Katie McGarry
Publication date: January 14, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Format: eARC
Source: Tor Teen and Netgalley
4.25 Stars
GOODREADS * AMAZON
S Y N O P S I S
Echoes Between Us is bestselling author Katie McGarry’s breakout teen contemporary novel about a girl with everything to lose and the boy who will do anything to save her.
Veronica sees ghosts—more specifically, her mother’s ghost, thanks to the blinding migraines that consume her whole life and keep Veronica on the fringes. But the haunting afterimages make her wonder if there is something more going on….
Golden boy Sawyer is handsome and popular, a state champion swimmer, but this All-American is hiding an adrenaline addiction that could kill him. Drawn to each other after a chance meeting, can they help each other battle the demons that haunt their every step or will they push their luck too far and risk losing it all…including their lives?
M Y T H O U G H T S
I’m sure I say it with her every new release, but when it
comes to YA, Katie McGarry is my #1 go-to author. She writes the kind of
stories that I love and I’m always ready and waiting for each new novel. In
Echoes Between Us, Katie delivers a story with her trademarks: relatable
characters facing real-life challenges, romance, and an emotional connection.
Life hasn’t been easy for seventeen-year-old Veronica
since the death of her mother six months ago. Her father is a truck driver who
is gone for days at a time and her best friend Leo, who she is also secretly in
love with, is leaving for college. Veronica also has a brain tumor… like the
one that killed her mother. The tumor causes debilitating headaches that seem
to be getting worse, but she keeps that information from her father. She also
doesn’t share with him that she sees and communicates with her mother’s ghost.
From outward appearances, Sawyer is the golden boy.
Handsome, popular, a star athlete. But Sawyer is being crushed by the pressure
he feels at home. Since his parent’s divorce six years ago he has felt
increasingly responsible for not just his six-year-old sister but also his
mother. Her drinking has gone from letting loose on the weekends to almost
every night. Between her interference in his life, his resentment of his
father, and pressure at school, Sawyer feels like he’s walking a tightrope. The
only relief he finds is the adrenaline rush from cliff jumping but he finds
himself craving that high more and more.
Veronica and Sawyer were an unlikely pair – the girl who
marched to the beat of her own drum and who was considered “weird” by the kids
at school and the boy who, from the outside, had it all. But they both felt a
lack of control over their lives. In Sawyer, Veronica had someone who saw
beyond the tumor and the quirks and appreciated her for the bold and fearless
girl she was. And in Veronica, Sawyer found someone who accepted him for who he
was, who cared about what he wanted, and supported him without judgment. They
truly brought out the best in each other.
The friend groups played a big role and those who have
read McGarry’s Only a Breath Apart will remember Jesse, Scarlet, Leo and
Nazareth (side note: we seriously need a book about Nazareth). Veronica and
Sawyer did not run in the same circles and their friends definitely started off
as wary and judgmental of one another. I loved seeing the slow acceptance as
they started to know and trust each other and were actually supportive of each
other during times of need.
Katie did an amazing job of blending the paranormal
elements (Veronica sees ghosts), the spiritual aspect (Veronica’s friend Glory
is something of a psychic who believes in angels and an afterlife) and
skepticism (Sawyer is convinced there is a logical explanation for any
“phenomenon”). McGarry tackles some weighty issues in Echoes Between Us and, as
usual, handles them with such a light, respectful hand. There are addiction
issues, learning disorders, faith, grief, mortality, discussion of sexuality,
and more. There is a big focus on acceptance, in many forms, and I loved how
Katie wove that deftly throughout the story.
By the end of the story, I was in love with these
characters and my heart ached for their struggles. Both Sawyer and Veronica had
to have such inner strength to face their challenges and overcome them. Katie
made these characters feel utterly realistic and I shed some tears as I was
swept into their story. Once again, Katie McGarry has delivered an emotional
and compelling story that is sure to be among my favorite books of the year.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. This does not impact my opinion of the book or the content of this review. I received no compensation and my review is voluntary.
