Die for Me by Dan RixMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
In contrast to most of the other Dan Rix books I've read so far, this actually appears to be the most low tech, on the surface at least. In fact, most of the story reads more like a YA mystery but then again, this is Rix, so expect some super techy reveal.
Jaden and Danae are trying to come to terms with their girlfriend/best friend's suicide/murder. Suicide because she did jump off a four-storey building, leaving behind a suicide note. Murder because she was abruptly taken off life-support by her parents that very same day with no explanation, without waiting to see if she would come out of her coma. But the more they dig into the mystery that is Sabrina's suicide note, the stranger things become. The school counsellors, Katie and Benji, start acting weirdly, as does the headmaster, Mr Feeney.
Rix spends a lot of time exploring both Jaden and Danae's feelings--both about the suicide and their relationships--and while that was interesting at first, the constant back and forth over who likes who (or not) becomes a little too much after it's been prolonged once too many times. Then again, I'm starting to age out of this kind of YA (I've said that for a while now, but yeah), so an actual teen or a younger reader might relate to this much better than I can at this point of time.
I'm not quite the best fan of the voice either, as each section jumps from POV to POV, all in the first person, so you get different sections in Jaden, Danae, Sabrina, and even Mr Feeney's voice. If you're not one who likes that kind of head-hopping you're probably gonna want to sit this one out. The good part about it, though, is that it does provide that much more tension. (Still ambivalent over the need for Feeney's voice, but whatever).
Overall, Die for Me is quite an intriguing read, at I'd say 3.5 stars.
Note: I received a digital ARC from the author. I was given the book with no expectation of a positive review and the review is my own.
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