BOOK REVIEW: Playlist For the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

 

Book: Playlist for the Dead 
Author: Michelle Falkoff 
Genre: Fiction
Sub-genre: Coming of Age, Young Adult, Contemporary
Trigger Warnings: Suicide
Age Rating: 14+

Synopsis: (Goodreads) 
    Here's what Sam knows: There was a party. There was a fight.

The next morning, Sam’s best friend, Hayden, was dead.
All he left Sam was a playlist—and a note, saying that he took his own life.

But what Sam doesn't know is: Why?

Sam and Hayden have been best friends since forever. When Hayden takes his own life suddenly, Sam is baffled. As a suicide note, Hayden has left behind a playlist for Sam, hoping that he would listen and understand. But who is it sending him texts, claiming to be Hayden himself? Immediately after, Hayden's bullies are violently attacked. Sam believes that the only answer is to find out what happened that night. Sam doesn't only listen to the songs - he also listens to everything around him, slowly coming to the reasons which led up to Hayden's suicide that night. And he's not alone - with him is an eccentric, unpredictable girl, full of secrets herself. 

Can Sam finally find out the reason why his best friend gave up on life? 

You'll never forget him. But you're not going to make it through the rest of the school year, or the rest of high school, if you think about him all the time. If you have this, you'll have a place to focus. You can think about him when you look at it, and the rest of the time you can try to live.

MY REVIEW: Playlist of the Dead

(full of spoilers!!)

I had very high expectations from 'Playlist for the Dead.' It was also one of the first reads of my year, and I was hoping it would make a grand beginning. I was looking for some grand epiphany, or a huge revelation at the end - but unfortunately, that didn't happen. 'Playlist for the Dead,' ended up being one huge disappointment. 

Playlist for the Dead's First Disappointment - The Playlist Plays No Role At All. 

I don't know, this was a huge bummer to me. In my opinion, why name the book "playlist for the dead," when the playlist itself has no significant role to play? For a debut book, hats off to Michelle Falkoff for tackling so many serious topics such as suicide, bullying, dyslexia, parental pressure, etc. But I didn't think they were executed properly. She tried to put so many issues together that all of them blended together and neither retained their wholeness. It felt like a jumbled mess - but, yes, one thing was clear - Hayden was having a miserable life. But...miserable enough to end it? 

Second Disappointment - The Actual Reason Why Hayden Committed Suicide. 

I don't know if this sounds insensitive, but if the reason I was expecting would be a mountain, the reason he actually committed suicide would be a tiny one-storied apartment. In fact, there's a line in the book which says what I am thinking appropriately: High School will be only a distant memory.

I hated the fact that the reason behind his suicide was never explained! Instead of focusing on the reason, the book focused on the "coping" part. "How do people cope when someone they know commits suicide?" This seemed to be the main focus. If it was - then why the playlist, why did Hayden say that Sam will "understand" after he listens to it? Confusing as hell. And then at the end, we just have the explanation of the weird things happening as - maybe Sam wasn't sleeping enough. That is so disappointing! 

"If there's one thing I learned from the playlist, it's how important listening to people can be."

Third Disappointment in Playlist for the Dead- The Romance 

It was a whirlwind - it didn't make sense, and it ended that way too. From the beginning, I knew it was a sham, I wasn't rooting for them anyway. I had an inkling of a feeling that it was indeed Astrid who had been attacking Hayden's bullies - creepy for a simple young-adult, contemporary novel, I felt. And why did Sam leave Astrid, if he was gonna moon after her the entire time, anyway? 

"And the whole idea of good and evil -- there were so many people everyone thought were good but were clearly awful, so why was it a given that being on the good side was any better than being on the bad one."

These were Sam's thoughts on gaming. Well, if it didn't matter to him whether he was on the good side or the bad side, why did he flip out so much at Astrid, ranting about how she "hurt" people? Character development? The guy (Sam) who likened to the thought of anarchy suddenly flipped and left the girl he "loved" because she hurt some awful bullies - I don't know, but it's a bit hard to believe for me. In my opinion, it would have been better if they had conspired together to ruin Ryan or something. But that's just me and my chaotic evilness. 

In conclusion - this book is a waste of time if you want to read a book you hope will offer some revelations and insights into life and the choice to end it. I'd rather you go read some other book that deals with similar topics like Perks of Being a Wallflower or Thirteen Reasons Why. 

Demidork's Archives: Rating for Playlist for the Dead

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