How She Died, How I Lived tells the story of Jaimie Strand’s brutal murder and the aftermath of the events as seen by the 4 other potential victims. One night Kyle Paxton reaches out to five girls asking to meet him but only one goes. She is brutally murdered and the other girls are left wondering why they were targeted and what would have happened if they had replied to Kyle’s text. The story follows a nameless narrator who is one of the five girls as she navigates high school after the tragedy and heads towards the trial where she will once again have to face Kyle. As the trial looms closer, each girl is left with seemingly innocent and harmless gifts. As the story continues the girls have to figure out what these mysterious gifts mean, and what this has to do with the upcoming trial. If the messages they are receiving are true, that Kyle has a way out.
I always enjoy dark mystery books with endless twists and a shocking ending however, this book was too predictable with the actual mystery while the actions of the narrator were so wild and unpredictable that it was hard to follow. I enjoyed the idea for the plot of this book however it seemed as though the author could have done a better job with how it was executed. Teenagers are known to make unpredictable choices but Crockett took that a little too far because there seemed to be no thought or reason behind any action of the characters in the story.
The author weaved in many elements of typical mystery into the story as well as adding a large portion of romance to the plot. As much as I enjoy a good murder mystery romance I felt as though there was very little chemistry between the protagonist and the main love interest and their connection seemed forced.
The plot of this book was very original and I enjoyed the concept quite a lot however a lot of the book seemed to drag on just for the sake of having a longer book. I feel as though what is done in roughly 500 pages could be told in a much more concise manner. Crocket touches on many teen issues and trends such as partying, drinking, substance abuse, and mental health issues however, they are only touched on or used as minor background details. I wish the author had gone more in-depth into these themes because I think for what the story was it would have carried a much stronger message.
Overall the story was very intriguing and had a very well thought out ending. This book definitely is written for a mature audience. This book is a good fit for people who enjoy mysteries, murder mysteries, romance, and dark fiction.