The Lucky Ones
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4.5 • 11 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
For fans of Thirteen Reasons Why, This Is How It Ends, and All the Bright Places, comes a new novel about life after. How do you put yourself back together when it seems like you've lost it all?
May is a survivor. But she doesn't feel like one. She feels angry. And lost. And alone. Eleven months after the school shooting that killed her twin brother, May still doesn't know why she was the only one to walk out of the band room that day. No one gets what she went through--no one saw and heard what she did. No one can possibly understand how it feels to be her.
Zach lost his old life when his mother decided to defend the shooter. His girlfriend dumped him, his friends bailed, and now he spends his time hanging out with his little sister...and the one faithful friend who stuck around. His best friend is needy and demanding, but he won't let Zach disappear into himself. Which is how Zach ends up at band practice that night. The same night May goes with her best friend to audition for a new band.
Which is how May meets Zach. And how Zach meets May. And how both might figure out that surviving could be an option after all.
A Chicago Public Library Systems selection for Best Teen Fiction
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2020
A Texas Library Association 2021 Reading List selection
"A must-read for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and This Is How It Ends."--Paste Magazine
"A gripping, emotional, suspenseful, and ultimately hopeful story about loss, survivor's guilt, and learning to find love and trust again. Put The Lucky Ones on your 2020 TBR list--you do NOT want to miss it!" --Karen M. McManus, New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying
"A harrowing and beautifully told story about how far the tentacles of tragedy can reach. May's story of grief, survival, and reckoning is tenderly and honestly explored. A simply stunning debut." --Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this intense, affecting debut, May McGintee is "one of the lucky ones," though she feels anything but. Back in school for junior year, May is consumed by survivor's guilt: 11 months ago, she hid in a closet as her genius twin brother Jordan, favorite teacher, and five classmates were shot and killed during band practice. Following an ineffectual stint of homeschooling after she was kicked out of school for fighting, this is likely May's last chance to graduate with her peers. Angry, isolated, and regretting the distance between Jordan and her when he died, with parents who are detached themselves, May is a mess. So is classmate Zach Teller: his mother is the shooter's lawyer, which means he's a social pariah whose house keeps getting vandalized. When Zach and May meet, they form a real connection, strong enough that it survives May's fury upon learning Zach's identity. Lawson does a good job at conveying how out of control May feels alongside her friends' continued love for her, and though parts of the plot feel predictable, the book credibly depicts the terror of "the frightening places and the daily places" being "one and same," building to a tentatively hopeful ending that feels earned. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
Loved!!!!!
Wow, wow, wow this book took my breathe away. This will definitely be in my top 10 reads of 2020, it might even be number 1. This is the first book the author wrote and she sure did not disappoint.
This book was about the aftermath of a school shooting and how it affected everyone involved. There was also a love story mixed in as well.
I want to start off by saying that school shooting books really fascinate me for so many reasons. I think the main reason is that I often wonder what made a child commit such a heinous act. Were they bullied? Did they get abused when they were younger? Where were the parents? What made them snap? It really makes you think how can it have been prevented. These kids are so young and their brains are not fully formed yet. Now back to the book. This was a beautifully well written book that pulled at every emotion imaginable. I didn’t know I could shed that many tears and find so much joy in just one book. This book had it all. It showed what it was like dealing with the aftermath of a school shooting but it did have a love story connected to it. I really felt for May and what she went through losing her brother and how she felt responsible. It was like I was right there in the closet with her. The emotions were very real. I also liked the connection she had with Zach. It was her first real connection either one of them had since the school shooting occurred. How their lives intertwined was crucial to this story. I loved at the end how finally some healing began after such a terrible tragedy. I would definitely recommend this book.
Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️