Nobody But Us

by Kristin Halbrook

Told in their separate voices, eighteen-year-old Will who has aged out of foster care, and fifteen-year-old Zoe whose father beats her, set out for Las Vegas together, but their escape may prove more dangerous than what they left behind.

• ISBN10: 006212126X
• ISBN13: 9780062121264
• Publish Date: 29 January 2013
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Rowena]

When I saw this book on Edelweiss, I read the blurb and knew that I had to read it. I was pretty stoked to read it because you just know that there was going to be a good story and Hallbrook didn’t disappoint.

So this book follows Will and Zoe as they run away together to Vegas. Will just turned 18 and has been kicked out of the system since he’s an adult now. His girlfriend Zoe is 15 but she’s physically abused at home and Will wants to protect her from her abusive father so when it’s time for Will to leave, he asks Zoe to come with him and she does.

So many things happen in this book that it should have been hard to keep track of but that wasn’t the case at all. So many things are thrown in Will and Zoe’s way but their determination to take care of each other and to just get away from all of the bad things made for some really interesting reading. My heart broke more than once while reading this book and I really wished things would have turned out differently for both of them. They were dealt some pretty crazy life hands and I couldn’t help but want the best for the both of them. Being so young and having to deal with a father who beats you on a daily basis and then being shipped from one home to another home, not having anything permanent and seeing someone you care about being mistreated, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Will is angry. He’s angry at his Mom for giving him up. He’s angry at the system that keeps failing him and he’s angry that he keeps getting in trouble for trying to protect people who can’t fight for themselves. When he meets Zoe, he vows to protect her from her punk ass father who keeps hitting her and once he turns 18, his plan is to skip town and move to Vegas. He wants to take Zoe with him so that they can start a new life together. A life where they can both chase whatever makes the both of them happy and once they take off on their own, bad things happen at every turn and it was inevitable that things would catch up to them.

Zoe was the character that I wanted to hold close and protect from the world. She was so young to be so scared of what was to come and the way that she tried to not be scared of Will had my heart in knots.

Hallbrook wrote an engaging story about two young people trying to start a better life for each other. She took two characters and brought them to life through the pages of this book and I couldn’t put it down. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worst for Will and Zoe, Hallbrook shows just how wrong you are. I really enjoyed getting to know both Will and Zoe and though the ending made sense, it still made me sad. This book was a good one. A solid read that I couldn’t read fast enough. Kudos to Hallbrook on writing such a good story. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through Edelweiss.

I immediately knew I wanted to read Nobody But Us. It sounded like one of those heart breaking, gut wrenching stories that I love so much. I was also hoping on shedding some tears. Well, this book is sad, but I didn’t cry. In fact, the end left me feeling confused. I read this straight through in one afternoon, so I did enjoy it. It had me hooked from the beginning, but I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending and the book as a whole.

The story follows Zoe and Will, two very damaged teenagers who are in love and want to get away from their lives. Will just turned 18, so he’s been kicked out of his group home. He’s leaving and he takes his 15 year old girlfriend with him, since she’s abused by her alcoholic father. They’re excited to run away together and be free, but Will also spends their whole trip paranoid about the past catching up with him. He’s made some awful mistakes, and makes even bigger ones once they’ve crossed a few state lines.

I had this horrible feeling the entire time I was reading. I knew something awful was going to happen. Then about half way through, things appeared to be looking up. I started feeling hopeful right along with Zoe and Will. Then things take a turn for the worse. It was clear from the beginning that their story could not end well, but I didn’t want things to go the way they did. I was actually mad at Zoe near the end. I know she does the right thing, but I was so emotionally invested in these two, that I couldn’t believe what happened.

At the end I was mad, confused, and sad. I expected a bad ending, but not what actually happened. It was shocking, but also unsatisfying. It seemed like a shock ending for the sake of a shock ending. There is a hint of hope at the end, so that’s good. I just wanted something more out this book, but I didn’t get it. It’s still a worthwhile read though.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Ashley]

BookNook — Young Adult book reviews

What I took away from this book is that it's less about the romance and more about young kids making bad decisions and learning about the consequences. If you want to be able to appreciate the romance in this story, I think you have to be a younger reader. As a 21-year-old, I couldn't help but roll my eyes a little at the romance (but maybe that was the point? I'm not really sure). This couple is very young—15 and 18—and they're on the run together. They've been dating for two months and are already "in love" when the book begins. Will tells Zoe that she means the world to him, Zoe tells Will that he is everything to her, they want to get married and talk about having kids, etc. It's a very "foolish young love" situation. It's kind of sweet, but is a little over the top and not very realistic (the romance itself is realistic, because I know young kids do that, but the idea that they can be so young and live together forever and love each other forever is unrealistic, and kids have that unrealistic idea all the time).

So Will and Zoe escape from their lives together (Zoe running from an abuse father, and Will just running away from a bad past), and it starts out feeling like freedom, but bad choice after bad choice causes them to end up running from the police, from the FBI, and watching their backs at every turn. Slowly, Zoe begins to realize that running away has become more of a destructive nightmare than a salvation.

I think it was tough for me to connect to the romance for two reasons. First, they were already in love when the story starts. I think I prefer books where we see the process of falling in love. That allows me to get more emotionally invested in the relationship, since I've been with it from its inception. But jumping right into the middle of a romance is tougher. And secondly, I'm not 15 anymore so it's hard for me to remember what it was like when I thought my first love was so amazing and perfect and that I'd be with him forever. I know I probably felt like Zoe at some point—that I had the best guy in the world (despite obvious problems, which I ignored), and that we were so in love and were going to get married. But I'm 21 now and I just look back and remember an idiot. So I couldn't help but view Zoe and Will's relationship in the same light. But I think 15-year-olds who are actually in that same stage of life might be able to relate to the romance and enjoy it more.

I did enjoy the second half of the book more than the first half. The first half had more of the fluffly lovey dovey stuff, but the second half was more about facing demons from the past and coming to terms with reality. I finally started to enjoy it more when the harsh realities set in and when Zoe got her act together a bit. She does become a much stronger character towards the end and gained some sense.

There was one thing that I wish was explored more in the book: when Zoe draws a connection to her first love and her mom's first love. I thought this was a pretty awesome point in the story, but I didn't see much development with it.

[My mom] married the first man who promised to take care of her.
He sure did.
I look at Will. His face is a study in concentration as he grips the steering wheel, but I don't think he's focused on his driving. I can only imagine the thoughts running through his mind. He must be so afraid, so angry, so frustrated. He helped me walk away from my dad, from blame, from being like the woman who wouldn't, wouldn't, survive, not even for me.
He's the first to promise to take care of me.
—ARC of Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook, Page 247

Zoe's mother married her father because he was the first man who promised to take care of her. But Zoe's father physically abused her mom (and then Zoe herself). Then Zoe realizes that Will is the first man to promise to take care of her. This was an interesting comparison because her relationship with Will is unhealthy. They have a big age difference (3 years isn't that much, but it is when you're 15), they're running away together, Will has a history of violence, he swears to protect her but he also beats up people and scares her.. I just wish we saw more about this connection. Or more like, I wish Zoe saw more from it. I could certainly draw the comparisons myself, but I feel like Zoe could have drawn more similarities herself. I don't think she ever fully saw how unhealthy her relationship with Will was.

Overall, my enjoyment of this book wasn't through the roof, but I did like how things came together at the end. It wasn't particularly a happy ending, but I do think Zoe learned some important lessons. I can also see how a younger audience might enjoy this book more than I did, which is why I'm giving it the rating I am. I think there is some potential here, I just wasn't the perfect audience for it. :)