âOur old Christian clichés and platitudes flew right out the window not long after Hannah died. Now it's all about blame and shame and guilt and grief ⦠and this seething, deep-rooted hatred that taints everything.â
I loved Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson. It's not a comfortable read, nor an easy one â but it is extremely relevant and compelling. I highly recommend it to young adults and adults alike.
On one level, Gone Too Soon is a fast-paced, engrossing story that's hard to put down. But on a much deeper level, it transports us into the hearts and minds of a family trying to cope with unimaginable grief. A large part of the story is, as one would expect, quite dark. It's raw and emotional, reflecting unhealthy coping methods for grief at first; but I suspect some of these methods are not foreign to Christian families. Everyone feels personal guilt for Hannah's death, but hides that guilt so that it festers.
Kiera's reading of Hannah's diary gradually reveals a young lady who wasn't all that she seemed, one who faced struggles and temptations that hit all teenagers. But God's love, grace and forgiveness are woven throughout, resulting in a beautiful story of redemption and restoration. There's also the timely reminder that, no matter our age, tomorrow is never assured.
Gone Too Soon is a moving story that leaves readers with much to reflect upon. Recommended to all readers.
I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
I loved Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson. It's not a comfortable read, nor an easy one â but it is extremely relevant and compelling. I highly recommend it to young adults and adults alike.
On one level, Gone Too Soon is a fast-paced, engrossing story that's hard to put down. But on a much deeper level, it transports us into the hearts and minds of a family trying to cope with unimaginable grief. A large part of the story is, as one would expect, quite dark. It's raw and emotional, reflecting unhealthy coping methods for grief at first; but I suspect some of these methods are not foreign to Christian families. Everyone feels personal guilt for Hannah's death, but hides that guilt so that it festers.
Kiera's reading of Hannah's diary gradually reveals a young lady who wasn't all that she seemed, one who faced struggles and temptations that hit all teenagers. But God's love, grace and forgiveness are woven throughout, resulting in a beautiful story of redemption and restoration. There's also the timely reminder that, no matter our age, tomorrow is never assured.
Gone Too Soon is a moving story that leaves readers with much to reflect upon. Recommended to all readers.
I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Gone Too Soon is labeled as a young adult novel, but I would not recommend this book for readers under fifteen do to some of the content (drugs, alcohol, parent hitting a child, minor foul language and a teenager taken advantage of at a party). I felt that Gone Too Soon was a realistic story. We get to see what a family goes through after losing a family member. Blame, grief and anger are ripping the Josephson family apart. I could feel the character's emotions as they struggled. The story is told from three different point-of-views. Kiera's story is told in the first person, Moira in the third person and then Hannah's diary entries. Due to the dark nature of the story, I found Gone Too Soon to be a depressing story. I was glad when the story started to lighten up in the last half of the book. I like Kiera's growth over the course of the story. She needs to go through the various stages of grief before she can begin to help others. I found Gone Too Soon easy to read with steady pacing. I liked how God is presented in this story. God is our savior, but He is also our friend and comforter. My favorite sentence from the book is âIf we blame ourselves, it's like saying we are Godâ. God is in control and He has a reason for everything He does. It just may take us a while to discover His intention. I like how Gone Too Soon ended. There are valuable life lessons presented in this book, and I feel that Gone Too Soon would be a good story for an individual going through a similar situation. Gone Too Soon is a story of overcoming one's grief, forgiveness and redemption.
