Title: How to Be Brave
Pages: 282
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Date published: November 3, 2015
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley
Synopsis:
An emotional contemporary YA novel about love, loss, and having the courage to chase the life you truly want.
Reeling from her mother's death, Georgia has a choice: become lost in her own pain, or enjoy life right now, while she still can. She decides to start really living for the first time and makes a list of fifteen ways to be brave - all the things she's wanted to do but never had the courage to try. As she begins doing the things she's always been afraid to do - including pursuing her secret crush, she discovers that life doesn't always go according to plan. Sometimes friendships fall apart and love breaks your heart. But once in a while, the right person shows up just when you need them most - and you learn that you're stronger and braver than you ever imagined.
Review
Honestly, I didn't know what I was getting into when I signed up to review this book. I signed up for a YA Debut tour and was matched up with this one, so I decided to give it a go and read it. I rarely read synopses for reviews anymore, but I gave it a quick glance over and it looked like it would be interesting.
And it was.
This was a heavy read for me. Not that it was depressing or what have you, but Georgia, the main character, is going through a lot after her mom's death. This wasn't something I could read in one sitting because of the content. Still, I found myself drawn to the story and wanting to know what was going to happen next.
Reading this felt... real. As if I was actually looking in to Georgia's life... struggles and all.
I don't want to give out spoilers, but for a good portion of second half of the book I could feel this huge bubble of loneliness growing inside of me. I wanted so badly to just... I don't know... give her a hug? She needed one. Especially after it was discovered that she was carrying something as heavy as she was.
Hell, after reading through that part, I need a hug.
Anyway, slight spoiler: it ends on a positive note, which helped my heart to stop breaking. Because, my gawd, she really did NOT need more stuff thrown at her.
Good book, I enjoyed it. Recommended to people who like realistic stories.