Book Review: "Playlist For the Dead" by Michelle Falkoff

Title: "Playlist For the Dead"

Author: Michelle Falkoff

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 288

Publication Date: January 27th 2015

                                  Synopsis:

A teenage boy tries to understand his best friend's suicide by listening to the playlist of songs he left behind in this smart, voice-driven debut novel.


Here's what Sam knows: There was a party. There was a fight. The next morning, his best friend, Hayden, was dead. And all he left Sam was a playlist of songs, and a suicide note: For Sam—listen and you'll understand.

As he listens to song after song, Sam tries to face up to what happened the night Hayden killed himself. But it's only by taking out his earbuds and opening his eyes to the people around him that he will finally be able to piece together his best friend’s story. And maybe have a chance to change his own.

Part mystery, part love story, and part coming-of-age tale in the vein of Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Tim Tharp’s The Spectacular Now, Playlist for the Dead is an honest and gut-wrenching first novel about loss, rage, what it feels like to outgrow a friendship that's always defined you—and the struggle to redefine yourself. But above all, it's about finding hope when hope seems like the hardest thing to find. (taken from goodreads)

Review:

When I read the synopsis for this book, I immediately felt keen anticipation for it. It sounded like the kind of book that I would love. I was able to get my hands on it a few weeks ago and now I finally got the chance to read it. And I'm so happy I did.

As opposed to my other reviews, I won't be writing a small summary of the plot simply because I feel like it might spoil the story for you. And I don't want to do that! I do want to mention all the things I loved about this book. So keep on reading!

As you might be able to tell from the title, a big part of "Playlist For the Dead" is centered around music. As a music obsessed person, this really made the book even more special to me. I found it to be extremely unique the way that there was a song listed at the beginning of each chapter. It really added substance to the story. I recommend listening to the songs listed while reading the book. You'll thank me later. Also, kudos to the author on her taste in music!

The writing in this book was impeccable. I really liked how the story flowed perfectly. There wasn't a single dull moment. Everything about the story was gripping and I couldn't put this book down. Which is probably why I finished this in two days. The story is so engrossing, you'll get completely sucked in. It is also very easy to read so there's that! Plus the main character's voice was great and very enjoyable to read. He was awesome as character overall! All of the character's were great, actually. They had depth and really interesting traits that made them all different in their own way. They really influenced my emotions throughout the story which to me is an obvious sign of the books greatness. As well as the author's undeniable talent.

I am not related nor do I know of anyone close to me that has committed suicide. Hence i don't have concrete knowledge on the subject. However, I do think that the author portrayed the sensitive subject extremely well. It all felt truthful and honest. Including the romantic aspects.  Although, the book is centered more around those who are affected by another person's decision to take his/her own life. You see, It focuses more on how to deal with the loss and how to stop blaming yourself. How to get some sort of closure, eventually.

A real pleasant surprise were the LGBTQ+ aspects in this book! I wasn't aware of this previous to reading the book, but I was ecstatic once I started reading. I feel like this is really growing in the YA community and, personally, I'm all for it. Diversity is definitely needed in YA.

Everything in this book was well-written and articulated. It was a pleasant but haunting read that will appeal to a lot of people. A lot of it stays with you and arises a lot of thoughts. It's a memorable read; one that'll be circulating in your head even after you finish reading it.

Rating:

5/ 5

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