Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez

Published by Harcourt Inc.
Distributed by Raincoast Books

High School can be a nightmare and very rarely do students make it through the experience unscathed. For Daisy Giordano, high school just got a whole lot worse. Her mother and sisters have psychic abilities and though Daisy's mother is convinced that Daisy is just a slow developer, it doesn't make her 'norm' status any easier to bear.

Throw in the fact that the head cheerleader has just returned from summer break looking somewhat dead and random female teens have been showing up dead (or very close to it) and it's very clear that something nasty is happening in the town of Nightshade. Whatever it is, it seems to be revolving around the Nightshade High cheerleading team. As members of the team are falling victim to some unexplained weirdness, new talent has to be found and Daisy is taken on as a new addition. Hopefully she is in a better position to help solve this mystery before anyone else gets hurt.

'Dead is the New Black' is a highly addictive read which drew me in from the very first page. The writing style is perfectly descriptive - enough detail to paint a very clear image in the mind of the reader, yet not enough to take away from the fast pace of the story. The characters are equally as well written and it's not often easy to become attached to characters within such a quick read but I found myself dreading the end of the book. Thankfully it seems there will be a couple of sequels at least, including 'Dead is a State of Mind' which should already be available and which I hope to review soon.

This is the first book I have read by Marlene Perez but it certainly won't be the last. This book is a welcome addition to my bookshelf and it's a sure-fire winner as a gift for any girls over the age of 12.

Author's website: http://www.marleneperez.com