“Fireworks! In the air, on the ground, vibrating all around. Exploding in a perfusion of color and sound. We lay on the soft wet grass, staring up at the sky so lit. A moment so perfect- I closed my eyes to save it- Then later, quiet, peaceful, just him and me Two hearts reaching for infinity”
– Alyson Noël
Synopsis
It’s been one year since the brutal murder of her older sister, Zoë, and fifteen-year-old Echo is still reeling from the aftermath. Her parents are numb, her friends are moving on, and the awkward start to her freshman year proves she’ll never live up to her sister’s memory. Until Zoë’s former boyfriend Marc shows up with Zoë’s diary.
At first Echo’s not interested, doubting there’s anything in there she doesn’t already know. But when curiosity prevails, she starts reading, becoming so immersed in her sister’s secret world, their lives begin to blur, forcing Echo to uncover the truth behind Zoë’s life so that she can start to rebuild her own.
My Review
This book was biased on a very interesting topic. It shows the complexity of relationships that teenagers have either siblings, parents, friends, and romantic relationships.
I generally am not a huge fan of books biased in high school or on teenagers. Maybe it’s that I hated high school and am glad that’s over. I also can’t stand the way high schoolers are portrayed in books and how immature they seem.
However, I felt this book did a great job not just depicting everyone as immature, young, high schoolers. Now don’t get me wrong there is some immature behavior that had me rolling my eyes, but that’s to be expected right?
With that, I did feel that Echo was super rude to her ‘boyfriend’ when her feeling were elsewhere. I also found it weird how she was crushing on her dead sister’s boyfriend. Just a bit odd to me.
Noël does a great job depicting real issues and insecurities that teenagers face in this stage in life. Also the real dangers that are out there. From drugs and alcohol to dangerous internet stockers and cat-fishers.
There were some part in the book that could be hard for some to read. It talks about sex, rape, murder- brutal murder, missing teens, etc. Just a little pre-warning if any of these are triggers for you.
Overall, it was a great book, it had it flaws, but it kept me interested and it’s a nice short quick read as well!
Shannon’s Reads 