Review: Get Dirty by Gretchen McNeil

Summary

The members of Don’t Get Mad aren’t just mad anymore . . . they’re afraid. And with Margot in a coma and Bree stuck in juvie, it’s up to Olivia and Kitty to try to catch their deadly tormentor. But just as the girls are about to go on the offensive, Ed the Head reveals a shocking secret that turns all their theories upside down. The killer could be anyone, and this time he—or she—is out for more than just revenge.

The girls desperately try to discover the killer’s identity as their personal lives are falling apart: Donté is pulling away from Kitty and seems to be hiding a secret of his own, Bree is under house arrest, and Olivia’s mother is on an emotional downward spiral. The killer is closing in, the threats are becoming more personal, and when the police refuse to listen, the girls have no choice but to confront their anonymous friend . . . or die trying.

My thoughts

When I started reading Get Even I didn’t know what to expect but I knew exactly what Get Dirty was going to be like. This wasn’t the only reason why I enjoyed the sequel even more though. Things I didn’t like that much in Get Even were almost if not completely gone in Get Dirty and I enjoyed it a whole lot more.

I loved that Get Dirty concentrates more on the aspect of finding a killer than Get Even did. The first one was a lot about teen drama, your typical high school setup, but Get Dirty moved on from that. It still reminded me a lot of a typical teen slasher movie, which was fun, but it it left out some of those annoying aspects.
Related to that is that this is a lot more thrilling than the first book. The stakes are higher and now everyone seems to be in danger of getting killed.

I also liked that we got a new POV in this one which gives us a new perspective on all the things and new ideas about who might be the killer.

What I found a bit disappointing was the killer. On the one hand I loved the explanation. It made sense and fit the whole theme of teen slasher, but on the other hand I hoped it would be a tad bit more surprising. It was one of the people I actually had on my list of suspects, even at the top of my list. I don’t think it was a bad reveal, not at all, because a more surprising reveal would probably have meant less clues and made less sense but I was waiting for a bigger shock to end this duology.

Overall, I enjoyed this duology quite a lot, especially because I love teen slasher movies. I like that Gretchen McNeil writes such diverse books and always comes up with ideas that are completely different to her previous books. I can’t wait to see what she has in store next.