Captivating and haunting, #EchoesBetweenUs is everything I want in a good read and more ... adventure, mystery, suspense, romance, and a touch of the paranomal!

Veronica Sullivan has a secret; one she dare not share with her father for fear he will change his life for her. Veronica hopes that proving the existence of ghosts in her senior thesis will help her dad understand that he will never really be alone.

Sawyer Sutherland is the popular guy, but behind his good looks and charm, Sawyer is a mess. His parents are divorced and his mom drinks constantly which leaves Sawyer to take care of his little sister. Lucy. The burden of responsibility fuels Sawyerʻs adrenaline addiction, one that almost got him killed.

As Sawyer is pulled into Veronica's project, he finds himself constantly surprised by the "weird" girl and slowly, almost reluctantly and yet inevitably, falling for her quirkiness and intelligence. But Veronica's staunch belief in ghosts stands between them.

Why does Veronica believe in ghosts? What is her big secret? Why does Lucy see monsters at night? Why is Sawyer constantly seeking the next thrill? And, what does a 19th century young woman's diary have to do with the story?!

Beautifully told through Veronica and Sawyer's alternating POVs, #EchoesBetweenUs is not just a love story about two souls coming of age amidst painful, life changing issues, but also about the love between children and parents, where sometimes the child becomes the parent.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the ARC!

I love Katie’s books, and this one is no different! I was lucky enough to receive a ARC of her newest release, and I’m so happy I got to read this! It covers mental health, as well as physical health, which is amazing in its own. I loved the way that ghosts stood as a metaphorical aspect. I advise everyone to read this book when it comes out! I loved veronica’s story. I loved how she kept upbeat and herself even though there was this huge dark cloud hanging over her. I loved how sawyer took care of his family and learned to stand up for himself towards the end. This book was so lovely and amazing and I can’t wait for more from this author.

Veronica and Sawyer may be my favorite pair by Katie yet.



Veronica is weird. She has a small circle of friends, dresses funny, keeps to herself and thus everyone in school thinks she’s weird and a number of other things. In reality? Veronica is dealing with a medical problem that no one knows about and she wants to keep it that way. She is nothing like what people think. She is smart, funny, kind and the kind of friend you would love to have.



Then you get Sawyer, the popular guy according to everyone. He’s got a good future ahead of him in swim, he’s good looking, has a lot of people always following him. He’s not like that though, he doesn’t see himself as this super popular guy that everyone wants to be around and date. He’s got a secret addiction and is raising his sister and being what he feels like is a parent to his mom.



When an English project comes up, Veronica needs a partner and who volunteers but Sawyer. For fun? As a joke? Who knows. But when these two start talking and get to learn about each other, they find that they are not what their reputation states and become friends.



But after a short time together, they being to like each other more than just friends. And what was supposed to be something casual turns into a love they never thought they would have. Watching them care for each other and sticking through all that came along, it will pull at you.



I loved this book, just as I have loved every book Katie has ever written. Katie has a knack for creating these characters that you can’t help but fall in love with.

Katie McGarry is one of those authors who I will read whatever she writes. She could write a book about aliens on Mars and I would be all in (Not something I would ever plan to read.). There's a magic to her writing that pulls me in and makes me fall in love. That's exactly what happened with Echoes Between Us. It blew me away. Here's why.

*Katie McGarry's writing was as amazing as ever. The story in Echoes Between Us was spellbinding. I read it in two sittings. I would have read it in one, but sleep is important.

*It pretty much took me most of the book to figure it out, but many of the characters are also from McGarry's Only a Breath Apart. Once I did, I wish I had remembered that from the start. I loved how the two stories meshed a bit.

*I loved the emotion of the story. Vi and Sawyer are dealing with some big, emotional things personally and it makes the connection they form so special.

*The whole ghost aspect was so cool!!! It also creeped me out a bit, but I'm a wimp.

*There were some twists and surprises I honestly didn't see coming. That might have been because I was so wrapped up in the story.

*How everything played out. I just loved this entire book. It's selfish to say this, but I hope that we get another book with this same setting and group of friends.

Honestly, there wasn't anything I didn't love about this book. It was classic Katie McGarry and I couldn't ask for anything more or different. Fans of her writing will love this book.

Okay so... if you don’t like sad stories, you won’t like this. The main character has a brain tumor and the ghost she sees is her dead mom. NOW- the author did a great job at telling the story though and it’s worth reading if you don’t mind a little sad.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Veronica and Sawyer go on a ghost hunt in this sad, yet hopeful, young adult romance.

Katie McGarry is an author I’ve been meaning to check out for a long time. I was in a major reading slump when I saw this title on my feed. With it being Halloween, I thought a ghost story with romance was just what the doctor ordered!

This story is less about ghosts and more about dealing with traumatic issues. This is a 4 Star Review because it was a quick, easy read when I needed a quick, easy read. However, this book deals with heavy subjects like cancer and alcoholism. I’m immensely glad it pushed me out of my slump, but the subject matter made me really sad while reading it.

Sawyer and Veronica are two people dealing with deeply traumatic issues. The two dislike each other intensely until a class project pushes them together. It’s a perfect “enemies-to-lovers” scenario with snappy dialogue and spades of chemistry between the two. I would have liked their romance a lot if their individual issues had been less intense. I will say Veronica’s dad and Sawyer’s sister are the most precious of cupcakes and deserve to be protected at all cost.

tl;dr A perfect “friends-to-lovers” story that I struggled to enjoy as the main character’s personal stories were quite sad.

I jumped at the chance to review this book because I’ve been a long-time fan of Katie McGarry’s phenomenal book Pushing the Limits and perhaps this is where my fault lies. I couldn’t help my high expectations after reading a book by her that meant so much to me when I was younger.

Echoes Between Us follows Veronica who can see ghosts, in particular her dead mother. She also lives with a benign tumour in her brain that causes chronic migraines that keep her from being accepted by her schoolmates. Enter bad boy Sawyer, who likes to jump off cliffs and is the most popular guy at school, and he pairs up with Veronica for an English AP project. Veronica is a girl with little life left and Sawyer is willing to risk it all – can they complete each other in the end?

Echoes Between Us, in the kindest wording possible, reads like an early 2000s young adult contemporary would read. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, except the fact that the book felt very outdated. Now, there is no reason to write a book reminiscent of earlier tropes in young adult literature, but this was just a painfully obvious and formulaic story stuck in the 2000s that it covered every cliché. If executed well, that’s not a problem. But this time around, it just felt bland.

The cast of characters was exactly what you’d expect: a vulnerable protagonist (who here deals with a terminal illness which I thought was going to be so interesting to read about but turned out to be a plot point to get the love triangle going and keep the fire of boys making girls feel unlovable stoked); a “bad” boy (who is actually a great guy that takes care of his mother and his little sister and does not at any point of this book or the past do anything remotely bad?); a jealous male best friend who keeps telling the protagonist that he is confused and doesn’t know what to do (though dating other girls and partying it up sounds like a good idea to him while guilting Veronica into being celibate); and the quirky sidekick of the love interest who is gay for the sole purpose of reducing her to every stereotype there ever was.

There was a lot to handle within the plot – Veronica’s chronic headaches, her ability to see ghosts (adding a paranormal element to the story that was either ridiculed or exploited to make her more of a ‘weirdo’), a group of friends that seems to accept her brain tumour but also doesn’t, and Sawyer’s impulse to jump off bridges and cliffs for kicks.

McGarry has a tendency to repeat certain phrases but I really hope that editing will go over this book once more because at one point I got so obsessed with a phrase describing Sawyer’s desire to jump off cliffs that I started highlighting it for a few chapters and came up to a count of 87 references to it. We get it, he likes the adrenaline rush and can’t stop. Overall, I feel like this book would be more suited to middle schoolers because the characters behaved very inexperienced and not like teenagers. There was also almost no personality change between the two POVs and if there weren’t headers over the chapters, I would have had no idea whether it was Veronica or Sawyer.

Speaking of the characters, no one acted how they were described, either. Veronica is described and claims herself as quirky – beyond the fact that she celebrates holidays at self-determined times during the year, there is nothing quirky about her. Sawyer is the proclaimed golden AND bad boy yet he never does anything to be revered or punished. Veronica’s best friend with whom she is in love with for half the book never says anything romantic (unless you count that part about him never being able to love her because she has a brain tumour and how no one else could ever love her). Sawyer’s best friend, equally, is just constantly used for gay bashing. His manipulative mother keeps trying to get them together even though she knows Sylvia is gay. What, exactly, was the point of that storyline except making LGBTQ+ people feel annoyed?

All in all, certainly not my favourite McGarry book but I appreciate it for what it was trying to do and it was nice to get back into the early YA mindset for a while. My, how far we have come since those days where bad boys were just good boys who called themselves bad and best friends kept telling you that you’re unlovable because of something you have no control over. Thank the author community for expanding on these stereotypes and making them their own.

Wasn't sure if I would like this offering from Ms. McGarry, but it turned out pretty good. I was wary of the supernatural elements but I liked the way she made them real. I did think the book seemed a little long at times.

The Quick Cut: A girl who sees her mom's ghost and a boy who struggles to be his true self end up together on a school project. Together, they heal one another's wounds to get past what's haunting them.

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

Not all wounds are physical. Most (if not all of us) walk around carrying the emotional baggage of things that have scarred or torn us apart. However, sometimes people find ways to get past the trauma holding them back in the most unlikely of places. This is the story that brings Veronica and Sawyer together.

Veronica believes in the supernatural and wants to prove it in her senior thesis. She sees her mom's ghost all the time, but can't escape the migraines that tend to come along with it. It can't be an ominous sign for what's happening with her brain tumor right? Meanwhile, Sawyer is known as a golden boy at school - but the truth is that he feels an intense pressure to be a person he's not. Between his mom's constant injections on his choices and the friends who miss the glimmers of his true self, he feels trapped. Can he ever escape or will the pressure continue to drive him to make bad choices?

This story is everything! Veronica and Sawyer may be totally different people, but the unfolding of their connection shows just how much we are all the same inside. If that's not enough, they also find this incredible way to support and see the true versions of each other everyone else misses. It's an incredible book that I know is going to stick with me a long time.

One of my favorite parts about this book is how naturally the true details of their home lives comes out. So many times, these details end up coming out on the page at one time or like little buckets of water drenched at sporadic times. Here, that more organic and lifelike process of little details trickling in takes place, adding a level of genuine feeling that's missed often.

There are also many medical disorders discussed, in a way that feels realistic. Between Veronica's brain tumor, Sawyer's dyslexia, and the overarching conversation of addiction, it could have been too much shoved into one story. The blending of these medical conditions into the drama goes over as less explanatory and more discovering.

With so much to unpack, this book unfolds in a glamorous fashion centered around two teens falling in love.

My rating: 5 out of 5

Another winner, where real life haunts as hard as the spirit world and love triumphs. Katie McGarry hits another home run with this one.

When I read the description of this book, I just knew I needed to read it and I'm so glad that I did! I love both the YA and Paranormal genres and Echoes Between Us merges the two wonderfully.

Told under dual voices from the two main characters, Veronica and Sawyer, this book explores the complexities of teenage life, sickness and addiction. There are so many layers to this book and it rarely went where I thought it was going to go. It was definitely a page turner!

The characters, while quirky and a little broken, are all very believable and likable. The plot line is both creepy and intriguing.

This was the first book that I have read by Katie McGarry, but it will certainly not be the last!

Thank you to NetGalley for my digital copy of the book and to Bookish First for my print copy. Both were in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very compelling read. Every time I thought the story would go in one direction it would go in another. The two main characters were very well developed and their personal stories made them very emotionally and physically drained. During parts I became nervous to turn the page. I wanted - and didn’t want to know what was going to happen next. It was an engaging read, well worth your time.

This book was just so good! First, I didn’t realize that this book was set in the same town and time as Katie McGarry’s last book, Only a Breath Apart! We get to explore Jamie’s friend group with Veronica in this story.

Veronica is a tough cookie, in the best way, living life to the fullest and not caring what anyone thinks about her. She has a tumour that gives her migraines and the ability to see her mother’s ghost. She keeps her secrets, but all the while trying to prove ghosts and their existence with her English assignment. She is such an honourable, bold and strong character and I loved getting to read her story.

Sawyer seeks an escape and finds it diving off cliff sides, but his last jump was a close call. He sees his problem, and with caring for his younger sister when his mother is unable too, all the while caring for her after one too many drinks, he can’t seem to risk it any longer. I loved his character growth, he was so complex, it was hard not to love him.

These two aren’t from the same circles, but when they are paired together they compliment each other so well.
Both have their struggles and get support from one another, and it’s this that keeps me coming back to Katie McGarry’s books. This book made me laugh, cry and question some things about spirits and their whereabouts. Also, the real diary entries of Evelyn Bellak was an awesome addition to the story!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC via NetGalley.

Our main character, Veronica has a brain tumor, which causes her migraines, she also sees her mothers ghost. She is an amazing character who lives her life day by day not caring what others think of her. She has awesome relationship with her father but she also worries about him and also about the changes with her tumor as this is how her mother died,

Sawyer is a thrill seeker, its his obsession; something that he is addicted to; he has an adorable sister who he adores and will do anything to protect. His mother is an alcoholic in denial and he is often left to be the responsible one in the family, often putting his own life on hold. His mother was truly horrible! my heart broke for Sawyer and his sister. I was relieved when his father and step mum played a role in their lives.

Veronica and Sawyer couldn't be more different, they have separate friendship groups but their growing friendship and eventual relationship was wonderful to read about; the way that they supported each other had me swooning. I enjoyed the character development and growth.

I loved the ghost hunting aspects of it, I never quite knew what was going on but it was done very well.

Echoes Between Us was a thrilling read that dealt with many issues - death, addiction, friendship, love and bullying, It was written beautifully, I adore Katie McGarry's writing style and her characters that are each written to perfection.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title via Netgalley.

**Review will be posted on my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog on January 7, 2020, nearer to publication date.**

*4.5 stars*

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this eARC.

After I sped through this book last night, I wondered why they didn’t release for October because it was the perfect fall read for me! Why? Because of the ghosts! The creepiness factor of this book was SO unexpected, I literally had some chills reading this late past midnight. I almost stopped but pushed on and I’m glad I did.

This is more than a story of Sawayer, the popular hot guy, who pairs up with Veronica, the quirky weird girl at school to do a project. I mean that’s the gist of it but no, ohhhh nooooo…their Senior project Veronica or V as her friends call her, want to do is to prove ghosts exists. Okay! I love a good paranormal activity story.

But this was more than just a story about hunting down ghosts as well. V has a brain tumor and she a reason for this project. Sawyer doesn’t believe in ghosts because he feels like his real life is scary and messed up already. He has secrets and these two teenager find a way past their first impressions to understand one another and help each other out in ways unexpected.

What I Liked:

*I love the ghost hunting! I love when they had to research for their project, it even scared me. Yes, I used to binge ghost hunting shows like Paranormal Activity haha and in high school, it was all about going to haunted spots with friends, just to get that thrill of maybe seeing something. But um this book did too good a job at scaring me….🙈👻

*We get dual POV in this story. Sawyer is a complex character with his role as caretaker, and swim star. The pressure and depression he feels from every aspect in his life and his dangerous coping mechanism was taking a toll on him. I seriously felt for him, so glad he gets help. I liked seeing him attend the AA meetings and basically just trying his best to be better for himself, and his sister.

*Veronica is special and the ones who realize it protect her. I love that she had a protective circle of friends since others in their community just thought she was super weird. She has these horrible migraines because of her tumor and just seeing her go through it, it’s tough. Her grief over her mother though, broke my heart.

*Sawyer and Veronica’s love story is beautiful ❤️. At one point I said aloud, “I love you, Sawyer”. 🤣😱 I was like, whoa where did that come from? HAHA…even though Veronica is this shining light and the person who shows him life can be thrilling in a different way…he is the thing that grounds her. They struggle with their relationship and feelings as well…but he was mature enough to make some hard but right decisions and I was like, go Sawyer. I didn’t mind their relationship drama in this, I thought it fit in well and was believable. Their love wasn’t all consuming, it was deep but I liked that family came first too. And V stepped up to the plate too…I love how they decided to be all in. All in.

*There are heavy topics in this story like addiction. Sawyer’s mom is clearly an addict, and Sawyer is addicting to adrenaline. Veronica is dealing with grief. Heavy topics all around but it works even as it’s interwoven with this ghost hunting project. It’s written so well.

*There is a historical angle as well to this story with the TB Hospital in Kentucky. I googled it and just looking at the photo of the sanatorium scares me! Haha, I would have not been brave like Veronica and her friends to be hanging out that place. But there is a diary that Sawyer reads, a diary of a girl named Evelyn Bellak who was a patient at the hospital back in 1918. According to the author, the diary is real. Sawyer reads the diary and relates to Evelyn in many ways.

Things That Made Me Go Hmmm:

~Sawyer’s mom… 😔 I know it’s part of Sawyer’s story but wow. It shows his mom spiraling into her addiction and Sawyer cleaning up after her but there is one thing that she does that affects his younger sister and it made me livid. But his mom was hitting rock bottom…and rock bottom is not pretty to see. I was hurting for Sawyer…I mean what’s a kid to do, he was trying so hard.

~Sylvia his best friend – she was only trying to help him but at times she frustrated me. But she had her own insecurities too so…🤷🏻‍♀️

~Just a few triggers: grief, cancer, chemo, depression, addiction.

Final Thoughts:

This story blended ghost hunting, grief, brain tumor, and addiction so seamlessly. I was getting chills from the ghost hunting scenes and Sawyer’s penchant for jumping. I was scared from both things. I was afraid for both Sawyer and Veronica and hoping both would confront their ghosts and make it out okay. But I also fell in love with with Sawyer and V falling in love. ❤️ Overall, it was an emotional rollercoaster and I enjoyed Echoes Between Us very much. Don’t read it in the dark though (I was on my fire tablet lol), because you won’t only be tingling from the love story but getting chills from the ghost stories too! Or maybe it’s because I scare easily…haha.

I started reading this one after a much needed break from fantasy. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy but sometimes I just need to find myself immersed in another genre. This book was definitely different than what I thought it would be. It wasn't in a bad way and I did find myself liking it for the most part but like most other books, I did have a few issues while reading through it.

Veronica is an interesting character. She dresses differently and also sees ghosts. She also is dealing with a brain tumor that is the same that took her mother. I liked that Veronica didn't let the tumor consume her life. She didn't tell people about it or want people to know to garner sympathy. She wanted people to see her for her. I also enjoyed how her dad's nickname for her was peanut because that is what my dad has called me. It definitely did make me feel connected to her in a way.

The one character that she lets in besides her friends and dad is Sawyer. He is the complete opposite of her when it comes to social status at their school. Before partnering up with her on an English project, he knows who she is and his friends talk a lot about her. His mother even mentions how weird she is. That is one thing that annoyed me. I am just not a fan of the weird/strange girl falling for the jock trope. It's just been done a lot. I will say that Sawyer may hang out with a lot of people and fit into that trope but since he is hiding an addiction it makes him seem more realistic. It proves that even though on the outside his life may be perfect, it doesn't mean that it is.

Let's also talk about his mother. She is a real terrible mother. She is the worst and it has a lot to do with her drinking problem. Sawyer is the one that has to pick up after her and is raising his sister. It's a sad thing to read about but it is an important topic to discuss and I think it was handled nicely.

When it came to the other more minor characters, some felt a bit one dimensional. This is definitely one of those books where the main characters are the star of the plot and that was okay. I didn't mind.

As for the plot, it was interesting and not really what I was expecting. There are paranormal aspects but not in the way the synopsis talks about. I think more or less it was really about how the past haunts us and to always be aware who we let in.

The romance/relationship in this book just wasn't for me. They hadn't known each other for long and they were already falling in love. It did remind me of A Walk to Remember in some ways. Even the fight they had was very reminiscent.

My favorite part about this book was the inclusion of quotes from a girl who had tuberculosis. They were real quotes from her life in one of those hospitals back in the early 1900's. The outbreak and treatments of those patients have always fascinated me and being where I live near Louisville, KY helped make this book extra special since I live 10 minutes away.

Although I ran into a few issues, I still thought it was a good read all in all.

This book takes place in the world that Only a Breath Apart takes place. This book follows Veronica (Jesse's friend) as she struggles with making a new life after her friends have moved on to the next stage of her life. I really liked this theme because it's something that not just young adults deal with, but all people deal with. We all have to learn how to let go and let people live their lives even if it's with out us.

Sawyer has his own demons that he has to fight. He was forced to grow up before he was ready and all he wants is to be a teenager kid. I liked how he transformed through the book and he grew up to be a better version of himself.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Sawyer and Veronica. They bring out a side to each other that they may have lost. When they are with each other they get to be teenagers and forget about the rest of the world.

Mcgarry is a master at writing emotions that you can (or maybe it's just me) relate to on a deeper level. The struggle, the longing, the fear. It's hard to capture that emotion in words but somehow Mcgarry is a genius.

Take the weird girl who likes to celebrate holidays early, the uber popular guy who has a secret addiction, add in a little ghost action and you have Echoes Between Us. I really enjoyed this book. The story kept me turning pages late into the night. The characters were very likable. The ending was a perfect wrap to this book. Pick it up! In fact pick up any Katie McGarry book! You won't be disappointed.

Another heart-wrenching tale from Katie McGarry. Veronica is dying. There's a tumour in her brain and all she wants is to hide it - keep it a secret - be her own version of weird - and not die a slow agonising death like her mother. Sawyer is courting death - jumping off cliffs - looking for an adrenaline rush - trying to keep a facade going for his friends and his little sister. When Sawyer and Veronica team up for a class project to investigate the existence of ghosts, neither understood exactly what they were in for. Sawyer's a non-believer, but Veronica can see - but is what she sees real or is it just the tumour? Join two teens as they struggle to find truth about life, death and things in between.

This book is both beautiful and sad - yet full of hope. Enjoy!

I love how everything in this book takes on a different meaning after you have read it. Like the rest of McGarry's books this one is wonderful , but it is deeper. You can read it several times and it is still not clear if anything was ever truly verified or validated. You can piece together things that prove and disprove but the beauty of the story is indisputable.
I would say this book is one of McGarry's best and I have a library of her work that I re read several times a year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates for the privilege of received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. The ideas and comments are my own.