How to Survive Your Murder Book Review
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine Book Review and Recommendation.
Date: 2-03-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 3.6/10 Buy on Amazon: How to Survive Your Murder
Book Cover Rating: 6.9/10
(My personal opinion)
Author: Danielle Valentine
Pages: 299
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery, Horror
Subplots: Romance
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 2022
Number of Editions: 9
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audio
Goodreads Rating: 3.66/5
Amazon Rating: 4.1/5
Movie/TV Show?? : Neither
Book Type: Standard
POV Type: Technically dual, but single for the most part
Pacing: Fast
Generally: Fast Paced, Thrilling, Unsatisfying
Hook:
Alice Lawrence is the sole witness in her sister’s murder trial.
And in the year since Claire’s death, Alice’s life has completely fallen apart. Her parents have gotten divorced, she’s moved into an apartment that smells like bologna, and she is being forced to face her sister’s killer and a courtroom full of people who doubt what she saw in the corn maze a year prior.
Claire was an all-American girl, beautiful and bubbly, and a theater star. Alice was a nerd who dreamed of becoming a forensic pathologist and would rather stay at home to watch her favorite horror movies than party. Despite their differences, they were bonded by sisterhood and were each other’s best friends.
Until Claire was taken away from her.
On the first day of the murder trial, as Alice prepares to give her testimony, she is knocked out by a Sidney Prescott look-alike in the courthouse bathroom. When she wakes up, it is Halloween night a year earlier, the same day Claire was murdered. Alice has until midnight to save her sister and find the real killer before he claims another victim.
My Review:
Going Into It:
Going into this book I was READY for an action packed, easy read, YA thriller. I was expecting this to be thrilling and keep me on the edge of my seat.
Main Characters:
Alice Lawrence- Alice is the main character. She is loyal and smart. She LOVES horror movies, and has watched all of them hundreds of times, analyzing each part. Her sister calls her Alley Cat, but some of her friends also call her Allie.
Claire Lawrence- Claire is Alice’s older sister. She is outgoing and athletic. She is also EXTREMELY loyal.
Wes- Wes is a college student. He has many rumors surrounding him, but no one knows which ones are really true.
I honestly wasn’t the biggest fan of these characters. They had in-depth personalities, but I didn’t find myself becoming too attached to any of them. I especially didn’t like the main character. However, the characters were unique and entertaining.
Character Rating: 4.9/10
Setting:
This book takes place in southern USA.
This setting was pretty average. I understood where we were and could picture it pretty well, but it wasn’t anything particularly special.
Setting Rating: 6.7/10
Plot:
The plot in this book was super fast paced and gripping. Definitely the sort of book that’s hard to put down. My main problem though, was that personally, I don’t really like reading books that seem completely realistic, but then have ONE fantastical/magical part. Like, the whole plot could really happen, but just one thing is completely unrealistic. I ALWAYS prefer either 100% fantastical/magical or 100% realistic, not somewhere in between.
Plot Rating: 6.8/10
Writing:
This was my first Danielle Valentine book and I did like her writing. It kept me interested and involved, so I don’t have any major complaints.
Writing Rating: 8.9/10
Ending:
NO!!!! Okay, what??? I know that not everything in real life has a happy ending, and we can definitely learn a lot from hardship and struggles, but I don’t read books to get depressed and sad by awful endings!! I would much prefer having a slightly idealistic, but happy ending. This ending was sad, awful, and made you feel bad after reading it. Like, what’s the point of reading if it makes you feel worse than you felt before reading it?? Needless to say, I DID NOT like this ending and felt EXTREMELY dissatisfied.
Ending Rating: 1.2/10
The Overall:
My opinion is that the majority of this book was pretty average, but with a pretty gripping plot. BUT, the ending RUINED this book for me. Because of the ending, my last impression of this book (which is the most important part in my opinion) is strongly negative. So, no, I did not enjoy this book, nor would I recommend it for anyone except those who like sad/depressing endings.
Overall Book Rating: 3.6/10
I would not recommend this book
Buy on Amazon:
ChatGPT’s Opinion: “How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine follows Allie, who is forced to relive her sister’s murder over and over again. Each time, she’s given a chance to try and figure out what happened and how to prevent it, but each cycle brings her closer to the terrifying truth. As Allie tries to piece together the events leading up to the murder, she grapples with grief, trauma, and the haunting question of whether she can change her fate. With a suspenseful and psychological twist, the book explores themes of survival, fate versus free will, and the emotional toll of reliving a traumatic event.”
It’s a gripping thriller with a time-loop element that keeps readers on edge while diving into deeper emotional layers.
(This is the perfect example of why to never 100% rely on ChatGPT. ChatGPT says that Allie (which is one of Alice’s nicknames) relives her sister’s murder multiple times, but in reality she only relives it once).
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Danielle Valentine is the New York Times bestselling author of Two Sides to Every Murder, How to Survive Your Murder, and Delicate Condition, which was recently adapted into the twelfth season of American Horror Story, starring Emma Roberts and Kim Kardashian. Danielle lives in a haunted house outside of New York City with her husband, daughter, and two cats.
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ChatGPT.com (ONLY for specified “ChatGPT’s opinion” portion of review)