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A review by estherfilbrun
How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
5.0
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first got into this book. Mom read it, and asked me if I could read it at some stage—she couldn’t decide whether she liked it enough to keep on the shelf or not. I was quite intrigued when I got into the book—this isn’t the kind of story you get just every day!
The story switches between two girls’ points of view—Jill, who is still trying to work through the devastating loss of her father, and Mandy, who just wants to be part of a family. Both characters are well-drawn, and, unexpectedly, I found myself rooting for both of them—and sympathizing with the situations they found themselves in. I didn’t agree with all the choices they made, but as the story went on and I learned more about what was driving the girls, I was able to understand why they acted the way they did.
This is a powerful story. It doesn’t depict a picture-perfect world, and to be honest, there were a few places that made me uncomfortable (as a rule, I don’t read intimate scenes, but I felt like the way they were done here was as vague as possible, since one, especially, was necessary to the plot). By the time I got to the end of the book, I realized that I had fallen in love with the characters. This is an unusual story in many ways, but I believe just about anyone would be able to find themselves in the story. If you enjoy books that are easy to read, but give you something to mull over long after you put the book down, I’d recommend you check it out. It’s a good one!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
The story switches between two girls’ points of view—Jill, who is still trying to work through the devastating loss of her father, and Mandy, who just wants to be part of a family. Both characters are well-drawn, and, unexpectedly, I found myself rooting for both of them—and sympathizing with the situations they found themselves in. I didn’t agree with all the choices they made, but as the story went on and I learned more about what was driving the girls, I was able to understand why they acted the way they did.
This is a powerful story. It doesn’t depict a picture-perfect world, and to be honest, there were a few places that made me uncomfortable (as a rule, I don’t read intimate scenes, but I felt like the way they were done here was as vague as possible, since one, especially, was necessary to the plot). By the time I got to the end of the book, I realized that I had fallen in love with the characters. This is an unusual story in many ways, but I believe just about anyone would be able to find themselves in the story. If you enjoy books that are easy to read, but give you something to mull over long after you put the book down, I’d recommend you check it out. It’s a good one!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.