This is Not the End is the most profound, moving YA novel I have read in quite a while. With an original premise where everyone is equipped with a resurrection that they must use or forfeit by their 18th Birthday. Lake has promised hers to someone not dead yet. But things are about to get more complicated. With only weeks until that day, Lake is faced with the ultimate heart-wrenching decision when her best friend and boyfriend get in a car accident. Does Lake break her promise and give the resurrection to one of the two people she loves most in the world? Baker writes a thought-provoking, engaging story that both intrigues and thrills. There is a nice bit of romance, mystery, and drama. With the unique concept of having a resurrection at your disposal, one might even consider this dystopian. All YA readers should be sure to check out This is Not the End.

(4.5 stars)
I received an ARC from Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.

This is another speed read challenge I completed for myself and I can definitely admit that it was hard to put it down. I really only put it down if I needed to go to sleep or if I had to stretch my legs (I sat on my recliner for three hours, guys).

Lake is a teenage girl who lives in a world where, once you turn eighteen, you can bring back to life only one person. She is turning eighteen in a few short weeks and she has already promised to resurrect her disabled brother after he kills himself, allowing him to come back as a fully functional human being.

All of it suddenly comes to a standstill when she, her best friend, and her boyfriend all get into a car wreck and she is the only one to survive. She must decide who she can bring back while also going to therapy and hanging out with a boy named Ringo whose face is half-covered by a birthmark.

I read reviews on this book and I did see some mixed reactions. However, I was determined to meet my deadline before Tuesday. It was a very good start. The chapters are labeled by how many days are left until Lake turns eighteen. The start of the book begins with the day of the crash. After that, we taken through the final few weeks before her birthday and then a couple of years before where she first meets Penny (her best friend) and her boyfriend (Will).

I liked Lake and I really felt for her character. First of all, her parents are totally forcing her to use her resurrection on her brother all because he has no use of his body except for his head, really. It reminded me of Will from Me Before You, especially when it came to Matt’s (the brother) attitude toward life and people in general. Matt was a total jackass and didn’t even want to interact with his sister unless there was something in it for him. Then, we have her boyfriend’s parents ganging up on her to resurrect Will. Then, there is Penny’s family urging her to resurrect their daughter. It was a shame that these adults were acting like children and it made me feel really sad for Lake because she didn’t deserve that. They are basically making it seem like Lake didn’t suffer anything after that crash.
I really enjoyed Ringo’s character and how diverse he was. He isn’t the typical pretty boy that we find in contemporary novels. He has a birthmark that covers half of his face and people stare when they first see him. However, he and Lake grow this strong bond in a matter of a few weeks and it’s something that she needs. Through it all, she is finding out these disastrous secrets about the people in her life and Ringo becomes that person she can go to, regardless of the fact that they really don’t know each other that well. We learn some things about Ringo, but I do wish there could have been more relationship building. Their relationship kind of went fast and it almost seemed like insta-love. However, it made me feel better that Ringo did feel hesitant getting close to Lake because of her resurrection decisions and her loss.
The storyline never strayed. There were no plot holes and no missing points. Everything flowed perfectly and Chandler really knew how to keep you hanging on to your seat, wondering what secret was going to come up next. There were some moments where I thought I had the secret figured out or I thought I could guess the ending, but I was wrong both times. I was very pleased with the ending and I’m glad I got the opportunity to read this dramatic, heartbreaking, and romantic novel. More heartbreaking than anything else, though. Don’t worry. It’s not too gushy.

I've read a lot of ya friends dying in car accident books recently. Seems like that's one of the trends. This one was one of my favorites though. The choice of bringing people back gave it a fresh feel. I liked the way it ended, but I do wish there was more about the woman who died in the other car. She seemed over looked as a possible candidate to bring back. The bad relationships with all of the families got to be a little tiresome, but at the same time without it the story wouldn't have been as good. Thank you for letting me read this book ahead a time. I think I'll have a lot of teens who will enjoy it.

This is a one-of-a-kind, near future dystopian novel that really calls to question end-of-life rights. I love the social justice topics this novel tackles - should people be able to be brought back to life after they've died? Lake is a very believable character, grappling with the grief and complications of her friends' deaths and the loyalty she has to her family. Most vividly, she struggles with her feelings toward many characters, and Baker complicates these relationships as she has to decide who to use her resurrection choice on in a very realistic manner.

This is Not the End by Chandler Baker is a thought-provoking, tearful, and heart warming book all wrapped into one package. This story takes place in a time when resurrecting the dead is a thing. A person who has died can be completely restored to a healthy and flawless person again, but it comes with a clause: only on the 18th birthday can someone be granted a resurrection. You only have one day in your entire life to make this decision and you can only choose one person to bring back.

Lake Devereaux is only weeks away from turning 18 and getting to use her resurrection. Her brother, Matt, sustained a horrific spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. It was always assumed that on her birthday she would use her wish to restore him back to health, only she and her best friend and boyfriend get in a terrible car accident that claims both of their lives, leaving Lake to decide who to bring back. I knew this was the premise going to this story but having to actually read about how gut wrenching this whole scenario is for Lake packs a mean, mean punch. I thought the book was going to be on the more sci-fi spectrum and delve into this technology and how it works but it isn't that at all. We learn that this technology is a thing but that's about as science fiction as it gets. This story is much more about a girl who wars with herself on what is right, what is ethical, and the repercussions from making her one and only choice.

First of all, I couldn't imagine having the weight of a decision like this on your hands. The parents of her best friend and boyfriend are just terrible when it comes to the possibility of their child coming back in the hands of a 17-year-old. Lake's parents are terrible too because they've always anticipated Lake would use her resurrection on her brother, only her brother is a complete jack ass. He has lived a miserable existence since his accident which I get, I do, but he treats Lake like she is the scum of the earth and any problem she faces should not even be mentioned. Her parents all but basically shut her out too. It just is a sucky household all around. So anyway, I thought Baker did a really good job with developing the monumental implications and ramifications of what life is like from Lake's accident leading up to her 18th birthday. This is not a fluffy novel and I actually felt my heart breaking back and forth along with Lake's as she struggled with her new life without the people who meant the world to her.

Lake makes an unexpected friend in Ringo who has had his fair share of hardships as well. I've seen a couple of reviews on Goodreads mention that while they like Ringo, they don't like the budding relationship between the two of them. Y'all, Lake is in mourning. Her family life is whack and these two people were her everything. Now not only has she lost them both at the same time but she's got all these people judging her and wondering who she's going to choose. Like how on earth could you pick between your best friend and your boyfriend, especially as a teenager who thinks these people are going to be with her forever? It sucks. So of course when Ringo enters the picture as a true friend and someone who Lake can lean on, there may or may not be some feelings getting mixed up in there. I thought Baker handled this in a very realistic and tasteful way, especially given the secrets Lake discovers along the way. I liked Ringo. (where's my girl emoji sticking her hand out to the side?)

So while you really never did get to learn how the whole resurrection thing works, Baker creates a story here that just cuts down deep leaving you wondering what you would do if you had to choose and hoping that you never have to. She also throws in a crazy plot twist that I never saw coming which then turns my own personal thought process all around again. I was intrigued by the synopsis but This is Not the End is a good emotionally driven story that caught me by surprise. Chandler Baker delivers a great, but sobering story worth reading that proves there's more to everybody than meets the eye.

TLDR:
A heart breaking tale about what happens when you can only choose to bring back one of the most important people in your life. Likable main characters that despite their flaws you can't help but emphasize with.

Thanks to Hyperion and Netgalley for he chance to read and review this title early!

In this just-a-little-but sci fi world, each person receives one resurrection when they turn eighteen. They can bring any one person back from the dead. Lake is almost eighteen, and her resurrection has already been promised - to her brother. He isn't dead though; he was paralyzed in an accident when he was seventeen, and has become more and more of a stranger to her since. The plan is for her parents to assist her brother's death and for Lake to bring him back and ultimately make their family whole again. Then tragedy occurs, and she is left the only survivor of a car accident that kills her best friend and boyfriend. With pressure from all sides, she must decide whether to honor her promised resurrection to her brother, or choose between the two people who matter the most to her.

Perfect for high school collections.

This Is Not the End encapsulates everything that makes young adults interesting to read about. It kept me up at night, and when I didn’t have time to read, it was hard to keep myself from picking it back up.

The characters are rounded and varied. The main character has to realize that there’s a whole world outside of her bubble. There is laughter. There are tears. There are tragedies. There are blessings. There’s a sci-fi/fantasy element that keeps it all interesting.

Lake has had a lot thrust on her for a 17-year-old. Or, you know, for anyone.

She has the option to bring back one person from the dead when she turns 18 — via a scientific breakthrough called Lifeblood. Which would be really awesome, if she only had one person she wanted to bring back. Or if there wasn’t a little more to being resurrected than she’s led to believe.

The Beatles, death, love and impossible choices. That’s what this book is full of. It exposes adults that act like children and children who are mature beyond their years. It follows a character who was saddled with an impossible choice at a young age.

I don’t want to give too much else away. Suffice it to say, this book is great. It pulls you in, and the sci-fi/fantasy elements are such a small part of the world that you could almost believe it’s contemporary fiction.

Such a short review, but honestly I don’t want to give away any more details. I want you all to experience the book a little blindly, the way I could. Five stars from me, easy.

YA book for fans of "The Butterfly Effect"--it shows how one action can change everything and that we can never truly know what could have been if only that one event hadn't occurred the way in which it did. This book definitely held my attention (especially with the scavenger hunt plot line); however, it was just too depressing a tale to me. I would have a difficult time placing this one in any one genre, but I think I might call it dystopian? In this world, 18-year-olds could resurrect someone on their 18th birthday. There were a few twists in the book--the main (in my opinion) twist I felt was foreshadowed fairly early on in the book. Overall, a captivating read, just not my style. Thank you, Netgalley and Disney Hyperion, for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't my cup of tea so I can not really review this book. I am very sorry. Beautiful cover

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This is Not the End by Chandler Baker follows Lake Devereaux, a soon-to-be-eighteen year old girl who loses her best friend and boyfriend in a car crash and has to make the hardest decision of her life. Technological advances have made it so far that on one's eighteenth birthday a person can resurrect one person from the dead. Lake has to choose between three people. Her boyfriend, Will. Her best friend, Penny. And one other person who isn't even dead yet, but who she has already promised her choice to.

This novel was very well written and the story flowed nicely. It was a pretty easy read and one that was hard for me to put down.
The plot was unique, honestly, and is partly why I loved it so much.
However, the cliches in this novel were endless, but it didn't lower the quality for me, it just added to it. I mean she's a teenager making a gigantic life choice and is finding out that people aren't always who they really say they are, so yeah there are going to be cliches.
The characters were alright. Lake was really the only one who felt fully fleshed out, for me. I feel like the parents were less than even side characters.
I found myself wanting more of the little coffee shop group and wanting some friendships to start forming there, but they never did and I was left disappointed.
I felt we really didn't get a whole lot of closure on certain aspects that were really important for our MC, it just kinda bottomed-out.

Overall, this was an interesting and fairly good contemporary YA novel and I'd definitely recommend this one to people because I enjoyed reading it.

The intriguing concept suffered from inconsistent world-building, while the plot holes left the twist ending unsatisfying. Interesting ethics questions were sidelined for a love rectangle that felt inauthentic. The suspense elements were done pretty well.

I received an ARC of this book on NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review (which is my second ARC and I LOVE reading these news books before they're officially out--I get to AMP them up for my kids as well as anyone else who reads my reviews)!

Now, tell me this. If the love-of-your-life and best friend both died on the same day, in a car accident, and you had the power to bring one of them back to life on your 18th birthday, who would you pick? This is the very decision that befalls Lake Devereaux in this realistic/science fiction new book by Chandler Baker (author of Alive).

Lake spends a beautiful summer day cliff-jumping with her boyfriend, Will, and best friend, Penny. There isn't a single cloud in the sky and the water is perfect. And then. While the three are headed home, a split-second decision to take one's eyes off the road, results in Lake losing her entire world.

To complicate things further, Lake's brother, Matt, is a paraplegic after a freak childhood accident. Lake's entire family is counting down the days until she turns 18 so that she can resurrect Matt so that he can come back to a full-functioning body but, with her friends gone and pressure mounting, Lake's world starts spiraling out of control as she doesn't know WHO she is going to resurrect.

5/5 stars for sure! This was a book that I basically finished in 3 days because I couldn't put it down. Baker has you guessing, until the very end, about Lake's resurrection choice and it is comforting to know that I was left in the dark, much as Lake, herself, felt. On top of that, I thought the ending was perfect for the book because grief doesn't just disappear overnight.

I like the way Baker addresses grief throughout this story--it feels very real. And, the science fiction layer of being able to resurrect someone works to complicate the plot even more. I don't know that our world is SO far away from the world in this book.

Questions/thoughts on my mind, thanks to this book:
-Could I resurrect someone or does it stop people from truly healing?
-Who would I resurrect, if I had the opportunity?
-Should you be loyal and keep promises to your family even if they don't feel like family?
-When do friends become more important than family, if ever?
-Communication is key to all relationships.
-We can't deal with grief alone or isolate ourselves in hard times, even if it's the natural thing to want to do.

Nice work, Chandler Baker, I am thoroughly impressed and now want to read Alive. Thank you for a well-written book and relatable characters!

Sometime in the future, when a person turns 18, they can choose to resurrect someone via the magic of medical science. This is the plot line of This is Not the End, while I was interested in the conflict presented here but ultimately, the premise felt a little flimsy to me. I was not really interested in this book after the first few chapters. Baker writes with a lot of twists and turns that will keep you curious but just not enough to hold my interest. While is book was a good read and I did follow through all the way to the end, I am just not that impressed and felt it is one of those books that I will not go back and read

What if, instead of dead actually being forever, there was a possibility of bringing your loved ones back to life? Instead of losing those closest to you forever, you had the power to undo their death? That's exactly the premise in this chillingly semi-futuristic story.

In one instant, Lake's world is shattered. A tragic car accident takes the lives of both her best friend and her boyfriend. Miraculously she survives. But she's left with an unimaginable dilemma. You see, technology has given people the ability to be resurrected. Not just randomly and at will, mind you. Instead, every person receives one resurrection on their eighteenth birthday to be used on whoever they choose. That's one resurrection, though. And Lake can't imagine making that choice.

To make matters even more difficult, her resurrection choice has already been promised to her older brother who was tragically paralyzed years earlier. She's not even close to her brother anymore, so she surely can't imagine wasting this precious gift on him. Especially when the love of her life and her best friend have died.

Things aren't always what they seem, of course. As Lake struggles to come to terms with the accident, while also recovering from her own injuries, she discoveries that nobody is who they seem to be. And then, of course, there's a new guy to complicate matters.

This story is a lot of things. It's science fiction, for now at least. It's a romance. It's a teen drama. And it's a mystery with one heck of a twist at the end that I sure didn't see coming.

Sometime in the future, when a person turns 18, they can choose to resurrect someone via the magic of medical science. This is the premise of Chandler Baker's novel, This is Not the End. Lake Devereaux is weeks away from her 18th birthday, but her resurrection has already been promised to her older brother Matt, who became a paraplegic 5 years earlier and has tried to commit suicide numerous times. So when she is in a car accident that kills both her best friend Penny and her boyfriend Will, things get a little more complicated. Who will she choose?

I was interested in the conflict presented here but ultimately, the premise felt a little flimsy to me. I couldn't buy into the whole set up I guess. The dilemma reminded me of Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper in terms or medical ethics. My students might enjoy the twists and secrets revealed in this story but I wasn't invested enough to be compelled in any way.

(I received an ARC of this book on NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

Yes. Just… yes.

In this near-future society, each person is given the right to bestow one Resurrection on their 18th birthday. This should come as a relief to Lake after her car crash, but here’s the catch: both her best friend and her boyfriend died, meaning that she now has to choose between them. And, making this even more complicated – she promised her Resurrection to her brother long ago.

This book takes a medical advancement (the power to Resurrect someone; thanks, Science!) and shows it for its emotional complexity and societal implications. And yet, the story manages to be about so much more: it’s about family, friendship, loss, and trust.

My favorite aspect of this book was the characterization. So often, secondary and tertiary characters are muted or trope-y, but it’s clear that Baker had a plan for everyone. Will and Penny each have their own hopes and desires, and their own ways of relating to Lake. Lake and her brother, Matt, have a fraught and aching relationship, and her parents even get fleshed-out tension and motivations.

Also, this:

There’s a spot in my chest too deep to reach that aches with a longing so sharp that there are seconds during which I’m not sure I’ll survive. But each time it passes and I know the next stab won’t be lethal.

Yes. This is exactly what grief feels like.

Other parts of this book felt familiar to me, but not in a bad way – more like a favorite pair of jeans.

I won’t say anything else for fear of spoilers (because you NEED to read this book), but I was sobbing by the end. An easy book to recommend to high schoolers and teacher friends.