Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

Summary/Image from Publisher's Website:

Str-S-d-

I’ll begin with Lucy. She is definitely first on the list. You can’t believe how it feels to be in the cafeteria and turn around and there she is staring at me like I’m some disgusting bug or vermin. Does she really think I WANT to be this way? I hate you, Lucy. I really hate you. You are my #1 pick. I wish you were dead.

The day after anonymous blogger Str-S-d wishes the popular girl would die, Lucy vanishes. The students of Soundview High are scared and worried. Especially frightened and wracked with guilt is Madison Archer, Lucy’s friend and the last person to see her the night she disappeared.

As days pass with no sign of the missing girl, even the attention of Tyler, an attractive new student, is not enough to distract Madison from her growing sense of foreboding. When two more popular students disappear after their names are mentioned on Str-S-d’s blog, the residents of Soundview panic.

Meanwhile, Madison receives anonymous notes warning that she could be next. Desperate to solve the mystery before anyone else disappears, Madison turns to Tyler, but can she trust him when it becomes clear that he knows more than he’s sharing?

The clock is ticking. Madison must uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances . . . before her name appears in Str-S-d’s blog.

In the spirit of stories like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Todd Strasser updates the teen thriller for the techno age with Wish You Were Dead, the first installment in a new “thrill”-ogy.

Review:

I'm always on the search for new books to scare the living daylights out of me, so when Wish You Were Dead, a book that had a high possibility of doing so, ended up on my radar, I couldn't wait to check it out. Sadly enough, Wish You Were Dead proved to be a huge disappointment.

One of the reasons it did so was because of the lackluster characters. For example, the main character Madison always felt like an accessory used to move the story, rather than someone the author wanted you to connect to and feel their fears, needs, and desires. Also I could never really understand her liking of Tyler because he for the most part he never seemed to be quite right, I guess you would say, as well as why she felt so strong about her friendships with Madison and her boyfriend when it felt that they really were not that close. Lastly, the add on of the blogger Str-S-d often proved more questions about the person behind it than answers, something that also left me to feel disappointed.

The premise of this, as mentioned above, was something that had a lot of promise. Since I loved how Mr. Strasser included not only a narrative to the next with several main characters telling the story but the addition of blogging and other social networking, that allowed for this novel to go in many directions. This often worked to Wish You Were Dead's. Though while I did love that part, I often felt that while the mysterious atmosphere to the plot kept me reading, it never really was too scary, suspenseful, or developed in way that made it jump of the page and come to life.

In all, while Wish You Were Dead certainly had great promise and some great points, I often found it to not be for my likings. Though, while I felt this way, it may still work for some out there who are looking for a scary read to keep them tied over until their next read. And who knows, maybe they'll end up loving it; I mean some did; just not me.

Grade: D

Wish You Were Dead is now out!

Source: Good Man Media. Thanks Rebecca!