"How to Save a Life" by Sara Zarr

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr is the story of two teen girls, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, who, though very different in terms of their personalities, beliefs, and life experiences, find a way to fit into each other's lives after being forced together.

Jill has been raised by her mom and dad, who are wealthy and educated and live in a prosperous neighborhood in Colorado. The story begins one year after Jill's father died in a car accident. Jill's mother, seeking to give her love to another decides to adopt a baby from a pregnant teenager.

Mandy has been raised by a mother that never wanted her and a long string of her mother's boyfriends. At 18, Mandy discovers she is pregnant, and seeking to give her unborn child a better future than her own, takes a train to Denver to meet a widow looking to adopt her baby. The struggles that both girls face are realistically portrayed and both elicit sympathy from the reader--Mandy especially.

The parallel stories of a girl who lost her perfect father and a girl who never had one to lose, and how the two of them could find a new family in each other.

How to Save a Life reminds me of:

Dawson's Creek's Jen Lindley played by Michelle Williams

This is not the greatest video, and you should all watch every season of Dawson's Creek for a full understanding of the enigma that is Jen Lindley, but how awesome is it that this video is set to the song, "How to Save a Life," by The Fray?

This one's better!

Jack telling Jen that she is his "soul mate" can only be truly appreciated by those who watched every episode of this show...

Where the Heart Is: A pregnant 17-year-old rebuilds her life after being abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart. Based on the the book Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts.

Trailer provided by Video Detective

Next review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

 

Happy reading! <3
Krystal