Dead Rules by Randy Russell

Title: Dead Rules

Author: Randy Russell

Publisher: HarperTeen

Length: 384 Pages

Publication Date: June 21, 2011

Sometimes falling in love means you have to kill somebody.

Jana Webster and Michael Haynes were destined to be together forever. Of that, Jana was sure.

But Jana just died—in a bowling accident. And now she’s trapped in Dead School. Jana is certain that it won’t be long before Michael kills himself in order to spend eternity with her—but the days are passing and Michael is, inexplicably, still alive. So Jana decides to take matters into her own hands. And nothing—not even Dead School bad boy Mars Dreamcote’s enticingly warm touch or the devastating secret he holds about her death—will stop her from making her dreams come true.

Romeo and Juliet meets Heathers in this hilariously macabre take on paranormal romance, packed with heart-stopping suspense and sizzling star-crossed love. (Summary taken from goodreads)

My friend received Dead Rules as an ARC and let me borrow it for review. This does not sway my opinion in any way whatsoever. However, I just want to thank Kreag for letting me borrow it and Harper Collins for sending it to him. That being said, let’s begin. Dead Rules is Randy Russell’s debut novel about a girl named Jana Webster who dies in a freak bowling accident (totally creative!) and ends up in Dead School. There, she meets all sorts of other dead teenagers. There’s only one thing missing: her beloved Michael. She has a plan though and all she needs is a little help from a few of her new Dead School friends.

            To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I thought the plot was very creative and the idea of Dead School was very unique. I don’t think that I would want to die and end up in Dead School only because it seemed really strict and some of the rules were ridiculous. Still, I’ve never read a book in which the main character died and ended up in school. Therefore, it was definitely a fresh, new perspective that I enjoyed.

            That being said, I hated most of the characters. I know that’s horrible to say, but most of them got on my nerves. Especially Jana! She complained so much about how she couldn’t live without Michael and how they were meant to be together. The girl could not function without him. She wasn’t just in love with him, she was obsessed with him and being obsessed with someone is never a good thing. Even many of her Dead School friends didn’t stand out for me. The only character who I really did like was Mars Dreamcote. First off, he has an awesome name. He also really surprised me as a character. I liked him in the beginning and ended up loving him in the end. All in all, the characters were a disappointment for me.

            However, the writing style was not. Normally, I don’t like third person books. It just makes it harder for me to connect with the character, but this one wasn’t too bad. Mr. Russell’s writing without a doubt targeted the teen audience. I especially enjoyed the fact that he added the stories of the deaths of some of the other people that Jana met at Dead School. It added a really cool perspective and I found it interesting to read about them, considering many of them died in peculiar ways.

            Overall, I would recommend this book if you enjoy paranormal reads. I’m new to the whole world of paranormal books, but I enjoyed this book for the most part. It was definitely refreshing because it wasn’t about vampires or fallen angels (not that those are bad, they just seem overdone nowadays). My only complaint is Jana, but if you can get past her, then you’ll really enjoy it. Let me know what you think :)