if no one else will defend the world then i must

Author : Abigail Tarttelin
Title : Dead Girls
Published : 08/05/2018
Pages : 448
Genre : Mystery Thriller / Young Adult
Publisher : Mantle 

     When her best friend Billie is found murdered, eleven-year-old Thera - fearless and forthright - considers it her duty to find the killer. Aided by an Ouija board, Billie's ghost, and the spirits of four other dead girls, she's determined to succeed. The trouble with Thera, though, is that she doesn't always know when to stop - and sometimes there's a fine line between doing the right thing and doing something very, very bad indeed.

     I'm always on the lookout for a good young adult crime thriller. I have spent many a happy hour lost between there pages, and can no count some of them as my favorite books. So while browsing the shelves in the bookstore I came across this one I had to give it a go. Not only did it incorporate some these genres but it was also set in my home country. This might sound daft but not too many are, most hailing from America. So it was with great enthusiasm that I open this book, in the hopes of finding another great story.

     When it comes to books like this the leads while amazing in themselves all ways have a feeling of being much older than there years would allow for. In getting to Know Thera the author gave me someone who most defiantly felt her age. At eleven she is still happy to do the things most eleven years old's would. She is also naive to many of the darker things that go on in the world. But with the death of her best friend she sets out on a course that will not only see her seeking out vengeance but we also get to see her come of age and becomes something much great. It took me a little while to get a feel for Thera, but I think that has a lot more to do with me having never been an eleven-year-old girl than the authors work. When it comes to out lead she has a very strong will and despite what anyone tells her she is determined to find out what befell her friend. At times it is hard to distinguish between if she is the bravest person in the world or the naivety of youth that sees her leap into the fray. But she most assuredly makes for a fascinating person to spend some time with.

     This book was always going to be on the darker side of life, from pedophilia to child murder this is one hell of a trip. I think this also all made the worse as we experience it through Thera. Her anger and passion are what drives this book forward in the hunt for the truth. And along the way, we get our share of twist and turns as well as our pound of flesh. As the motives behind what took place on that fateful day become clear to us we start to get grasp just how messed up the adults are in this book. It is not to say that it comes as a complete surprise as in between the time we spend with Thera we get small insights into how a cascade of events leading up to the murder. But in my opinion the author brings all this  together giving us just the right amount of information along the way I Suppose the other thing this book brings to the table depends on how you view it, are the ghost Thera talks to from using the Ouija board real or is she more disturbed by the death of her friend than she lets on, something I will leave up to you to decide.  She also delivers an ending that whilst is some wish fulfillment is also a logical place to draw this book to a close. It is, however, I hope not the end of Thera story as I think this girl is only just starting to show the world just what she is made of.

     With this tale, we get a heroine that is ready to kick, bit and fight with everything she has to make right what once went wrong. we see her grow into the women she needs to become to fight the injustice she sees. And while the law may not agree with her, it is difficult not to agree with her and feel some small amount of pride in her. I feel you could do a lot worse than to spend a little of your time getting acquainted with this book.