Scarlett Dedd - Cathy Brett

Scarlett Dedd - Cathy Brett

Pages: 271
Publisher: Headline
Release Date: 2nd September 2010

Other Titles by this Author: Ember Fury

Scarlett would kill for a kiss from the boy she’s crushing on…But her life has just taken a turn for the worse and now it’s not just her romantic plans that are festering - even her friends are acting like she doesn’t exist…

Left in Limbo, bored to death and fearing her friendless state is terminal, an ominous idea pops into Scarlett’s head. Over her dead body will she be ignored…But can Scarlett really execute such a grim plan? And will it reap the reward of eternal friendship or turn out to be a fatal mistake?

After loving Cathy Brett’s debut, Ember Fury, last year, I was very excited to see if Scarlett Dedd could live up to it. But it was even better.

It really became evident just how talented a woman Cathy Brett is. As well as fun and lively illustrations, her writing is animated and so easy to fall into. Her style and execution is fresh and much appreciated in a genre that’s becoming more and more samey and clichéd. Both the illustrations and writing complimented each other beautifully and made Scarlett Dedd a pleasure to read and is likely to get reluctant readers hooked on books.

But it was Scarlett Dedd’s quirky and hilarious plot that captured me. The way that Scarlett accidentally managed to kill herself and her family was brilliant. Unfortunate and a little nasty, but brilliant. And then you’ve got a varied and distinctive cast of supporting characters: her solitary, struggling novelist dad; scatty, French mum; gross little brother and gothic, horror movie-obsessed friends, Rip, Psycho, JP and Taz. They were so awesome that I kind of understood why she tried to kill them so she wouldn’t have to miss them. Especially Rip’s insults like “walking liposuction accident” and “oozing plague-spot”. Genius!

I loved Scarlett Dedd and I can’t wait to see what Cathy Brett has in store for us next.

For my 2010 100+ Reading Challenge

Sophie