Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Delaney
Maxwell has the chance for a do-over. She survived the seemingly
unsurvivable—11 minutes beneath water, before being pulled out. But her
survival has come with a price: she now has the ability to sense when another
person is near death. She is drawn to Troy Varga, another accident survivor,
who has her same ability, but while he tries to shorten the suffering of the
dying and help them towards death, Delaney is determined to save them. The
unique plot would be enough to draw YA readers to Miranda’s first novel, but
add multifaceted characters, a true-to-life high-school setting—complete with
all the cliques—and the fearful love-hate relationship with Troy, not to
mention a love affair between Delaney and the boy who saved her, and the novel
has further appeal.
I enjoyed this one (fast read), but I don't think it's nearly as strong of a contender as many of the other choices we have. It's very reminiscent of If I Stay from last year but probably a little more relatable to students. It has an interesting story line, but it's heavy on the teen angst/romance angle without some of the substantial themes in our other choices. There is also a suicide-ish scene (though it doesn't bother me or quite glorify it in the way some other books have done), but this could be problematic. It has a sequel coming out, but I don't plan to read it - it doesn't look particularly interesting (heavy on the teen angst). Not a bad one for students to read, but not a top contender for summer reading.
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