nkinner's review
5.0
Love love loved it.
So so good. It was definitely an instant download to the decision in the series! I know when a story is good and I gasp out loud while reading and experiencing the story.
So so good. It was definitely an instant download to the decision in the series! I know when a story is good and I gasp out loud while reading and experiencing the story.
alistofsydneys's review
5.0
Why?! The ending broke my heart, I need the next book but it cost $2.99 on kindle and I don't have that money!
duchessnikki's review
5.0
WOW!!! Just WOW!!!. I cried through the first 20%. After that things evened out a bit. I don't have a personal connection with the circumstance of the main character and yet I instantly felt for her. Dying to Forget is a well written glimpse into the authors idea of the after life of a teenage suicide. What becomes of a person when they have "volunteered" to leave life.
goblinghost_39's review
3.0
I'm torn with how to rate this. First off, this was free on Amazon and it definitely kept my attention - something that many free Kindle books fail to do. And I love the overall concept of this story. But, a lot of the characters come off as 2D. Though that may be because this is the first book of the series and some characters haven't had the chance to develop. And we only really get to focus on Piper. But since her job is to not think about herself, but instead focus on others, we don't really get to see her develop either. The story also starts to fall apart towards the end when Piper gets her second assignment. Nothing about Abby's situation is believable. It's like the author needed to kill time before revealing the cliff hanger. However, the world building is intriguing and the idea that those who have committed suicide have the chance to help others from doing the same really made me step back and think about my own life. So I'll probably look into the rest of this series.
And this isn't an issue with the story itself, but more of an observation with stories like this in general - for once can we have a story about someone with depression and suicidal thoughts that didn't have multiple horribly traumatic things happen to them? I get it. I really do. Things like this do happen in reality and these stories should be told. But there are a lot of people out there with mental illness that have it "just because." Not to brush off those with trauma. Not at all. But I just never seem to read stories about those "my brain's just like this" people. And there are a lot of us out there. And where this particular book bothers me, is that the way the characters handle trauma just doesn't seem like a realistic reaction. However, I have never experienced sexual assault so who am I to say how a person should or should not act. Ok, rant over.
And this isn't an issue with the story itself, but more of an observation with stories like this in general - for once can we have a story about someone with depression and suicidal thoughts that didn't have multiple horribly traumatic things happen to them? I get it. I really do. Things like this do happen in reality and these stories should be told. But there are a lot of people out there with mental illness that have it "just because." Not to brush off those with trauma. Not at all. But I just never seem to read stories about those "my brain's just like this" people. And there are a lot of us out there. And where this particular book bothers me, is that the way the characters handle trauma just doesn't seem like a realistic reaction. However, I have never experienced sexual assault so who am I to say how a person should or should not act. Ok, rant over.
bellafirefly's review
4.0
I will admit when I found this book on Amazon, I was a bit weary of it due to the subject matter. But it sounded interesting and so that quickly won me over and I got it, figuring I would just have some tissues handy if needed. And they were.
Piper had a rough life. Her mother left her and her dad, she was assaulted at a party by a guy that she liked and as she continued to spiral into depression the unthinkable happens - she loses her best friend in a car crash. And so she does the one thing she can think to do - she commits suicide.
Like I said, I was a bit weary of this topic. Suicide is very touchy yet Miss Dawson managed to weave a wonderful story, showing a positive outcome to suicide as Piper shows up at a place called The Station where she can volunteer to be an inner "conscience" to those struggling just like she had in her own life. In other words, she may have chosen to give up on her life so young yet now she has the ability to steer others away from that decision and make them realize that life is worth living.
I loved Piper. I hated seeing her struggle so much at the beginning although I could understand why she did. And although I hated that she felt like her only decision was to take her life, it was heartwarming to see her reaching out to help others in need in the afterlife. And you could really see the dedication and love she put into the job, wanting her Assignments to succeed.
And mad props for the cliffhanger at the end. I had to rush off to get the second book to see what happened.
Don't let the shaky story flow at first get you down. It gets better midway through the book and towards the end, you won't be able to put it down, promise!
Piper had a rough life. Her mother left her and her dad, she was assaulted at a party by a guy that she liked and as she continued to spiral into depression the unthinkable happens - she loses her best friend in a car crash. And so she does the one thing she can think to do - she commits suicide.
Like I said, I was a bit weary of this topic. Suicide is very touchy yet Miss Dawson managed to weave a wonderful story, showing a positive outcome to suicide as Piper shows up at a place called The Station where she can volunteer to be an inner "conscience" to those struggling just like she had in her own life. In other words, she may have chosen to give up on her life so young yet now she has the ability to steer others away from that decision and make them realize that life is worth living.
I loved Piper. I hated seeing her struggle so much at the beginning although I could understand why she did. And although I hated that she felt like her only decision was to take her life, it was heartwarming to see her reaching out to help others in need in the afterlife. And you could really see the dedication and love she put into the job, wanting her Assignments to succeed.
And mad props for the cliffhanger at the end. I had to rush off to get the second book to see what happened.
Don't let the shaky story flow at first get you down. It gets better midway through the book and towards the end, you won't be able to put it down, promise!
cowmingo's review
4.0
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this book up but what an interesting idea. After Piper Willow kills herself, she wakes up at "The Station" where she is giving the choice to volunteer or be sent into the unknown. Volunteering means that Piper will be sent to Earth to inhabit the mind of someone else on the verge of suicide. I sped through this book in around an hour (it's short, sue me) and immediately purchased the next two in the series. Can't wait to see what's next.
lajg13's review
2.0
A different voice on suicide with a cliff-hanger ending. I was intrigued after this first book to find out where the second and third books would possibly go from here.
adeviantllama's review
4.0
Synopsis: Piper Willow is just 16 when she dies. She's been through a lot in her short life, raped by the boy she thought she loved, blamed for the accident that killed her best friend, she decides to end her own life. What she does not expect is to wake up at the Station. Not heaven, not hell, the Station is a place where those who take their own lives can stay and help those most in need. People like they were. Piper is given just two-choices, return to earth as the subconcious of some one in danger of committing suicide, help them, try and steer them away from the edge, or move-on into an enternity filled with her own guilt and sorrow.
Review: Okay, so once I got into the meat of the story I thought it was great, I literally could not put it down, but the first two chapters were, well not awful, just terribly, terribly depressing. So I read the first chapter ages and ages ago, put it down and didn't pick it up for again for a long time because I just did not want to read about depressing stuff. When I picked it up again I intended to force myself through another chapter, and boy I'm glad I did, because when the protagonist of a story dies at the end of the second chapter, it kind of makes you want to read on! The premise of the story is a really interesting one and it was lovely to see Piper's character development over the course of the story.
TL;DR: Chapter 3 onwards is amazing, the prologue and chapters 1 and 2 are just depressing.
Favourite Line: Her words are like a soft blanket draped around my shoulders
Review: Okay, so once I got into the meat of the story I thought it was great, I literally could not put it down, but the first two chapters were, well not awful, just terribly, terribly depressing. So I read the first chapter ages and ages ago, put it down and didn't pick it up for again for a long time because I just did not want to read about depressing stuff. When I picked it up again I intended to force myself through another chapter, and boy I'm glad I did, because when the protagonist of a story dies at the end of the second chapter, it kind of makes you want to read on! The premise of the story is a really interesting one and it was lovely to see Piper's character development over the course of the story.
TL;DR: Chapter 3 onwards is amazing, the prologue and chapters 1 and 2 are just depressing.
Favourite Line: Her words are like a soft blanket draped around my shoulders
thatweirdlibrarian's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this book the only complaint I have is if a suicidal teen was reading the book they may not see a negative to suicide if they believed the story