Dead Girl Walking by Mary Beth Lee (Book Review + A Mini Interview)

Dead Girl Walking
by Mary Beth Lee

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Published by: Amazon Kindle on June 1st 2012
Genres:  Paranormal Fiction
Pages:  204
Source:  Author - eBook (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 4/5


Teen scream movie queen Sharlene Gallagher was the biggest thing to happen to Primrose, Texas. Until she died. Now Sharlene's back as a guardian angel. Only her real objective is a bit more intense. Her charge: figure out the identity of her murderer before high school junior Addison Karchusky falls prey to the killer. Enlisting Addison's help without letting her know her life's in danger? No problem...she hopes. High school's never been easy. Now it just might be murder.
(c) Goodreads

This book is marvelous! As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I would love it. If you would give thoughts about the plot, the story is quite ordinary. But with the characters, especially the ghost being a celebrity, it's really quite different. And the fact that this celebrity was brought to Addy not just to discover who murdered her but to also save Addy herself from being the next victim, WOW! And no, I'm not spoiling anything to you, it's based on the synopsis, remember?

This whole "ghosts" thing was quite different from the genre that I'm reading. Never really been a fan of ghosts, you know. So it was quite a cool experience, reading this book. I've said this in my last book review but I will say this again, I will regret not having to read this book. 

I have said a lot of times, I think, that I am not really a fan of books having romance in it all the time, but I was kinda disappointed that nothing much happens in this book. I was really a fan of the Andrew-Addy pair. Hahaha. But I was also glad that this book focused more on its main genre. Sooo yeah. I might just be confusing you guys, let's move on.

So why did I rate it 4/5?

Well, obviously, I love the book. But that does'nt mean that it doesn't have it's flaws. I would be glad to enumerate this teeny tiny things:

1. There was this one part in the book, which was like from the beginning that mentioned what will happen in the end. But it's not the ending-end , if you know what I mean. So I was kinda like, "I think I know what will happen already." which was disappointing because I wanted to be surprised by the end of the book.

2. I can't believe that the murderer's the murderer. I mean, it wasn't bad that it was surprising. But I think no one will expect that he/she's the killer. Normally, what happens in this kind of story is that they will look for clues, which leads to a person whom they all think has a motive. But this murderer, Addy's right. He was invisible in the entire story and then he suddenly pops out as the killer. Maybe I was just hoping that the author could've provided  information about the murderer. 

That's it. But I didn't really mind those, because the author's just starting. She can improve more. Keep writing Mary Beth!

Do I recommend this?

Yeah. Supeerrr.

And now for the much awaited interview .....

I've asked Mary Beth some questions related to this book and her personal life as well.

Book-related:

1. What inspired you to write this book, or generally to write books?

- I was a storyteller before I could read. I was a late reader, but I desperately wanted to be able to read. I loved them so much. Once I learned to read (THANK YOU Valley View Elementary in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and Mrs.Tagee), the library became my favorite place, wherever we happened to live. I was a military brat, so we lived a lot of places before settling in Burkburnett, Texas when I was nine. I made it a goal to read all the books in the Burk library. I think I got close. :) When I was in junior high I fell in love with the Sweet Valley books AND Silhouette started a teen line. My friends and I inhaled those books, but there weren't enough of them, so I started writing my own spin on the fairy tale love story. I wrote them as serialized novels in spiral notebooks with Eraser Mate pens. My friends pushed me to write faster because they'd get to the end of a spiral before I finished the next part of the story. My mom bought me a subscription to Writer's Digest my senior year in high school. I quit writing fiction in college until one of my last classes. The professor made us write a play. When he handed mine back, he told me I needed to be writing fiction. That man, Dr. Thomas Hoffman, became one of my many mentors. He encouraged me to continue writing. When I started teaching, I put fiction on the back burner for a short time, but Dr. Hoffman always asked what I was writing. I'm glad he pushed me to hold on to my dream. 

As far as Dead Girl Walking and The Guardian Series in general goes, I love the YA genre. I always have. From SE Hinton's Outsiders to Sarah Dessen's romances to Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls, I love it all. I advise student media at the high school level, and I think teenagers are amazing. So often people say "this generation will be the death of us," but I see a generation of kids who are smart and tech savvy and aware of the world around them. Writing a teen-centered book appealed to me. And then one day Sharlene Gallagher just showed up in my head. I put her down on paper and the rest is history.

2. What is it about the whole concept of the story that appeals to you?

-I love that both Addison and Sharlene learn something about themselves. I love that Sharlene thinks the mission is about saving Addison, but it's as much about saving herself...even though she's dead already. And I love that Sharlene doesn't realize yet that it's really about saving the world. Peter's good like that. He knows telling Sharlene that truth too early would make her "go to the light."

3. What should we watch out for in the next books coming up? Did you use the same characters? Are there new ones popping up and more mysteries to solve?

-The Guardian series is centered on Sharlene Gallagher and her quest to become a great Guardian Angel. Every mission involves a new charge and a new mystery and a new school. Every charge will die if Sharlene doesn't succeed, and if the charge dies, Sharlene loses her place in The Guardian. There's also a darker element in the background of the stories--a war to take over the world of The Guardian. Sharlene holds a special place in that world, but she doesn't know it yet. Several characters make repeat appearances in the series, but Sharlene is the star.

4. Will we see this book in paperback soon? And if so, mind sharing the cover here some time?

-An Angel Earns Her Wings, The Guardian Book 2 is out now. And Angel Eyes, The Guardian Book 3 comes out this summer. All the books are available in paperback as well as in ebook format.

Work/Personal-related Questions:

1. Can you consider yourself a very religious person? Since this book is sort of God-related too.

-The series is definitely a good vs. evil story. There are forces of evil trying to destroy Sharlene and The Guardian and there are forces of evil trying to kill her charges. I like to write stories where the good guy wins, but they should have to fight to get that ending. I've never looked at The Guardian series as religious, but in terms of good and evil, I guess it could be seen that way. I believe writers write and readers take what they will from the stories. Books and their messages are very personal. I always hated when my teachers asked "what was the author trying to say here?" because I don't know that I could ever answer that question definitively unless I actually spoke to the author. Now as an author, I don't think I can tell my readers what my books mean. They should mean a million different things to a million different readers, and that's what makes reading and books so amazing.

2. If you are not into writing, what do you think are you doing now?

-Reading or watching an entire series of television shows on Netlfix in two days.

3. Do you have any advice for those new authors who wants to write a book in this genre?

-Read a lot and write a lot. Repeat.

Thank you so much for trusting Bittersweet Blogs, I'd love to see more of your works!

~Message to Readers~

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