how to save a life

“Recommended for: People who are looking for immaculately written contemporary YA fiction. People who are looking for their mirror image. People who love train journeys. People who like bad Mexican food and pancakes. People who would like to go on a stakeout with a tall, dark stranger..” – Wear the Old Coat blog

Jill MacSweeney just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she’s been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends—everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she’s somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.

Mandy Kalinowski understands what it’s like to grow up unwanted—to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she’s sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It’s harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?

As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy—or as difficult—as it seems.

Honors

Utah Book Award Winner

ALA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults

A Publishers Weekly Best Book

A School Library Journal Best Book

The Independent Best Books of the Year (UK)

The Irish Times Best Books of the Year

SELECT QUOTES

★ “ Zarr's novel is a rich tapestry of love and survival that will resonate with even the most cynical readers."    – Booklist, starred review

★ ” Zarr delivers a moving, funny, and emotionally honest story about three women whose understanding of family, and of themselves, shifts in profound ways.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “Another heavy-hitting page-turner from Zarr...it's a must-read.” – School Library Journal, starred review

★ “Jill's cynicism is the perfect counterpoint to Mandy's naïveté. Likewise, Many's vulnerability highlights Jill's tough independence. ...as beautiful as it is real. A story that will resonate beyond its final page.” – Kirkus, starred review

★ “Zarr masterfully gives each girl a distinctive voice, allowing the reader to empathize with both Jill's self-destructive rage and Mandy's delusional fantasies. ...a compulsively readable novel.” – VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates), starred review

“Zarr insists that her characters will find their own complicated way; she writes life as it is, not novels of how we wish things could be and yet again the messiness of the American family is exposed for her readers to love and linger over.” – Bookslut