This Is How It Happened

by Paula Stokes

• ISBN10: 0062379933
• ISBN13: 9780062379931
• Publish Date: 11 July 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 stars

I confess, I am a Paula Stokes fangirl. I have enjoyed many of her previous books, and have always admired her ability to genre jump and do it well. This time Stokes brings us a contemporary that takes on two important issues, one being online shaming, a topic which really resonated with me.

This book begins shortly after Genevieve's boyfriend is killed in a car accident. The police have a suspect, but not the full story, as Genevieve has no memory of the crash. Immediately people flock to social media to share their thoughts. This aspect of the book really hit home for me, because I remember when things like this did NOT happen.

Once upon a time, when there was an accident, information would be released to a news outlet and then disseminated to the public. Now, in this digital age, a great deal of information is passed from the man on the street to the world at large. An amateur video, picture, or statement is Tweeted and moves across the earth like wildfire. Details are omitted to fit the author's narrative, and facts are not always verified. People's emotions heighten, and then they wage a war from behind their keyboards. We have seen this happen, and we have seen the results of online vigilante justice. Stokes did a great job capturing the fervor of these exchanges and used these Twitter threads and blog comments thoughtfully and wisely in this book.

This book is sort of split into two parts for me: before Genevieve remembers and after Genevieve remembers. As Genevieve begins to heal from the accident, bits and pieces of the events leading up to Dallas' death are revealed. I thought this part was done so well. I could feel Genevieve's fear as she would get these flashes. There was tension and doubt, and I found myself a little nervous as we approached the truth.

The after focused on dealing with the fallout. Genevieve was tried in the court of social media, while she was attempting to work though her own pain, grief, and guilt. My heart broke when she would deprive herself any enjoyment, because she had to worry what people she didn't even know would think. I really liked Gen, and admired the strength she showed on so many occasions, even if she did not always make the best decisions.

I must mention how much I loved the setting. I have never been to Utah, but now I feel as though I have. Stokes painted it with broad brushstrokes for me, and I can only assumed this is someplace she loves. I had a wonderful time along with Genevieve in the state park, and hope to visit there for real someday.

Aside from the beauty of Zion National Park, there were a lot of great things that happened in Utah. Genevieve grew so much during her time there, and not just with respect to the accident. The experience brought her father back into her life, and it made her appreciate her mother a little more. She opened her heart to a new group of people, and she was better for it. Right here and now, I will tell you that Stokes gave Gen a fantastic love interest. I adored Elliot so much! And his dads were fabulous too. I mean an American Ninja Warrior training gym? That's supercool.

In the afterword, Stokes thanks us fans for "genre jumping" with her. I will always follow, if Stokes continues to deliver books that are interesting, though provoking, and entertaining to me. I was throughly engrossed in this story, and look forward to more from Stokes.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. Quotes are from an ARC and may change upon publication.


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[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

4.5*

Oh, this is a lovely gem of a book. Thought provoking and quite full of life lessons, it ended up being an awesome read for me. It started a bit slow, but after awhile, I was definitely all in. So let's check out the good parts first, shall we?

• An emotionally powerful yet flawed main character kept me invested. Genevieve was obviously sympathetic at the start of the book, because of course she was. Her damn boyfriend just died in a car accident, who would not like her? But things get... murky along the way. I won't get into it too much for the sake of spoilers (though it wasn't altogether surprising where the story was headed, it also didn't have an effect on my liking of the book), but Genevieve running away certainly didn't endear her to people. That is part of what makes the book so good for me though. The author does a fabulous job of making you feel for Genevieve even in the midst of some decisions that the reader may not agree with.  Because honestly, does any of us know how we'd react in her shoes?


• Super relevant and timely lessons in cyber bullying. We live in a world where the damn president is bullying people on Twitter, so this could not come at a better time. I loved that the author doesn't present this as a lecture of who is right and who is wrong, but in a very morally gray way. Initially, when people are ranting about the potentially intoxicated driver, no one bats an eye. But is it ever our right to attack someone? Even if we did know all the facts, what makes it okay? These questions are presented a lot throughout the story, and in a really fabulous and heart-wrenching way.


• Such incredibly vivid description of the surroundings made the book feel so real and vibrant. When Genevieve goes to Utah, I didn't expect the lovely descriptions that I ended up getting. And when she went to volunteer at Zion... well, because of the author's amazing ability to make the park come to life, it's now on my bucket list. It was honestly an unexpected, but much welcomed surprise in a contemporary novel. And, it made me relate a lot more to Genevieve because I could so intensely picture what she was going through- both emotionally and physically. I dare say all contemporaries I read from here on out will be judged by a higher standard because of the vividness of Ms. Stokes's writing. 


• Genevieve's relationships were so incredibly authentic feeling. Her parents were flawed too, but it was abundantly clear that they loved her and would be there for her. Her relationships with them were messy at times, but they never wavered in having her best interests at heart. And for her part, Genevieve loved them too. She also had some really great friend relationships along the way, which I was so glad for. And yes, there is a bit of a romance, and I won't lie, I adored it.

The only thing that made me give this 4.5 instead of 5 full stars is that it did take me a little bit of time to get into the story. So if you happen to find yourself unsure about it, I urge you to push through a bit more, because for me it was completely worth it!

Bottom Line: Lovely, thought-provoking, and heartbreaking, this novel about trying to do the right thing and overcoming difficult obstacles hit me in the feels over and over.

*Copy provided for review