Name: How She Died, How I Lived
ISBN: 9780316523806

Mary Crockett

Girl in Pieces meets The Way I Used to Be in this poignant and thought-provoking novel about a girl who must overcome her survivor's guilt after a fellow classmate is brutally murdered. I was one of five. The five girls Kyle texted that day. The girls it could have been. Only Jamie--beautiful, saintly Jamie--was kind enough to respond. And it got her killed. On the eve of Kyle's sentencing a year after Jamie's death, all the other "chosen ones" are coping in various ways. But our tenacious narrator is full of anger, stuck somewhere between the horrifying past and the unknown future as she tries to piece together why she gets to live, while Jamie is dead. Now she finds herself drawn to Charlie, Jamie's boyfriend--knowing all the while that their relationship will always be haunted by what-ifs and why-nots. Is hope possible in the face of such violence? Is forgiveness? How do you go on living when you know it could have been you instead?

How She Died, How I Lived

Nicole 

This book is about a girl who lives, a classmate chose 5 girls in an attempt to murder one and steal their car. He succedes and not only takes a life but leaves uncertainty in his victims.

brooke

Cassandra Martin

** spoiler alert **
           This book isn’t what I was expecting, I like many thought it’d be more of a mystery thriller - maybe with a twist or two in it. But it wasn’t, which was a little disappointing for me, but I still found the book enjoyable. The characters were maybe a bit annoying for some, but they are teenagers - of course they are gonna be bad at communicating and annoying, that’s the whole point. But despite that, I still enjoyed the characters and their relationships with one another. The book flowed well and despite not being what I thought it was going to be, I still wanted to see it through and see how the characters were dealing. The narrator is never named, which I don’t mind. Maybe years of reading “y/n” fanfiction has made me numb to it, but I also think the point is - things that happened to Jamie, could happen to anyone, could happen to you so reading through the eyes of the narrator who easily could’ve been the victim, makes you remember, it easily could be you. Which maybe is a a dark thought, but it’s true. 

I feel like this book almost feels like a coming of age story in a way as the characters are on the brink of adulthood and are thrust to deal with some extreme emotions while still going through teenaged life. 

Overall, the book was still enjoyable even if it was a little more boring that I thought it was going to be.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from KidLitExchange. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3/5

Publication Date: November 13th, 2018

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 15+ (survivor’s guilt, tragedy, regret, grief, mature scenes, romance) (trigger warning for rape and murder)

Pages: 416

Author Website

Amazon Link

Synopsis: I was one of five. The five girls Kyle texted that day. The girls it could have been. Only Jamie--beautiful, saintly Jamie--was kind enough to respond. And it got her killed. 

On the eve of Kyle's sentencing a year after Jamie's death, all the other "chosen ones" are coping in various ways. But our tenacious narrator is full of anger, stuck somewhere between the horrifying past and the unknown future as she tries to piece together why she gets to live, while Jamie is dead.

Now she finds herself drawn to Charlie, Jamie's boyfriend--knowing all the while that their relationship will always be haunted by what-ifs and why-nots. Is hope possible in the face of such violence? Is forgiveness? How do you go on living when you know it could have been you instead?

I felt this story was okay. The characters were interesting and the plot was developed. The premise behind this book is really intriguing as well and I think it’s worth a read if you’re interested.

However, I feel that the book was really really confusing. I got lost in the world constantly and I feel that the writing style didn’t help my confusion. The book really frustrated me and at the end I just skimmed over a lot of this book.

Verdict: It’s worth the read if you can get through the text.