Item: Between
Rating: 5.00
Author: talearchives

by Jessica Warman

Only the good die young. Right? It's The Lovely Bones for teens Elizabeth Valchar has it all: friends, money, beauty, a cute boyfriend and assured popularity. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she is found drowned next to her parents' boat. Everyone thinks it was a tragic accident - teens drinking on a boat, a misstep leading to a watery death. But Liz is still here after death, and she doesn't know why. There are gaps in her memory. Her only company Alex, a boy killed by a car a year earlier, Liz sets out to piece together her life. But their small coastal town is hiding many secrets - about families, boyfriends and friendship. Plus, Alex hates Liz for being mean when they were alive. Was she as squeaky clean as she thinks she was? Could it be that she herself is hiding the biggest secret of all? Can Liz discover the truth? And if she does, who can she tell? Between is an engrossing, compelling thriller that peels back the layers of small-town life to expose true, ugly, cruel human nature. A stunning book for teens from Jessica Warman, a hot new talent on the YA thriller scene.

I love ghost stories. So when I read that this book was about a girl who died and couldn't figure how, I was hooked.

Liz was part of the popular crowd when she was alive. She was, basically, a horrible person if you got on her wrong side. She was very superficial and wouldn't even consider talking to someone who she thought was poor.

With that description of the main character, I was a little scared. I wasn't sure how I would enjoy reading about her, but to my surprise, I actually felt sorry for her. Her mom died when she was 9, so that ache of losing her mom was always there, and there were always rumors that her dad was having an affair before her mom died, so she never knew if her step sister was also her half sister.

Once Liz died she is stuck, basically, in between the living world, and where the dead go once they move on. So she is stuck watching everyone else around her continue on after her death.

When she first dies and is starting to realize what has happened, she meet's Alex. The only other 'ghost' that she can talk to. I really enjoyed reading about them. They were basically enemies, but they both helped each other out anyways.

This story is quite heartbreaking. It deals with anorexia and drugs, so it's definitely not something to take lightly. But I loved this book and want to run out and buy my own copy.

Between

by Jessica Warman

Reviewed by Stephanie on Jul 17, 2012

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