Bad Girls Don't Die Series, Book 1

tinytania - The book Bad Girls Don't Die is about a high school girl named Alexis and she has pink hair. She doesn't enjoy high school a lot but that's not what the story is about. Kasey her 12 year old sister starts acting wired. After the book starts talking about high school Alexis and her family get in a fight but in some ways it was good because she started getting close to her sister when they didn't get along really well. After they have bonded, Kasey starts acting weird and so has her house. Kasey doesn't seem the same to her anymore and she tries finding out what's going on. Alexis house has become wired to her when she thought it was the best house. The house starts acting scary. The doors close and open by themselves very often and no one does it they just open by themselves. Another thing that has changed was that Kasey had blue eyes like her but they turn green. Alexis at first thought that that was normal, but then a couple days after her eyes start turning green Kasey started acting weird too and Alexis tried to solve what was happening but she couldn't. Kasey started speaking different than how she used too and she doesn't often know what the time is. Alexis wanted to tell herself that it was just made up and it was just her imagination, but it was hard for her when more things started to happen. She felt threatened in her own home, and she knew there wasn't a way to stop Kasey from changing or things happening in the house.

February 16, 2009
In Alender's character-driven debut, outsider Alexis—who dyes her hair exotic colors, hates cheerleaders and sees the world through the lens of her camera—first suspects something's amiss when she and her younger sister, Kasey, notice light emanating from their antiquated house. Tension builds slowly as doll-obsessed Kasey starts acting more strangely than normal, the girls' father is hospitalized after a car accident and the house itself becomes increasingly temperamental (the air-conditioner seems determined to freeze them to death, and the girls are strangely drawn to the creepy basement). Meanwhile, Alexis's social life takes an unexpected turn via a budding romance with the class vice-president and a new confidante: a cheerleader with a clairvoyant bent. As Alexis's stubborn stereotypes disintegrate, so does her unwillingness to accept the possibility of unseen forces, and she addresses the change with wry humor (“What was this, Challenge Alexis's Long-Held Assumptions Day?”). While the true scares are relegated to a few ephemeral moments during the buildup of the haunting, and the ghost's vengeful motivations feel undernourished, fans of classic young adult ghost stories should welcome this solid offering. Ages 12–up.

August 1, 2009
Gr 6-9-Although it begins like the average high school misfit story, Alender's novel quickly takes an unexpected turn. Alexis, a self-described anti-cheerleader, defiantly embraces her role as bad student and social outcast, skipping class and spending her time in the darkroom, until the increasingly odd behavior of her little sister, Kasey, draws her into a world of evil spirits and dangerous games. At first, inexplicable dreams and eerie balls of green light hovering around Alexis's house seem like fringe occurrences in a story otherwise concerned with family, friendship, and a tentative romance. But soon, bizarre happenings take over, and Alexis comes to realize that Kasey is demon-possessed and hell-bent on murder. It's difficult to reconcile a teen coming-of-age story with a ghost-populated murder mystery, and Alender succeeds somewhat awkwardly. However, Alexis's story is compelling, and her voice is funny and authentic despite the creepy situations in which she finds herself. A good additional purchase for girls who like to be scared a littlebut not too much."Emma Burkhart, Springside School, Philadelphia, PA"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2009
Grades 7-10 High-school junior Alexis seems to be the class bad girl, complete with snide remarks, rebellious attitude, and listless motivation. At home, her overachieving mom has alienated her more laid-back dad, while her doll-obsessed, 13-year-old sister, Kasey, periodically morphs from a blue-eyed, ordinary girl to a green-eyed, evil child plotting against others in their small town. What has possessed Kasey and their familys beautiful Victorian home? Alenders first novel is both a mystery and a trip into the paranormal, in which a child taunted years ago returns to exact revenge for her violent death. It falls to Alexis to sort out the historical details and protect not just herself and her family, but also the descendants of the girls implicated in the original tragic death. With just enough violence, suspense, and romance to keep readers turning the pages, this is a promising debut for a new young author and will be a popular addition to any YA collection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)