Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez

This is the first book in Marlene Perez's "Dead is..." series.

In my never ending quest to find another engaging teen series like "Twilight" I found this book while shopping at Target last year. I liked the bright colored cover, and the description on the back sounded a little different, and like it could be cute, so why not, right? Read on the see exactly "why not".

I'm not sure if Marlene Perez is herself a teenager, or if she simply is not giving them, as her intended audience, enough credit, but this book is written as if the audience is stupid. There are "hints" to upcoming plot points and by "hints" I mean all but saying the exact words. I will give you an example. We are introduced to a man who is described as having hair the color of a dog the main character once had and eyes like a wolf, but "oh, it's probably nothing", until a chapter or two later it's revealed that he's a werewolf. Big shock. The book is FULL of these "twists and turns" and no one is shocked.

In addition to being very predictable, the book also lacks description and detail. Characters minds are changed with little to no discussion and the plot is rushed along. Not that the plot is that deep anyway, but it would have been nice to understand why the main character went from not liking cheerleading to wanting to be the "best cheerleader ever" in one paragraph.

I know people complain about Stephenie Meyer being a "bad writer", but she's hardly the worst and they all can't be Tolkien or even Stephen King. Perez is in a different league then even Meyer.

Bottom line: Much like the Morganville Vampire Series this series is very "vanilla". It's not violent, or sexual. It would be approved for jr. high age teens. Adults would likely find the writing terrible and the plot lacking. I give the book a C-, not the worst I've read, but far from being good.