REVIEW: Dead Romantic by C.J. Skuse

But when she’s mocked at a college party, she kows there isn’t a boy alive who’ll ever measure up. 

Beforehand I was really interested in the concept of this novel. It promised me the chance to finally be able to read a C.J. Skuse novel and I wasn’t disappointed.

In this novel, Skuse has created a funny, modern retelling of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. After meeting a girl in a graveyard, Camille suddenly becomes fascinated by her. So when the girl, Zoe, brings a group of once dead hamsters back to life, she then tells Camille that she could create the perfect boy for her. But will it all go smoothly? After all, there’s no such thing as a happily ever after…

As the main character, Camille was interesting and funny. Some of the things she did made me laugh so much that people started looking at me a little weirdly. Maybe I shouldn’t have been reading it in my English reading lesson… She was a typical teenage girl; one of those people who are desperate for someone to fall in love with them. Strangely, I didn’t find her annoying. I thought that because of her desperation it might get on my nerves but it didn’t. Camille was simply herself and I managed to brush away all preconceptions I had at the start of the novel.
Zoe was our Doctor Frankenstein and I thought she was a very compelling character. I actually felt very sympathetic towards her because the events leading up to the novel were sad and heartfelt. I couldn’t help but wonder what she would have been like if she had led a normal life. But we wouldn’t have a novel if that were the case!
One of my favourite characters was actually Pee Wee! I mean, who can resist a cute puppy?!
Damian was a character that I wanted to slap. Yes, he got better in the end but if he were real then I think I would have to move to another continent. This isn’t a bad thing though as I believe this is what the author intended.

I really loved the idea of creating a perfect boy! It’s something that people dream of and to bring that idea to life in the form of a novel is something that I think people will enjoy reading about.

Dead Romantic is a book about love, heartache and monstrous ideas. It’s something that I would recommend to anybody.