ARC Review: Playlist For the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

Title: Playlist For the Dead
Author: Michelle Falkoff
Publication: January 27th 2015 by HarperTeen
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: Provided by the kind publisher...
Goodreads

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.

-- My Rating --

4/5 Oscars: Really Liked It

-- My Thoughts --

    I was in mood for some dark contemporary when I stumbled upon this one. I think I put a lot of expectations into this book and it almost reached them.
     There's nothing left after Hayden dies. Only a playlist of songs that he leaves for his best friend, Sam. Sam doesn't get what happened and everything changes when he meets Astrid and her group of misfits. And Sam begins to question everything that has happened.
     First thing I loved about this book is the main character, Sam. I loved him. He felt so real, with his inner turmoil and his insecurities. A real fleshed-out character. Then, there's Astrid. I was very conflicted about my feelings for her. She reminded me a bit of Alaska from John Green's Looking For Alaska. The whole mysterious sexy girl attitude. The other characters were all one-dimensional. I didn't feel much for them.
     Then, there's the romance aspect. The romance was such a sweet and fluffy thing. I loved how it started from scratch and grew into a more stable thing. But the plot definitely surprised me. I didn't expect the ending chapters and they were somehow of a shock, but a good kind of one.
     The reference to the playlist and all those songs was very enjoyable! The ending was bittersweet and hopeful and I loved it. I am not such a big fan of happily ever afters so this was perfect for me. Although this book was not my favorite, I am definitely waiting for more books from the author.