How It Ends by Laura Wiess
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
"I would not willingly peel back the scar tissue protecting the deepest chambers of my heart and reveal the bruised hollows pooled with the blood of old wounds---the terror that just thinking about it---but now, facing darkness I am left with no choice. I love you, and because of that I am going to try and raise the dead." ---Louise Bell Closson
This is one of the most haunting books I've read this year. The twists and turns will keep you wondering from the minute you start reading this book until you know How It Ends.
I was intrigued most about Laura Wiess's use of an audiobook within a book. There were times I became confused about which story we were on but it all ties in together. I've never read a book even remotely close to this and really enjoyed it!
Hanna is your almost typical teenager. She thinks Seth is the bomb diggity and can't imagine her life without him. She also thinks a lot of her neighbor, Gran. As she grows older, Hanna spends less and less time with Gran, which causes a lot of heartache on both sides. I found myself feeling sorry for Gran and her loneliness. A school project helps Hanna to find her way back into spending more time with Gran and learning more about her life growing up.
I found myself at times not wanting to know how this book would end. I laughed, I wanted to throw the book at certain characters, and I bawled like a baby. I believe I may have experience every imaginable emotion during my reading of this book.
It is written for young adults but I know that "older" adults would enjoy it just as well, if not more so. I do rate this book PG-13 for some very strong language and some suggestive scenes. I don't guess I recognized that this was a YA book until I was reading the author's interview and the discussion questions.
Be patient while reading this book (it's hard to do in this one with all the twists and turns!) and by the end, you will know How It Ends. Like it, love it, or hate it, the book does end!
Thanks to Sarah at Pocket Books for providing this copy for review and giveaway.
Please check out these other reviews this week!
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For me this would be my "Aunt Faffy". In a lot of ways, she reminded me of Helen. In a lot of other ways, she was nothing like her.
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Well said! I'll have to give this one a shot. :)
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ReplyDeleteSomeone who has meant a lot to me but was not blood related is my friend Missy. Missy has had a way about her that always just lifts my spirits. She supported me during some very painful times in my life and joined along and often caused me to laugh out loud and find joy in life. She is such a wonderful person and someone I know that I will be close to for the rest of my life no matter how far away we may be from each other. Great giveaway and review. Thanks so much!
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That person for me would be my friend, Ron. We've known each other since gr. 9 but really became good friends in our first year of university. We've just been best friends for what seems like forever. We visit each other on the opposite sides of the planet, we giggle uncontrollably, we sit in silence. We are like family.
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Someone who meant a lot to me but was not related:
ReplyDeleteA woman across the street when I was growing up. Her name was Margaret and she was like a grandmother to me. Her own children didn't visit her much and I had no living grandmothers, so we kinda adopted each other. When I was 15 we moved a 2 hour drive away, but I'd still go visit her often when we went to my sisters house who lived just a few miles from her.
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To answer your question: My husband, Andrew. We were friends for 12 years before we married, giving us a bedrock foundation for a lifelong relationship. He is my sea and I am his sky with all the hidden depth, soaring heights, and remarkable adventures those metaphors imply.
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I love her other books and this one looks just as good!
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