The Clasp by Sloane Crosley These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik

How To Save A Life by Sara Zarr

Saturday, January 12, 2013


Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
Format: Kindle e-book
Rating: 4/5

This book has been sitting on my Kindle for months even though it was on my must reads of the year list, last year. I finally got to it this week and I was really impressed. 

Jill is still grieving the loss of her father when her mother decides it would be a good idea to adopt a new baby. Better still, why not make it an open adoption,  without any advice from social workers or lawyers, and invite the young mother to stay? Enter Mandy. Needless to say, Jill is not impressed. 

How To Save A Life plots the ups and downs experienced by Mandy, Jill and Robin- all of whom have their own issues- as they prepare for the arrival of the new baby. I love Sara Zarr's style of writing and I respect her for approaching challenging topics. She has a way of reeling you in and getting you to really think. I remember this experience from reading Once Was Lost (which I loved. If anyone has any other recommendations for other exploration of faith type books, I would be most grateful). Not much happened in this story in terms of action- it wasn't fast paced at all. However, by the end, I really felt close to the characters and I genuinely wanted the best for all of them.  Also, the ending was brilliant- I had no idea this was possible. 

I am a firm believer that one of the greatest gifts you can give someone (other than your time) is a home and a sense of belonging, therefore I truly appreciated the essence of this book. Coincidently, this week an adoption map was released in the UK showing the areas that have the highest number of children waiting to be adopted. 

This was a good read and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a YA novel that will make them think.

It would be a crime to not include this song, right?

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