How to Save a Life - Sara Zarr
Synopsis: Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.
Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?
As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy--or as difficult--as it seems.
This was my first Sara Zarr novel, and it won't be my last. What I love about this book is it just feels real. There's no flashy tricks, big flares, or big gestures. It's life. Nitty gritty life. And every word of this book felt true, like somewhere across the country this was happening in the same real way that I was reading the words on the page.
The novel is told from two perspectives: Jill who seems to be the voice of reason - even when she's being unreasonable and then there's Mandy who drove me crazy at first, but suddenly you find yourself feeling for her and loving her. She's such a testament to - don't judge because you don't know what the other person has gone through. Mandy and Jill work wonderfully against each other. Jill is dealing with the loss of her father - where Mandy's never had a father and her mother always kept her down. They come from two very different places, but they are heading down the same path to finding a way to heal and to love. Everyone in this book is trying to repair something inside that has broken, and they each have their own ways. Yet, in the end, its helping someone else heal that begins those repairs.
I actually got to meet Sara Zarr two weeks ago. My professor for my YA lit class made it possible for her to come in and talk to a small group of us (it ended up being four of us and Sara) while she was in St. Louis on her book tour. She's such a lovely person - so laid back and down to earth. I had to ask her about the title and the epigraph on the dedication page. The epigraph is Flannery O'Connor - "The life you save may be your own" - which led to the admission, that while it did mean more, part of is was that she didn't want everyone to think she was just a Fray fan. Which, I have to admit, I had that song stuck in my head the whole time I read this book (and her previous novel, Once Was Lost, has me singing Amazing Grace ever time I look at the cover...). Anyways, meeting her and just chatting with her was such a blast! If she's ever near signing or doing an event near you, definitely go out and see her.
I recommend this book to fans of contemporary YA. Sara Zarr has been likened to Sarah Dessen, but honestly, I think she's just much more raw that Dessen. And, just because I can't leave it alone - I'm totally curious about that cover. Anyone else? I try to apply different parts of the book to that cover and I just can't come up with anything. But, I feel the meaning in the cover is significant, so I can't get past it. Anyone read this and has any ideas? Or have you found the meaning of the cover ellusive too?
How to Save a Life - Sara Zarr
Synopsis: Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.
Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?
As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy--or as difficult--as it seems.
This was my first Sara Zarr novel, and it won't be my last. What I love about this book is it just feels real. There's no flashy tricks, big flares, or big gestures. It's life. Nitty gritty life. And every word of this book felt true, like somewhere across the country this was happening in the same real way that I was reading the words on the page.
The novel is told from two perspectives: Jill who seems to be the voice of reason - even when she's being unreasonable and then there's Mandy who drove me crazy at first, but suddenly you find yourself feeling for her and loving her. She's such a testament to - don't judge because you don't know what the other person has gone through. Mandy and Jill work wonderfully against each other. Jill is dealing with the loss of her father - where Mandy's never had a father and her mother always kept her down. They come from two very different places, but they are heading down the same path to finding a way to heal and to love. Everyone in this book is trying to repair something inside that has broken, and they each have their own ways. Yet, in the end, its helping someone else heal that begins those repairs.
I actually got to meet Sara Zarr two weeks ago. My professor for my YA lit class made it possible for her to come in and talk to a small group of us (it ended up being four of us and Sara) while she was in St. Louis on her book tour. She's such a lovely person - so laid back and down to earth. I had to ask her about the title and the epigraph on the dedication page. The epigraph is Flannery O'Connor - "The life you save may be your own" - which led to the admission, that while it did mean more, part of is was that she didn't want everyone to think she was just a Fray fan. Which, I have to admit, I had that song stuck in my head the whole time I read this book (and her previous novel, Once Was Lost, has me singing Amazing Grace ever time I look at the cover...). Anyways, meeting her and just chatting with her was such a blast! If she's ever near signing or doing an event near you, definitely go out and see her.
I recommend this book to fans of contemporary YA. Sara Zarr has been likened to Sarah Dessen, but honestly, I think she's just much more raw that Dessen. And, just because I can't leave it alone - I'm totally curious about that cover. Anyone else? I try to apply different parts of the book to that cover and I just can't come up with anything. But, I feel the meaning in the cover is significant, so I can't get past it. Anyone read this and has any ideas? Or have you found the meaning of the cover ellusive too?
