Book Review: Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett

Scarlett would kill for a kiss from the boy she's crushing on... but her life has just taken a dramatic turn for the worse and now it's not just her romantic plans that are festering- even her friends are acting like she doesn't exist...
Left in limbo, bored to death and fearing her friendless state is terminal, an ominous idea pops into Scarlett's head. Over her dead body will she be ignored... but can Scarlett really execute such a grim plan? And will it reap the reward of eternal friendship or turn out to be a fatal mistake?

I loved this book, I loved the idea, the illustrations and most of all Scarlett herself! Basically by chapter three, Scarlett is actually dead and what follows is the tale of her adjusting to her new existence and devising ways in which to make her old and still alive friends notice her.
There are illustrations by the author throughout the book and they bring the whole thing to life. At times, the text takes on different shapes and fits around the pictures, I think this is a very appealing way of presenting the book and would very much be enjoyed by young adult readers.
Cathy Brett has all the spooky elements that you would want from a book where the main character is dead. Scarlett has to learn some haunting tricks which are not initially well received by her old friends. I really warmed to Scarlett and even though she does do some extremely dodgy things, I did feel sorry for her. As she says, being a dead teenager sucks, she misses her friends and you do begin to wonder how she will ever be happy.
Scarlett Dedd is a brilliant graphic novel, Cathy Brett's story and illustrations come together to make a book that will be enjoyed by readers of many different ages.

Many thanks to Headline for sending me a copy of this book to review, Scarlett Dedd is published today!