Here Lies Bridget Review

 From Goodreads:

Heroine, Bridget Duke, rules her high school, but when she crashes her car and ends up in limbo, she must confront the people she has wronged, all of whom want her to go to hell. The outcome of these meetings will decide her final destination.

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (January 18, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373210280
• ISBN-13: 978-0373210282

I'll admit that I was a bit wary of this book.  I've become tired of rich, spoiled teens in YA books and television shows.  How awful it must be to get everything you want in life and still be a horrible person.  And make no mistake- Bridget does some awful things.

But what sets this book apart is you really get to see inside Bridget, why she does what she does.  In particular, her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and former best friend really helped to make me sympathetic towards Bridget.  When Bridget is given the chance to see how she really affected those around her with her selfish behavior, her realization dawns slowly and realistically.  It's a bit of Heathers meets A Christmas Carol... or for all of you younger readers- Mean Girls meets Jim Carrey's version of A Christmas Carol.

I don't want to give away the ending, but Bridget and those around her do not suddenly skip off into the sunset- there are consequences, long lasting, for Bridget's actions over the year.  I like a happy ending as much as the next reader, but I'm glad that the author choose to end things on a more realistic note.  In a world full of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars, it's nice to see a story that doesn't glamorize rich teens, but rather humanizes them.

Here Lies Bridget gets a Midnight Book Rating of 11pm.  I'd recommend it to any YA reader out there.

*I received a copy of this book to review free from Netgalley.