MISS PICKEL'S PICKS

  I haven’t updated my blog in so long - I’ve been in a little of a reading slump and very much in a writing slump. But I’ve read a few really good books lately and I want to talk about them! The first one is Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet. The title and the cover drew my attention right away - of course I love the pink cover! The book is based on the classic novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. My mother was a librarian and she really wanted me to read Little Women when I was young, but I wouldn’t. I didn’t like sad books (I still don’t) and as soon as I heard that one of the sisters, Beth, dies at the end I refused to read it. In Little Women Beth dies from an illness, but in this modern retelling she is murdered. I love mystery/thrillers and I also love retellings, so I figured this would be the perfect book for me. And it was! The story grabbed my attention right from the start. It’s told in alternating chapters by the four March sisters: Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy. Their father ...

  The popular clique at Claflin Academy made a pact that they would each apply to a different Ivy League school. On early decision day Olivia, the main character, is surprised to learn that Emma secretly applied to Harvard, which was supposed to be reserved for Avery, the Queen Bee of the group. The next day Emma is found dead and Olivia, who had also secretly applied to Harvard, starts to investigate her death. Making things more complicated, Olivia and Emma both get into Harvard, but Avery doesn't. This is my favorite genre blend - a mystery/thriller set at a boarding school with a Gossip Girls/Mean Girls vibe. This book has it all: a protagonist worth rooting for, a mystery filled with red herrings, and a super fast pace. I highly recommend it!