This one didn't work well for me. I found the writing to be a bit choppy and hard to follow. I think it's meant to be a satire of influencers, but it didn't work so well.

I've tried to read this book a few times and it doesn't seem to stick with me. I definitely believe this is a case of the reader and not the book.

This was a well written YA Thriller. I've read so many adult thrillers, that I forget YA ones are pretty exceptional too! Loved the cover, the plot, and the unreliable narrator aspect..super excited to see more from this Author.

It wasn’t a very enjoyable read, but I felt compelled to finish, so I could know who the killer was. The characters themselves felt more like caricatures than actually fleshed out characters. There wasn’t anyone I cared enough about, and I don’t know if Shelley’s poems or Dude’s use of “dude” was more insufferable. I also wasn’t too invested in Plum’s romance. I wanted to be on the edge of my seat or scared while reading, but I didn’t feel anything but disappointed when the killer was revealed. And the confrontation with the killer was so short and underwhelming. Overall, I would have been perfectly fine not reading this book, but I could see it being an enjoyable read for others with its quick chapters and killer festival plot.

This is a book that did not bode well for me. Usually I’m a fan of mysteries but this one just did not cut it.

I had so many hopes and dreams for this book and they just didn't live up.

When this book was marketed as a thriller comedy, I was committed to loving it. But there's only so much one can do when the book keeps disappointing. To be fair, there were some things done very well, but the bad outweighed the good.

I liked that this book was written in such a way that made light of social media and influencers and whatnot. It had a campy, satirical plot which was what I was hoping and expecting from this book so I was happy about that.

Other than that, I was not a fan. The characters were annoying (which played in a bit to the whole satirical thing, but also...), the motive behind the murders was a bit contrived and pointless, and I just wasn't as invested in the book as I hoped I would be. Maybe if I would have gone in with lower expectations or if I hadn't been it in for the plot, just for a fun read, it would have been a better experience. I don't know. But this wasn't it, unfortunately.

It gave me one of us is lying meets I know what you did last summer vibes and I love it. Good book if you love mysteries, secrets, twists and murder mysteries. I can't wait for everyone to read it

This book was wild! The twists and turns throughout the book kept me on my toes. I loved the writing and the characters that we encountered in this book! I highly recommend!

𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝟐.𝟓⁣
⁣
“𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘺𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘻𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘴.”⁣⁣
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This is actually my second read of You’re So Dead. After my first go around too much time passed to do a valid review on my memory alone. Yup…it’s called the twilight years folks. For those of you who still have a memory enjoy it while it lasts! 😂⁣⁣
Seriously though I’m actually glad I reread it, because the first time I was ready to crucify it. I absolutely couldn’t stand it and considered YSD a piece of garbage in all honesty.⁣⁣
But after giving it another chance I appreciate the book more and I actually understand that this book (I think) and that it’s actually meant to be a kind of parody on social media and influencers. At least I truly hope so..lol. Whatever the case it has grown on me.⁣⁣
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Plum Winters is taking her friends to Saint Vitus for Pyre Festival, an event celebrating Music, Art and New Media for Spring Break. There they hope to meet the biggest stars and influencers of their generation and have a Spring Break to rival everyone they know. And it’s all thanks to the invitation Pyre Signs sent to one P Winters. Never mind that the P on the invite was actually intended for her older sister Peach, who is a well know and popular Instagram influencer. Peach gets requests to attend all kinds of events and Plum is sure she won’t miss one little invitation.⁣⁣
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When they arrive on the island something is not adding up. Nothing is like the brochure promised.⁣⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:⁣⁣
-A Huge Festival with the island at full capacity ⁣⁣
-Decadent Food ⁣⁣
-Famous and Notable Stars⁣⁣
-Beautiful and extravagant rooms⁣⁣
-Staff to wait on the whenever they need⁣⁣
-And of course a Fully Stocked Bar⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐭:⁣⁣
-There are just under a dozen guests total⁣⁣
-Franks and Beans is <b>the only</b> food on the menu (yummy yummy 😁)⁣⁣
-No well known stars or influencers ⁣⁣
-The Villa is definitely not 5 star and unlike on the promotion it’s in ruins⁣⁣
-Their one and only waitstaff member is Wadsworth the virtual assistant, who is truly worthless ⁣⁣
-The only drinks on the island are expired soda and to add insult to injury are generic 😱⁣⁣
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The group begins to think they’ve been punked. But realization hits it’s beyond that when one by one they begin being taken down by a killer. It seems their mysterious host has a vendetta to settle with each and every one and there’s no way off the island. Lucky Plum and friends stepped into the middle of this nightmare when all they wanted was a good time. Can they rally together and fight, figure out who’s behind this and why they’ve become the targets before it’s to late? ⁣⁣
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𝐏𝐫𝐨’𝐬:⁣⁣
-This is a very quick and easy read.⁣⁣
-Even though the subject matter is murder it’s actually done in a comical way and pretty campy for the most part. So if that’s your thing this book may be for you.⁣⁣
-I actually wasn’t sure who the killer was. I think the author did a great job keeping readers guessing.⁣⁣
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𝐂𝐨𝐧’𝐬:⁣⁣
-At times the writing felt very immature ⁣⁣
-I did not like ANY of the characters. Even Plum the MC who was very whiny and more interested in her love life than she should be with a killer on her heels⁣⁣
-The whole reason for the killings was just…WTF. But it does kind of work with the campy cheese factor.⁣⁣
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This wasn’t terrible the second time around. But I do think this is meant for a younger reader, who will probably appreciate the writing and humor more than I did. Also I recommend YSD to readers who love camp and cheesiness, this will definitely be the book for you. 😁⁣⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

This book was really good! I loved how there was so many different characters and how you never knew who was next or what was going to happen!

Not a huge fan. Felt like I was reading a middle school novel. I was initially very intrigued by the plot, but I felt it was lacking in the "adult" part of YA. I felt like this ended up being more of a romance-y novel, but I thought the plot was supposed to be about murder?

This was a campy young adult mystery with a few horror elements that also had moments of banter and funny lines that gave a pause in the story that I enjoyed. A group of pseudo famous influencers realize that someone has brought them together to die. It was entertaining, but also had me wondering if any were going to find.

This YA thriller was interesting to say the least. I gave it four stars because it did keep me guessing the entire time. It definitely has a more comedic vibe to it than thriller.

You’re So Dead follows Plum Winter and her two friends as they crash an invitation only Influencer festival. Once there though they soon discover not everything is as promised. There are no A-List celebrities or a fancy resort. Everything seems run down.

Soon they find out the real reason they were invited. Someone wants them all dead. Realizing they picked the wrong festival to crash, Plum and her friends do their best to stay alive and outsmart the killer.

This book did have some good scary moments, but again overall more funny than thriller. It did keep me hooked with the short chapters that kept you coming back for more.

Ash Parsons is back with a murder mystery. Follow Plum and her friends in what they thought was going to be a fun spring break turns out to be survival of the fittest. Plum and her friends have to survive and learn who is out to kill them. A hilarious adventure perfect for fans of One of Us if Lying and Truly Devious.

Meh. This was a little immature for my tastes. It is a YA novel but more emphasis on the younger crowd. There was a slight interesting element for the mystery but overall this just fell really flat for me.

What it really boiled down to for me was the execution of the premise being nothing at all what I felt like I was going to get when I heard the synopsis. Even once I had started reading and the events started to play out I just could not find myself invested because the characters were comically stupid. Not even in the fun way that the slasher genre can make characters behave, because intelligence would mean there isn't a story. But in a way that just wasn't fun to read about, particularly with the cast of characters that had been assembled. It also didn't help that I thought the revelation of the killer to be mediocre with a motivationt hat didn't make sense.

This was just a no for me. I think it had potential for maybe the mid-teen demographic but it didn’t work for my late thirties self. I’m going to give it to my 14 year old and see if it’s a winner for him. It might be.

This YA-murder mystery thriller was a really fun read about 3 best-friends who sneak into a social influencer exclusive luxurious Pyre Festival located on a tiny, isolated island (a mockery of the real failed luxury music festival, Fyre). Turns out Pyre Festival is rather…..a murder festival as the small group of 12 gets killed off one by one. They try to figure out who the killer is amongst them & survive. THis book was definitely inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (which I’m currently reading!)

While it was a bit odd at first, it got pretty exciting as people started dying off. It reminds me of the game “Clue” which was my favorite childhood game. I love story/games involving about a large group of people & one of them is the killer – it’s really fun trying to figure out who it is! Not that I’m morbid or anything but reading this is like when you can’t stop watching a stupid horror movie with dumb young adults making idiotic decisions. My favorite character was Warix cause he was such a troll and he had some really funny lines.

“This is hell” Warix said, “Did we all die in the kitchen? ‘cause this is definitely hell”.
“Warix asked, that snarky smile taking on a mean twist of game recognizes game. ‘Don’t you get it?, This is all deliberate’.”

The romantic subplot was distracting & reading about the main characters feelings about another character was distracting and felt out of place.

Author Ash Parsons is a graduate of Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Clown College. How cool is that?

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley & Penguin Teen for this ARC!

I will not be fully reviewing this book. I started it, but was not in the right mindset to finish it. I was definitely appreciative of the content, and will surely pick it up again soon. I will then fully review.

Ok I really liked this book and don't understand why more people haven't talked about it! This was a great YA thriller and loved every minute of it. I couldn't figure out who the killer was until they revealed it. Great book, highly recommend.