Social Suicide

Author: Gemma Halliday

Series: Deadly Cool # 2

Genres: Mystery, Contemporary, Young Adult

Publisher: HarperTeen

Released: 24 April 2012

Summary: courtesy of goodreads.com Twittercide: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting.
Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the "Herbert Hoover High Homepage" would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper's brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went . . . a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the homecoming queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH's resident body finder, I'm stuck trying to prove that Sydney's death wasn't suicide.
I'm starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos. . .

My Review: So, I loved Deadly Cool.  Loved, loved, loved it.  Which means that I had pretty high standards for Social Suicide, and I am pleased to report that it delivered!  You may read the blurb and think: “death by twitter…hmmmm” and admittedly it does seem a little strange and mainstream, like a way to instantly date the novel, but somehow it doesn’t. 

In the second installment of this fantastic series Hartley is forced to confront what exactly is going on between her and Chase.  And this, my friends, was my favorite part of this story.  Reading Hartley and Sam’s banter back and forth about what exactly Chase’s intentions are, and then the semi-public humiliation that is wrought from misinterpretation is not only hilarious but pretty real.  Having Hartley dress up, and the subtle nuances in Chase’s behavior reminded me so much of high school I could practically hear the crowd at the Friday night football game, smell the day old lunch room food, and see the emptiness of after-school staff meetings.

I liked how Sam’s boyfriend stepped it up this round, and I loved that Hartley’s mom is still a pretty major part of her life.  If there is one thing that I truly adore about this series, besides Hartley herself, it is the relationship that Hartley has with her mother, how real it is without being suffocating.  Actually, all of Hartley’s relationships are kind of my favorite. I mean seriously, is Sam not the best "best friend" EVER? I mean seriously, she is kind of perfect (and not in a too perfect kind of way, in a 'you're such an awesome bff' kind of way, like really truly awesome). 

The only thing that did get on my nerves with this novel is that Hartley is still kind of the same.  In Deadly Cool Hartley grew up a little bit, she left her cheating boyfriend, made some new friends and joined the newspaper staff, whereas in this one it’s kind of the exact same Hartley.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I wanted a little bit more to happen to her personality-wise.  The fact that nothing did gave this novel a “filler” kind of feel.  Don’t get me wrong, Social Suicide is just as much fun, if not more so than Deadly Cool because Hartley is trying so hard to figure out the “guy” thing along with who killed Sydney, definitely one I would recommend for someone looking for a fun mystery read with a lovely amount of fluff and an immense amount of fun. I mean, I want the next Hartley Featherstone novel, like . . . now.

Deadly Cool

Author: Gemma Halliday

Series: Deadly Cool # 1

Genres: Mystery, Contemporary, Young Adult

Publisher: HarperTeen

Released: 11 October 2011

Summary: courtesy of goodreads.com Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren’t enough, now he’s depending on Hartley to clear his name.
But as much as Hartley wouldn’t mind seeing him squirm, she knows he’s innocent, and she’s the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school’s resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer’s next victim.

My Review: Deadly Cool was one of those books that I read in a weekend.  Mainly because I completely adored Hartley and the story line.  Hartley is the perfect main character, because although her motives aren’t always logical (trying to clear her cheating boyfriend’s name) her heart is in the right place.  But it wasn’t just Hart that made this story so sweet and lovely.

When I was younger I used to read stories like this all the time.  Stories that had a little bit of romance, a lot of humor, a pretty real parent, a fantastic best friend, and a fun leading lady.  Lately, I feel like the genre has lost a little bit of its fluffiness.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about it, but in a genre that is dominated by paranormal, dystopian, fantasies, or heavy contemporary fiction, Deadly Cool was a welcome breath of fresh air.  If you want a comparison, Hartley was like an older Sammy Keyes (from the Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Drannen), or a younger Heather Wells (from Meg Cabot’s Heater Well’s mysteries).  She is funny, kind of an amateur, and full of . . . well, heart.

Her best friend Sam adds in the perfect balance.  So many things that Sam says had me laughing out loud, Sam is the character in our reality while Hartley is kind of operating in her own (which is why this is so fun).  She has a healthy relationship with her boyfriend, but balances out having Hartley as a best friend perfectly.  The setting of Silicon Valley was another strength to this awesome story, and Hartley’s mom.  Wow, talk about a parent that was active without being overbearing or mean.  Everything about Hartley’s mom screams “I love my daughter” not “I’m suffocating my daughter” the love between Hartley and her mother was real, and honest.  It was refreshing to see such a good mother/daughter relationship.

And of course, you can’t forget the love interest that was not only incredible, but also pretty darn real.  I won’t expose too much, but let me just say that although this definitely was NOT a story based around the romance, there was still a little (key word: little) bit there that added to the immense grin that I had while reading this book.  Chase was just such a fun guy, he reminded me a little bit of a young Sam/Dean Winchester (from Supernatural) in the fact that he drives an old beater car and is kind of a bad a--. And he looks out for Hartley.  He doesn’t stalk her or stare at her while she sleeps, he is honestly concerned for her safety, he is like that really hot best friend you had in high school that you wanted to secretly hook up with. Seriously.  Although not much happens at all between Chase and Hartley, it was still fun to watch them figure each other out.

The strongest part of this novel for me was obviously the characterizations.  All of the characters are strong and well thought out, from the (not so) bumbling Detective, right down to the murderer.  I have to say, not many female characters in YA leave this kind of impression, to date there have been maybe three: Anna (from Anna and the French Kiss) Rory (from The Name of the Star) and now Hartley who I would seriously not mind having as a real live best friend.  I cannot wait to read Social Suicide, starting . . . now.