Review of Don't Die Dragonfly

Sabine isn’t the one writing the school newspaper’s physic predication column, but as far as she knows she’s the only real psychic the school has. Not that she’s about to tell anyone. When her friend Manny asks her for help with his psychic column, Sabine gives him a few juicy horoscopes and other nonsense, but one of her messages is a real, otherworldly warning. “To the girl with the dragonfly tattoo, don’t do it.” Sabine can’t get the images of whoever this girl is out of her head…and not being able to ignore them lands her in more trouble than she thought possible.

What first caught my eye with this book was the sentence, “To the girl with the dragonfly tattoo, don’t do it.” It was a great line, cryptic, intriguing, had some real possibility. And let’s face it, with its similarity to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” it was hard to resist. The first couple chapters were engaging. I liked the characters for the most part. There was a hint of something good to come with the mysterious guy that shows up at her grandmother’s farm to help out. Overall, I wanted to keep reading after the first few chapters.

When the book really started to lose interested for me was when we met “the girl with the dragonfly tattoo.” As soon as I met this character I was pretty sure I knew exactly what it was she wasn’t supposed to do, but I thought, no way, that’s too simple and obvious. So I dismissed that idea and continued reading, expecting something much more interesting and surprising. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. When I got to the end, indeed, the girl with the dragonfly tattoo attempted exactly what I suspected she would attempt, and it was no surprise (**spoiler alert**) that Sabine was able to stop her. So as far as the main storyline went, I wasn’t overly impressed. It was predictable for me, and had a lackluster finish.

What I found more interesting was the story behind the main story line. This involved Sabine’s grandmother, Nona, who is also a psychic, and Sabine’s having lied and told her grandmother that she had lost her psychic gift years earlier. This partly accounts for the mysterious farmhand showing up to help Nona. He does help on the farm, but what he’s really there for has more to do with secrets than mucking out stalls. In the very last chapter this side story finally takes the stage and leaves you hanging. But still, it wasn’t enough for me to go out and get the second book.

Don’t Die Dragonfly was an entertaining book, but not a big attention grabber for me. I don’t like figuring out the main plot twist early on and that really sucks the fun out of a book for me, but for others that might not be a problem.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but only as a casual read. It’s not one you’ll get sucked into, but it’s interesting enough to enjoy when you have a few moments to sit down and read.

Who would I recommend this book to? This was more of a YA book than one adults will enjoy. I think younger teens may not be as concerned with the simple plot twists, and will enjoy the conflict of high school and backstabbing teenagers. 

You can get your copy of Don't Die Dragonfly on Amazon.