they are not alone in their experiences. I’m sure Jo Knowles would be happy to know her book helped you.