Review: Bad Hair Day by Carrie Harris

Bad Hair Day (Kate Grable, #2)
by Carrie Harris
Published: Nov. 13, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:

Senior year is positively hair-raising.

Kate Grable is geeked out to shadow the county medical examiner as part of her school’s pre-med program. Except when he’s arrested for murder, she’s left with the bodies. And when Kate’s brother Jonah stumbles upon a dead gamer girl, she realizes that the zombie epidemic she cured last fall was only the beginning of the weirdness taking over her town. Someone’s murdering kids—something really hairy. And strong. Possibly with claws.

Is it werewolf awesomeness like Jonah and his dorktastic friends think? Kate’s supposed to be a butt-kicking zombie killing genius...but if she can’t figure out who’s behind the freakish attacks, the victims—or what’s left of them—are going to keep piling up.

It’s scary. It’s twisted. It’s sick. It’s high school.

Review:
Carrie Harris's sequel to Bad Taste in Boys is exactly what I expected from her. If you've ever visited her website you'll know what I mean. Bad Hair Day picks up soon after Bad Taste in Boys ends and Kate is still adjusting to all of the attention she's been getting ever since curing the "zombie" virus. In Bad Taste in Boys she got the boy she wanted and now she's struggling to deal with having a boyfriend who is really beyond her geeky social status while at the same time trying to save the world again.

I love that Kate's character doesn't change from one book to the other. Even though she's famous, she stays true to her science geek character and once the new mystery starts she is completely focused on solving it. There were some interesting scenes between Kate and her boyfriend Aaron. But he wasn't a big player in the story, mainly because Kate is too independent to fall into the whole "I love you too much to do anything without you" routine. In fact, Kate almost forgets about him while embroiled in her mystery.

I actually found the interactions between Kate and her brother, Jonah, to be the most entertaining. I don't have a brother, but can imagine how one would be so annoying, especially if he wore tights and played with a sword all day.

There is of course a certain amount of reality that needs to be checked before opening the book, even for a paranormal book. Kate's ability to perform some complex surgical procedures, the police department's willingness to divulge sensitive information to her, and the hospital's lack of knowledge that a high school senior is acting as medical examiner makes things convenient for the plot, but doesn't toe the line of reality.

For me this was a quick, fun read and really, once the line "You don't understand. I'm team Edward!" crossed the page, I was all in. This is a definite must read for anyone who's looking for something a quirky and fast paced.