Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, adoring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. Then, in an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left-the most important decision she'll ever make.
I started reading this one last night and finished it up this morning. Some books are like that, you just zoom right through them because they grab hold of you and don't let you go until the very last page.
A little personal info here...I have 2 daughters, 23 and 16 and guess what?? We get along great. Not only do we love each other, we LIKE each other and I think that's actually the case for a lot of kids. But you wouldn't know it to read a lot of YA books. Parents are practically non-existent in so many and the ones that do show up are..well...kinda clueless.
Not in this book!! Mia likes her parents and her parents are cool people...with brains and feelings and respect (given AND received) and I LOVED that. It was one of my favorite things about this book.
If you think from the synopsis that this sounds like it might be a tearjerker, you are indeed correct. I cried through the last few pages and I'm pretty sure most people who read it will. This one has already been passed along to my daughter's friend Jessica (who loaned me The Last Song) cause I just know she's gonna love it.
My only complaint is that I still kind of felt like I didn't REALLY know these characters as fully as I wanted to once it was over. It was a good read and I really liked it, but I just feel like it could have gone even further. I would have liked to get a little more into Mia's head as I almost got the sense that she was holding back with her emotions somewhat. I feel like we only got the surface stuff so when it came to other parts of the book that should have hit me hard emotionally, the impact just wasn't there. It was a good book, but I just can't say it was great.
Final Score: 4 outta 5
And as a footnote, music plays a huge role in this story, so if you've read the book, here's a little treat...
4 comments:
That does sound like a tearjerker - I hope Mia made the right decision!
I LOVE the fact that Mia's parents are actually "on the up and up." Clueless parents in YA have become so cliched as of late; it's great to see an author who steps out of the box and makes them more human and understanding. :)
Great review! I loved this book. One of my favorites.
We are reading this for our YA book club in a couple of weeks. Can't wait to dive in.
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