This was such a surprise for me! I thought I would like it but I actually ended up loving this book. Ritany handles grief, friendship, and romance in such a delicate way. I was also surprised by how well those elements were presented with the dual timelines and it never felt muddy or underdone.

In alternating chapters Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry chronicles the years before and after Nora Radford's best friend Julia dies in a car accident. The two have been inseparable since fifth grade and plan to go to McGill University together. But then Nora gets the opportunity to apply early admission for a journalism program a TMU, and things between the girls begin to deteriorate. Complicating matters, Nora's childhood friend Dillan moves back to town, and they rekindle their friendship, making Julia jealous. The truth about the girls' toxic relationship is slowly revealed, as Nora discovers Julia's betrayals that have sabotaged her future. Nora struggles with her feelings of guilt and grief over Julia's death, as she processes what really happened. The author's pacing, dialogue and characters propel the reader through Julia's gut-wrenching discoveries, as she tries to make peace with what happened and move on with her life.

Such a great story about friendships and how toxic they can be without noticing. Great characters and great pacing!

I was beyond excited for this book and though there were a lot of things I liked about it—like its exploration of toxic friendships, which is a topic close to my heart—I ultimately wanted more of an emotional punch.

This story is told on two different timelines: before and after the death of Julia, the best friend of our main character, Nora. I loved the back and forth chapters, although I wasnt sure about it at first. Julia and Nora are fast friends in middle school after Julia moves to town. When the story opens, they are in high school and things have changed a bit.

I found Nora to be extremely naive and even blind to the actions and words of Julia. She wanted to believe in her so badly, she overlooked a million red flags (and the whole red flag parade). That's really the only bad oart to this story because so many times, I was saying, "Good lord, this kid can't be this stupid. Wake up Nora!"

Still, it's a really great story in the end and I think my students will really like this one. Hopefully they never have a BFF like Julia.

I really enjoyed reading this book as it explores Nora’s feelings through this tough time. Nora was conflicted about feeling bad about her best friend, Julia’s death and glad at the same time. After Julia’s death, Nora uncovers the rumors and secrets Julia had spread to everyone. Nora was conflicted because Julia was known as a “bully” but was best friends with Nora for a long time. One thing I didn’t like about the book is that some parts were vague. For instance, when Julia and Dilian were uncovering Julia’s web of lies there wasn’t a ton of detail. This made it hard to follow. Although, the flow of the book made it possible to follow even without a lot of detail.

I had to sit on this one for a few days before finally deciding on what to say. How is this a debut?! I finished this book in one sitting and absolutely loved every page - the plot, the character development, the themes...all of it!

I think I'll start with the characters. I LOVED Nora - I just wanted to hug her the entire story! She was relatable, strong, and introspective. As someone who struggled in middle/high school and is now a middle school teacher myself, this brings back a lot of memories. Many of us have had a "Julia" in our lives and felt torn between positive friendship memories as well as toxic ones. It addresses how grief can come in waves while simultaneously feeling confusing; Nora felt conflicted about feeling both upset and relieved after the death of her friend. She grew tremendously from start to finish and I rooted for her the entire time! And Dillan. Oh my gosh I loved Dillan. He was that awesome friend without being too overbearing or clingy - we all need a Dillan! Despite the bouts of miscommunication, I'm glad they had each other and that their friendship stood the test of time. And Eva - what a character! She was the perfect addition who also played a vital role in Nora's recovery and development.

As for the writing, it was snappy, fast-paced, and felt authentic to ways that teenagers thing and speak. The alternating timelines moved quickly enough to keep you hooked without dragging on or giving too much away too quickly. While I had a good idea of what was coming at the end, the detail and conversations still shocked me!

I'm glad this story was written even though I (fortunately) can't imagine what it must have been like to experience something like this at such a young age. It teaches readers about grief, friendship, and standing up for yourself. I already plan on pitching this one to our school library as I know a lot of teenagers will find comfort and power in this writing. I honestly can't believe this is a debut novel. I can't wait to see what Ritany comes out with next!