Not Dead Enough
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
"A riveting page-turner."--Kirkus reviews
Girl in Pieces meets Cracked Up to Be in this raw and candid look at trauma about a girl who is being haunted and stalked by her definitely dead ex-boyfriend.
Charlotte survived the car crash that killed her boyfriend Jerry, but that night, everything changed. Charlotte wants desperately to get back to “normal,” --whatever that means now-- and start reconnecting with friends she hasn’t spoken to in months. And she’s trying to work through her PTSD with the help of her therapist, only she can’t tell the truth about Jerry or what really happened the night he died.
Just when Charlotte thinks she might be moving on, someone starts sending her threatening messages claiming to be Jerry, saying things only he would know. But it can't really be Jerry because there's no such thing as ghosts. The cold spots in her room must be a draft and the noises she hears must be the house creaking. There has to be a logical explanation for all of it. Because if ghosts are real, then Jerry came back for her—just like he always said he would.
Not Dead Enough is a gripping exploration of trauma from debut author Tyffany D. Neiheiser about a girl who realizes that running from the past will help you survive, but everything you try to escape will eventually find you in the end. Perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Kathleen Glasgow! Authors note included.
Praise for Not Dead Enough:
"Neiheiser’s prose is confident and compelling . . . a riveting page-turner . . . Goose bump inducing and thought provoking." --Kirkus reviews
"A harrowing and fresh foray into the thriller genre." --PW
"[A] fast-paced thriller [of how] the unspoken past can rise up and haunt the present." --Booklist
"Compelling . . . an unsettling story of the unseen hauntings of trauma and violence." --BCCB
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A high school junior is stalked by her dead boyfriend in this chilling debut, which explores intimate partner violence. After surviving a horrific car crash that killed her physically abusive boyfriend, Jerry, on prom night, Charlotte picks up the pieces of her shattered life. As she works through her PTSD in therapy, rekindles relationships with estranged friends, and even connects with classmate Nate, who is also navigating grief, Charlotte keeps Jerry's abuse a secret. But when she begins experiencing ghostly occurrences—sudden cold spots in her room, long-deleted photos reappearing on her computer, and, worst of all, receiving threatening text messages sent from Jerry's phone—she becomes certain that someone in her life cannot be trusted, because the alternative means that Jerry's ghost has come back to get her. Though twists and turns are formulaic, and the dialogue sometimes feels implausible, Neiheiser nevertheless conjures genuine terror while delving into the complexities of grief and cycles of abuse. Charlotte's struggles with anxiety and trauma and her lingering feelings of love for Jerry are tenderly and delicately wrought and, combined with the hauntings and her suspicion of the intersectionally diverse supporting cast, make for a harrowing and fresh foray into the thriller genre. Ages 14–up.