From the Publisher
The breezy yet powerful and exceptionally perceptive writing style, multifaceted characters, surprisingly hopeful ending, and pertinent contemporary themes frame an engrossing, thought-provoking story that will be snapped up by readers of Todd Mitchell’s Backwards and Gayle Forman’s If I Stay.” — School Library Journal
“The haunting story of a suicide attempt gone awry as high school junior Liz Emerson drives her Mercedes off the road, winding up in a coma…Zhang writes with confidence and finesse, and many readers will be moved as Liz recognizes the lives she has damaged.” — Kirkus Reviews
“An impressive debut . . . should appeal to readers who sobbed through Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.” — Booklist
“Amy Zhang crashes onto the YA scene with this debut novel about a physics student who puts Newton’s Laws of Motion into practice by driving her Mercedes into a tree. . . . A good pick for fans of Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall and Gayle Forman’s If I Stay.” — Shelf Awareness for Readers
“Insightful . . . it’s interesting to see the mean girl through the eyes of the people who love her, despite (and sometimes because of ) her flaws.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Insightful . . . it’s interesting to see the mean girl through the eyes of the people who love her, despite (and sometimes because of ) her flaws.
Booklist
An impressive debut . . . should appeal to readers who sobbed through Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.
Shelf Awareness for Readers
Amy Zhang crashes onto the YA scene with this debut novel about a physics student who puts Newton’s Laws of Motion into practice by driving her Mercedes into a tree. . . . A good pick for fans of Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall and Gayle Forman’s If I Stay.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Insightful . . . it’s interesting to see the mean girl through the eyes of the people who love her, despite (and sometimes because of ) her flaws.
Booklist
An impressive debut . . . should appeal to readers who sobbed through Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Insightful . . . it’s interesting to see the mean girl through the eyes of the people who love her, despite (and sometimes because of ) her flaws.
JANUARY 2015 - AudioFile
Narrator Julia Whelan's voice is calm and clear as she presents an unvarnished picture of Liz Emerson, who dominates her world, bending others to her will while shielding herself from the consequences. Or so she did. As Liz lies unconscious after surviving a suicide attempt, an omniscient narrator presents a series of flashbacks leading up to her fateful decision. Expertly managing a nonlinear story filled with a wide range of characters, Whelan delivers a compelling performance. There's a significant amount of disturbing content—bullying, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual assault—and Whelan doesn’t shy away from portraying the emotional fallout as she movingly delivers the reasons behind Liz’s actions. A.S. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2014-05-28
A teen tries to commit suicide by crashing her car in this debut from an adolescent author.High school junior Liz Emerson hovers between life and death in the hospital after purposefully running her car off the road, while friends, teachers and curious classmates gather to stand watch and hope for the best. Strategically timed flashbacks to weeks, days and minutes before the crash, some voiced by Liz’s platitude-spouting childhood imaginary friend, reveal a wealthy, popular girl tortured by regret over her cruel actions against others. Her father died when she was young, and her widowed mother ignores Liz in favor of her globe-trotting job, but Liz knows that’s no excuse for getting a friend hooked on drugs, urging another friend to have an abortion and making a mean viral video of a boy who has a crush on her. “Some nights, Liz looked back and counted the bodies, all the lives she had ruined simply by existing. So she chose to stop existing.” Will Liz pull through? Depending on whether they identify with Liz or her victims, readers may be split about the novel’s abrupt ending. Even though the text is peppered with clichés, the inventive structure and inspired use of the imaginary-friend narrator help overcome the earnest, immature prose and heavy-handed messages.Superior scaffolding, didactic execution. (Fiction. 13-16)
