Publisher: Philomel Books
Published: April 13, 2021
Source: Netgalley via Publisher
Summary:
From the author of We Speak in Storms comes a twisty, psychological thriller about three friends searching for the truth in the aftermath of a plane crash.
The morning after their senior year beach party, Izzy, Cass, and Janie are woken by a thundering overhead. Then they and their classmates watch in shock as a plane crashes into the water. When the passengers are finally recovered, they are identified as Izzy’s twin brother, Israel, Cass’s ex-boyfriend, Shane, and Janie’s best friend, Nate. But Izzy can feel when her brother is in pain, and she knows he’s not really dead. So she, Cass, and Janie set out to discover what actually happened that day–and why the boys were on the plane.
Told in alternating timelines and points of view, this powerful and captivating novel follows the three boys in the weeks leading up to that fateful flight, and the girls they left behind as they try to piece together the truth about the boys they loved and thought they knew. A spellbinding story about the ripple effects of tragedy, the questions we leave unanswered, and the enduring power of friendship.
My thoughts:
When I first read about this book, I was intrigued. YA is still a relatively new genre to me but I have to say the books I’ve read so far have all been really good and this is definitely one to add to that list.
This is a book about grief, death and ultimately suicide and I think it handles all these topics so well. Having it told from multiple points of view, moving back and forth in time, allows us to zero in on those feelings we have when someone we love dies and we aren’t quite sure how to process it. I loved that there was that idea of looking into the possibility of life after death – what really does happen once we die? For some, this is a way of coping and for the young girls in this book, it was their way of moving forward.
I wasn’t expecting such an emotional read when I picked this one up and while there is some element of mystery to it which I did enjoy, I do think it is marketed wrong as a thriller. Just know it’s not a happy read by any means, but still a good read and one that I am glad I picked up.
