review: Between--Jessica Warman

Between by Jessica Warman
August 2, 2011 
Walker & Company
Young Adult | Paranormal
Standalone
Pages: 464
Source/Format: Bought/Hardcover
Author's Website 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Elizabeth Valchar-pretty, popular, and perfect-wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday party on her family's yacht, where she'd been celebrating with her six closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, what she finds will change everything she thought she knew about her life, her friends, and everything in between. As Liz begins to unravel the circumstances surrounding her birthday night, she will find that no one around her, least of all Liz herself, was perfect-or innocent. Critically acclaimed author Jessica Warman brings readers along on a roller-coaster ride of a mystery, one that is also a heartbreaking character study, a touching romance, and ultimately a hopeful tale of redemption, love, and letting go.

REVIEW:

Okay, so, let me start with saying that I downloaded the sample for Between and kept it on my iPad for like four months because I really, really wanted to read this book and I would torment myself by rereading the first two chapters.

And you know what? I was terrified to read this book when I finally bought it. I built up a lot of hype inside my head for this book and what if I ended up hating it? THEN WHAT? I was so sure I would love it. I was so flipping sure, and I had only read the first two chapters.

This book is long. Over 400 pages. I read like twenty pages and was sure I was going to love it. It scared me.

But see, I did end up loving this book. Which is like a breath of fresh air, yeah?

So, let’s get to the point: this book is about death. If you’ve read and loved Lauren Oliver’s BEFORE I FALL, you’ll most likely love this book. They have similar themes—death, mean girls, etc.—but they are also so very different. Because Elizabeth (or Liz) has something that is tethering her in the Between area, whereas BEFORE I FALL’s Samantha is reliving the same day for a week. There is a mystery with both books, but holy mother, both books are different. Seriously.

I cried twice during this book. The first time was during a twist—who killed Alex—and the second time was during the last few pages. The twist, holy crap, the twist. I did NOT see it coming. I was trying to figure it out, but when Liz figures it out I sat back and thought, “Whoa.” And then a few tears slipped out because I felt SO bad for Alex.

And the ending. I saw the ending coming miles before it showed up, but it still left me breathless. Especially when things started falling into place for Liz (after she dies, she doesn’t remember her life. Alex explains it like when people suffer from traumatic injury, they usually suffer amnesia. Death is one hell of a traumatic injury, YES? I liked Alex. He was very smart.)

This is one book you will want to read. I didn’t read any spoilers, so I’m not going to say a whole lot about the book, but mother effer, get thee to a bookstore and read. This. Book! It was everything I thought it would be and THEN SOME. Simply breathtaking.