A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Quick Info:
Book type: Chapter Book
Target age: 14-18 years old
Recommended age: None
Plot: Pippa, a highschooler and true crime fanatic decides to do her her final year project for school about the Andie Bell case. A girl who was allegedly murdered 5 years by her boyfriend, Sal Singh.
Review:
I wasn’t really sure what to expect when reading this book but I was disappointed at how it went. From just a literary perspective the characters weren’t likable and while the plot had some twists it didn’t feel like anything new. Andie turns out to be a horrible person with a secret relationship with a teacher. There’s drugs, sexual cyberbullying and plenty of conversations about sex and drugs with most of the characters partaking in both. If I read or watched about Andie’s case as if it were real then it would have been interesting but with Pippa in the mix it was kind of cringe for a lack of better words.
Opinion:
I wouldn’t recommended allowing your child to read this book because the content is disturbing and I would worry this would inspire copycat behavior as the main character is deemed a hero after she uncovers the secret of Andie’s death. I was recommended this book by someone and was told there was “nothing bad in it” and was very surprised about what I found.
Content:
Sexual conversations such as mentioning of adult film stars and other conversations regarding sex. Asking if characters are virgins and their sexual history. Rumors of incest and mentioning of masturbation. Characters send nude pictures. A high school student has a romantic and sexual relationship with a teacher.
Excessive cursing (sh—, f-bombs etc etc)
Pip’s best friend is lesbian
Mention of self-harm
Mention and description of committing suicide with sleeping pills
Characters drink alcohol, get drunk and go to house parties.
Characters talk and interact with drugs.
A character refers to himself as “a god” twice.
Roofing drinks
Mentions rape//A character ends up being a serial rapist and admits it in the book
A male character attempts to forcefully kiss a character
Characters talk about using a Ouija store
Excerpts:
Excerpts from books are a glimpse of the content that is found and are not every instance of un-Islamic and/or “iffy” content.
Due to the excessive vulgarities in this book it was difficult to share excerpts of this book in an Islamic way. If you have any specific questions about this book please email me.
