Loud Awake and Lost by Adele Griffin
Synopsis
“LOUD. There was an accident. Ember knows at least that much. She was driving. The car was totaled. She suffered back injuries and brain trauma. But she is alive. That’s the only thing left she can cling to.
AWAKE. Eight months later, Ember feels broken. The pieces of her former self no longer fit together. She can’t even remember the six weeks of her life leading up to the accident. Where was she going? Who was she with? And what happened during those six weeks that her friends and family won’t talk about?
LOST. One by one, Ember discovers the answers to these questions, like a twisted game of dominos. And little by little, the person she used to be slips further and further away.
In the wake of her critically praised young adult psychological thrillers,Tighter and All You Never Wanted, National Book Award finalist Adele Griffin has created another triumph. Loud Awake & Lost is an unflinching story of loss and recovery.”
Jen’s Review
I was lucky enough to win a copy of Loud Awake and Lost from Bookish.com. And what a book to win!
Now, as many of you know, I’ve been getting most of my books from the library lately due to budget cuts. And, to be honest, most of the time I don’t have a hard time returning a book once I finish it. I think, “Nice read, but not a keeper.”
But then there are the dreaded times I must take a book back that I don’t want to. The times when I feel like I’m abandoning a loved one. Dropping them off on the side of the road and saying, “I’m sorry, but I must let you go. I must! Goodbye, my love…” (sniff, sniff). Loud Awake and Lost would’ve been one of those books. So, thank God I get to keep it! There will be no difficult farewell in our future. I get to proudly display it on my bookshelf.
Adele Griffin’s contemporary young adult novel had me hooked from the first page to the last, and has kept me hooked for days since finishing. It’s a book that has many layers–layers you’re constantly peeling away in hopes of discovering more. More and more and more. And with each layer peeled, there’s a surge of relief and joy, as well as pain and sorrow. I appreciated Adele Griffin’s unique take on the topic of self-discovery. To think of finally figuring out who you are and what you want to do/be in life, only to have it erased, is staggering. And Ember’s rocky path to relocating those lost pieces of her new self and putting them back together is a difficult, yet wonderful one.
Loud Awake and Lost is truly one of the most bittersweet stories I’ve read in a long time–bittersweet in a good way. It’s haunting and mysterious and one hundred percent captivating. And I totally, totally recommend it, especially if you enjoyed books like If I Stay and Where Things Come Back, or even The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Read it!
Jen’s Rating
Read more about Loud Awake and Lost here!
Related articles
- The Selective Collective: Loud Awake and Lost by Adele Griffin (gonepecanla.wordpress.com)
- Selective Collective: Loud Awake and Lost – Round Table (thegrownupya.wordpress.com)
- Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman (jenspenden.wordpress.com)
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