Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before.
Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he’s volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can't ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she’s been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he’s really from.
Lori's Review: 4.5 Stars
WOW...what a book. Thanks for the recommend Rhiannon. This book is about a girl grieving her best friends death. She has lost the will to live and goes through life like a zombie until the popular boy agrees to tutor her. She starts to love again and this feels like a happy go lucky teen love story. Then half way through...BOOM. Awesome dystopia with nefarious villians and everything. Complete awesomesauce.
Denise Grover Swank wrote a real page turner. Even before it suddenly jumped into my second favorite genre I was still digging it.
What I liked:
Julia had depth. I felt her pain over losing her friend. I felt her feeling life again. I felt her cute boy butterflies.
The first half has what I look for in my cute little teen contemp romances. The second half has what I look for in my fave dystopias. Well except zombies. She does mention them though. Both guys are great and each brings something different to the party. I really want to keep talking about this book and give an even more detailed review but I fear I will give away spoilers.
Let's just say I knew where the book was going but I was still surprised at the same time. Nothing was really resolved so we know there would be a sequel. Which I am totally pumped about.
What I didn't like:
I really hate this time of the review. Especially when I love the book. I was a little upset that Julia seems to be jumping from guy to guy and we get no idea where her heart really lies. And really these guys keep saying they are into Julia but are they? Uhh I want to know now.
Spoiler Alert:
ReplyDeleteI honestly thought that she was infected by the other Julia's emotions and that was why she was hopping back and forth. She can't separate from the bleed over that happened during the accident.
I'm more suspicious of Gavin's feelings being true than Reece for some reason.
Me too. I hope we see more of the effects of the "hopping" back and forth in the next book. I think there is some real potential to take this to the next level if Julia starts to lose herself. I am too Reece seems more genuine to me. I think Evan had the other up on a pedastal and the Julia we know will fail him.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you loved it. It makes me so excited when readers give thought to my characters motivations and reactions. :)
ReplyDeleteI wrote a short story from Reece's POV for Refracting Light if you're interested in reading: http://refractedlightreviews.com/?p=8297
thanks Denise. Sorry it's so short but I really don't want to reveal too much in my review. People get made about me giving away spoilers. LOL. I loved the story from Reece's POV. Is it totally weird that I am cheering for Reece from Julia's home universe. He's the only one who doesn't have this other messed up past with her. LOL. Also-my sister and her kids used to live in Lee's Summit. Her ex lives in Belton. So I have been to your home town!!!
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