Blurb:
I learnt the hard way that labels stick. Laura took “lovely”, and the teacher branded me “ladylike”.
It stuck with me, even through my high school years. It felt like that was all I’d ever be.Until everything changed.
Lonely Lia.
Little Lia.
Lia the liar.
Lia the lost …
Now the choices are endless. But I don’t want to be any of those either.
My name is Lia Stanton. And this is my story.
Kristine's Review:
Reviewed: August 2015.
How To Save A Life had Lauren McKellar's stamp all over it, in every line, in silent gestures between characters, is soft looks, her style is nuanced, and from the opening lines on the first page I felt a sense of calm wash over me, because there's a sense of coming home when reading anything McKellar has penned, there's a sheer eloquence in her words, making it seem effortless, her prose beautiful, captivating.
Lia has had a tough run, she's a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, she's stronger than most teens I've met, between the death of one parent and fighting depression and addiction with the other has left her floundering, struggling to keep a smile on her face to hide the pain in her eyes, there's so much of this I could relate to, watching someone you love waste away while struggling with addiction is a blackness that steals your breath, there's a darkness that settles over you, blocking out the light, there's fear and shame, and hurt and pain mixed in to feelings of helplessness because it's not really your battle to fight, if I sound a little vague here it's because I need to, there's so many secret tied into How To Save A Life and you need to unravel them, and discover them on your own. Lia is biding her time with her boyfriend Duke and her best friend Kat until she can move away from the pain and hurt of her life and find something easier, better, a life that won't drag her further into the darkness each day.
Jase has a sexiness to him that wasn't based on looks or physique, he had a strength that belies someone who's seen more than they let on, see's deeper into people than they want to show, he see's deeper into Lia than she's comfortable showing, it's this depth that captivated me, this innate need to discover everything he's hiding, to unriddle his secrets and lies, for him to be a support for Lia as she traverses the tight rope she's walking, I wanted these two to find a sense of strength and support in the other.
How To Save A Life is more than just a book about a young girl coming of age, it's about more than death and the fallout it causes, it's about more than battling addiction in it's many forms, and it's about more than opening yourself up and allowing people in, willingly making yourself vulnerable, there's so many beautiful lessons in this book, that at times I felt deep down in my soul, I wanted to climb inside McKellar's words and hold Lia, to tell her things would get better, let her know that she couldn't shoulder the weight of her family on her shoulders, but despite this there were moments where a disconnect crept in, stopping me from crossing the five lipstick line, there's a strength in McKellar's writing that undoubtedly captivates and enchants and I can't wait to see where she goes next.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1IxjiQ2
iBooks: https://itun.es/au/az107.l
Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/q8z9w6u
Amazon AU: http://tinyurl.com/nk5vvg3
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1eLkPu4
About Lauren K. McKellar:
Lauren K. McKellar is an author and editor. Her debut novel, Finding Home, was released through Escape Publishing on October 1, 2013, and her Crazy in Love series, YA/NA Contemporary crossovers, are self-published and available now.
As well as being a magazine editor for a national audited publication on pet care, Lauren works as a freelance editor for independent and traditionally published authors, and was a Runner Up Editor of the Year in the Publishers Australia awards in 2013.
Lauren is a member of the Romance Writers of Australia and is obsessed with words--she likes the way they work.
She lives on the Central Coast of New South Wales with her husband and their two super-cute puppies. Most of the time, all three are well-behaved.
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