Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before.
Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he’s volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can’t ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she’s been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he’s really from.
This is my third review for work by Denise Grover Swank and I have to tell you, each one is so different and difficult to put down. The first thought is Julia is a mess, obviously not emotionally able to move past the accident and everyone around her at their breaking point. This girl needs help and she isn't getting it. And the bullying, no matter how little it is, from the other classmates and how they react to her is heartbreaking. Her parents and sister are at the point of giving up hope with her and life seems to be spiraling downward. The entrance of two very different boys, Evan and Reece, into her life change things more than Julia ever realized they would.
This book fascinated me. Alternate reality, space jumping, and pure imagination. I love how vivid the storytelling is from Denise Grover Swank. This is part one of a series and I'm going to be impatiently awaiting the second one to come out. A definite thumbs up for this YA novel. I would have loved this book in high school as well.
You can find Denise at the following:
Official Website
Blog
Goodreads page
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