Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah 
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 Jill is grieving the death of her father. This is something she and her mother have in common, only they are handling it in entirely different ways. Jill is a teenager and handles it like many other teens would. She gets angry. She shuts people out. She hides and doesn't cope with the pain. Her mother, on the other hand, takes an entirely alternative route. She has decided to adopt a baby. Jill doesn't understand how this can be the answer and fights it almost all the way. 
 Mandy is a pregnant teen with lots of secrets. She finds Jill's mother (Robin) on a website where people arrange adoptions. After getting to know each other through emails for awhile, the two make arrangements for an adoption. Mandy hops on a train to go live with Robin and Jill for the few weeks before the child is born. Mandy is hiding a few things though; things that Robin and Jill will soon find out. The question is... how will these secrets change the lives of everyone involved? 
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 This is my first Sara Zarr read and I am definitely impressed! 
 Let's start with the bad, shall we? It's really not much. I think the plot moved a tad bit slow in the beginning and I also had a small problem with how Mandy was acting. I don't believe that even a girl who was sheltered and abused like she was would be so dense. Mainly I am talking about how she practically stalked this guy she met on the train. It was just painful to read... I mean this girl surely could not be so clueless? 
 Aside from that, I really enjoyed the book. The characters were very well developed and, though not always easy to like, easy to sympathize with and understand. The story was told in a dual narrative. Jill and Mandy each got their own chapters. One of the issues I sometimes have with this is that the voices do not seem distinct enough. Sometimes you can lose track of who you're even reading about, you know? Not the case here. Each girl was very clearly defined. 
 There was a romance going on with Jill. I won't give away details and spoil it, but Zarr took an unconventional (and unpredictable) route in the romance department. I really appreciated the way she took the storyline as far as that goes. I think she deserves appraisal for taking the road less traveled; for thinking outside the box. 
 The plot itself was heartbreaking and beautiful. I admit I was really surprised I liked this book. I grabbed it from the library solely because of the reviews I'd read on it. I was expecting to be bored, actually. Again, didn't happen. Zarr's writing is lyrical and thought-provoking. I definitely plan to read more from her in the future. 
 Overall, How to Save a Life is an amazing book - a must read! Completely engaging and beautifully emotional. Zarr created characters with depth that were beautiful in their realness. This story has just the right mixture of hope and sorrow. It's a story about love, family, and coping with the realities of life - and death - in the best ways that we can. This is a book I would recommend to just about anyone. Truly beautiful. 
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 Book source: Libraries are love! 
 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group