Sara Zarr

Told from their own viewpoints, seventeen-year-old Jill, in grief over the loss of her father, and Mandy, nearly nineteen, are thrown together when Jill's mother agrees to adopt Mandy's unborn child but nothing turns out as they had anticipated.

How to Save a Life

Melissa Railey

This was my first experience with Sara Zarr and I really liked her writing style. This book was full of emotions and feelings and I loved that. I also loved that this book wasn't all about the romance between a boy and girl but instead about what makes a family. I found both Mandy and Jill to be intriguing characters and I wanted to know all there was to know about them. I wanted to unravel their mysteries and see who they were underneath all their insecurities and fears.

Jeannette Ordas

Sara Zarr does it again. Story of a Girl was amazing and this one is right up there. Real and heart-felt and so well written. Now, let me go dry my cheeks.

Talia Dominguez 

dis book is so awesome!!! it had me turnin da page even almost at midnight!!! i loved it!!! it was nt wat i expected based from the title though ^.( \
For those who havent read this book i advise you to (:. This book is about 2 gurls: jill and mandy; that are affected by something that happened to them. Mandy's point of view is about her having a baby without the blessin of her parents, so she wants to give it to a lady that wants to give the baby a betrer life AND thats when the other girl comes in the book. Jill, the daughter of the lady , wants to adopt a baby because she wants to replace her husbands death(well based on what jill thinks) they both get close to eachother wit the time. even thoe at the beginning jill didnt like mandy. I kind of assumed that Mandy was still goin to get see her baby after all! lol well i would totally recommend it!

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

This book teaches you that when the universe calls you, you answer. There is no other choice. Sometimes, you are told you must suffer an unimagineable loss and carry on. Sometimes, you are presented with the choice to submit to the will of another or refuse and find yourself utterly alone. The universe is indiscriminate, ripping families apart and bringing misfortune where it is so totally and completely undeserved. We are all of us, at one time or another, suddenly on our own in the dark. 

And yet. 

And yet, through the catalyst of grief and abandonment, through the hardening of hearts and railing against so many unfair, broken-hearted twists of fate, there are strange and inexplicable gifts on the other side, just over the edge of grief and despair. This is what this novel helps us see again. Robin, Jill and Mandy remind us again to pay attention to our sadness and fear in the face of the unknown and unknowable. The irony is that in order to save a life, we must lose one. Or more than one. We need to be ripped apart in order to find each other again. We must be torn down in order to build something new. There's no map for this, no GPS to escape the crucible of loss. It's only the peculiar stubbornness of human hope, the ability to scream yes when every other option is no, the persistent belief that we stronger in and of ourselves, and even more so together than apart, that shines the light in the dark places and helps us find our shared path, our way out together.

Caitlin Berger

I want to give it like 4 and three quarter stars! This book was fantabulous! It kept my attention throughout and the content was great. It's told from two perspectives, Mandy and Jill. They are both very different and have been through different things. Anyways I'm too tired to think straight; this book was amazing and I really and truly enjoyed it thoroughly, so READ IT.

Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends -- everyone who wants to support her. When her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one. Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted -- to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too? As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy -- or as difficult -- as it seems.

How to Save a Life

Reviews