How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

How to Save a Life

by Sara Zarr

From the best-selling author, Sara Zarr, comes the remarkable story of what it means to be a family, and the many roads we can take to become one. Jill MacSweeney just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends - everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's trying to replace a lost family member with a new one. Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted - to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy falls pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her too? As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy - or as difficult - as it seems.

Reviewed by Bianca on

4.5 of 5 stars

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And I get to thinking that love is just a word we use to describe what boils down to a selfish and temporary state of happiness.


— A really touching book on what it truly means to have a family to belong with. In the rock-paper-scissors of life, this book is rock!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 October, 2016: Finished reading
  • 13 October, 2016: Reviewed