How to Save a Life

This book was awesome in so many ways. I know I say this a lot. The cover and the title caught my attention a while back. I forgot about this book, but somehow came back to it not long ago. I'm so glad I read it.The way Jill deals with her loss, by being angry, cynical and by pushing everybody away is pretty much how I felt about my own. Putting holes in my body, dressing in black, using make up, dark nails, angry stares. But always showing that I'm not tough to the core, never been never will.And Mandy, so innocent and naive, but so damaged in her own way. It's easy to not trust everything that has been given to her just by reading the things she's been through.These characters are so beautifully damaged it's so easy to be on the same page with them, watching as they think they're strong, as they fall apart, and as they put themselves together.I was scared Sara would make me hate Dylan, because from the start I came to love him as Jill's wall, her strength. But it was obvious it was a relationship that wasn't going anywhere. And just like that, things you have for certain, first things, will eventually go out of your reach. Nothing is forever.Not even grief.At first I was a little bothered because I'm not used to reading two-narrators stories, because I think sometimes details are left out and so. But this one delivered everything, and it was exciting getting from one to another. Mandy had me laughing from the moment she was talking to that man on the train, saying that their age gape wasn't that big. She's a funny, looking for the bright side girl. And with Jill it was slowly, and then all at once. They're both easy to like, easy to relate to. And even though they have bigger problems, you still find them struggling with boys, and love, and mothers. It's a beautiful story.

To say that I adored this book falls short. I wish I had written it. The story is told by Jill and Mandy, two teenagers who would have probably never crossed paths had it not been for the tragedy that changed Jill's once-perfect family and made her mom decide to adopt a baby. Mandy's having a baby and her family life makes her certain she can't have it anywhere near them and she's not even sure she wants to keep it. So, Mandy goes to live with Jill and her mom while they wait for the baby to come. Mandy keeps a lot of secrets from them and under less experienced hands would have come across as a manipulative, callous character but in reality, she's just a girl, too innocent for her age in one sense and too broken for her age in another, who is doing her best to survive. She never wants to hurt anyone, especially the people that took her in when her own mother cast her out. Jill doesn't so much hate Mandy as doesn't trust her or the change that she's bringing about. She hasn't moved on from her loss and her life has been a bit of a mess, last thing she needs is a total stranger coming to live with her. Over the next few weeks, they learn more about each other and about what it means for someone to be family.I loved how different these characters were, how their voices sounded completely different, how their stories complemented each other. Sara Zarr did a beautiful job with them and also with the supporting characters. All characters in the book moved the plot forward and helped the protagonists.Highly recommended!

Wow...so I could title this post, "Must Read"..the book is just that wonderful. Told in alternating chapters, by Mandy and Jill, it is story that deals with love, loss, hope, tragedy, evil, good...well...life.Both Mandy and Jill are dealing with intense issues, and as they gradually come to understand each other, through their alternating chronicles, the reader falls in love with both of them; with their stories, with their perspectives. Caring about all of the characters in this novel, is one of its' draws. (well, truthfully, two characters are awful, but described in a manner that allows you to picture them in a holistic manner).I titled the review, "Try a Little Tenderness" because it is a central theme to the book, and the song plays an important role in Jill's life. Whenever she and her late father were arguing, one would say to the other, "Try a Little Tenderness" and the fight would stop..wow, kind of a perfect sentiment, right?So, with Otis singing in the background, I plowed through this book. Yes, crying at the end, but these were tears of joy.Jill's mother states about life, "be prepared for detours"...and again, how true that is. Some detours we are happy to encounter, others are tragic and throw us for a loop. The death of Jill's dad, throws her family into turmoil, but the detour they ultimately take will have you too crying tears of joy.I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Sara Zarr's writing style is clear and uncluttered, yet sometimes devastating in its emotional honesty. She weaves together an interesting story; each chapter alternates between the two teenagers whose lives have been completely different. Jill is brought up in financial security by loving, attentive parents but is grieving because she has recently lost her father. Mandy is brought up by a single mother, was sexually abused by her mother's boy friend, is pregnant and completely lacking in self esteem. Their lives are intertwined when Jill's recently widowed mother decides to adopt Mandy's baby and Mandy comes to live with them until the birth.Both characters are flawed and not immediately likeable. Jill is angry and frustrated because she is unable to express her grief. She shuts out the people in her life who would reach out to help her. Mandy is a clingy, sticky label. The type of person who will tell her life story to complete strangers she just met minutes ago on the train. The story is propelled by the interaction of these 2 main characters, both internally and with each other. By the end, they bring out the best in each other and, thankfully, it is a happy ending!This is a short, very easy read. I would recommend it for female adults and teenagers alike.

I don't know why it takes me forever to read books that are very highly rated by the blogger community. How to Save a Life is one of those books - a lot of bloggers that I have similar tastes to loved it, and yet it took me a long time to get to reading it. And yes, I do wish I had picked it up sooner.How to Save a Life is a book that clicked with me from the first page. Jill is dealing with the death of her father the only way she knows how - by pushing people away and shutting them out of her life, including her boyfriend Dylan. And when her mother decides to adopt a baby, Jill is immediately completely against the idea. The connection that Jill had to her father is the thing that really resonated with me - her love and respect for him, and her overwhelming grief at her death felt so personal, so real and was so heartbreaking.Although she felt closest to her father, she also has a lot in common with her mother, which she doesn't seem to see in her grief - they are both intelligent, focused women and I loved them both as characters. Even their questionable decisions and reactions endeared them to me, because throughout everything both of their hearts were in the right place. Jill is independent, strong minded and I liked that she embraced her feelings and went with her instincts, whether they were right or wrong.Told in alternating POVs, Mandy irritated me at first - she's the kind of person I would have a similar reaction to as Jill, but as the story progressed and more of her life and background was revealed, I also started to feel sympathy towards her. It's just another example of how good How to Save a Life really is - that Zarr could make me feel that I was in Jill's seat, and my emotions changed along with hers.I also liked how Zarr handled Dylan and Jill's relationship - as it was already in play before the book began, rather than being a romance, it was more focused on how relationships change and grow as the characters did. There are two male characters, Dylan and Ravi, in Jill's life, and both of them are fabulous - they're caring, kind and not afraid to say what they are thinking - there's no good boy vs bad boy battle, it's simply two nice guys that are prominent in Jill's life for different reasons and I loved them both.The ending could have been a big cop-out, but Zarr handles it superbly - there's emotion, indecision and finally tough things need to happen, and there's a huge amount of character development in both Jill and Mandy.I adored How to Save a Life - the characters are larger than life, the plot kept my attention and it was completely addictive. Sad, happy and funny, sometimes separately and sometimes all at once, I can highly recommend it.

I'm not sure I would have picked this up had Amazon not kept pushing it at me, but I'm really glad I did.How to Save a Life tells the story of Jill, whose father has died leaving a gaping hole in her and her mother Robin's lives. Jill's solution to her grief is to retreat into a little ball of hurt and anger, lashing out at anyone who comes too near. Whereas Robin's solution is to adopt a baby...Enter Mandy. Neglected by her mother, Mandy forms inappropriate attachments with complete strangers. Pregnant with a baby who could be the result of sexual abuse, Mandy's only thought is to give it up for adoption.I really enjoyed How to Save a Life. Told from the dual perspectives of Jill and Mandy, it's a gentle, emotional read, and despite the difficult subject matters it never leaves you feeling raw. Sara Zarr paints both the protagonists perfectly, really letting you get into their characters.For a book that on one hand is about the way people deal with grief over the death of a loved one, and about teenage pregnancy on the other, it would have been so easy for Sara Zarr to have made this overly melodramatic, like one of those awful made-for-TV films they show in the afternoons. Instead it's very restrained but still manages to make you care about the characters.And the ending is just adorable.

I love this book. I read it about 4 years ago. It was one of the first books that I really enjoyed it's easy to follow along to. It has things I can relate to. Started reading it again, so I'm going to see if I interpret it differently now :00

this book made me feel a little uncomfortable, I didn't really like either of the main characters (Jill and Mandy) to begin with, but as I read on and their relationship developed, I realized that they needed each other and their unconventional little family to become whole.

This is a truly beautiful book. I loved reading it. It shows the love between mother and daughter very clearly and the way the book ends is perfectly fitting.