All These Lives by Sarah Wylie

All These Lives by Sarah Wylie

Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (BYR) 
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from situations where she should have died. But Dani’s twin, Jena, isn’t so lucky.  She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life. Dani’s father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and prove everything’s normal.  And Jena is wasting away.  To cope, Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives.  Maybe they’ll be released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she does will get one.  Someone like Jena.  But just when Dani finds herself at the breaking point, she’s faced with a startling realization.  Maybe she doesn’t have nine lives after all.  Maybe she really only ever had one.

All These Lives was an AMAZING contemporary. I read it earlier this, but I still remember it and I loved it. It was just so funny, so sweet and had such emotional depth (and was pretty sad), that it was one novel which was hard to forget.
I really love the concept of nine lives... and it's quite different to see it in a contemporary! You'd expect it to be in a paranormal (where it would quite literally be nine lives), but it's interesting to see how Dani's character explores her belief in her nine lives and how she can't be killed with multiple lives at hand.

Reading other's reviews I could see that they didn't like Dani, so I was a little afraid of going into a book where I could end up hating the main character. Boy, I'm glad I didn't listen to them! I ended up LOVING Dani– she's so snarky, her sarcasm is hilarious. It really helped me get through the sadder bits of the book. She was always there to make it much more light-hearted despite the seriousness of the scene.
Another thing I loved (and found hysterical) was Dani's constant teasing of Jack. I wish I had that confidence! Jack is pretty geeky, but he's really cute :) I loved him!
Dani's family as well– her twin Jena, her Mom and her Dad– all contributed to the story very well. The father is hilarious! Could not stop laughing at all his awkward comments and hilarious cracks.

The writing in this book, for me, really flowed. I was so swept with the detail and the easiness of the language, the way I got to connect with Dani was so simple! Wylie really seems to understand the teenage mind– she can tap into that emotion and feeling, and allow teens to follow along and enjoy the story for what it is.

All These Lives was one of the best contemporaries which I've read this year! Truly a touching debut. I will, without a doubt be on the lookout for Sarah Wylie's next book, which I'm sure will be as good as this one, if not, even better.

If you like this, try...

• Never Enough by Denise Jaden ● Goodreads
• Speechless by Hannah Harrington ● Goodreads

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