Dead Girls Don't Write Letters

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up-Sunny's older sister has been presumed dead for several months when Sunny receives a letter from Jazz explaining that she was away working in a repertory theater when her apartment burned to the ground. Then Jazz, or Not-Jazz as Sunny calls her, returns home. Her mother has become addicted to sleeping pills and Dad has fallen back into the bottle since his daughter's "death." Sunny and her father soon realize that the young woman is indeed not Jazz, even though she knows a great deal about their family history and secrets. As Sunny investigates, she begins to discover who this imposter is and how she knows so much about their family. This novel is not of the same quality as Giles's Shattering Glass (Roaring Brook, 2002), and the ending is truly a bolt from the blue. Readers' reactions may range from shock to frustration to confusion to anger that they've invested time in this book. The plot is intriguing, but the ending is just too unclear.Lynn Evarts, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WICopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. In Shattering Glass (2002), Giles gave readers a huge surprise at the book's beginning. Here a major twist, one of several, comes at the end, though it raises more questions than it answers. Ninth-grader Sunny is not entirely sad about the death of her 18-year-old sister in a New York apartment fire. Jazz's perfection has been a thorn to Sunny, but it was all that sustained their depressive mother and alcoholic father. Her death has pushed both parents over the edge. Then one day, a letter from Jazz arrives, and soon after, Jazz herself returns, claiming she was away and only recently learned about the fire. But this girl isn't really Jazz, though she does resemble her and seems to know enough about her to assume her life. Both Sunny and her father realize the truth; Mother seems not to. For a while, though, everyone is willing to have Jazz alive. This is a page-turner with sharp dialogue and psychologically intriguing viewpoints. Readers are continually kept off balance as Jazz and her motives change like shapes in a fun-house mirror. But when Sunny asks her final question, "What have I done?" readers might wish for a clearer answer. - Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
Publishers Weekly Giles proves once again that she knows intimately the workings of the adolescent mind.

Kirkus Reviews Another winner.

ANNOTATION

Fourteen-year-old Sunny is stunned when a total stranger shows up at her house posing as her older sister Jazz, who supposedly died out of town in a fire months earlier.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Things had been getting a little better until I got a letter from my dead sister. That more or less ruined my day.

When Sunny's older sister, Jazz, ran away to New York, Sunny was secretly relieved. Everyone loved Jazz, talked about Jazz, wished they were friends with Jazz. Jazz was perfect and Sunny was...well, not Jazz.

Then Jazz's apartment building burns to the ground and she is presumed dead. Sunny's family, already broken by divorce, unravels. Dad's drinking skyrockets, and Mom's depression hits an all-time nonfunctioning low. Sunny is left to cope.

Then they get a letter from Jazz saying she is coming home. But how? Jazz is dead, right?

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Sunny is stunned to receive a letter from her sister, Jazz, who was supposedly killed in an apartment fire. But the girl who soon arrives on her family's doorstep is definitely not Jazz. PW wrote, "Unraveling the mystery of this girl's identity keeps the pages turning, but the novel's strength lies in the convincing interactions between Sunny, her parents and the imposter." Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

Sunny's sister, Jasmine, died in a fire and her parents' lives seemed to have died with her. No matter how "good" Sunny is, Jasmine was always the favored child, but cruel to Sunny. A letter from Jasmine comes in the mail, and then Jasmine herself. The new Jasmine looks like her, acts like her, and slides right into the family's routine, but Sunny and her father know this is not the real Jasmine. Sunny starts investigating the fire and who this imposter might be. The ending is confusing. The fake Jasmine, the letter, and Jasmine's journal were all made up by Sunny to get her world back to normal, back to the way it was before Jasmine died; to get her mother out of depression and her father to stop drinking. Readers may identify with Sonny when they believe their parents don't love them as much as their siblings. The end comes abruptly, however, leaving readers wondering what really happened. 2003, Roaring Brook Press, Rose

VOYA - Melissa Potter

As with many young adult literature heroines, fourteen-year-old Sunny is the strongest member of her family. Absorbed in their own grief at losing their older daughter, Jazz, Sunny's parents barely acknowledge her existence. They are finally forced to take notice when Sunny announces the arrival of a letter from her supposedly dead sister stating that Jazz is on her way home. Sunny must prepare her alcoholic father and her mentally unstable mother for the return of their favorite child. When Jazz does show up, she seems different, although she looks similar and appears to know the family history. Something is not quite right, however. Sunny's challenge is to figure out if this stranger is really her sister, and if not, uncover the girl's true identity and what she is doing there. Fans of mysteries and of problem novels will gravitate toward this fast-paced, quick read from the author of Shattering Glass (Roaring Brook, 2002/VOYA June 2002). She succeeds in clearly and realistically portraying the bitterness of being the child everyone ignores in favor of a perfect older sibling. At the same time, the ending is abrupt and might frustrate readers who do not like loose ends. Discussing the possible interpretations of the ending will make for lively conversations at teen book club meetings. Recommend this book to teens in public and school libraries. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Roaring Brook, 156p,

KLIATT - Claire Rosser

To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2003: This is a slight book, a psychological thriller. The narrator is Sunny (not exactly the right name for this girl), who receives a letter from Jazz, her dead sister. Then Jazz, who Sunny sees immediately isn't really Jazz, turns up on the doorstep, and their parents are deliriously happy to have their dead teenager back home. Jazz was the older sister, the beautiful, self-centered daughter who could do no wrong in her parents' eyes. When she left home at 18 and was reported killed in a fire, her mother went into a deep depression and the father drank heavily—both ignoring their surviving daughter. There are plot twists here, which the author manages to pull off if the reader isn't too questioning. A quick read for those who want easy entertainment—fast moving and intriguing. KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 2003, Simon & Schuster, Pulse, 126p., Ages 12 to 15.

School Library Journal