Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff Deborah Stevenson, Editor Falkoff, Michelle Playlist for the Dead. HarperTeen/HarperCollins, 2015 [288p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-231050-7 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-231052-1 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 8-10 Sam knew that his best friend, Hayden, had a lot going wrong in his life, especially savage bullying at the hands of his brother and his brother’s best friends, but Sam’s still stunned when Hayden commits suicide. Now sixteen-year-old Sam is trying to unpack the story of what pushed Hayden over the edge—and to figure out how much is his fault. He tries to decipher the music playlist Hayden left him and find out more backstory from Hayden’s computer; he also connects with an intriguing girl, Astrid, who’s gratifyingly interested in the romantically inexperienced Sam, but who also has information about Hayden she’s keeping from him. The “finding truth behind the suicide” plot isn’t new, but Falkoff offers a more dimensional take than many, as Sam begins to realize how much more is going on in everybody’s life than he perceived. That realization comes both from finding a web of acquaintances that Sam had no idea Hayden had and also from discovering that people he might have dismissed (including, in a solid supporting role, his sister’s body-modded new boyfriend) are actually worth knowing. There’s more than a bit of mystery to the layers beyond who did what, who failed Hayden and how, and who’s currently taking revenge on the “bully trifecta,” adding further interest to an already compelling tale. Provocative ethical questions and considerable emotional impact will make this a lively book for discussion as well as an absorbing and sensitive read. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois