Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley

I think this book might have changed my brain chemistry. HERE LIES A VENGEFUL BITCH is about resident bad girl, Annabel Lane, who wakes up and can't remember what she did last night. All she knows is that her ex-boyfriend might have been involved and she left her house looking like a break-in. But then she keeps coughing up dirty water filled with pine needles and people seem surprised to see her. And she starts to wonder if maybe the reason she can't remember anything might be because someone tried to kill her-- or if she's even alive now.

This was such a good book. I loved the "unlikable" heroine and how she was portrayed. I loved how deftly the author showed how creepy men can be, and how dangerous the world is to an overconfident teenager who wants to be brave and loved for who she is in a world that hates women who break the mold. (Although, I mean, I hated it, too.) I loved the tempestuous portrayal of female friendships. And I loved the fast-talking fifties love interest who wore Buddy Holly glasses and quoted retro science fiction.

HERE LIES A VENGEFUL BITCH is kind of like a cross between Donnie Darko, The Frighteners, and Beetlejuice. If you like gothic-coded paranormals in the vein of Lovely Bones and other books from the "dead girl" era of late aughts YA, you'll love this.

I absolutely cannot wait to read whatever else this author writes.

5 out of 5 stars