Status
Available
Call number
Call number
FIC COM
Collection
Description
Sixteen-year-old Helen Commanda is found dead just outside Thunder Creek, Ontario. Her murder goes unremarked, except for the fact that it may shed light on the earlier disappearance of Chloe Shaughnessy. Chloe is beautiful, rich and white. Helen is plain, and from the reservation. They had nothing in common except that they were teenage girls from an unforgiving small town. Only Chloe's best friend Jenny Parker knows exactly how unforgiving, but she's keeping some dangerous secrets of her own. Jenny begins looking for answers about Helen's life and death, trying to understand larger questions about her town and her best friend. But what can a teenage girl really accomplish where adults have failed? And how much is Jenny actually complicit in a conspiracy of silence?… (more)
Genres
Publication
Penguin Teen (2018), Edition: Reprint, 304 pages
Original language
English
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member SheriAWilkinson
The Lives of Desperate Girls by MacKenzie Common
In a small Northern Canadian town, Thunder Creek, two girls are missing. Helen, a Native, is found dead outside of town. Another local girl Chloe is missing. Chloe is rich, white and beautiful. Helen is plain, ordinary and from the(Native)
Jenny, Chloe's best friend, decides to look into the life of Helen, a girl she should have known but doesn't. She starts to look for answers and a possible connection to Chloe's disappearance. But in a small town filled with secrets, Jenny is about to start something she may not want answers to. She has stayed silent and must decide what to do with those secrets. Will she make the right choices?
Young Jenny is faced with adult decisions. She digs deep needing to know the truth. She puts herself in danger digging for answers. She is determined to find out all she can about Helen, the girl that no one seems to care about.
Intense dialog, vivid details and fast paced, I was hooked from the first page. Young jenny and Chloe live a pretty good life, but they do share some secrets. Secrets that haunt Jenny. Watching how jenny faces her moral dilemma, was at times very intense. The plot is (emotionally) haunting, yet very believable.
The events that happen (to both Helen and Chloe) are frighteningly real. Jenny's situation is one no one would ever dream of, or want to happen (to them). The Lives of Desperate Girls is an emotional read, I highly recommend to Young Adult as well as Adult readers.
* Received this book from Library thing in exchange for an honest review.
In a small Northern Canadian town, Thunder Creek, two girls are missing. Helen, a Native, is found dead outside of town. Another local girl Chloe is missing. Chloe is rich, white and beautiful. Helen is plain, ordinary and from the(Native)
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Reservation. Neither has anything in common, nor did they know each other. Jenny, Chloe's best friend, decides to look into the life of Helen, a girl she should have known but doesn't. She starts to look for answers and a possible connection to Chloe's disappearance. But in a small town filled with secrets, Jenny is about to start something she may not want answers to. She has stayed silent and must decide what to do with those secrets. Will she make the right choices?
Young Jenny is faced with adult decisions. She digs deep needing to know the truth. She puts herself in danger digging for answers. She is determined to find out all she can about Helen, the girl that no one seems to care about.
Intense dialog, vivid details and fast paced, I was hooked from the first page. Young jenny and Chloe live a pretty good life, but they do share some secrets. Secrets that haunt Jenny. Watching how jenny faces her moral dilemma, was at times very intense. The plot is (emotionally) haunting, yet very believable.
The events that happen (to both Helen and Chloe) are frighteningly real. Jenny's situation is one no one would ever dream of, or want to happen (to them). The Lives of Desperate Girls is an emotional read, I highly recommend to Young Adult as well as Adult readers.
* Received this book from Library thing in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member LynnB
I really enjoyed this book. It tells the story of two missing girls in a Northern Ontario town: Chloe Shaughnessy, a blonde from the good side of town is missing; Helen Commanda, a Native from the Reservation, has been found murdered. The story features Jenny, Chloe's best friend who is keeping the
The story is fast-paced and, for the most part, plausible. The characters are well developed and watching Jenny having to make adult choices and decisions....sometimes well and sometimes less so....brought a real depth to her as a character.
I would recommend this book for adults as well as young adults. And I'd read more by this author for sure.
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secret of Chloe's social difficulties at school from the police. Chloe is struck by the way kids at school, and the authorities, place so much more importance on Chloe's case than Helen's. In this, the author is telling part of Canada's story, and the reason we have an ongoing national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.The story is fast-paced and, for the most part, plausible. The characters are well developed and watching Jenny having to make adult choices and decisions....sometimes well and sometimes less so....brought a real depth to her as a character.
I would recommend this book for adults as well as young adults. And I'd read more by this author for sure.
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LibraryThing member Susan.Macura
This is one of the best written young adult books that I have ever read. Kudos to the author for this. It is wonderful to read a book written for this audience that does not "dumb down" the language used so that a book becomes "more user friendly to a wider audience." In this novel, Jenny Parker,
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an average teen from Northern Ontario in Canada, deals with coming from a single parent home where money is tight. Her best friend, Chloe, comes from a much more affluent background with two parents who obviously love her. However, something bad happened to Chloe, as she is missing. Soon after her disappearance, the body of Helen, a teen from the local Native reserve, is found dead in the snow. As Jenny becomes more and more fascinated by this murder with the aid of her new friends, she discovers just how badly the Natives are treated by those who control the area. This is a wonderfully insightful look at how lives are impacted by the actions of others - especially when issues of bullying, consent, race and crime are involved. It is a story of understanding and hope, one where things can change, if only incrementally. I recommend this book for both teens and adults because of the quality of the writing and timely insights. Show Less
LibraryThing member foreverreading
To be honest, it took me awhile to get into this book, but once I did, I had a hard time putting it down. Common has a way with words that make all of her descriptions so vivid and easy to visualize. I could picture Thunder Creek and it seemed as though I was there with Jenny on her quest for
A great first work by Common and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
*I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.*
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justice. While I could have done without the attempt at a love story tangent, I was completely drawn into the mystery of the girls of Thunder Creek. It was a perfect description of how nasty high school can be when you are different that what people want you to be. A great first work by Common and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
*I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.*
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LibraryThing member maryintexas39
I was quite surprised by"The lives of desperate girls" by MacKenzie Common. Even though it's a "teen" book I believe it a good read for adult audiences as well. It is the story of two missing girls in a small Canadian town, and the best friend of one who is left behind. It is a thriller, but
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ultimately a took about racism, and bullying. I would recommend this book to readers (I work in a bookstore). I look forward to future books by Miss Common. Show Less
LibraryThing member veeshee
I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have mixed feelings about this novel because there are a few things that the author does that I like but an equal amount of things that I don't like. I really liked that the author highlighted the problems
I have mixed feelings about this novel because there are a few things that the author does that I like but an equal amount of things that I don't like. I really liked that the author highlighted the problems
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of the First Nations people of Canada. Not many people are aware of their struggles and the things they have endured - and continue to endure - are heartbreaking. And the author really does do justice to them: she tells it like it is. I only wish it had been told from the perspective of an actual Native and not just from that of a white teenage girl. While Jenny is definitely trying to understand and be aware of the oppression and racism that the Aboriginal people face, I don't think she is necessarily the best spokesperson for it since she really isn't a part of their community or culture. I wish there had been more emphasis on the way life is on the reserves and the traditions that the First Nations value, as that would have allowed the reader to see some of the wonderful aspects of their culture. However, the idea that a Native girl's death is not as important as a Caucasian girl's disappearance was an interesting one and I think the author did a really good job of bringing that to the forefront. I actually found the writing style compelling, even if it was confusing to follow at times what with the various jumps in time that Jenny took; it was hard to tell if something was happening in the present or if it was just a memory. I did not like the love angle that the author tried to force into the situation; it didn't add anything to the novel and it was not well planned or executed. It was literally just two teenagers hooking up and doing drugs and drinking, none of which screams romance or bonding. I didn't like the incompetence of the cops, and I'm not just referring to their dismissal over the case of Helen. I'm referring to the almost comical way they question and interrogate Jenny over Chloe's disappearance; you would think adults would know how to run an investigation and ask the right questions but clearly, that is not the case in this novel. The author also takes on another topic: slut-shaming. While I think this is an important topic to discuss, I don't really like Jenny's role in that aspect and I wish the author had made her more ... sensible or intelligent. I also didn't really like how things were resolved in the novel because, well, it didn't really feel resolved. I understand that not everything can have a happy ending but this just felt messy and unfinished. Overall, I think the author chose 2 very important topics to center her novel around. While the writing was compelling, the main character's decisions as well as the actual ending of the novel left me disappointed. For those reasons, I'm giving this novel a 2/5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member amazzuca26
I loved this book. MacKenzie Common does a fantastic job of spinning a terrific crime mystery with deeper meaning and issues than any other crime book I have ever read. Teenagers trying to fit in, peer pressure, best friends, discrimination, segregation, poverty and more are all delicately balanced
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in this wonderful book. Perfect read for a snow day. I can't wait to read more from this author. Show Less
LibraryThing member ireneattolia
Excellent premise addressing timely issues of modern racism in Canada, but is saddled with the world's dullest protagonist, mediocre writing, and an uncomfortable romance.
LibraryThing member oceancat
I really enjoyed this book. It was nothing like what I was expecting, and it was sad and cold and messy, but it made me think, and I really didn’t know what to expect almost to the end. The main character is dealing with her grief from her best friend being missing, and she does it by looking
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into the murder of another girl. Wouldn’t the police be a better choice for that? Yes, but they aren’t really looking. The book deals with a number of important issues, and I think it realistically portrays how people respond to tragedies in real life, for better and for worse Show Less
LibraryThing member VavaViolet
This book made me sad, not because it wasn't well-written but because it reiterated the fact that there is still so much discrimination that exists in this world. Discrimination based on race, gender and status in life. There is so many layers to this story, it's about friendship, family, love,
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loss, bad decisions and self-discovery. Most importantly, it gives us insight on the effects of bullying and how cruel people can be. My only qualm is the pacing, I found it a bit slow-paced. I also didn't care much for the protagonist, she is quite irritating and irrational. That being said, the story is still impactful in the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member Gwnfkt12
This book ticked all the boxes - it had teen romance, murder/ mystery/ suspense, small town life, and racial tensions. As difficult as the subject matter (the murder of teen Native Helen causes Jenny to refocus her life instead of thinking about the mysterious disappearance of her best friend
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Chloe), this was an enjoyable read. The touch of romance between Jenny and Tom felt real but never detracted from the rest of the story. As Jenny develops relationships with people in the town she never spoke to before Chloe's disappearance, and we start to see the town of Thunder Creek as a whole, Common paints a detailed picture of small town life. Show Less
LibraryThing member sennebec
A coming of age story that is equal parts beautiful, grim, and insightful. Jenny holds secrets about the last night she saw her best friend tightly, unsure whether to tell anyone. Chloe's last few months were torture for reasons mostly beyond her control. When another girl, Helen, who lives on a
When Jenny realizes brooding Tom, a senior at school, is willing to help investigate and might have a romantic interest in her, it leads to a number of events, some dangerous, others painful, but the most important ones opening her eyes to the frailty of those around her. An excellent story and I hope to read more by the author in the future.
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nearby reservation, is found murdered on a remote trail, it isn't long before Jenny starts wondering why this girl isn't getting anywhere near the attention from local police as Chloe's disappearance is.When Jenny realizes brooding Tom, a senior at school, is willing to help investigate and might have a romantic interest in her, it leads to a number of events, some dangerous, others painful, but the most important ones opening her eyes to the frailty of those around her. An excellent story and I hope to read more by the author in the future.
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LibraryThing member cgrizwold
While this is geared towards YA readers I will say the drama had me hooked. A younger scene then my typical thriller reads but just a juicy and gripping
ISBN
0143198734 / 9780143198734