How to Save a Life

Product Information

i'm glad i gave it a shot, because although i liked it less than paper towns, it is always a good thing for me to step out of my comfort zone, even if only temporarily. do you see how broad and catholic my tastes are becoming?? It’s the quietness of Sara Zarr’s writing that completely undoes me. There’s a quality of stillness about it that lends her stories a kind of gravity. The language is clear and uncluttered, yet sometimes devastating in its emotional honesty. Zarr writes about the kind of things that feel almost seismic to us internally, while making barely a ripple in the world at large. She builds stories around relatable sentiments and all too common events – lives fragmented by pain, grief, abuse, and held together with fragile threads of hope and redemption. This book was moving. It had the potential to be sappy, but it didn’t go there. It is hard to explain what made me love this book, the words are hard to find. I identify with Jill. I have a tendency to keep to myself and hold people at a distance sometimes. Maybe I should stop being like that.

A note: The author shares that her husband’s life was saved when he received CPR. She is very much an advocate of people learning this procedure. Readers will see how this fits in with the story. Some stories feel thinner than the paper they’re printed on. Without disrespect to the work that goes into crafting a novel, sometimes reading certain books can feel like nothing more than following words across paper. A perfunctory effort for a temporary experience - there’s nothing really holding me to the story. Katherine Heigl is probably the most redeemed by the book, but too little time is given to discussing the interpersonal conflicts that led to the explosion in publicity and drama that culminated in the third season of the show. I also thought for the casual fan, this book touched on everything you might be curious about perfectly. All the drama you might have heard about is in here with more detail, and the focus of the book was on the episodes/seasons of Greys that were the most notable. (For example, I'm glad they gave a disproportionately large focus on the early days of the show because learning things like they almost cast Rob Lowe as McDreamy (!!! how weird would that be !!!) are so much more impactful than casting choices that happen later in the show.) Basically, I felt like this book anticipated reader curiosity really well, instead of aiming for goals like giving every season equal coverage.The author manages to steer the plot so gracefully that there isn't a dull moment. The relationships portrayed in the book are very real and brutally honest. The characters, oh the characters, they are so real, so strong and so mature that it was difficult to imagine that they were really teenagers. All the characters in this books are great and the writing style really add up to my satisfaction. It's something like Rainbow Rowell's mixed with Jodi Picoult's. I like Jill's boyishness, carefulness and suspiciousness. She's a perfect mate for her impulsive mother. I like Mandy's friendliness though it sometimes annoying and stupid. How could she be so naive sending letters to a man she met on a train just once? Just like her mother says: You make people uncomfortable. Over the next 18 years, all three drift in and out of each others lives but always making an impact - whether in a positive or negative way. Kerry and Tim have been best friends since they first met and both are planning on being doctors. Joel is the up and coming football star. Although they go to the same school, they don't run in the same circles. How To Save A Life weaves together the dual narration of Jill, grieving for her father, and Mandy, a pregnant teen seeking a better life for her unborn child. Their lives converge when Jill’s mother makes the decision to adopt a child – with life changing repercussions for all involved.

Some of the main themes in the book include, death, heart failure and heart conditions, drug addiction, overdosing, alcohol abuse, suicidal thoughts, homelessness, miscarriage and medical conditions, caring for a parent and medical training, including surgeries. This book really touches on so many subjects, in a real raw and honest way. Kerry e Tim hanno un sogno comune, diventare medici, ma dopo che i destini dei tre si sono uniti niente va come prima: i sogni diventano impossibili o cambiano o vengono disconosciuti. I will definitely be buying a copy of the book to keep when this is released next year, and I hope it achieves the success it deserves. As a result I’m giving three stars! But I have to admit, I still want to read more works of the author. I know next time she’ll give us more pleasing characters! I keep my hopes up! I know it's categorized as a romance, but it got more to it than that. this is a beautiful story about longlasting friendships, second chances, bravery, and how it truly is to start a new career.

Customer reviews

How to Save a Life is the first novel from an experienced journalist, written under a pseudonym, about three broken young people working out what they need from life. Set in Brighton, it’s like a cross between One Day, and Normal People, but with a strong medical focus, which is what attracted me, as I generally avoid love stories. I actually can’t believe the author is not a doctor herself as she got so many details about medical life just right. I thought this was heading for 3 stars, as for most of the book I didn’t like any of the characters, but they won me over in the end, so 4 it is. People who are looking for immaculately written, contemporary YA fiction. People who are looking for their mirror image. People who love train journeys. People who like bad Mexican food and pancakes. People who would like to go on a stakeout with a tall, dark, stranger. Coffee not included.

And finally, this lovely story ends the exact way I wish for all books to end: with me wanting more. Yes, the story is finished and complete, but the author knew the perfect moment to call it quits and didn't cheapen the story with an unnecessary amount of details in the wrap-up. Such a fantastic read! I cried. As someone who is frequently teased for never having cried during "The Notebook" or "The Titanic" and rather well-known for my ice-cold heart, this admission carries quite a bit of weight. How to Save a Life is a novel that hasn't gone unnoticed by readers, but I remained skeptical about reading it myself. Frankly speaking, I find little allure in novels about teenage pregnancy, let alone when paired alongside with grief. After reading - and absolutely loving - Small Damages earlier this year, however, I began to realize that my pre-conceived notions about novels that dealt with teen pregnancy were utterly unfounded. And How to Save a Life simply proved me right. Sara Zarr's most popular novel lives up to its hype and delivered above and beyond my sky-high expectations, instantly making her one of my favorite authors. Ever. Theres a lot of important topics raised in this book and Eva manages them all with such compassion and care, I always think you can tell when an author takes the time to write tough subjects sensitively and this is defintely the case here. I really loved the theme of recovery, not just physically but mentally too that runs throughout the plot. My thoughts on How to Save a Life remind me a lot of the way I felt about Please Ignore Vera Dietz. In fact, there's one thing I can pretty much quote directly from the review I wrote, about how there are two subjects in young adult books that would normally make me run a mile: Zarr writes love interests well, too, even if they don't always seem like love interests at all times. Absent but mentioned, apart but disjointed, the boys in How to Save a Life are more than just the catalysts for their women. Zarr wrote relationships, all kinds of relationships, with a startling acuteness that read like a mirror of reality, because really, boys who wear makeup, and ripped jeans, and listen to Otis...they're real, they're alive, they have feelings, but they're rarely done well in literature. The mother-daughter relationship between Jill and Robin, and Robin and Mandy was heartbreaking and realistic, because really, mothers and daughters? Their relationships? They're a lot more complicated than some authors make them out to be, and they're very hard to reflect, even in real-life conversations. The sisterly-stuff going on between Jill and Mandy touched my heart deeply, and each conversation that went on between them brought tears to my eyes.

Featured Reviews

Kerry and Tim, both 17, are best friends and are both planning to go to medical school. On Millenium Eve, they are hanging out at the beach with their schoolmates when they see Kerry’s secret crush Joel, who is wealthy, popular, and a gifted footballer, collapse. Rushing to his aid, Kerry starts CPR, saving his life, while Tim freezes. The consequences of this moment are life-changing for all three, as their lives intertwine over the next eighteen years, facing love, loss, friendship and heartbreak.

Intendi il bacio della vita?» Un pensiero orribile mi attraversa la mente. «Tim mi ha fatto la respirazione bocca a bocca?» The book is split into 14 sections that each have a different topic focusing on events throughout the history of the show. It discusses the exits of important characters and the decisions that got them to the point, it also talked about how Shondaland grew and how Ellen Pompeo became one of the highest paid actresses.The book didn’t just give the classic behind the scenes information it also gave us a look at what the writers room is like, and the process that the writers must go through to create each episode. Unfortunately some of the information did not feel completely expressed to the level I wanted. I was hoping for more rare or exclusive information; a lot of it was taken from interviews that had previously aired. I didn't find this story to be extremely powerful or intense, in fact there were many parts where my mind drifted in boredom, but overall it was a decent story with well written, relatable characters. I don't know what I'm missing here that everyone else adores so much of this book. I liked it, but everyone else seems to LOVE it.I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley, this gift has not impacted my review. but wow... actors are truly something else. I don't think people in any other profession/industry simply lose their heads after success like this. truly eye-opening.