I make it no secret when it comes to JLA's books, that I love them. When her new books come out I make it a habit of at least looking at them and skimming them even if I don't get a chance to read them right away. That was the case with this book. I picked it up in September when it came out and skimmed it, but I put it down. Seemed like the normal teenage drama that you'd find in most YA novels and at that moment I was a little over that. I was looking for something with a little more substance.
When I started reading this book a few nights ago I was pretty unimpressed with what was going on. Where was the big event that I was promised in the summary of the book on the flap? Where was this whole thing going? I set the book aside and read a few reviews to see what other readers had to say. Most of them got annoyed at the fact that the author sets this character up to be a big nerd who loves to read and who watches history channel documentaries. That didn't bother me. It made the character relate-able as I enjoy those same things. Many others thought the plot of the novel and the idea behind it was forced and uninspired. I could see both points of view, but I wasn't sure which side I was on. Not yet. So I kept reading until I hit the big bang that was promised.
The drama in the novel shifted from slightly annoying teenage stuff to something I could cling to and focus on. It was sad and the character then seemed broken, which I like. I don't like characters who are too perfect. And she also, again, was someone I could relate to.
*****This is the point where you should stop reading if you haven't read the novel and intend to. I am including spoilers in this post*****
Lena is just finishing the summer before her senior year in high school and she goes to a party with some friends and she makes a mistake. That mistake just happens to take the lives of four of her friends. Four people that she saw everyday were suddenly no longer there. Lena gets into a car with them and, even though she knows they are drunk and she is not, she lets someone else drive and she has to live with that guilt.
I will admit that I almost put the book down many times before getting to this point. The author takes a long time to get to the accident and the drama that unfolds afterward, but as I continued to read I understood more why she did that. She had to make the reader understand that Lena had a very normal life and how immersed she was into these peoples' lives to make the reader understand what Lena was actually going through. Lena knew everyone of those people and she knew them well, but she was the only one who lived. The author also shows the reader that the friends that Lena still has after the accident are affected, not only by the accident, but by everything that Lena does afterward as well. Lena pushes people away because of the guilt she feels and the friends that she once had begin to change as a result.
I did really enjoy this book even though it did take a little bit for me to get into things. I will admit that after the part about the accident I did get choked up a few times. This is a pretty emotional book towards the end, but I would definitely recommend it.
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