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Good Girls Don’t Die is a mystery horror from Christina Henry, released on the 14th of November. I loved this book and was so excited to see a reader’s guide at the end of the book. Yes, I know that is a bit sad, but OMG! A chance to answer questions about the book I’ve read. I love it. I need more authors to do this. I want to write about your books, but I never know what people want to hear, so this is brilliant. So, I present to thee my answers to the GGDD Reader’s Guide!
**Ye be warned!**
Spoilers ahead
~1~
Who was your favourite character in the novel, and why?
If I had to pick one of them, then I think I would choose Allie. I loved all for different reasons, but I think I connected more with Allie with the student aspect and the need to hold on to what little friends she had. She was also one of the two who were quickest to anger at the end, and I understand that as I usually unconsciously default to anger as a defence.
So, I would choose Allie, but Celia and Maggie were brilliant.
~2~
How do the three women differ in their reactions to finding themselves in their scenarios? How does each woman surprise herself? How do you think you would react to the challenges these characters face, and why?
I’ll break this question down.
How do the three women differ in their reactions to finding themselves in their scenarios?
Celia was a lot more controlled in her reaction. She understood very quickly that whatever was happening, she couldn’t trust anyone. This thinking ultimately saved her. She slowly figured things out and kept her breakdowns silent and isolated, like running away and locking herself in the office. It may have been out of character (literally), but she was able to play it off a bit.
Allie was quick to involve others in her thinking. Fair enough, since she was with her friends, unlike Celia. I don’t think she would have benefitted from concealing her thoughts like Celia. While internally breaking down, she kept herself as level as possible and was rather rational considering the circumstances.
Maggie’s situation was a lot different, and therefore, her reaction was a lot different. Unlike Celia and Allie, Maggie knew she was in some messed up scenario from the get-go. She didn’t need to determine whether this was real or manufactured horror. She was in her own personal Maze Runner hell. Maggie’s reaction was calculated from the start. Since she knew the whole goal was her pain and misery for entertainment and money, there was no need to guess her next move; it was to win.
How does each woman surprise herself?
I think Celia surprises herself by actually working out what is happening and then escaping. She mentions throughout that she knows certain things about herself, like her dislike of running. How well she keeps her composure was probably also a surprise. Celia had absolutely no one to confide in, so to keep herself somewhat calm enough to outsmart an entire cast of people and escape is surprising in and of itself. Also, Celia, in the end, was not the same as Celia, who woke up in that perfect village. That may have shocked her, especially with her final actions. She shocked everyone with her, so there was no way somewhere inside her, she didn’t feel shocked too.
For Allie, I don’t know if she was shocked during her scenario as much. I mean, she was already upset to be there since her girl’s weekend was hijacked and other than the shock of what happened in her scenario, the only thing I can think of is maybe how she was able to push past what was happening and keep going. That may have been her biggest shock. When it comes to the ending, though, I think she may have been shocked by how quickly she came to violence and then how strong she was.
I think Maggie shocked herself by how much she trusted some of the other girls she was with, missing a few details much earlier in the maze. Almost like a lack of trust in herself at that moment. Later on, though, Maggie probably shocked herself with how much she could do and take to get out of the maze and find her daughter.
How do you think you would react to the challenges these characters face, and why?
I don’t think I would have survived any scenario. What they went through is too scary. Maybe I could have survived Celia’s by doing what she did, keep everything to myself and escape, but I still don’t think I would survive. In Allie’s scenario, I was screaming at her to leave from the start. Just walk away. If they follow, they follow. If they don’t, so be it. For Maggie’s, I’d be dead. I literally would not survive any of that.
~3~
Celia’s biggest fear is that “she would speak words that no one would believe.” In constructing his trap, how does Matheson take advantage of the fact that women are often not believed?
For all of them, I think, it comes down to the basic reality of the situation. Like, yeah, if you know about how dark the world can be, then open your mind to the possibility that there is so much going on that the mainstream media and news never talk about, and then what they went through can be possible. However, trying to get anyone to believe them would be hard for the average person.
Imagine: All get to some form of law enforcement and start telling them about what happened. Would the police believe them? Would they be thought of as being on drugs? Maybe needing psychiatric attention? Or, better yet, everyone feels that they are telling this story as part of some fucked-up TikTok trend.
Mattheson did well in constructing an unbelievable situation in the first place; there would need to be more proof. As he says, no one would believe them over him, which is true. The court of public opinion may sway more to the women’s side, especially in the social media era where money = untrustworthiness in some circles. However, in the mainstream, Mattheson made the situation seem just a bit too out there to be easily plausible and built himself up enough that no one would believe such a distinguished, brilliant mind like him would bother himself with women who have no social standing near him.
~4~
What do you think the story was about at the end of Celia’s section? At the end of Allie’s? At the end of Maggie’s? Did you see the ending coming? Why or why not?
Celia
At the end of Celia’s, I wasn’t sure what I thought about the ending. I remember vividly being launched back into The Maze Runner and the whole thinking you were somehow outside and with space to keep going and going, but some higher power has you enclosed and is watching you. I didn’t have much thought after that.
Allie
From Allie’s scenario, I knew they weren’t inside anymore, but I still wasn’t sure of what was happening. The whole thing with her friend’s boyfriend being involved threw me because that took away The Maze Runner vibes, as it was no longer feeling like a government body type of deal.
Maggie
Maggie’s ending entirely had me believing that this was being streamed to the Dark Web with a disgusting amount of people paying to watch different scenarios, all set up based on a voting system of what they want to see next. This is also where I thought you could have paid to have someone you know ‘enter the scenarios’ so you could watch them suffer and be rid of them at the same time.
All Together Now
Did I see the ending coming? No. I am hundred per cent thought this was all run by a group of psychotic individuals, not one very rich incel. That was wild. And the amount of money this thing had, and yet he never got enough staff to cover the three scenarios properly, was very funny. Even when running a very illegal, psychotic kill show, the rich boy couldn’t part with enough money to hire the right amount of staff. Hilarious.
~5~
While they are dramatised for fictional purposes here, do any of the women’s experiences online match up with your experiences of cyberbullying and toxic internet culture?
I’ve been quite fortunate to have avoided a lot of the toxic internet culture, so I cannot say it related to my online experiences at all. Still, it comes across my social feeds, especially with some of the YouTube channels I watch (Atozy, Angelika Oles and Markie).
Unfortunately, negativity sells really well on any corner of the internet, so when you venture into the online sphere, you will come across it in some form. From the online interactions in Good Girls Don’t Die, it does appear to be something that could happen online. Even delving into some comment sections on Bookstagram can be terrifying, and that is a community you might not think has a lot of drama.
~6~
How did the online conversations running throughout the book guide your expectations for each section?
The interactions guided me more towards what genre I was going to experience. Celia was crime/mystery, Allie was horror, and Maggie was dystopian. Each online interaction prepared me for what style I was entering.
Out of the three, Maggie’s is the one that shocked me the most. I thought she would have followed the other two and maybe been more like The Maze Runner. Waking up (like Celia), trying to work out what was going on, given an objective and go. I didn’t expect it to be so different.
~7~
If you had to cast this book as a film, who would you envision playing Allie, Celia and Maggie?
Celia – Britt Robertson
I think Britt Robertson is brilliant at portraying the confused but fierce female lead of anything she is in, so it would fit perfectly for Celia.
Allie – Antonia Gentry
Antonia Gentry plays Ginny in Ginny and Georgia. While I don’t like Ginny and Georgia, I do think Antonia Gentry is a fantastic actress and would be able to play the role of Allie perfectly!
Maggie – Sierra Aylina McClain
Sierra McClain just gives me the vibes that she could pull off Maggie with no problems!
Thoughts on the GGDD Reader’s Guide
I love the GGDD reader’s guide! I think more books should have a reader’s guide. It’s fun to interact with the story and the author. Plus, reader guides allow the author to ask and maybe find out the questions they have about their story, writing style and other queries they may have that
