Saturday, July 9, 2011

The Best Book I Read This Month - And How You Can Win It

This month I read a lot of great books but one stands out – How to Save a Life bySara Zarr. A father dies, spurring his widow to pursue an adoption that they had discussed but never started. The book is written from two perspectives: that of the couple’s biological daughter and the mother of the child that is set to be adopted.

This book’s main strength is in characterization. Every character was distinct in their thoughts, the words they used to express them and their physical attributes. They felt real because they grew slowly, as people do in the real world.

How to Save a Life was also very emotionally engaging. The birth mother’s story was so sad that it was hard to read. She grew up in an abusive home and you feel it in the choices she makes as a young adult. The grief that the daughter feels as she mourns her father is so real it hurt. Even when she escapes her pain into denial, you feel nothing but sympathy.

What’s the best book you read this month? Why? Tell us in the comments below and you might win How to Save a Life!

31 comments:

  1. The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair was fantastic - such a beautiful story of overcoming the demons in one's past.

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  2. Right now I'm reading "The Good Thief" by Hannah Tinti, about an orphan caught up in a gang of thieves and grave robbers. It's really well-written, and I think would appeal to fellow YA fans as well.

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  3. before i fall by Lauren Oliver-incredibly beautiful and heartbreaking.

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  4. Very hard choice.

    I'm going to have to go with Amy Reed's Clean. It's a lovely story filled with hope and self-discovery.

    Amanda
    amanda(at)lettersinsideout(dot)com

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  5. Monsters of Men, the conclusion to Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy. One of the most impressive things about it is that I couldn't predict how it was going to end--there are several possibilities, and each one feels as if it really could be the way the story goes.

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  6. Wither by Lauren DeStefano

    I was surprised by how much I liked this book! What drew me in was the way in which the author developed the personalities of the three girls. Each was distinct in voice and I found it interesting to see how each girl reacted to their captive differently depending on what their previous lives had been. I found myself falling in love with the characters - from their tragic stories to their flaws they drew me in.

    While the story being told is primarily set on an state in FL, the author does a really nice job of setting a rich environment that allows us to see not only in the mansion but also what the word has become through Rhine's remembrance of the outside world.

    I'm looking forward to the second book in the series!

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  7. The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson!

    HPLunatic(at)gmail(dot)com

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  8. This month...(yay Goodreads, now I know exactly what I read this month): my best new read was Emily of Deep Valley, the last of the Maud Hart Lovelace (of Betsy Tacy fame) books that I hadn't read. A very different story than the Betsy stories, while Betsy had a big supportive family and lots of friends, Emily was different, but I love the way the story was told. I'm also in the midst of reading The Warmth of Other Suns, about the Great Migration of Black Southern Americans to the north -- long and dense, but really well written and completely absorbing.

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  9. Hmm... well I can't exactly say "read", but "reading?" :D Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. I have to admit, I never really thought I was going to like a book only on philosophy, but it's turning out pretty interesting.

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  10. My favorite book this month was Shawn Goodman's Something Like Hope. I loved the gritty nature of the story, Shavonne's voice and the ending.

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  11. The best book that I've read this month was Willow by Julia Hoban. Such a powerful, moving story.

    ashley.mckinsey(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  12. This sounds like such a great book. Sara Zarr is a really talented writer.
    The best book I've read this month is Bruiser by Neal Shusterman. I loved the characters in that one.

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  13. It does sound like a great book!
    The best book I read this month was What I Saw And How I Lied by Judy Blundell. I wasn't expecting to like it, and for awhile it was "slow" (or so I thought) only to find out later that she was giving me very subtle clues to the mysteries in the story before I even realized a mystery had begun! It was fantastic storytelling and a wonderful coming-of-age type novel.

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  14. The best book I have read all summer is Significance by Shelly Crane.

    This book is a must read. My first thought was OMG could this really happen to people? Could people fall in love the first minute they meet? The answer is a resounding yes!

    Maggie is an ordinary girl graduating from high school and wanting nothing more than to be done with school and work all summer at the diner before deciding what she is going to do. Then something amazing happens to her and she is not so sure what she is going to do. She has a lot of thinking to do.

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  15. I was extremely enamoured with Delirium by Lauren Oliver. It actually brought me to shaking sobs, I was that affected.

    Thanks for the giveaway! :)

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  16. My favorite this month was a nominee for the VT Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award called Milo.

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  17. The best book I read this month was Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. It was bittersweet to finish The Wolves of Mercy Falls series, but so great to read how they all ended up.

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  18. My favorite book I read this month was "Sisterhood Everlasting", the final book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. The entire novel was kind of surprising, but it was so beautiful, touching, and bittersweet. It was really exciting and heartwarming after so many years to read again about characters that I grew up loving.

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  19. Sara Zarr is one of my favorite authors; I'd love to win her new book! I actually own all her other books, so it would be nice to add this one to my collection.

    I just read "White Girl" by Sylvia Olsen. Not only was it well-written, it gave me a peek into the world of Native Americans, and what it's like to feel like a white minor. It also had drama, suspense and romance, all the ingredients that make up a good book.

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  20. Where She Went - Gayle Forman. She packs a raw emotional punch plus there's closure to what happened after If I Stay.

    lesly7ch(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  21. Well, still reading it, but I'd say FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater, the 3rd in the triology. I'm reading it slowly because I don't want it to end. Maggie's prose is almost lyrical and the story of young love and surrmounting obstacles gives the reader exactly what Maggie wants: tears! (She said so in her author visit to my local indie shop last week!)
    mjcwriter"at"comcast"dot"net

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  22. Oh, I'm dying to read HOW TO SAVE A LIFE. I'm an adoptive mom so I'm especially curious about how this story unfolds in Sara's capable hands.

    I haven't read much this month because we just sold our house and started travelling full-time, but I did have a very enjoyable day watching my kids play at the splash pad and reading Brandon Mull's "Fablehaven." Perfect for summer.

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  23. I'd love to win an ARC of How to Save a Life. I read so much it's hard to remember what my favorite was. I think I'll pick Divergent - loved the whole thing.

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  24. I just finished Gary Schmidt's OKAY FOR NOW and wow. He rocks the storytelling. Excited to read HTS--thanks!

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  25. I am reading DEAR GENIUS: THE LETTERS OF USRSULA NORDSTROM, ed. by Leonard S. Marcus. I didn't know what a powerhouse she was in shaping the world of children's books!

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  26. I've been reading A LOT this month to catch up on all the YA I've been missing during the school year, and it's tough to choose but so far my favorite has to be STOLEN by Lucy Christopher. I know it's been around for a while but I'm glad I picked it up this week because her writing is flawless and the characters have really stuck with me.

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  27. William - an Englishman by Cicely Hamilton. I was overwhelmed by the way she mixed humour and heartbreak.

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  28. The Heretic's Daughter was beautifully written. I can't believe some parts of the past.

    Thanks!

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  29. R.J. Anderson's ULTRAVIOLET was my top pick of July - beautifully written, engaging and surprising. And I'm dying to read HOW TO SAVE A LIFE, as I've loved everything Sara Zarr has written!

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  30. I just read an ARC of The Pledge by Kimberley Derting and let me tell you, you are going to want to buy this book! It was totally awesome.

    Lynsey(AT)narrativelyspeaking(DOT)com

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  31. Thank you to everyone who posted their favorite recent read! And congratulations to Mary Jo, who has won the copy of How To Save a Life. I'll be email you shortly to get your snail mail.

    Sam

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