Review: How To Save a Life

    
    

Title: How To Save a Life
Author: Sara Zarr

Series: None
Pages: 411

Publisher: Usborne
Release Date: September 1st 2012 (UK)
Source: Bought
Rating: 4 stars
100 Book challenge: #90

Jill's life lost all meaning when her dad died. Friends, boyfriend, college – nothing matters any more. Then her mom drops a bombshell: she's going to adopt a baby.

Mandy is desperate for her life to change. Seventeen, pregnant and leaving home, she is sure of only one thing – her baby must never have a life like hers, whatever it takes.

As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn both how to hold on and how to let go, finding that nothing is as easy - or as difficult - as it seems.

'How to Save a Life' and I got off on a rocky start. I liked Jill well enough but Mandy just seemed like an absolute psycho. She is awkward and inappropriate when talking to people and I just had a feeling I wouldn't get on with the book because of that. However, as the book goes on I began to fall harder for it and ended up being really moved by it.

It is not a plot driven novel by any stretch of the imagination. It is about growth, change and acceptance. It is about moving forward. Zarr crafts her characters beautifully, all of them feeling unqiue, realistic and purposeful. No character seemed like they were there simply to be there. It was characters that inched the plot forward and it was really beautiful to watch.

The characters are the true heroes of this novel. They were all beautifully flawed and beautifully vulnerable. Ravi and Dylan, two secondary characters, played a huge part in the novel and neither were perfect yet because of this, they were. I left the novel feeling like I knew these characters and wanted to know them more.

The writing is very poetic and flows very nicely. It is definitely easy to read which, when a novel isn't driven by plot, is very important. There is such a softness in this novel which I can't describe in any other way. It feels delicate, like it needs to be handled carefully.

The outcome of the novel didn't truly surprise me but it was still very interesting to watch unfold and see the progression up to that point. If you enjoy novels about characters and growth and moving forward then this is something you will probably enjoy. It really touched me.