A bittersweet story about family, friendship and the impact one life can have on others, no matter how young it is. Brooke was just killed in an accident, but a part of her is still here. Seeking answers, she sets out to retrace her life and soon meets others like herself, among them, Tyler. Tyler remembers Brooke from before, and so she hesitantly gives him the one thing she never bothered to … him the one thing she never bothered to when they were alive; a chance. Together, they visit the people and places in their small beach town that once held meaning to them, developing a mutual, grudging respect as they learn to view life in different and unexpected ways.
Tyler soon decides that they must let go of their pasts if anything is to change, but Brooke can’t bring herself to say goodbye just yet. As she watches the impact of her death on her loved ones, Brooke questions her desperate need to hold onto a life that’s no longer hers. But how can she let go of a life she’s barely begun to live?
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Silhouettes is an amazing story about two young teenagers who end up tied to the world they no longer inhabit. Brooke and Tyler run in different circles when they’re alive, but when they are dead, they spend time with each other – trying to figure out just what is going on. The differences in their lives are distinguishable and obvious. Not only do they have time together, but they find out about each other’s lives, and see the heartbreak and sorrow that those left behind are dealing with. With many a poignant insight, this book is guaranteed to make you think, if not make you cry!
This book is outstanding, so much more than I thought it was going to be (and yes, I know that is vaguely insulting to the author! I’m really sorry!!!) Written from Brooke’s point of view, you stay with her as she learns more about those around her than she knew when she was alive. The twist wasn’t really a twist, as it became obvious early on. HOWEVER, that really isn’t the point! Whether or not you figure it out, it’s the emotions that it brings that make the real impact. I was a bit worried it might become preachy, but it never did. So many things are said that hit home to me, but one line that is amazing is simply this: “You don’t have to die to be dead inside.”
Overall, this book is one that everyone should read at some time in their lives. It’s not ‘just’ a Young Adult book, it is simply a book where the two main characters are teenagers. With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, this book swept me away. The scenes are full of impact and flow smoothly from one to the next. I really can’t recommend this book highly enough.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books!
When I first read the synopsis of this book I worried that because of the subject matter being life after death that this would be heavy on the religion aspect. I am not the most religious person out there. While the subject was approached within the book it was not heavy or all-consuming. In all honesty, it makes up less than 1% of the book. This book is more of a coming of age novel. I feel silly writing that because how can one come of age when they are dead, right? But you can, there’s more to life than just living. Silhouettes take you on the journey of closure, acceptance and finding peace within oneself.
There was one line in the book that perfectly captured this book “…we had been living parallel lives in our little beach town…” There’s more to the sentence but I can’t tell you because it’ll give away a major part of the story. Which by the way was one of those moments where I was like I know it’s coming, I know it’s coming, maybe it’s not coming, maybe I was wrong. Ahhhhhhh, I was right. And then left speechless at the way the author presents the unfolding. That’s how it was for me.
So while we followed Brooke and Tyler on their adventure of not quite crossing over, I found the author did a remarkable job at still keeping all our senses alive while in death. With our main characters being ghosts the only senses they have are sight and sound and while you can create a world just on those alone it becomes so much more when you add all our sense into the mix. But through Brooke and Tyler’s memories of life living all our sense are completely fulfilled, from the sweet treats of ice cream down to the whisper of Tyler’s words on Brookes skin.
The eerily pleasant surprise of not so much as friends but other spirits also trapped in the realm of in between made the story that much agonizingly sweeter. To know that they are not alone, but alone was intriguing. With each “spirit” they came across you can find an underlying lesson in which they are slowly learning together as to what is holding them back from fully leaving.
The only bad part about your main characters being dead is that when the story ends it is somewhat pretty final all though I could see a story coming to life of the people left behind.
This the perfect book for any age to find enjoyable. I think particularly for those between the ages of 10 – say early 20’s. I know that’s a large gap, but really the word comprehension is simple enough for a 10-year-old but the story that is told is wise enough for an older age to gain from it as well. Like the lesson of you never know how much of an impact you have on someone, Just because they are in your inner circle doesn’t mean they are your friends and the most important one life continues with you and without you. There are more, but these are the three that really stood out to me.