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How to Save a Life
Summary
How to Save a Life
by Sara Zarr
- 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.
- Heart-achingly beautiful, moving and funny, How to Save a Life has been named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2011, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2011 and an American Library Assocation 2012 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults.
“A rich tapestry of love and survival that will resonate with even the most cynical readers.”
Booklist
“An achingly poignant read.”
The Daily Mail
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Sara Zarr
Sara Zarr is the acclaimed author of four Young Adult novels. Her debut, Story of a Girl, was nominated for the National Book Award and featured on the ALA Best Books for Young Adults. Sara lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband.
Visit www.sarazarr.com to find out more.
Press & Blog Reviews
A haunting and poignant look at the nature of families.
The Bookseller
A beautifully written story of two teenage girls from very different backgrounds - both of whom are trying to cope with their own heartbreaking situations. [Sara Zarr] captures both girls' voices brilliantly, and it is impossible not be moved by their stories.
We Love This Book
An extremely readable and thought-provoking novel.
The Bookseller
The touching denouement is a stroke of genius.
The Irish Examiner
I couldn't bear to be parted with this book.
Fluttering Butterflies
A real surprise gem... I will be raving about it to all and sundry.
Norfolk Bookworm blog
A very good book, exploring themes of grief, changes and family relationships with the help of a cast of characters who, throughout the novel, develop with the utmost grace and softness.
Painting With Words blog
I fell in love with this story and was hooked from the very first page. Zarr has created a beautifully written, heart warming novel with characters and situations that feel very real...one of my top books of 2012.
Bookbabblers
Packs an emotional punch that would floor the beefiest of boxers. A remarkable and heartbreaking story about the meaning of family, community, home and parenthood...an absorbing and life-affirming story enriched by humour, high emotion and genuine humanity.
Lancashire Evening Post
A thought-provoking young adult novel about the meaning of family, friendship. growing up and coming to terms with loss.
Booktrust
How to Save a Life is about many things: life, love, grief, acceptance, forgiveness. It's raw and realistic in a way that made me really feel like I knew the characters...the best contemporary novel I've read this year. It's the kind of book that makes me glad to be a reader.
Wondrous Reads blog
A very thought provoking read, with very realistic and relatable characters.
We Have No Boyfriends So This is How We Spend Our Free Time blog
A touching, yet optimistic and a very much realistic story about two girls with completely different backgrounds but a common aim: wanting to start over... a unique novel with a beautiful message that will definitely make you think – I really enjoyed it.
Books, Biscuits and Tea blog
Beautifully told from all three points of view and builds towards an emotional climax ...a marvellous book and a good one to read if you're scratching your head about to read next after Wonder.
The Newmarket Journal
After reading so many dystopias and plot-driven novels this year, this book was a complete treat. I love character orientated novels when they are done well which this most definitely was! I loved How to Save a Life and I hope that the rest of Sara Zarr’s novels will be published over here so lots more readers are introduced to such awesome contemporary YA.
So Many Books, So Little Time blog
How to Save a Life is a heart-warming novel for young people, but never twee or condescending, and I found it hard to put down once I’d started. Recommended for teenagers and adults alike.
For Books Sake blog
A beautifully handled exploration of grief and love, as seen through the eyes of two very different 17-year-old girls...
Sensitively told, this emotionally-charged story avoids cliché, possesses a cast of fully-formed characters and is an achingly poignant read.
The Daily Mail
A clever, perceptive novel, always aware of the extent of the various misunderstandings between characters.
Books for Keeps
A book that you really need to read for yourself... effortless to read, it is captivating and it really sucks you in. This is one of the best books I have read, and I don't say that a lot! I can't wait to read some more of Sara Zarr's work.
Stepping Out of the Page blog
It was everything I love in a book: really good writing and a story that drew me in, characters that were flawed people, with something deeply likable at their core, which made them feel real (cheesy but true). I was cheering, crying, hoping, laughing and crossing my fingers that everything was going to work out in the end.
Booktrust
A satisfying and engrossing read.
School Librarian Journal
Extras
- Follow Sara Zarr on Twitter
Follow @sarazarr on Twitter for all the latest news from the author. - Listen to Sara Zarr's podcast
Sara discusses the inspiration behind creativity with writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers and more in her free weekly podcast, This Creative Life. - Read an interview with Sara Zarr
Best-selling author, Cat Clarke speaks to Sara Zarr about reading, writing and the things she just can't live without. - Read Sara Zarr's Top Ten Family Dramas
Sara let The Guardian in on the ten family dramas that have most inspired her writing.
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