Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC.

A kooky family road trip story with major illness and a Joan of Arc element. The development of the relationships between main character Indigo and her mother and sister are probably the highlight of the book. However, the emotional core (and especially the ending) is compromised by the lack of a well-drawn relationship between Indigo and her terminally ill twin sister Violet, a character whose comparative perfection is meant to contrast to Indigo but in the end only makes her seem one dimensional and hard to relate to. There also seems to be quite a lot going on, and the story suffers especially at the beginning from a lack of focus - for example, while Indigo's feelings toward her sister come up early on, it takes more than half the book for her feelings of inadequacy in regards to her mother to even come up, which somewhat robs their eventual reconciliation of power.

I really appreciated that Indigo and her family are identifiably, on-the-page black/Native/mixed race which brings some much needed color to YA. However, I’m not entirely certain how I’m feeling about the idea of the divine voice guiding the action - that element didn't seem overly well-rounded or in any way explicable either, and it also makes the book thorny to categorize. If you put it in fantasy, that feels insulting to people of faith, but it doesn’t slot neatly into realistic fiction either, and YA sections typically don't have Christian fiction subgenres.

And interesting YA option which might appeal to those who enjoyed Going Bovine and want a similar story with parents, siblings, and a pastor along for the ride.

The Voice In My Head is a sad story. Twins Indigo and Violet have lost the closeness they once shared but for a good reason. At eighteen years old, one of the twins, Violet, is terminal. Dying. The grief of the surviving sister is a palpable thing. Indigo begins to hear the voice of God telling her things to do to save her sister. The story is far fetched for me. It's proof that people will believe what they want to believe even though it's ridiculous. It's a sad story about a family in the middle of tragedy and doing the best they can. I read this fairly quickly and ended up sad. Overall it's a good read about love and loss. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin TEEN for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Phenomenal! This book needs to be picked up by every person I know. Cannot wait for it to come out so I can buy a paperback. Thanks netgalley.

Well, I didn’t like this family at all. When one of a pair of twins becomes deathly ill, instead of all pulling together, they seem to compete in a who can be the worst relative race. Poor Indigo suffers the consequences of a selfish, unloving and non-supportive family. She’s kind of kicked aside as the rest try to deal with the final days of the other one’s life. I gave it 4 stars because even though I wasn’t crazy about it I know many readers will enjoy it.

(ARC provided by Netgalley in return for my honest opinion.)

Indigo's sister is dying. As in, she's terminal. As in she's going to die by doctor assisted suicide. As in Indigo is about to be one half of a set. Overwhelmed at the prospect of living without her twin, Indigo climbs a building, prepared to die, too. But before she can leap, she hears a voice telling her that if she takes her sister to Arizona, she'll live. Always a believer, her sister Violet agrees, and the whole family takes off on road trip to prolong what seems inevitable.

This book sounded so good from the get go. I'm not super into religious fiction, but I approached this with the hope that it was super creative, and not preachy. While there is a lot of praying and such, it didn't have the usual religious fiction feel. I really enjoyed the story of Indigo and her sister, and eventually I even got into the rest of the family.

If I had one criticism, it would be that it felt like Indigo believed the voice she was hearing way, way too easily. (Although, I suppose if you're actually hearing a voice, it would be hard to be skeptical?) Likewise, I felt her family bought into it way too easily, although this could be explained later in the book.

There were bits that felt a little forced, like the scene with Willy May, but I did forget about that in my rush to see what would happen at the end. When I got to the end, I was kind of disappointed. Spelling out why would kind of ruin the story, though.

In the end, it was a pretty compelling read, that I raced through. And isn't that really all you can ask from a book?

I received an e-ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The story is about teenage twins. The sisters no longer have a close relationship. This is unsettling because one of them is terminally ill. I did not find the way the book was written to be engaging.

I feel like this book is in leagues with My Sister's Keeper. Very heartbreaking read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Quick Cut: Twins find their entertangled lives running out of time when 1 is dying due to a degenerative condition and the other, unwilling to live without the other, starts hearing the voice of God telling her how to save her sister's life. .

A Real Review:
Thank you to Inkyard Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Siblings are a double edged sword: you love them, but they tend to have this way of hitting your nerves in ways no one else can. It's a strange bond that either strengthens over time or falls completely apart (based on my experience). That bond is tested in a big way for Violet & Indigo in this race against the clock.

Violet is dying and there is no going around that. With each moment, she is slowly running out of breath and rather than wait for the torture to end, she has decided on doctor assisted suicide. However, her sister cannot imagine a life without her twin sister and tries to kill herself jumping off a building (but ends up failing). It's the beginning of a story that ends up causing her to jump through major hoops to do anything in order to save her sister from certain death. A voice in her head claiming to be God says she can do so id she does what Indigo asks. The final goal is getting Violet to a natural phenomena known as "The Wave" in Arizona.

At it's core, this book is about two sisters who lost their close connection along the way. Indigo and Violet together are such a sweet combination and once they finally talk about their life, it's nice to see their bond grow closer again and open up to each other. Unfortunately, this doesnt happen until late in the book and truthfully I would've liked more interaction between them from the start.

I know that the girl talking to God in her mind is supposed to be reminiscent of Joan of Arc and bring the lead Indigo some sort of peace over what's happening to her sister, but truthfully? The way the voice sounds, is used, and ends up playing a role in the overall story feels more like a gimmick than a true character.

An overall good idea for a story, but too many cliches and missed opportunities will leave you feeling unfulfilled at the end.

My rating: 3 out of 5

Davis creates a very ingesting read with this title. The main character is very relatable and they make decisions on what they feel and the situations around them. The premise is great and the nod and acknowledgement of the almighty God is amazing! I enjoyed the novel and would like to see what else will come from this author.

Sometimes a reader can get into a rut. When you read heavily, stories become predictable, sound alike and content begins to lack originality. I went into The Voice in My Head expecting the issues described. But what I got was a story that had me hooked and compulsively reading as if Voilet's life depended on it. And what a life experience it was.

Voilet and Indigo are eighteen year old identical twins. While they have the same DNA, their personalities could not be more different. Which is quite normal for siblings, but their situation is anything but normal. Violet is suffering from an illness that will take her life. But Violet has a choice to end her life with dignity. But plans are put on hold when Indigo hears the word of God in her head. This voice insists that if Voilet makes it to the Wave in Arizona, she will live. Thus begins a family journey unlike anything other with the goal to save Voilet's life.

This books is obviously an emotional journey. You get to intertwine in the family dynamics. And with some heavy hearts, times can be a bit tough. And this story really does portray different views and feelings on some heavy subject matter such as mental health and assisted suicide. Also, when the family is already suffering quite deeply, its hard to have your own life happenings. Its not a time when you want to share ways in which your life is progressing or stalling in some cases. It is just an interesting insight into the life of a family with a terminal teenager. Even though the family's world is crashing, the world doesn't stop. And it's a cruel and tragic truth.

My favorite part of the book was the Voice. The banter was entertaining, but the most impressive aspect of the Voice was that as a reader, I wanted the Voice to be God so incredibly bad. I wanted to believe and at times truly believe the Voice was God speaking to Indigo. There are certain situations where you can't question the Voice being authentic. Other times, you have the biggest skeptics believing so in that scene you give in and believe too. I love the way Davis incorporated the Voice and how she left the Voice up to the reader.

I had one very minor issue with this story. When the family was communicating, they talked so incredibly proper that it wasn't really believable. Which if that was how every character in the story talked, it wouldn't be an issue. But when the Voice is talking more casual with a bit of youthful slang, it makes the younger members of the family's strict and proper English stick out a bit.

Overall, I would give this story a 4.5 stars (rounding to 5). I can't wait to see how big of hit this story is for 2019. Thank you NetGalley and HARLEQUIN Teen Inkyard Press for this advance copy.

This is a 'coming of age' story about African-American twins who diverge in mind and heart when one decides to end her life with dignity after a severe, incurable lung illness and the other starts to hear the voice of "God" in her head.

I am not a big fan of grief reading. I enjoy the occasional Jodi Picoult novel but it isn't my first choice. So I when I picked up The Voice, I did it to resolve the 'problem' I had in needing to find out what actually WAS the voice in Indigo's head (spiritual, religious, insanity, alien?) While I won't spoil this answer, I will say that this is definitely one of those books where the journey is the gift. While I went in just to find out this one answer, I left feeling like I had met and shared with Violet and Indigo and their complex and fierce family. The characters here are so realistic in their flaws, so true to their creation and so distinctly individual that I believe they could exist. It is rare that an author can hit the right combination of plot intrigue and character development and beautiful writing to support the story fully but Dana Davis has managed it in spades. I fully expect to see this novel on awards lists next year and frankly, I will question our industry if this book does not receive the accolades it deserves!

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

Thank you for the early copy!

I picked this ARC because of the interesting plot. It turns out that I've been meaning to read Davis's debut novel and it made me pick this one up right away. I flew through this book in two sittings because of the intriguing plot, the interesting characters, and important messages that impacts to young readers.

I highly recommend this to fans of intense and well-written YA contemporary fiction.

Thank you to Harlequin TEEN for the arc of this book.
Such a heartbreakingly good read, I loved this book, it made me full on ugly cry, and touched my heart. Anyone with siblings will understand how Indigo feels, and her struggles with her parents.
It was lovely how they all came together, even though it was such a sad story, but very well written.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE VOICE IN MY HEAD by Dana L Davis in exchange for my honest review.***

Indigo prepares to jump from a building when she hears a voice in her head claiming to be god. Not wanting to live without her terminally ill twin Violet, god tells Indigo her sister will live if they visit The Wave. Instead of swallowing pills to die with dignity, Violet agrees to take a road trip with her family.

Depending on the reader’s perspective, Indigo’s Voice can be seen as an auditory hallucination, that of god or something else. As a psychologist who interned in a state hospital, I’ve known a number of people whose brain synapses misfired as delusions and hallucinations, I went with the mental illness. I’m also atheist, which contributed to my perspective.

Indigo clearly saw herself as the lesser twin, the least favorite sibling, second best. The chip on her shoulder was a product of her environment as well as her curious personality. I enjoyed her narration. Dana L Davis gave her a smart, witty voice.

Davis created a unique cast of secondary characters, family members to the twins and an unconventional preacher wise without being religious. Like most families, some annoying and difficult to tolerate members drove Indigo, and me the reader, nuts, namely her older sister Michelle.

What THE VOICE IN MY HEAD lacked in plot, Davis made up for in writing and dialogue. The ending, while predictable, was fitting.

YA readers love stories about twins and with such smart writing, THE VOICE IN MY HEAD will certainly please most readers.

The Voice in my Head by author Dana L. Davis is a great book. It has heart, suspense and takes you through a journey of family. Was a pretty quick read and overall a good book.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of The Voice in My Head in exchange for an honest review.