Tagline: Blood is thicker than water…Back tagline: The only good sister is a dead sister.
Summary: Her older sister is gorgeous. Her older brother is cool. But their baby sister Vicki is a real wild child.
The school year has just begun and Vicki already has a new guy—and some brand new enemies, including the new principal. But she doesn’t care. She just wants to have fun, fun, fun. She won’t listen to her brother. She won’t even listen to her best friend.
Too bad.
Because if she keeps on pushing the limits, she’s going to go too far.
And it’s going to cost her.
Dearly.
First impressions: Sounds decent enough, but I’m very sceptical after my other run-ins with Deathkins, which you can find here and here. Not sure about this cover though. Some kind of blood pact? I like how the blood drips into the title, but that’s about it. Let’s read! [Note from future: the summary on the back of the book makes no sense with the story. Vicki’s hardly a wild child, and she’s not pushing any limits. Her brother and best friend don’t warn her about anything either. Who the fuck wrote this?].
Recap
Roll call:
Vicki – Our “wild child” protagonist who’s no wild child at all.
Janet – Vicki’s best friend.
Alaina – Vicki’s perfect older sister and Alan’s twin.
Alan – Vicki’s mysterious older brother and Alaina’s twin.
Dace – Vicki’s hunky new boyfriend.
Marty – Vicki’s ex boyfriend who won’t leave her alone.
Caddie – Some bitch that’s pining after Marty and is jealous of Vicki.
We begin with our protagonist, 16-year-old Vicki Clements, arriving at school with her older siblings, twins Alan and Alaina. Alaina wants to make sure that Vicki will be OK today [She’s recently recovered from some big accident but we don’t know what happened yet and I’m not sure I care, because she seems pretty fine], but Vicki reckons she’s all good. As she nears the front steps of the school, Vicki’s best friend, Janet, approaches and admires Vicki’s fresh red kicks before filling Vicki in on all the latest gossip, including their brand new principal, a failed nun [And I don’t think it’s Sister Mary Clarence :(].
They bump into Vicky’s ex, Marty, who just says “You’re back” before walking away [OK, freak]. Caddie [What’s with the stupid names lately?!], who’s in love with Marty but follows him around like a shadow instead of actually talking to him, also approaches, and she may or may not be fat, based on Janet’s snide remark:
“I have a big fat shadow that goes in and out with me,” breathed Janet, so only Vicki could hear.
[She’s calling her fat, right? I can’t think of what else it could mean]. Caddie reckons it’s too bad that Vicki’s back:
“Too bad I didn’t die? Is that it, Caddie?”
“You said it. I didn’t,” hissed Caddie. Then she was gone, too.
[Bit rude. Why is she hissing?]
As Vicki and Janet continue walking through the school halls, Vicki bumps into major hottie Dace Jordan [Dace is not a name], who Janet reckons is almost as gorgeous as Alan, Vicki’s brother! Straight after this, Vicki collides with the new principal, Mrs. Failed Nun herself:
“Oof,” she said, thinking at the same time, I can’t believe it, people really do say oof.
[Not sure if people were saying it back in 1991 but they’re definitely saying it now! Including me, oof]. Vicki apologises, but the principal just tells her to watch her step [Watch your own step, bitch]. Later, the new principal gives an introduction speech to the school to let everyone know what a ballbuster she’s gonna be:
“My name is Mary Sewell. I don’t believe that the principal is your pal.” A few people snickered, but quickly stopped as Mary Sewell swept the room with an icy glare. She went on. “You will, however, call me Principal Sewell. You will be addressed, by me, by your surnames. There are going to be some changes around here. I believe in order and discipline. You earn the privileges of adults by proving that you can behave like adults.”
[Oh, she’s one of those people]
Later that night, Dace calls because after they bumped into each other, he’d accidentally taken one of her books, and they organise to meet at Vicki’s locker after school tomorrow. Then it’s dinner time, where Mr. Clements seems to be as much of a ballbuster as Principal Sewell, particularly with Vicki.
Later, Vicki wakes from a nightmare about her sexy red shoes and inspects her legs and feet to make sure it wasn’t real, and we learn that her legs are covered in “faint, spidery webs of old scars, like vampire incisions” [Which actually sounds quite pretty. So we know the accident damaged her legs, but we still have no idea what actually happened. Boring].
At breakfast the next morning, Mr. Clements continues to nag Vicki until Alan knocks over the tomato juice and Mr. Clements’ attitude turns on him instead. Alan’s completely unfazed though, while Vicki is triggered by the tomato juice [I guess it reminds her of blood, and the accident? Or maybe her dream? Also, yuck @ tomato juice].
During their lunch period, Vicki, Janet and other friend Lolly [Seriously, why have all the books I’ve read lately had such stupid names?! I’m mad] discuss Vicki’s upcoming meeting with Dace [He’s returning her book, it’s not that deep lol]. Vicki’s not that into the conversation and, realising something’s up, Janet tricks Lolly [who’s kind of annoying but I like her] into leaving before encouraging Vicki to talk to a psychiatrist, since it might help with the nightmares and stuff. Vicki rages at her and storms outside to get some air, where we finally learn what the accident was [So glad it’s not getting dragged out for the whole book!]:
They’d all been spinning, cruising, hanging out. Spring fever. Having a great time.
And then she’d stood up. Pretending to be the homecoming queen, riding on the back of the float. Alan’s ’57 T-bird was perfect for that. They’d been holding on to her. It was safe. It just looked wild and crazy.
And then she’d been flying.
They said Alan had swerved.
[OK, who’s “they”? Also not sure why she thought that would have been a good idea in the first place]. At one point in her drugged and painridden sleep while in hospital, she overheard a conversation between her parents where Mrs. Clements suggested it wasn’t an accident, but her husband shut it down pretty quickly [Does she mean she thinks Vicki tried to kill herself, or Alan’s swerving wasn’t an accident and he wanted to hurt Vicki?]. Although Vicki doesn’t remember much about what happened, she believes it was just an accident and no-one was to blame. Despite everyone believing she wouldn’t make it through her injuries, Vicki managed to survive because she’s strong, and she wishes everyone would stop treating her like an invalid [I get that it would be annoying, but they’re just looking out for you, Vicki! Ungrateful bitch].
Her fresh air break is interrupted by Principal Sewell, who threatens to suspend Vicki if she catches her without a pass or authorisation again [It’s her lunch period though? Can she really not go outside? What’s this bitch’s problem?!].
After school, instead of Dace waiting at her locker Vicki finds Alaina, who thought they could walk home together. Dace had stopped by and gave Alaina Vicki’s notebook, and Vicki is fuming on the inside at her sister:
I hate her. I wish she were dead. I could kill her.
[The award for most extreme response goes to… Why the hell is she reacting like that?]. As the girls walk home, Alaina commends Vicki for snagging Dace, who she thinks is a lot better than her ex, Marty [All he did was drop her book off, Alaina, they’re not a damn couple yet. She’s barely even spoken to him for God’s sake!]. She also calls Vicki “little sister” a lot, which I can’t stand [Characters calling each other by their relation is one of my biggest pet peeves in movies/books (Except for parents, obviously). Like, who in real life calls their sibling “little sister” or “big brother”? In this instance, we’ve already established on the first page that they’re sisters, so why is it being shoehorned into the dialogue now?!].
Sensing Vicki’s horrid mood, Alaina asks if everything’s OK, because “Ever since the accident…”, and Vicki snaps, sick of the accident being brought up every five seconds. The animalistic rage that’s been building up threatens to burst out and Vicki contemplates unleashing it to push Alaina down the stairs, but calms herself down instead [The idea of anger being a separate entity within the body is done a lot better here than in Mirror, Mirror, which is nice. Could Deathkins redeem herself with this book? Note from future: No, she can’t. Also, this burning rage storyline goes nowhere, so what the hell is the point].
Marty catches up to the girls to tell them ‘Ring Around the Rosie’ is about the plague and that everybody eventually dies no matter what [Which has no relevance to anything as far as I can tell, unless it’s some sort of vague threat? This guy’s weird].
The next day, Dace is waiting at Vicki’s locker to ask her to a movie on Saturday night, and Vicki accepts, but at home that evening, Dad refuses to allow it because she shouldn’t overexert herself […..It’s a movie?? Or is she planning on rooting in the cinema? Hehe xo]. When Vicki argues that she’s gone out with boys before the accident, her dad just says “That’s different” and pulls the “because I say so” card [Wanker]. Alan suggests Vicki and Dace double date with him and his date on Saturday night and Mr. Clements reluctantly agrees, as long as they’re home by midnight:
Impulsively, Vicki threw her arms around her father’s neck. He stiffened and drew back. Hurt, Vicki drew back, too.
[Oof. Did he think she was gonna strangle him or does he just hate his daughter? Note from future: this is just another bit that has no relevance to the story. Probably just showing that the dad is cold to his kids, but there’s no payoff to that either?]. Saturday night arrives and Vicki wears a loose sweater, black jeans and her sexy red shoes. After Dace picks them up, Alan reveals they’re not actually double dating and requests Dace drop him off around the corner. For a brief moment, he looks like the old Alan, “her favourite sib, her best friend” [I guess he’s suffering with the guilt of being behind the wheel during her accident maybe? I think this is the first time it’s been mentioned that he seems like a different person now, too, which is a weird way to force it in].
After a horror movie and some pizza, Dace drops Vicki back home and they kiss at her front door before he heads off. As Vicki stands there admiring the stars and reminiscing on what a great night she’s had, she hears laughter from the shadows nearby, “Soft. Low. Malicious” [Great name for an album].
She calls out to whoever it is, but the laughter continues, so she fumbles with her keys to get inside, and someone grabs her shoulder [!!!]. It’s just her father [Was he just hiding somewhere outside, waiting for them to return? Creepy. I don’t think he was the one laughing though], who demands to know where Alan is, but Alan rocks up then and all is fine [Could Alan be our giggler/bad guy?]. As Vicki and Alan head upstairs to bed, she asks if he heard someone laughing outside, but Mr. Clements orders them to bed before she can properly explain her question.
On Monday afternoon at school, Vicki hasn’t seen Dace and and Janet’s stuck in the art room working on a project, but Caddie seems to be everywhere Vicki goes. “Buy a vowel, Caddie,” says Vicki [Which is a great but outdated phrase that I think means something along the lines of “get a clue”, but I’m choosing to interpreting it here as “fuck off”], heading to the girls’ toilets to avoid her. She locks herself in a stall and lights a cigarette, even though she’s not a smoker, but before she can have a puff, someone enters the bathroom.
It’s just Janet, who for some reason has been following Vicki instead of just coming up to her [You’re best friends, why the sneakiness?]. Janet questions Vicki’s smoking, and Vicki admits she has no idea why she even bought them and doesn’t know what’s got into her lately [Neither do I because this book is fucking stupid], and we also learn that at seven years old, the besties became blood sisters [Friendship goals! And that explains the cover!].
As they exit the bathroom, Caddie’s outside waiting for them [Buy a vowel, Caddie! Don’t you have anything better to do?] with an insult about Janet’s figure. Uncharacteristically, this seems to get to Janet, so Vicki insults Caddie back and they walk off. Vicki tries to alleviate Janet’s body issues with a compliment about her great figure [So sweet, Vicki!].
The next morning, she makes another date for Saturday with Dace and in gym class later, Janet gets into a scuffle with Caddie on the basketball court. When getting ready to shower afterwards, Caddie makes a jab at Vicki about being a cripple now [What the hell is Caddie’s problem?]. Janet seems to be in a rush [And also seems to be in a mood] after showering and heads straight to art class, while Vicki realises she’s running late herself and pulls on her shoes:
And then she jumped up, and fell down, writhing and screaming on the floor.
There’s a shitload of cockroaches pouring out of her shoes [Gross, but I think that’s a dramatic reactions. Would you really scream and wriggle on the floor over it? Gotta get that cliffhanger chapter ending though I guess!]. Ms. Hazelett quizzes Vicki on who would do such a thing, but Vicki has no idea who it was and suggests it’s just some lowlife playing a joke. Ms. Hazelett asks her to let her know if she finds out anything, and expresses concern that there’s more going on than Vicki’s telling her, or maybe even more than Vicki knows [Spooky!].
As she sits in her next class, she wonders who could hate her so much to do such a thing, and Caddie’s number one on the suspect list. But did she really hate Vicki that much because of Marty? Or could it be something else? Caddie was refused membership to the Deltas, Alaina’s sorority-like “service organization”, so maybe this was her way of getting back at Alaina, suspecting she was the reason why [But she would get back at Alaina, not Vicki? How does this make sense]. Then Vicki briefly considers Janet a suspect because Janet doesn’t like Alaina, but again, there’s no logic behind Vicki’s suspicions:
Funny how Janet didn’t like Caddie or Alaina. Two such opposite people. Yet they seemed to inspire the same disdain in Janet.
Funny, too, how Janet would want to be one of the Deltas when she felt that way about Alaina.
[I really don’t understand. If anything, I would suspect Janet because she left the locker room so quickly. But how does Janet not liking Caddie or Alaina make her a suspect for the cockroach incident? And from what I can gather, Janet hasn’t been rejected from the Deltas yet anyway?]. Vicki immediately feels bad for considering her best friend a suspect when she sometimes feels like Janet’s “the only person in the whole world she could really trust” [So wtf is up with her being your second suspect purely because she doesn’t like your sister or Caddie? I’m so confused].
That night, Vicki’s on the phone in the front hall, whispering to Janet about the cockroach incident. Janet is positive Caddie was responsible, but Vicki’s not so sure. Realistically, anyone could get into the locker room, and it’s not like their locker combination is a big secret or anything. Because they share a locker [Another reason to consider Janet a suspect instead of whatever the fuck Vicki was thinking], Janet suggests maybe the joke was meant for her, and not Vicki. Vicki disagrees, but doesn’t explain that it’s because of the laughter she’d heard on Saturday night. Mr. Clements is approaching now, demanding to know who’s on the phone [He seems to have a big issue with the phone being used for some reason], so Vicki hangs up and heads to her room, where she remembers Marty has PE the same period, so maybe he was the culprit.
That night, Vicki has some nightmares about drowning in blood and then being smothered, but is woken up and comforted by Alaina, who heard the commotion from her room. Alan also appears in the doorway, claiming to be a light sleeper when Alaina questions how he could have possibly heard it when his room is at the other end of the house. Alaina relaxes “like a rag doll” against Vicki after he leaves, and Vicki realises Alaina is scared of her twin, but that’s not all:
The brother Vicki had loved and trusted all her life, the brother she admired, wasn’t the same brother. Ever since the night he’d been driving the car when she’d had the accident, he’d changed.
And now, she didn’t trust him anymore.
She was afraid of him, too.
[Why don’t they trust him though? We already now Vicki thinks it was an accident, so besides a personality change due to PTSD, what reason do the girls have not to trust their brother? This book is making me angry]
The next day, Janet won’t stop going on and on about how the cockroaches were meant for her, and for whatever reason, Vicki still doesn’t bring up the laughter incident, but is super snappy at her best friend. Because of Dace [I still can’t believe this damn name], Vicki hasn’t been spending as much time with Janet, and when she did pay pay attention to her, “Janet was getting on her nerves” [Don’t be so mean to your blood sister, Vicki!].
Things have been going well with Dace though, with Vicki spending time with him in the afternoons since her dad won’t let her out at night alone with him [Why’s he so strict with her?]. Even though Janet’s been annoying lately, Vicki is grateful for her friend because Janet’s been double dating with them so Vicki can see him on Saturday nights too [Janet’s a good friend. Not sure about Vicki, though].
An unspecified amount of time later Vicki and Dace are making out on the school grounds one afternoon when Principal Sewell appears, scolding them because public displays of affection are “strictly prohibited on school grounds”. Dace apologises before we get another example of something not making sense [Or me not just understanding it] in this book when Vicki also apologises:
“We’re sorry,” she said, trying to look sincere, still pressed against the wall. Dace hadn’t leaned far enough back for her to straighten up.
He did now. “Sorry?” he asked, looking at her.
She felt her blush spread down her neck.
[Is she not allowed to apologise too? Why’d he react like that? What is going on with this book?]. Principal Sewell dismisses Dace, threatening him with further trouble if he doesn’t leave now, since he’s on school premises without permission after hours [Calm down, bitch], but forces Vicki to follow her to her office [Wow, double standards]. In her office, she accosts Vicki for her “lewd and disgusting” behaviour and demands she call her parents to pick her up [Honestly, what is this woman’s problem? She’s obsessed with Vicki]. Vicki only pretends to call though, then walks home, and hears footsteps behind her as she passes over a bridge. She glances back, but no-one’s there, so a frightened Vicki quickens her pace:
She saw the shoes first. Red shoes.
And then the feet.
And the bloody stumps of ankles where the legs should have been.
[So were the feet wearing the shoes, or? Please tell me I’m not alone in thinking the book is badly written]. Screaming, she runs back the way she came and runs straight into Alan. After explains what she saw, he goes to see it for himself, but there’s nothing there anymore, much to Vicki’s surprise. Alan reckons they should get home ASAP so Dad doesn’t get mad [Why is their father so strict? And why are his rules so stupid?], and Vicki threatens to lie if he mentions what just happened to anyone. Alan’s not impressed and doesn’t say a word as they continue home, and at the dinner table, Vicki wonders if he’s behind the bridge incident [Why though?! Deathkins, you can’t just say that someone’s a suspect but not have any reasoning behind it].
After dinner, Vicki’s relieved to find the red shoes in her closet, neatly aligned, and not with bloody stumps in them. Alaina enters, wanting to make sure her sister is OK, but her kindness is met with disdain from Vicki, as usual [Why the hell does Vicki hate her sister so much?]. Alaina then laments about how hard it is to be perfect all the time [Don’t I know it xx] and live up to such high standards.
Vicki’s not interested though, so Alaina changes the topic to Dace. Apparently he has a sister who developed a “severe personality disorder” that “turned into a full-blown psychosis” within weeks, with his family only finding out after she tried to stab Dace to death. She’s been institutionalised ever since, and Dace obviously doesn’t talk about it because Vicki thought he was an only child [Or Alaina’s lying about it, which seems very likely to me, since this is a Point Horror. Maybe she’s sick of Vicki’s bad attitude and is our bad guy?]. Alaina makes Vicki promise not to mention it to anyone, especially not Dace [Which makes me even more suss!] and offers her ear if Vicki ever needs to talk before heading to bed.
Vicki has another nightmare that night and the next day is confronted by Marty at her locker, who’s wearing black leather pants and a black leather jacket [That’s a lot of leather, Marty]. He plants his hands on either side of her head against the lockers, trapping her there before accusing her of treating him badly. Principal Sewell comes to the rescue, scaring off Marty and confronting Vicki with a sentence that I’m not sure I can decipher [So I’m assuming it’s a typo]:
“Would that we all had what you apparently have to offer, Ms. Clements.”
[“Would that we all had what you”... Huh?]. She then accuses Vicki of getting into trouble too easily [Even though Principal Sewell is the one berating her at every opportunity? Just stop stalking her?] and tells her that because she’s trouble, anyone around her will get in trouble too [Is there something about Vicki she knows that we don’t? Why is she so against her?]. As Vicki hurries to class, she spots Caddie lurking near the lockers and realises she’s to thank for Principal Sewell’s interruption and calls out a thanks to the confused bitch[Why is Caddie so obsessed with keeping Marty and Vicki apart when Vicki barely even acknowledges him? She’s as dumb as the principal].
Dace eventually asks Vicki to the homecoming dance, as long as she wears her red shoes [What is so good about these damn shoes? We never got a description of them besides the colour] and as she tells Janet about it the next day, Janet suggests they double date so Mr. Clements will allow it, only she doesn’t have a date. She’s super into Alan though, so Vicki encourages her to ask him. The topic changes to Janet’s art, which she doesn’t let just anyone see apparently, and she seems a bit hurt that Vicki has never asked to see it. Vicki just wanted to respect her privacy though, but asks to see it now, and then Janet panics and says she’s not ready yet [So why bring it up, pleb?].
Later as Vicki’s walking home, Alan pulls up in the T-bird, which he hasn’t driven since the accident. He offers her a ride and although reluctant, Vicki soon realises how good it is to be riding in it again. Alan mentions that Janet asked him to homecoming, too, and later, Vicki’s relieved when their father has no issue with their double date to homecoming [Luckyyyy. Don’t you dare touch the telephone, though!].
On Saturday, Vicki, Janet and Lolly go shopping for a homecoming dress, and Vicki finds the perfect one at the last store they visit [And it doesn’t sound that great]:
Vicki’s dress was just a tube, and a short tube at that. It fit. Very, very snuggly. But over it was a jacket, a long, belted jacket with sleeves and a stand-up collar, a jacket that reached her knees, and flipped open just a little when she moved.
[Why would you wear a jacket that covers the whole dress? Isn’t the point to look good? The jacket sounds gross]. Lolly’s concerned that Vicki will get in trouble with a dress like that [Principal Sewell will probably expel her lol], but the girls just laugh at her [OK].
At school on Monday, Vicki finds a note in her locker and runs away from it’s horrible contents [Which we’re not privy to just yet but surely doesn’t warrant a reaction like that]. Janet’s suddenly beside her then [Suss, but what’s her motive?], and Vicki cries as she tells her about the note. They head back to the locker, where Vicki had screwed up the note and threw it down, but there’s no sign of it anymore, so Vicki recites what it said:
“‘Little Bo Peep/has lost her shoes/and doesn’t know where to find them/but leave them alone/and they’ll come home/dragging her feet behind them.’”
[I was right, it didn’t need such a strong reaction lol. Also, maybe Janet’s sculpture she’s working on is of severed feet? Still don’t know her motive, but she’s definitely suss. So is, Alaina, Caddie and Marty though…] Janet’s all like “That’s it?” [Mood] and Vicki realises she never told her, or anyone, about the shoes on the bridge. Instead of telling her now, she lies that it just reminded her of the cockroaches and her nightmares, and Janet argues that the cockroaches still could have been meant for her, since nothing bad has happened to either of them since [Not sure why Vicki’s not piping up to tell her everything, but OK].
In maths class later, Vicki wonders who could possibly hate her so much to be doing all these things, and Marty comes to mind because of the whole ‘Ring Around the Rosie’ thing [Which was super weird]. She remembers how “dangerously fun” he was while they were dating, but she’d broken up with him after the accident. We also learn he was in the car that night with her and Alan, along with Alaina, Janet and Lolly, too [Can a T-bird fit six people? Naughty, naughty].
An angry Vicki confronts Marty after class, accusing him of being behind everything. He denies it all and drags her into the stairwell so they can talk more privately, where he says her he could tell her something about what’s been going on, but assures her “It isn’t me. But it has to do with you.” [Duh Fred, we already know that it’s got to do with her. Idiot]. He tells her she should be worried about her life being in danger and urges her to think about getting back together, “Then maybe we’ll talk some more” [This guy is gross. Maybe Caddie’s responsible for everything because for whatever reason she thinks that Vicki and Marty are getting back together or something? But the book’s title makes me think that one of her siblings or her blood sister, Janet, is responsible…].
Vicki tells him to “Go and die” and he leaves the stairwell as she silently wishes she was dead herself [Whoa, where did that come from? I can’t cope with how poorly this book is written. There’s no real build-up or explanation for a lot of these extreme reactions or Vicki’s logic when it comes to suspecting someone. I really don’t like Deathkins as a writer].
The next morning before school, Marty’s crumpled body is found on the playground and in homeroom, Caddie barges in and accuses Vicki of murder, even though Marty’s just in a coma [Caddie, have you ever even spoken to the guy? Buy a vowel]. This paired with the fact that everyone either heard Vicki and Marty’s argument themselves or heard about it, most people believe Vicki attacked him.
At lunch, Vicki sees Dace coming over and again fails to use reasonable logic [Or Deathkins fails to apply it at least]:
He was looking straight at Vicki, his expression unreadable. His sister, thought Vicki. He’s remembering his sister. Does he think I’m like her? Crazy. Crazy enough for murder?
[YOU HAVEN’T TOLD HIM ABOUT THE RED SHOE BRIDGE INCIDENT, OR THE NOTE, WHAT REASON DOES HE HAVE TO EVEN THINK YOU’RE CRAZY?!?! This book is so fucking frustrating, ugh]. He’s just there to comfort her though, and for the rest of the day he’s by her side, protecting her from everyone’s stares. After school, Dace, Alaina, Janet and Lolly form a protective circle around Vicki as they walk her to Alan’s car, where they all jump in except for Dace, who promises to talk to her later. As they drive off, Vicki waves goodbye to all the stare bears, promising to see them tomorrow [Why though? Like I’m assuming it’s to show she doesn’t care what they think, but once again, it’s not really explained that way. She just does it, and that’s that, which is not good storytelling], and she realises everyone in the car right now was there the night of the accident. Well, except Marty, hehe.
It’s the night of homecoming now, an unspecified amount of time later, and Vicki’s relieved that everyone seems to be agreeing that she’s innocent of putting Marty in a coma thanks to her friends and siblings standing by her side. After getting some cute pictures at home, Vicki and Dace, Alan and Janet, and Alaina and her date, Thom, head to the homecoming, where the latter two are expected to win homecoming king and queen [And we are nearing the climax!].
Vicki dances and dances and dances throughout the night, even doing a little celebratory one when when Alaina wins homecoming queen, until Dace takes her back to Alan’s T-bird for some sexy time [Hubba hubba].
They may or may not have had sex in the backseat [It’s an open-top car, but surely that wouldn’t stop “wild” Vicki] before Dace heads back to the dance to get their jackets while she stays there. After dozing off a little, she wakes to someone calling her name [Why isn’t Dace back yet?]. She hops out of the car and follows the sound to the school playground, determined to put a stop to whoever has been terrorising her. And then someone grabs her throat [!!!!]. She’s strangled against the slide for a while before the attacker orders her to stand up. Vicki’s back is turned to her tormentor, who gives us their take on another nursery rhyme:
This little sister went to market. This little sister stayed hoooome. This little sister had roast beeef. This little sister had nooone… And this little sister cried… are you crying, little sister? This little sister cried…”
[Lame]. And then the accident comes flooding back to her — Lolly and Janet in the front seat, Alan behind the wheel, and Marty and Alaina on either side of her, holding her legs. And then “Someone had let go of her legs and pushed her” [Alaina?!?].
Sure enough, it is Alaina [I will admit, she was probably last on my suspect list] but instead of a proper bad guy monologue, Vicki does all the talking, being like “You pushed me out of the car” and “It was you who did that to my shoes after gym” etc [I hate how something that’s so obvious has a long-winded explanation, but not the stuff that makes no sense]. Alaina says the feet on the bridge were just papier mâché, and admits to being responsible for all of Vicki’s nightmares about suffocating — she was holding her hand over Vicki’s mouth while she slept! And then we get a tiny little monologue to explain her exact motives:
“I love you,” the voice crooned. “I’ve always loved you. When you were little you needed me. Daddy was so proud of what good care I took of you.”
The voice changed. “But you shouldn’t have been born. I was the only girl. Daddy loved me best. And then you were born. No matter how much trouble I got you in, no matter how clumsy you seemed, he only loved you more… And you didn’t need me any more. That little pest Janet. Your best friend… And then Dace…”
[So Alaina has Munchausen by proxy then? I’m kind of confused… Alaina was getting Vicki in trouble and injuring her to show their dad how good she was in comparison, but then she also seems to hate her little sister while simultaneously needing Vicki to need her? But then why did she try to kill Vicki in the car, and why is she trying to kill her now? This book is so fucking dumb]. She also reveals she overheard Marty and Vicki on the stairwell and had to get rid of him, because he knew Alaina’s secret. Alaina starts strangling Vicki again, but then a car roars to life out of nowhere, and they’re caught in it’s bright headlight beams, and I think the car drives into them [As usual with the book, it’s not very clear]:
Vicki jerked forward, trying to pull free. She caught one of Alaina’s hands, and held tight.
The screaming tore the night. And she was flying, holding onto her sister’s hand, flying into the dark.
And falling.
[Someone ran them over, right? That’s why they’re flying? But who was driving it? This whole book is so horribly written; who the fuck allowed Deathkins to be an author?]. We cut to sometime later now, as Vicki, who’s got a broken collarbone, discusses everything with Janet outside the school one morning. Apparently Alaina doesn’t remember anything [Which I think is complete bullshit and Alaina is probably just trying to manipulate the situation, which she is apparently prone to doing].
After the accident, Alan had told their parents that Alaina didn’t seem all there mentally, especially since she lied about him swerving being the cause of the accident. Mum and Dad were so worried that they got really strict with Vicki, to protect her, and even warned Principal Sewell, which is why she was practically stalking Vicki [But doesn’t explain why kept punishing Vicki? Wouldn’t you be keeping an eye on Alaina, who’s really trouble?].
Janet mentions some gossip she heard about Principal Sewell –she’s a failed nun after all, but was a boot camp drill sergeant instead [Explains the superiority complex, but her behaviour still doesn’t add up to me]. Janet then heads off with Alan as Dace arrives, Vicki asks if he has a sister. He does, but she’s 10 years older and lives in San Francisco [So Alaina was lying about his locked up sibling, then. But what was the point?].
The two share a passionate kiss before Principal Sewell announces herself. She lets their PDA slide this time though, since the rule is no public displays of affection “inside the school” [But they weren’t inside the school last time she caught them either?! They were just on the premises, like they are now? THIS BOOK MAKES NO SENSE]. She wanders off, and the book ends with Vicki and Dace kissing once more [Lame].
Final Thoughts
I need to stop giving Deathkins the benefit of the doubt and just resign myself to the fact that I will never like her offerings to the genre. As I mentioned so many times, the whole thing was just written so horribly. There was way too much jumping to conclusions without an appropriate route there, I couldn’t really get absorbed into the story because there was rarely a decent description of where the characters were at any time [Like, OK, they’re in the cafeteria, but what does it look like? OK, they’re going for a walk. Where to? Where from? Set the scene, Deathkins].
It’s all well and good to have several red herrings, like Janet and Alan, but there needs to be a sensible reason why they’re potential suspects. “Janet hates Caddie and Alaina so she might be doing this to me” makes no sense at all. Similarly, it was mentioned a few times that Alan has completely changed and is creepy now ever since the accident, but it was never stated what he used to be like, or what makes him creepy, so what are we supposed to make of it?
The blurb isn’t a good summary of the story either. I was expecting a horrible protagonist getting her comeuppance, like Dore and Reva, but Vicki was nothing like how she’s described in the blurb.
And there was way too much plot points that did nothing for the plot, like Caddie’s whole deal, the thing about the Deltas, Janet’s art stuff and Vicki’s animalistic rage. What was the point?
4 pairs of sexy red shoes out of 55. Next!
