Danni Mae

I live in a small town with a small library. I found Deadly Pink one day when the book-pickings seemed slim, and decided to give it a shot. As I read on, I was delighted to find that Deadly Pink was written by Vivian Vande Velde, the same author who wrote Heir Apparent, a book that I loved. Sadly enough, it didn't even come close to being as, well, ANYTHING - enjoyable, well thought out, developed- as Heir Apparent. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.
One thing I liked about Deadly Pink was the interaction between characters. Grace's worry-wort of a mother was annoying at times (I think she was meant to be), but there were a few moments with her that had me smiling and laughing, and I enjoyed Grace's interaction with her sister. Grace's determination to save her sister led her on a path of discovery of Emily's dark secrets, and I like how realistic Deadly Pink is in this sense- that sisters may be close, but so distant at the same time. I liked the development between the two as they began to learn more and more about each other. It was a small part of the story, but enjoyable, nonetheless.
The story itself, however, needed some work. The writing was often monotonous and led itself on a tangent. At points it was far too detailed, especially during the resolution. A book is supposed to make you want to see it to the end, but the way the main problem was solved in this story was generally uncreative and it made me feel as though the author was simply sick of writing by this point and just wanted to get the book over with. Which also happened to be how I felt while reading it.
Still, Deadly Pink creates a world that's fun to imagine and explore alongside the main character, and other than the ending-flukes, it was a rather enjoyable story. Not fantastic, but a quick read if you're looking for something different.