By: Liz Lawson
Published: April 7, 2020 by Delacorte Press
352 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Standalone, Contemporary
Source: Netgalley ARC
Goodreads / Amazon
Summary:
For fans of Thirteen Reasons Why, This Is How It Ends, and All the Bright Places, comes a new novel about life after. How do you put yourself back together when it seems like you've lost it all?MY REVIEW:
May is a survivor. But she doesn't feel like one. She feels angry. And lost. And alone. Eleven months after the school shooting that killed her twin brother, May still doesn't know why she was the only one to walk out of the band room that day. No one gets what she went through--no one saw and heard what she did. No one can possibly understand how it feels to be her.
Zach lost his old life when his mother decided to defend the shooter. His girlfriend dumped him, his friends bailed, and now he spends his time hanging out with his little sister...and the one faithful friend who stuck around. His best friend is needy and demanding, but he won't let Zach disappear into himself. Which is how Zach ends up at band practice that night. The same night May goes with her best friend to audition for a new band.
Which is how May meets Zach. And how Zach meets May. And how both might figure out that surviving could be an option after all.
Though this story deals with the aftermath of the ones left behind, the "lucky ones", after a school shooting, it doesn't go into a tremendous amount of detail of the shooting event itself. Instead, this story deals more with the guilt, depression, anger and hatred that the main character, May, feels towards the shooter a year after the devastating effects that tore through their high school.
May's twin brother, along with 6 others were killed by a classmate who opened fire in their school band building. Now, someone in their town has chosen to become the defense attorney for the shooter.
May is a ticking time bomb filled with all kinds of anger and hurt. She vandalizes the attorney's home with hurtful words. Though illegal, she feels it's her way of bringing justice to the one thing she feels in control of.
Then there's Zach, the son of the defense attorney for the shooter. May now goes to the same high school as him - though she doesn't realize that until after they develop a friendship. He has been ostracized by classmates because of the decision of his mother. His father is pretty much non-existent due to his own issues and so Zach also deals with an unhealthy amount of anger mostly directed towards his parents.
Yet in all of their individual struggles and grief, Zach and May connect and find a friendship that helps bring them out of their anger and hurt. Until the realization of who Zach is comes to light.
The most touching part of this story to me came from the author's notes at the end. Be sure to read that! This particular quote from Liz in her author's notes was perhaps my favorite part of the whole book:
"I wrote The Lucky Ones for those who have gone through horrific events like these, and for those who fear that they might endure a similar fate someday. For those who have made their way through painful, heartbreaking times and managed to find their way through to the other side. May's story is one of pain and fear and loss, but also one of hope. Without hope, we are lost."
Favorite Quotes:
In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.
"I hope you can remember that people aren't just the sum of their mistakes. The world isn't black-and-white - the best thing you can do for yourself is to look at the spaces between those poles, to see that extremes aren't useful to anyone."
She wishes she had stopped pushing Jordan, only thinking of the future and his potential, and instead seen who he was as a person and appreciate the present.
Language Rating: 2 (medium)
Mature Content Rating: 2 (medium)
Final Rating: 3.5 stars
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