Review Detail

Elizabeth Valchar has everything going for her. She's pretty, rich, and popular. That all changes the morning after her eighteen birthday. Seven people join her on her father's boat to celebrate. A mysterious sound wakes her and when she goes to check it out, her whole life will change. She finds cracks in her so-called perfect life. As she investigates what happened that fateful night, what she finds will change her forever.

This is one amazing read. What Liz finds that one fateful morning is shocking. Even more so is how she finds her own memories are cloudy of what lead up to her death. Imagine finding your body and not knowing how you ended up there. Liz is in denial at first until Alex shows up. Problem is he's been dead for almost a year. Also they have nothing in common. He's the nerdy boy no one really knew until his death and she's the popular one. Apparently something links their deaths together. Even a year later no one knows who caused his death. Together they both try to piece together the puzzle behind her own death.

This isn't the typical paranormal tale where the dead girl roams the Earth searching for justice. Instead Elizabeth is able to hear what her so-called friends and family really think of her. Some of the revelations are surprising. For example she finds out how similar she is to her own dead mother on how she copes with stress. Some are not so surprising like the hidden rivalry of her step-sister Josie and how she tries to step right into Liz's spotlight after her death.

The clues are subtle and all start adding up. There's a few twists and turns that surprised me. I stayed up until well after 3am as I had to know who was behind Elizabeth's tragic death. And just when I thought I fingered it out, the author threw another twist into the storyline.

Also the family dynamics of all involved is very interesting. The author cuts through the rich upper class surface to show that they aren't really that much different from everyone else.

I liked how Alex helped Liz try to remember what had happened that night even though they were from totally different worlds. For example Alex's death is marked with a moment of silence at their high school but a year book is passed around as no one really knows who he is. Liz on the other hand has posters and those who weep during her assembly.

At first Liz is shown as shallow and full of herself but this changes as she finds out more and also starts remembering her own past and present. Her character grows and arcs at the end.

This is a moving tale of love, tragedy, and forgiveness. But mostly this is a story of learning to let go. I highly recommend.