Between by Jessica Warman

I was given a copy of Between by Jessica Warman at BEA.  I hadn't really heard much about it ahead of time and after reading the cover blurb, I was worried the book would scare me to bits and give me nightmares.  This book was nothing like what I expected.  It was ten times better.

Here's the Goodreads Blurb:
Elizabeth Valchar--pretty, popular, and rich--wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday on the yacht where she'd been celebrating with her closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, she finds her own drowned body is hitting the side of the boat. Liz is dead. 

She has no memory of what happened to her, and can only observe in horror the fallout of her death. She's also soon joined by Alex Berg, a quiet boy from her high school who was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The two keep each other company, floating in and out of memories and trying to piece together the details of what happened to each of them. 

In her regular life, Liz was a runner. It wasn't abnormal for her to run 8-10 miles per day. But as memories from closer to her death begin to surface, Liz finds that she'd been running much more than normal, and that she'd all but stopped eating. Liz's mother, who died when Liz was nine, had battled with anorexia as well, and those around her worried Liz was following in her mother's footsteps. But something more sinister was consuming Liz from the inside out. . . . 

From critically acclaimed author Jessica Warman comes a shocking mystery, a heartbreaking character study, and ultimately a hopeful tale of redemption, love, and letting go.


I really liked this book.  Not because it was a fun and happy read- because it wasn't.  But because it was so emotional.  I enjoyed watching Liz and Alex work things through on their own while the living try to figure things out as well.  The plot keeps you guessing who did it all the way to the end.  Who killed Alex and how did Liz end up dead in the water wearing an uncomfortable pair of gaudy boots?  The search for closure and forgiveness is not only going on between Alex and Liz where they are stuck in limbo, but amongst the living as well.  We watch the Valchar family unravel and fall apart.  Liz's boyfriend comes away from her death a new man who has a different understanding of the world.  This book is definitely for readers 16 and up as there are drug references, sexual references, and acts of violence.  If you liked Before I Fall, then you should love Between.  It's a ghost story that is told by the ghosts.  A truly unique book that I hope you will give a try.  


You can find out more about Jessica Warman and her books on her website and on Goodreads.

Between earns 4 Fairies for the spooky story of forgiveness, redemption and consequences.