ARC Review: Dead Girl Running by Ann M. Noser
Title: Dead Girl Running
Author: Ann M. Noser
Pages: 225
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Publish Date: October 26, 2015
Synopsis: Eight years ago, SILVIA WOOD's father died in an industrial accident. After suffering through years of Psychotherapy Services and Mandated Medications for depression and multiple suicide attempts, she longs to work in Botanical Sciences. When the Occupation Exam determines she must work in Mortuary Sciences instead, she wonders if the New Order assigned her to the morgue to push her over the edge.
To appease her disappointed mother, Silvia enters the Race for Citizen Glory, in an attempt to stand out in the crowd of Equals. After she begins training with "golden boy" LIAM HARMAN, she discovers he also lost his father in the same accident that ruined her childhood. Then Silvia meets and falls for Liam's older cousin, whose paranoid intensity makes her question what really happened to her father. As the race nears, Silvia realizes that she's not only running for glory, she's running for her life.
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Cover: The cover is very interesting, except there’s a lot going on. I like everything except for the font that the title and byline is in. It doesn’t really fit the book at all.
Characters: Alright, alright, alright, I kind of like this bunch of characters. They are all pretty cool even though some of them *cough* Liam *cough* are dumb. They are intriguing people and I loved guessing how they were all connected. There were some things that were unbelieveable, like Silvia falling for Franco so quickly.
I did not like Silvia. Her growing as a character wasn’t actually clear to me. She started to hate and not trust the government without really giving a reason why. (SPOILER) At the end she states that she wants to bring the government down, but I wasn’t quite sure how she had gotten their. Why exactly did she hate them so much? I get that they killed a bunch of people and were horrible (like all dystopian novels) but why does Silvia feel as if she has to be the one to bring them down? (END SPOILERS)
Plot: I am a sucker for dystopian novels. They are my one weakness, and I can always be caught reading them. The only thing about the dystopian genre is that each book pretty much has the same plot. The government is in complete control and their is a group of rebels that needs to stop them. It’s the same thing over and over again. You know, I’d really like to read a dystopian book that takes place after a group of rebels have destroyed the damaged government. Because they don’t share how they are going to fix everything, they just bring one ruler down. Instead of doing this here, I’ll do it in a RBL post. Let’s get back to the review.
I felt as if I had read this book before. There were different characters and different events that led up to the big change/decision, but it was the same. There were some different twists added, but it was still the same idea.
I liked it, but I felt as if I was reading it for the second time. It wasn’t exactly original.
Ending: A problem that I had with this novel was that it didn’t do a good job of keeping track of time. Here I was reading it thinking that it was like a day after or something, but weeks had passed. I was so confused.
The ending of Dead Girl Running seemed rushed. I had to go back and re-read a few parts because I became confused. It didn’t really state how the characters had gotten to this point. It was confusing.
Overall: I really hate writing bad reviews. I requested this book being iffy about it. It was a last minute decision that I added to my list because it was dystopian. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, and I normally don’t do that. I don’t read books that I think I’m not going to like. That’s why a lot of my reviews are good.
I was so disappointed in Dead Girl Running. It was captivating but confusing. The characters were good, but the plot was the same. I liked the running parts because you don’t really read about running a lot (well, I don’t cause I hate it), but it was unique. Oh! And there’s a glossary in the back of the book so I learned a lot about running lol.
I didn’t have high hopes for Dead Girl Running, but I wish it had more high points.
About the Author
My to-do list dictates that I try to cram 48 hours of living into a day instead of the usual 24. I’ve chosen a life filled with animals. I train for marathons with my dog, then go to work as a small animal veterinarian, and finish the day by tripping over my pets as I attempt to convince my two unruly children that YES, it really IS time for bed. But I can’t wait until the house is quiet to write; I have to steal moments throughout the day. Ten minutes here, a half hour there, I live within my imagination.
Like all busy American mothers, I multi-task. I work out plot holes during runs. Instead of meditating, I type madly during yoga stretches. I find inspiration in everyday things: a beautiful smile, a heartbreaking song, or a newspaper article on a political theory. For example, a long drive in the dark listening to an NPR program on the SMILEY FACE MURDERS theory made me ask so many questions that I wrote HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS to answer them to my satisfaction.
I’d love to have more time to write (and run, read, and sleep), but until I find Hermione Granger’s time turner, I will juggle real life with the half-written stories in my head. Main characters and plot lines intertwine in my cranium, and I need to let my writing weave the tales on paper so I can find out what happens next.
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