Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls

Gr 10 Up—June's best friend, Delia, is dead. Everyone keeps telling her it was suicide, but June isn't convinced. What's worse, Delia's drunken downward spiral got so bad in the last year that she and June barely spoke. The person June knew best in the world was almost like a stranger to her. Jeremiah, Delia's boyfriend whom June barely knows, soon draws her into an impromptu investigation. Meanwhile, the teen leans on her own boyfriend, Ryan, for support—but their relationship becomes strained when she begins to suspect that he's lying to her. Then there's Ashling, Delia's most recent bestie, who provides June with a suicide note from Delia. Is this yet another lie? As June begins uncovering the conspiracy surrounding Delia's demise, she realizes too late that she's put herself in danger. This pulse-pounding mystery is intercut with intense memories of the two girls growing up. Through these flashbacks, readers meet the free spirited, irreparably damaged Delia. Weingarten keeps the tension taut; every time June resolves to answer a question, it raises two more. The novel is quietly suspenseful; readers will be draw to the well-written and well-rounded characters—even the supporting players. Thoughtful and provocative, this will be a hard book for teen readers to put down until the thrilling, twisted end.