Celestial | Girls Who Play Dead

Girls Who Play Dead

Joelle Wellington

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Two siblings investigate the murder of a friend only to unearth even more deadly mysteries in their small town in this page-turning young adult thriller from the acclaimed author of Their Vicious Games.

When Mikky Graves left his small, stifling hometown of Prophets Lake to live with his estranged mother, he thought nothing could ever make him return for good. Until his sister Kyla’s best friend, Erin, is murdered. Mikky never worried about leaving Kyla behind at their family-owned funeral home so long as she had Erin.

But when Mikky heads home, determined to help Kyla grieve, the sister he encounters barely resembles the one he remembers. Mikky decides, then and there, to do the one thing that seems even more impossible than returning: stay.

As Kyla spirals further into her rage and secrets, Mikky realizes the only thing that can help his sister is finding the truth about who killed Erin. But the more he investigates, the further he’s pulled into other ugly mysteries of Prophets Lake and the beauty brand that is its lifeblood.

The town’s rot runs deep, and everyone has something to hide. Perhaps no one more than Kyla herself.

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Posts about this title from Celestial

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jun 30

your friend really, really needs to read these books …

📚 books mentioned: - Our Sister’s Keeper by Jasmine Holmes - Her Body and Other Parties: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado - Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine - Girls Who Play Dead by Joelle Wellington - Canon by Paige Lewis - You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado - Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz - The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar - Open Throat by Henry Hoke - Singer Distance by Ethan Chatagnier - Until the Clock Strikes Midnight by Alechia Dow - Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson - Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino - The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter - Fury by Shirley Marr

👗💄: - shirt is from Hill House Home - eyeshadow is The Lord of the Rings Middle Earth Palette from Glamlite and In A Trance from Colourpop - eyeliner is Vegan Longwear Eyeliner (Ocean) from Pacifica Beauty - shimmer is a single (Enchanted) from Adriana Nichole Cosmetics - mascara is Clean Volume from Merit - lip combo is Suede Matte Lip Liner (Moonwalk) from NYX Cosmetics and Wonder Blading Top Gloss (Holographic) from Wonderskin

thank you to Bindery Books, Sourcebooks Landmark, Simon Teen, Viking Books, William Morrow, Tordotcom, and Tin House for the gifted copies!

#fantasybooks #horrorbooks #scifibooks #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @bindery_books @graywolfpress @sourcebooks @bookmarked @simonteen @vikingbooks @williammorrowbooks @entangledteen @tordotcompub @mcdbooks @tin_house @fiercereads @groveatlantic @fsgbooks @orbitbooks_us @hillhouse @glamlite @adriananicholecosmetics @merit @wonderskin @colourpopcosmetics @nyxcosmetics

15 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jun 30

your friend really, really needs to read these books …

thank you to Bindery Books, Sourcebooks Landmark, Simon Teen, Viking Books, William Morrow, Tordotcom, and Tin House for the gifted copies!

15 books

The Skyy Life\ \ Erika\ \ • Nov 21 2025

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I wanted more from this story, but I am not the intended audience… \ \ Thank you to Simon Teen #SimonTeenInfluencer #SimonTeen (#GirlsWhoPlayDead) specifically for sending me a physical and digital copy to read. Here's my genuine review:\ \ Overall, I believe this book is well-suited for Young Adult audiences. I love how Joelle makes every detail intentional and relevant throughout the story. Despite having many characters to get to know, Wellington does it effortlessly and makes it clear and easy to understand who each character is and their relevance to the overall story.\ \ \ \ I was surprised by how deeply we follow through Mikky's perspective, but it's nice to see through his lens. I also appreciate the LGBTQIA+ representation throughout some of the supporting characters.\ \ The U.S. cover is BEAUTIFUL. Absolutely perfect for this book.\ \ I like how it gave me a teen movie nostalgic feel (reminds me of Jawbreaker or Meangirls given Kyla and Erin's relationship)\ \ I think the storytelling was well executed.\ \ However, while the plot twist was in fact a twist, I don't think enough time was used in the book to really drop little seeds of the end. It did, but not really. We didn't really get enough of the mother/daughter dynamic for either girl in this book.\ \ I think the story, as is, could've been shorter. I appreciate learning about relationships through Mikky's lens, but that wasn't the point of the book. Naism got my nerves lol\ \ I think the repetitiveness of stating "Erin is dead" was overkill. Like, we get it, she's dead. SO WHO DID IT?? What was the motive? I appreciate having no idea who it could've been until the end, but I think it could've been shorter to get there.\ \ Around 60% I became less interested; however, I'm an adult (who reads YA frequently), so I think this would be great for YA readers, but I don't think I would recommend it for other adults to read YA, especially if they like mystery/thriller, as nothing is thrilling really in this book, in my opinion.\ \ Personal rating, more of a solid 3. I rated it higher because I think for its intended audiences, it does what it needs to do :)\ \ Join for free or login

Girls Who Play Dead Review… I wanted more!

1 book

The Skyy Life\ \ Erika\ \ • Nov 18 2025

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\ \ Join for free or login](https://theskyylife.binderybooks.com/item/7JdEw5iYMf2Q7lLZTmlO/)

Girls who play dead is a small town murder mystery — and it’s got my attention..

Girls who play dead is a small town murder mystery. Kyla’s best friend is murdered and she isn’t the same. Mikky (Kyla’s brother) returns back to Prophet’s Lake to be there for his sister.

The town’s rot runs deep, and everyone has something to hide. Perhaps no one more than Kyla herself.

Read #GirlsWhoPlayDead for:

💄Piercing takedown of the beauty industry 💄 True crime addiction 💄Plot twist you didn’t see coming

🤩 Special thanks to @simonteen ! As a #simonteeninfluencer this has been one of my anticipated reads!!

#currentreads #yathriller #yathrillerbooks #tbr #tbrlist #bookish #simonteen #joellewellington #murdermysterybooks #yabookrecs

1 book

R&R Reads\ \ Ebony\ \ • Jul 2 2025

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96 BOOK RELEASES 💫

✨🍃UPDATE! 2025 Releases for the Back Half of 2025

There are definitely books I forgot and to them I say I’m so sorry Pookie😖

We Are Already Halfway Through 2025… anyway if you find any fault in this post get mad at Goodreads and Amazon not me …🥰

#books #bookreleases #romancebooks #fantasybooks #bookstagram

92 books