About the Book Gone Too Soon

Book: Gone Too Soon

Author: Melody Carlson

Genre: Young Adult

Release Date: November 15, 2018

An icy road. A car crash.
A family changed forever.

Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident. But the image she carried resentfully of Hannah is challenged when she finds her dead sister’s diary and begins to read. Apparently, Hannah’s final year wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.

Caught in a pattern of blaming each other, the Josephson family is falling apart. Their father has left, their mother is mixing opiates and alcohol, little sister Maddie has been shipped off to spend the whole summer with their grandmother, and Kiera feels utterly alone with her grief and anger. A summer job helping at a park in a poor section of town provides a friend and a purpose.

But it’s Hannah’s diary that fills her thoughts. For the first time in years, she feels close to the sister she’s lost. But can the knowledge she gleans about her possibly help her patch back together with the family that seems determined to implode?

Click here to purchase your copy.

My thoughts on Gone Too Soon:

I have a love for Melody Carlson.  She writes wonderful books with great content.  This book follows that pattern.  First I read the book to make sure it was as good as all her others.  I wanted to make sure that it was appropriate for my teenage daughters. 

My verdict.  This touches on a LOT of topics that are hard ones.  Ones that we definitely need to talk about and work with.  But.  I will not be having my daughter read this book just yet.  She’s only 14 and there are some really heavy things in here.  You read about rape, cuss words, cutting, suicide, and lots of other things that I don’t want to introduce in this way to my daughter.  

If you have a loved one who has been exposed to these things in a negative way and are at a point that reading about how to deal with them and overcome them would be helpful, this is a great book for that.  It is well written and really does a good job of covering the hard stuff. 

When reading this book you get three different perspectives to read through.  Hannah’s diary entries.  Kiera is the first person account and then Moira pops in and out in the third person.  

A bit about the storyline.  Hannah has died in a car accident.  Her sister Kiera is really struggling.  She finds Hannah’s diary and decides to read it.  Moira is their mother who turns to alcohol to offset her grief.  Father Alex takes a leave of absence from the family.  This is partly due to all the stress and grief and partly due to Moira telling him to leave when she was drunk.  Another sister has gone to live with grandparents “for now” and life is just super stressful in the home.  

As I mentioned there are lots of heavy subjects touched on in the book.  Sex, drugs, alcohol, abuse, self-harm, and a whole lot more.  But you also get a mention of God and his love and characters finding the truth.  I do think this is a good book and it has a place.  But I will not be recommending it for teenagers unless an adult has read it and decided it can be helpful in their situation.  It, in my opinion, is a good adult read though.  If you do not approve of cussing (we don’t) then you may have some issues with the book. 

If I had not agreed to review this book I probably would not have finished it as it doesn’t correlate with our family standards.  But I did finish it and I do think it is a good read for the right audience.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.  All opinions expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations. 

About the Author of Gone Too Soon

Melody Carlson has written more than 200 books (with sales around 6.5 million) for teens, women, and children. That’s a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a “storyteller.” Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, True Colors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year. She’s won a number of awards (including RT’s Career Achievement Award, the Rita, and the Gold medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog.

More from Melody

I think I’ve written about a hundred or more teen novels, but Gone Too Soon, a rather serious story, is a bit different. There’s no denying I’ve covered a bunch of gritty issues—everything from self-harm to suicide to murder—but I’ve never written a novel quite like this one. For starters, I wrote it from two viewpoints. Both the teenage daughter and her mother express themselves in this story. And because the premise involves an untimely death, the family is torn apart. As a result, there’s a lot of guilt and blame and confusion going around. They’re all in pain.

I’ve been asked several times what “inspired” this story. And I’m sad to say that it’s simply a case of “art imitating life.” I live in a small community where too many young people have died “too soon.” These untimely deaths—for a variety of random and unexplainable reasons—are devastating. I know more than a dozen families (some very close friends) who have tragically lost a child. So I’ve seen up close how it can tear a family apart. It’s truly heartbreaking, often leaving friends and family without words of comfort or explanation.

But that’s not the only reason I wrote this story. My hope is that teens (who often feel invincible) will be reminded that they are mortal and that this earthly life is temporary. Hard as it sounds, death is inevitable. And it’s not that I want everyone to be obsessed about dying, but we do live in a culture that practices denial about the end of a life. No one really wants to talk about it. My hope is that readers will take a hard, honest look, peel back some layers, and face death for what it is—a part of earthly life. And I hope readers will close the book with a little more understanding . . . and hope.

Blog Stops for Gone Too Soon

The Avid Reader, April 25

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, April 25

Emily Yager, April 26

The Power of Words, April 26

Moments, April 26

Christian Bookaholic, April 27

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 27

Hallie Reads, April 27

Caffeinated Christian Raves – N – Reviews, April 28

Mary Hake, April 28

janicesbookreviews, April 28

Christian Bookshelf Reviews, April 29

SusanLovesBooks, April 29

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 29

All-of-a-kind Mom, April 30

Just the Write Escape, April 30

Carla Loves toRead, May 1

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 1

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, May 2

Blogging With Carol, May 2

Ashley’s Bookshelf, May 2

Through the Fire Blogs, May 3

Reading Themes, May 3

For The Love of Books, May 3

the Midnight Bookaholic, May 4

amandainpa, May 4

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 4

Bigreadersite, May 5

Texas Book-aholic, May 5

The Becca Files, May 6

Remembrancy, May 6

Inklings and notions, May 7

this chattanooga mommy saves, May 7

A Reader’s Brain, May 8

For Him and My Family, May 8

Giveaway for Gone Too Soon

To celebrate her tour, Melody is giving away a grand prize of paperback copy of Gone Too Soon and a matching journal!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/dfa9/gone-too-soon-celebration-tour-giveaway