A beautiful, captivating story with wonderful characters.
Having loved Caroline Bond’s previous novel, The Forgotten Sister, I was really looking forward to reading this book and it is such a beautiful, unforgettable story! I feel like I have been there alongside these wonderful characters as they each move forward on their unique journeys following an event that changed their lives forever.
On one fateful night, a group of teenagers are in a car travelling back from a party when it crashes into a brick wall. The consequences are devastating and far reaching, not only for the teenagers themselves, but also for their families.
From the initial opening scene, set thirty-two days after the accident, we learn that one of the group has passed away. This was a really impactful beginning and immediately captured my attention. In the following chapters the parents of the teenagers are introduced as news spreads of the accident, with them soon finding themselves en route to the hospital. The way in which news of their children and their injuries was imparted was really clever, and I liked the little twist for one family who were left waiting for information about their loved one.
Even though I knew someone was going to die, I was still wasn’t prepared for when this happened in the story and it wasn’t who I expected. I definitely had a lump in my throat as I was reading these scenes. The events before and after this day were emotional, with feelings of blame, grief and confusion at every turn for the people left behind and whose lives would never be the same again. For one person in particular their life changed in a very big way.
I really liked the short chapters and found myself racing through the pages to find out what would happen next. I found that the thoughts and emotions of the characters were really vivid too and this isn’t always the case when books are written in the third person. Here however, their unique personalities, frustrations, upset and torment all really shone through. It made me smile on many occasions to see them grow and find happiness again after such truly unimaginable pain. Forgiveness and understanding really does have the power to heal!
I cannot wait to read more of Caroline Bond’s books and am so grateful to have been taken on such a journey. I thought the last scenes were really moving too, and a perfect way for this story to end.
On one fateful night, a group of teenagers are in a car travelling back from a party when it crashes into a brick wall. The consequences are devastating and far reaching, not only for the teenagers themselves, but also for their families.
From the initial opening scene, set thirty-two days after the accident, we learn that one of the group has passed away. This was a really impactful beginning and immediately captured my attention. In the following chapters the parents of the teenagers are introduced as news spreads of the accident, with them soon finding themselves en route to the hospital. The way in which news of their children and their injuries was imparted was really clever, and I liked the little twist for one family who were left waiting for information about their loved one.
Even though I knew someone was going to die, I was still wasn’t prepared for when this happened in the story and it wasn’t who I expected. I definitely had a lump in my throat as I was reading these scenes. The events before and after this day were emotional, with feelings of blame, grief and confusion at every turn for the people left behind and whose lives would never be the same again. For one person in particular their life changed in a very big way.
I really liked the short chapters and found myself racing through the pages to find out what would happen next. I found that the thoughts and emotions of the characters were really vivid too and this isn’t always the case when books are written in the third person. Here however, their unique personalities, frustrations, upset and torment all really shone through. It made me smile on many occasions to see them grow and find happiness again after such truly unimaginable pain. Forgiveness and understanding really does have the power to heal!
I cannot wait to read more of Caroline Bond’s books and am so grateful to have been taken on such a journey. I thought the last scenes were really moving too, and a perfect way for this story to end.