Book Tour: You’re Dead to Me by Amy Christine Parker Book Review

I am so excited to share this new YA release with you today!! I often join in on book tours, but rarely do I stumble upon a YA horror/thriller.

Synopsis:

Ruby is a scholarship senior at elite Oleander High School with a chip on her shoulder and an attitude to match—which she puts to good use as the infamous local anonymous gossip blogger ReputationKiller. When she’s outed as the voice behind the account, the entire town turns against her.

But after she’s scared witless by a vision of her own ghost dressed in a blood-splattered prom dress, she is faced with an awful truth. Someone out there doesn’t just hate her—they want her dead.

With less than a week until the prom, Ruby starts investigating. Turns out Oleander Bay isn’t the picture-perfect resort town it appears to be. With so many secrets, scandals, and people hell-bent on covering them up at all costs, the murderer could be anyone. Can Ruby beat the clock counting down to prom—and her death—and survive the night?

You can purchase You’re Dead to Me anywhere books are sold, check out the posting here.

My Thoughts:

You’re Dead to Me is pitched as Gossip Girl meets Scream in a deliciously campy YA novel. If that doesn’t interest you, I don’t know what will!

In short, I loved it. I am an avid horror/thriller reader, and within YA it can be difficult to find a fun horror/thriller novel. You’re Dead to Me offers thrills, spooks, and plot twists. I think You’re Dead to Me is more of a thriller/mystery novel. However, there are many overlaps into the horror genre.

The story plays out days before Ruby’s high school prom. The day count down adds a sense of urgency on top of the drama bubbling in Ruby’s social life. Parker plays with the consequences of social media, in this case, TikTok. Ruby has built a social media following. She works as an anonymous investigator who exposes the dirty deeds of those in her town and her classmates. Anton, Ruby’s best friend, encourages her to give up the account, but Ruby must post her latest project. The fallout from Ruby’s social media posts kept me on the edge of my seat. The interaction and viewership of her post made it even more thrilling. It felt timely and relatable. Not only is Ruby living through the consequences of her TikTok account, but there is a murderer running about her town. I was fully invested in who the murderer could be, and if Ruby was a target. Again, this is all happening with the countdown to prom, it is a wild ride.

Right when you think Ruby’s life can’t get more complex, it does. Not only does Ruby have the social media drama of that going on, she also is being haunted by the ghost of herself. Ruby has creepy interactions with her ghost that leave you wondering how the story will end. Ruby finds support in her friends Anton and Xavier, who help her continue her investigations around town. Their friendship is heartwarming.

Parker’s writing style is easy to follow, fast paced, and will keep you wanting to read more. Each chapter is short, which allowed me to keep telling myself: “just one more chapter, just one more chapter.” Not only that, but the characters are well written and build to a satisfying ending. I read half of You’re Dead to Me in on day, then finished it the next. I could not put it down.

If you like thrillers, you have to give You’re Dead to Me a read!

Want to add You’re Dead to Me to your TBR? Check it out on: Goodreads Storygraph

About the Author:

Amy Christine Parker is the author of Flight 171, Gated, Astray, and Smash & Grab. She writes full-time from her home near Tampa, Florida, where she lives with her husband, their two daughters, and two very mischievous cats. Find her online at amychristineparker.com.

Follow Amy Christine Parker: