Pasadena by Sherri L. Smith

Author: Sherri L. Smith
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Date of publication:  September 2016

Bad things happen everywhere. Even in the land of sun and roses. 

When Jude's best friend is found dead in a swimming pool, her family calls it an accident. Her friends call it suicide. But Jude calls it what it is: murder. And someone has to pay.

Now everyone is a suspect--family and friends alike. And Jude is digging up the past like bones from a shallow grave. Anything to get closer to the truth. But that's the thing about secrets. Once they start turning up, nothing is sacred. And Jude's got a few skeletons of her own.

In Pasadena,  Jude's best friend is found dead and it seems she has committed suicide.  Jude comes back from vacation and is convinced that she was murdered.  She spend the week leading up to the funeral trying to solve the mystery of what really happened to Maggie. 

This was a random pick from my library.  I did finish the book, but I can't really say that I enjoyed it.  In fact, I didn't like it at all.   I was hoping for a mystery, kind of like that of a Veronica Mars mystery, but I didn't find that here. I'm not sure what kept me reading.  I guess I was hoping for a better ending than what I got. The ending was just awful.  As in, I thought, "That's it?".

 What really happened to Maggie was tragic, but honestly made little sense to me. Then again, maybe that is the point. Jude was such an unlikable character.  I get that she has had a crappy life and had some awful things happen to her, but there was absolute no growth in her character at all.  I felt bad for her friends, especially Joey.  She didn't want to change and was content to be miserable.  I can't get behind a character like that.

I don't think this is appropriate for younger YA readers as there is a lot of mature content covered in this book.  But in reality, I'm not sure I would recommend this story to anyone. The only thing really going for it was it was a quick read.