How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

How to Save a Life

Sara Zarr

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers · Paperback · October 30, 2012

Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal.

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Who it’s for
A warm, practical read with emotional clarity and a steady, unsentimental hand.
Genres
YA Adoption Stories, Death & Grief for Teens, Teen Pregnancy
Published
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, October 30, 2012

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For older readers: The Choice, A Love-stretched Life, The Surrogate Mother

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About this book

Jill MacSweeny 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. 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.

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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.

Clear-Eyed Comfort

A warm, practical read with emotional clarity and a steady, unsentimental hand.

Come here for

  • warm, direct prose
  • adoption, grief, and teen pregnancy in a toolkit frame

Expect

  • author-following appeal
  • reference-friendly, chapter-by-chapter feel

Where it sits

Teen Pregnancy93%
YA Adoption Stories80%
Death & Grief for Teens54%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • YA Adoption Stories
  • YA Stories About Girls & Women
  • Death & Grief for Teens
  • Teen Pregnancy
Authors
Sara Zarr
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published
October 30, 2012
Format
Paperback
Reading lane
YA Adoption Stories