Not Quite Dead Yet: Opinions and Spoilers
Not Quite Dead Yet: Opinions and Spoilers discusses Holly Jackson’s new July 2025 book, Not Quite Dead Yet. Will you love this brand new July 2025 ADULT mystery by beloved YA author Holly Jackson? How similar is it to her young adult books? I am here to reveal all, including a link to my spoilers for the book!
Not Quite Dead Yet: Opinions and Spoilers
Table of Contents for Not Quite Dead Yet: Opinions and Spoilers:
- How similar is Not Quite Dead Yet to the Good Girls Guide Series?
- Does Not Quite Dead feel like a YA book?
- Is there a romance in Not Quite Dead?
- Are Pip and Ravi in the book?
How Similar is Not Quite Dead by Holly Jackson to the Good Girls Guide series?
I’m happy to report that I thought there were quite a few similarities:
- As Good as Dead takes place in a small New England town
- The female main character will stop at nothing to get to the truth. Someone in the town gave her a deadly head injury, and she’s going to find out who.
- As Good as Dead is structured as a classic mystery, with main characters Jet and Billy questioning suspects and gathering clues.
- Both GGGTM series and Not Quite Dead are in third-person
- Not Quite Dead has a few epistolary elements, like letters and a song, but not nearly as much as the GGGTM series.
other thoughts:
Jet Mason, the main character, reminded me a LOT of Dark Pippa from As Good as Dead. They both had an anger and an “I’ve got nothing to lose” mentality. Some readers have said that they found Jet too angry, but can you blame her?
Does Not Quite Dead Feel Like a YA Book?
Some readers have said that the books have a similar tone and feel. I always felt that the GGGTM series was darker and more complex than most YA mysteries.
- Jet curses. A lot! Which Pip did not.
- But Jet also lives at home, and spends a lot of time with her childhood friends and siblings.
- She’s only in her late twenties, so she’s a little older than the typical YA character.
- And again, she does really remind me of Dark Pippa. Or even Bel in The Reappearance of Rachel Price. All of them are MAD.
Is there a romance in Not Quite Dead by Holly Jackson?
Kind of?
Jet and Billy are childhood friends and make a really good crime solving team. Billy doesn’t call her “Boss” but he could. He clearly has a HUGE crush on her, and she’s oblivious.
But it’s only one book, not three. And there’s not really time for a big romance.
Are Pip and Ravi in Not Quite Dead Yet?
No, sadly. I wish that she’d do a crossover story.
But if you miss them, check out my series of AGGGTM quizzes:
AGGGTM (A Good Girls Guide to Murder) Quiz
Spoilers for Not Quite Dead Yet
If you want a full plot summary and ALL the spoilers, you need to go to this post, my Readers Guide to Not Quite Dead Yet.
Beware: Spoilers Ahead!
Does Jet die? Please tell me there is a miracle and she solves her murder and lives happily ever after?
I am sorry. There’s good news: her murder does get solved.
But there’s sad news: she does die. Poor Billy. First he finds her with her head bashed in and then he has to watch her die. I hope he gets some therapy.
Who killed Jet and why?
Well there were a LOT of secrets in Woodstock, Vermont. Jet learns that her brother Luke was actually her half-brother, and Jack, Luke’s real father, was the one who bashed Jet over the head. If you want ALL the backstory, you will need to go to the long spoiler post.
