Book Review: Dig Two Graves

Dig Two Graves by Gretchen McNeil

Arrives March 29, 2022

Reserve the Print Book 

When I first learned of the concept for this book, I was excited. As a personal fan of Alfred Hitchcock and his mastery of suspense, as well as the YA, meets Murder genre as a whole, I immediately chose this title because I felt I had enough frame of reference but also enough excitement to tear through it at once.

I also want to preface this by saying, This is just my personal opinion, based on my individual tastes in literature and writing styles.

Ok.

Neve is an interesting character. To describe her as an apathetic loner would not be inaccurate. She makes an interesting point of re-affirming herself that she does not want unnecessary attention while craving it deeply. I found her internal dialogue to be a perfect exemplifier of her conflicting attitudes. If a character were to come into mind, she is not unlike Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is for the most part well-meaning, no-nonsense, fiercely loyal, and generally rejected by others. (of course, this is where the comparison ends because Faith’s struggles and circumstances were completely different, and she was very annoying lol.)

At the beginning of the book, she is betrayed by her best friend and outcasted in a humiliating experience at her wealthy high school. She is then put in a preppy summer camp called GLAM. Her narration is very angsty and obsessive, but it is not difficult to sympathize with her.

Her father is one of the most complex characters in the book. Neve’s whole family dynamic is well-written and detailed. Neve and her relationship with her family evoked me to empathize more with her than the Yasmin plot ever did. Diane is a weird villain. She is a Barbie doll meets a psychotic murderer. I really like that element. To not waste time, Javier was ok as were the other characters.

Alright, I’m actually going to get into the plot of the book now. Apologies.

The suspense and what led up to the ending were well done. I felt intrigued and entertained by Diane’s penchant for murder and Neve’s careful dance around death. After an awkward beginning, the plot began to pick up as soon as Neve had realized Yasmin was murdered. By the time the book had reached the end, I was invested in Neve’s success.

Overall this book is generally a good read. I would recommend it if you are a fan of teen-murder fiction or you just want to read something light and breezy. 😉

-Review by Teen Reviewer, 12/30/21