Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles.
Title: Lessons from a Dead Girl.
Author: Jo Knowles.
Genre: Novel, YA/teen,
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 2007.
Summary: Leah Greene is dead. For Laine, knowing what really happened and the awful feeling that she is, in some way, responsible, sets her on a journey of painful self-discovery. Yes, she wished for this. She hated Leah that much. Hated her for all the times in the closet, when Leah made her do those things. They were just practicing, Leah said. But why did Leah choose her? Was she special, or just easy to control? And why didn’t Laine make it stop sooner? In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laine is left to explore the devastating lessons Leah taught her, find some meaning in them, and decide whether she can forgive Leah and, ultimately, herself.
My rating: 8/10.
♥ I know at this moment that I will never understand Leah Greene. Maybe no one will. But I also know that Leah isn't the strong, untouchable person I always thought she was. I've seen her weak side twice now, and I know that when Leah feels pain, it goes deep into her soul.
♥ Sometimes I still look at my hand and remember the red F.F. Leah marked there all those years earlier. I think about all the things she's done to me, and I wonder why I'm still friends with her. Maybe that's what being real friends is all about - putting up with the hard lessons - both taught and learned together.
♥ When we first met, Leah asked me if I knew what forever really meant.
"Of course," I told her. But I didn't.
"It's your whole life," she said. "Friends forever is friends always. No matter what."
I didn't know what she really meant. Maybe she didn't, either. Maybe she meant that some friends stay with you even after they're gone, haunting you forever.