Playlist for the Dead
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“A page-turner that combines genuine intrigue with heartbreak and desire.” —Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Counting by 7s
Part mystery, part love story, and part coming-of-age tale in the vein of Thirteen Reasons Why, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The Spectacular Now, Michelle Falkoff’s debut is an honest and gut-wrenching novel about loss, rage, what if feels like to outgrow a friendship that’s always defined you—and the struggle to redefine yourself.
There was a party. There was a fight. The next morning, Sam’s best friend, Hayden, was dead. And all he left Sam was a playlist of songs and a suicide note: For Sam—listen and you’ll understand.
To figure out what happened, Sam has to rely on the playlist and his own memory. But the more he listens, the more he realizes that his memory isn’t as reliable as he thought. And it might only be by taking out his earbuds and opening his eyes to the people around him that he’ll finally be able to piece together his best friend’s story. And maybe have a chance to change his own.
“An absorbing and sensitive read.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Falkoff lightens the substantial topics of grief, bullying, and suicide with Sam’s engaging investigation.” —ALA Booklist
“Realistic and well-written. The strong characters, dialogue and the use of the playlist to structure the book make this a good pick for struggling readers.” —School Library Journal
“Falkoff treats a difficult topic with delicacy and care.” —Publishers Weekly
“Truly powerful moments.” —Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sam find his best friend Hayden dead of an apparent suicide the morning after a party the two boys were both bullied at school, but Sam still feels responsible. Hayden left Sam a playlist of music as a suicide note (the songs correspond to the book's chapters), which Sam listens to, eager for answers. Then strange things start to happen. Sam receives messages from someone using Hayden's IM handle, a girl named Astrid with connections to Hayden appears in Sam's life, and someone starts getting revenge against the "bully trifecta" who made life hell for Hayden and Sam all of which make Sam question everything he thought he knew about Hayden. Debut author Falkoff gives Sam a strong voice to narrate his grief over the loss of his best friend and his confusion about the events that follow. Her efforts to add mystery to the circumstances surrounding Hayden's death are forced, however, and as the novel progresses, the revelations test plausibility. This aside, Falkoff treats a difficult topic with delicacy and care. A Spilled Ink Productions property. Ages 13 up.
Customer Reviews
So far
Quite a good book actually. It's realistic.
Was honestly meh.
I started reading it expecting a book about mental health and stuff but it ended up having unneeded romance, unrealistic characters etc. honestly didn’t like one of the characters being gay as an excuse for the main character to have a gf. Honestly isn’t good queer rep imo. The unseeded romance was honestly stupid. Many other books do a lot better job of talking about sensitive topics. Had an interesting premise but ruined it with bad character writing, bad representation and unneeded romance. I thought this book was about mental health not the character’s love life