If I Die by Rachel Vincent Review

If I Die by Rachel Vincent
(Soul Screamers, #5)
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen; 342 pages

The entire school's talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior. She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee.

Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.

But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Warning there will be slight spoilers from the previous books in this series, My Soul to Take, My Soul to Save, My Soul to Keep, and My Soul to Steal.  If you do not want to be spoiled, I suggest you proceed with caution.

I don't know about you, but if I found out that I was going to die I would probably just curl up in a ball.  And if I found out the exact date that I was going to die, well I would probably stay in that ball until my deadly fate.  But if you're Kaylee Cavanaugh, that's not what you do.  And honestly that's what has always made me like Kaylee.  She accepts her fate, and decides that she's going to do whatever she can to live for the moment.  But she learns that there is a difference between having an experience because you want to, and doing something just to get it over with.  Kaylee had many challenges and decisions in this book.  Most of which are choices that your average teen goes through.  I think that this book sets such a positive example for why you should do something, and why you shouldn't.

From start to finish this book just grabs you, really pulls you in especially in the first chapter.  One of the things I've always liked about this series is that they pick up where the last one ends.  There usually isn't much of a gap, and if it is, it's only a few weeks.  Kaylee and Nash are back together after struggling to find their wait back to each other.  And Sabine and Kaylee have found a way for a cease fire.  But there are tons and tons of twist and turns.  And unfortunately I can't really say much because it spoils it.  But I must say my emotions were going crazy while reading this.

This is probably going to sound weird, and I guess this is fitting because it is December.  This was one of the most difficult reviews I've had to write this year.  I finished reading this book a few days ago, and honestly no book this year has given me a bigger book hangover.  It's books like this that make me happy that I am reading it after the series has already been completed.  Because honestly, if I had to wait for the next books I probably would give up on the series.  As a book it self, this book is excellent.  Definitely worth 4 and a half stars, but on a personal level, as in how I feel I just don't know how to rate this.  

I've always tried to base my ratings on books on many factors, such as character development, the flow of the story, and general enjoyment.  But sometimes just because you personally don't agree with a book, doesn't make it a bad book.  For example, the lead character in a love triangle ends up picking the other guy, not the one you wanted her to end up with.  Does that make the book suddenly bad?  No.   But it sucks for you as a reader because you wanted the other guy to get the girl.  With all that being said, I decided to be professional and rate this as a book itself and throw my personal opinion out the door.

I know I said that I would probably give up on this series if all the books weren't already released, but I think it will be best if I took a break from it. So I will probably come back to the Soul Screamers in about 6 or so months.