Dead Girls Don’t Say Sorry

Gr 9 Up–Julia and Nora have been best friends since the fourth grade. While their friendship hasn’t been perfect, Nora has always believed Julia had her best interests at heart. When Julia dies in a tragic accident halfway through their senior year, Nora must reckon with her grief and the undeniable truth that Julia was not only a bad friend, but a toxic one. The story is told in alternating chapters set before and after the accident; the “before” chapters provide a front-row seat to the unraveling of Julia and Nora’s friendship. When Nora’s world begins to expand as she develops feelings for her former best friend Dillan and starts to make plans for college, Julia resorts to subterfuge, gaslighting, and manipulation in a desperate attempt to keep her close. While Nora blames herself for the accident that claims Julia’s life, it isn’t until months later that she begins to unravel all of Julia’s lies. How do you grieve someone when you are furious with them? With the unwavering support of Dillan, and their friend Eve, Nora slowly begins to figure it out. The main characters cue white. While the secondary characters could benefit from more depth, there is some diversity amongst them. Eve is Sri Lankan and a lesbian, Dillan has two moms, and his little sister, Angie, has dark skin.