"In Dirt Daughter, seventeen-year-old Elena Black has concealed the secret to her childhood friend’s murder for eight years. With the possibility of a college scholarship looming, she plans to keep that secret and flee her dysfunctional home; one with a drug-addicted mother, a stepsister she just met, and a bitter, abusive uncle. But, when a detective reopens the cold case and a friend sets her up on a date with the new boy at school, the past and present collide, threatening Elena’s future plans…and her life."
NetGalley. Thanks for the copy.
Dirt Daughter is YA Suspense and Mystery. The mystery revolves around the death of Elena Black's childhood friend, Lizzy (full named Elizabeth). Lizzy's case has gone cold years ago, and Elena has a lot of secrets and hidden memories to hide. Elena is sure that Lizzy is dead, and she is trying to put the past behind her. However, Chayton (a new boy in town and cousin of Lizzy) stirs up the past and a detective starts digging out all of the skeletons in the ground.
The world building of Dirt Daughter isn't great. I was confused for the entire beginning, and I find myself mostly trying to absorb information and facts. The ones who have strong character and personality are the easiest characters I can remember. Rick, for one. (Easy enough. Douchebag alert has set off.) The stepsister, for example, is hard to remember. She is rarely there, and she is mostly cardboard. Chayton is easy, because he is the love interest and he has a bright light within him. Thankfully, towards the halfway point, everything starts coming together and the plot truly starts moving. (There is a lot of exposition, in my opinion.)
Elena is hiding a secret. Well, she has been lying about the disappearance of her best friend. Some things are very, very inconsistent in her story, and I find that it is hard to pinpoint what exactly happened to Lizzy. I suggest readers (who are interested in Dirt Daughter) to double check each fact and make sure that they get every piece of information.
Chayton "Chay" is the love interest here. He also serves as the family member of the victim. The emotional spotlight. The one who gets to Elena. He is a decent character, and he does make Elena smile. However, I don't feel any chemistry and there aren't many swoonworthy moments between the two of them.
The villain of Dirt Daughter is... Well, I can't say much, but his identity is crucial to the mystery. Who he or she truly is... Well, that is the mystery. The other mystery other than Lizzy's disappearance, of course.
In conclusion, Dirt Daughter is a slow book with a confusing mystery and a shifty villain. There are some decent characters and some development in Elena, but I'm not too into the book. I sort of tried not to ignore the words. I tried not to skim through it. But I did.
Rating: Two out of Five
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