Summary: Johanna has always known who she was. But when she learns that her mother didn’t actually die in a car accident, and that Johanna had accidentally shot her as a toddler, the foundation of her world is shaken. Johanna has to grapple with her guilt, her identity and find her voice.

I thought Accidental was a really interesting premise for a book. It’s a premise rooted in reality. Johanna is hardly the first toddler to accidentally shoot someone and the debates that happen in the book are debates that occur in real life. I don’t think the idea was executed well.

The book did well when it followed Johanna’s introspection. If more of the book was about Johanna dealing with her guilt and anger, it would have been a better book. I enjoyed the parts of the book where Johanna finds her voice, when she begins to fight for herself. Her grappling with her role in her mother’s death and her absentee father’s role was very interesting and presented moral dilemmas worth discussing. Johannah’s grandparents' choice to raise her unknowing of her role in her mother’s death also raises many moral questions. However the introspective period of the book was not long enough and it’s why the book falls flat.

The book had two main flaws that severely detracted from the plot. The romance and the way the discussion around gun control was handled.

The romance was beyond unnecessary. It added nothing to the book, the love interest Milo was not well developed and it was the epitome of instalove. Within hours of meeting Milo, Johanna was telling him her life story and confiding in him. I have no clue why Milo would date Johanna, given the hot mess she is for all the time he knew her.

The other main flaw was the way the topic of gun violence was handled. I saw some other reviews saying they thought it was too political. I disagree. With a topic like gun violence, it is impossible to not become political. I think the author tried too hard to present both sides of the gun violence debate in ways that made no sense. Johanna’s grandfather being a safe gun owner should have been sufficient to present both sides.

 But when a girl at school Annette starts proselytizing pro gun opinions to Johanna’s face, I lost all credulity. Annette is portrayed to be rational and empathetic. I know many teenagers who are pro-gun. I do not know any pro-gun teenagers who would go up to a victim of gun violence and debate gun control. I also do not know any rational pro-gun teenagers who would actively fight against a peace mural. The debates between Johanna and Annette are clearly representative of the gun control debates that often occur in America but within the context of the book, it didn’t make sense to include Annette as such an important character. I don’t think the book took enough of a firm stance on gun violence as it presented Annette’s views as rational.

When everyone at school finds out Johanna had accidentally shot and killed her mother, she faced a lot of bullying. To me this part was somewhat unrealistic. Teenagers can be cruel, and I can definitely imagine that some people would react negatively. However, I would have expected to see more support and sympathy for Johanna amongst her classmates.

There aren’t any other YA books I can think of that can really be compared to Accidental plot-wise. However I was expecting Accidental to be closer to The Hate U Give and have more of an emotional impact and a stronger stance on gun control.

Final Thoughts: A book with a really interesting premise but a weak execution. 2.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great ride. I really liked characters and whole story is absolutely amazing. I love this book so much!

Accidental tells the story of high school student Johanna who is living a normal life being raised by her grandparents. 
Jo lost her mom when she was 2, one day she finds out she accidentally shot her mother to death when she was a toddler. 

We get to read about the guilt and shame Jo feels. It is a heartbreaking story. 
And something that sadly happens in real life too not just books and movies. 

This is an emotional book. The author did a great job with this story. I felt everything the characters felt. She just had such a good way of making you feel. 

I would say my only issue with the book was that I didn’t always like Jo. While I understand going through something like this is awful, I felt she was very immature at times. I didn’t care for her from the beginning before she found out about her past. I need to love a main character for me to fully enjoy the book. 

I would still recommend it if you like contemporary YA novels.

*This review contains spoilers*

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

"Average teenager" Joanna Carlson likes everything else that teenagers like, ranging from (but not limited to) spending time with friends, having fun, the whole nine yards. Her best friends, Gabby and Leah along with her grandparents are the most important people to her in her life. Her mother was killed in a car accident (which we find out in the story is not true), and her family was not allowed to speak about this to her. The story's beginning was catalyzed and initiated by her father (Robert) suddenly contacting Joanna, wanting to see her. Joanna, like most people, originally wasn't a big fan of meeting again the parent that didn't bother reaching out to her in years. But curiosity got the best of her, which...yeah, the rest was history. 

To stray off for a bit, I want to vocalize my disagreement with Robert's action here. I understand how and why Joanna wants to truth, and yes, she does deserve it if you want to put it like that. But sometimes, truth is not always the best thing - or else "white lies" wouldn't exist. I personally feel like Robert shouldn't have told Joanna what happened. Nothing gets out of it, all that happens is devastation for her having her life turned upside down. The whole point of her grandparents removing her from her past and not reminding her of what happened was because 1) they are trying to save her from the painful trauma and 2), it was not her fault. If Robert did not leave the gun hanging around she would've never accidentally shot her own mother. Furthermore, if this truth was to be revealed to Joanna, it should be revealed under a professional in a controlled environment to lessen the negative impact breaking this news may have on Joanna, not like this. Most importantly, Robert should've at least consulted the grandparents. 

Now that I've ranted about how to avoid the situations that unfolded in the story, let's get on to the story itself. 

This book is very political especially for a book published in the US, since it is an analogy regarding the topic of gun safety and gun violence/accidents. But as someone who has my own view on the matter, I find myself appreciating how the message was portrayed. The book was very respectful in trying to convey is the ultimate point, and I would still recommend this book to anyone with any kind of perspective to read and enjoy.

This is a book that isn't afraid to be real with readers. My favorite thing in the entire world is when books are real. I might be a sucker for fake love stories that leave a gooey feeling in my heart, but nothing will ever beat how it feels to read a book that is REAL. A book full of real emotions, real mistakes, real situations. Not the type that are glossed over and lessened for the effect of a happier story. This book was real, and that is the highest compliment I can give it. 

The author new how to tell this story with grace, but also with truthfulness, and for that, I applaud her. She presented the character Johanna extremely well. Johanna wasn't perfect by any means, but she was realistically good. She was as good as a hurt teenage girl can be. She handled her pain well, but we could also see the strain it placed on her. It was great to see her develop and learn to deal with that pain in different ways throughout the book.

I loved this book immensely and I believe it to be a must read for anyone who loves real stories as much as I do.

This was an incredibly moving and well done story. Richards covers a topic that is not done enough in YA, the impact of guns in our country and our inability to address safety. What was different about this story however was it followed early trauma at a young age and the decisions families make as they come out of that trauma. While the topics were heavy, Richards created a lovable character that you will not only care for, but root for as she makes her own decisions and finds a way to use her voice. An important and enjoyable read.

I was incredibly surprised and impressed with this book. It tackles and promotes controversial conversations about gun safety which I think is incredibly helpful! This was an incredibly strong ya debut!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Children’s for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was an extremely powerful debut. Joanna’s grandparents have a secret. When that secret is brought to light by the father who abandoned her, Joanna’s entire world is turned upside down. I have seen mentions that this book will promote conversations about gun control, but I think it deals with a more important topic: gun safety. Who should have access to guns, and how do we properly store our guns? The book also brings to light that in times of crisis, it is okay to ask for help. An outstanding YA read.

When I read the blurb of the book; I couldn’t hit request hard enough – the blurb made Accidental sound like a book that will break your heart and yet leave you with hope at the end of reading the book!

In Accidental; Johanna is living the typical teenage life with her conservative grandparents – she has her tribe, two best friends, Lea and Gabby who stand by her through thick and thin; she has her passion for sewing fashionable clothes and now, she has a cute new boy in her class; Milo – so there’s a possibility of something in the romance front as well. All is hunky dory in her life.

The fact that she receives a letter from her father; whom she hasn’t seen in thirteen years is something to look forward to – rather than something to dread. Until he starts spewing some story about how her mother didn’t die in a car accident; but it was Johanna who accidentally shot and killed her mother when she was 2 years old. An accident for which her father went to prison and she has absolutely no recollection of.

When she finds out that her father has been telling the truth; it totally upends her life in a way she did not expect and add on to the fact that she becomes a victim of cyber bullying, harassment and bullying at her own school – it destroys her in a way that she doesn’t know if she will ever recover from.

I loved the way the author has handled the sensitive issues within the book; I could see the effort that she put in to be sensitive of an issue that not many would focus/hopefully experience in their lifetime.

What didn’t support her was the way the MC; Johanna behaved – I could honestly not see any character growth within her; for the most part, I couldn’t connect with her whining or rather her woe be me attitude that didn’t work in favour at all. And can I just say, I also couldn’t understand the need for Milo and the progress of his relationship with Johanna – Trust me, I get that he was her support system; her unconditional support system to be honest; but the way Jo treated him for the most part, especially when he had even a single opinion that went against hers –let’s just say there’s a reason why I didn’t actually empathize with Johanna throughout the book.

Pick up this contemporary YA novel, if you want to have a unique plotline and the way it is handled!

Accidental follows a teenage girl named Johanna who is raised by her grandparents after her mother dies in a car accident and her father leaves the picture. However, her whole world is turned upside down when her father comes back with a devastating truth: Johanna had accidentally shot and killed her mother when she was only two years old. 

This book covers a very heavy topic that isn't often talked about in the realm of gun violence. The author delves into all of the conflicting emotions experienced by Johanna, her guilt, sadness, and frustration. Johanna's relationships between the people around her are also fundamental to how she deals with her grief. Her grandparents' well-meaning lie causes a rift between them, the tension growing with the suppression of what really happened in Johanna's early life. Johanna also relies on her friends and new boyfriend to learn to ccet her past and what she can do to one day come to terms with what she had done. I feel like this book was excellently written, not afraid to go through all of the tangled emotions for a teen who has gone through terrible circumstances.

Accidental has a very unique plot. I was surprised to know about the storyline after te first hundred pages. The romance was much like insta love. It was a refreshing and mind opening read.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for the digital ARC of Accidental by Alex Richards! 

Accidental follows Johanna, a teenager raised by her grandparents after her mother was tragically killed in a car accident - or so she thinks. The truth is revealed when Johanna's absentee father barrels back into her life and lays it on her: Johanna accidentally killed her mother as a toddler when she found her father's gun.

This book takes a hard look at gun violence in the US, and how in addition to street crime, the deaths of children who have found unsecure guns or of other people they shoot accidentally is much higher than it should be. Johanna is understandably distraught when she finds out. She suffers from panic attacks, and while she has supportive friends, those friendships also suffer in the face of her devastation. 

I mostly enjoyed this book. I will say I didn't really feel a connection with Johanna. She spends most of the book having various tantrums and yelling at anyone who looks at her. Like I said, her despair is totally warranted. I can't imagine finding this information out over a decade later. But unfortunately, I just felt like instead of feeling empathetic toward her, I find myself skimming a bit in the second half of the book. 

Those issues aside, I think this book was really well written. The dialogue was done well and was believable for teenagers, and the plot moved along at a nice pace so that the story didn't feel like it lagged.

Overall I would say if you're interested, give it a read! I would definitely read more from this author in the future.

Johanna has a pretty good life living with her grandparents, hanging out with her best friends, and now she even has a boyfriend! Until one day when her father shows up & turns her world upside down!
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When Johanna finds out her mother didn’t die in a car accident but that she accidentally shot her with an unsecured firearm she is left reeling. How could her grandparents lie to her?
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Will she ever be able to forgive herself for what she did? This book will take you on a journey through the emotions Johanna feels as she tries to come to terms with what happened. It doesn’t help when everyone at school finds out & when she wants to put up a mural to bring to light the importance of gun control she finds she’ll have to defend her motives behind it. 
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This heart wrenching YA Contemporary is well written & elicits emotions that are relevant in the world we live in today. 
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I would definitely recommend it!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

The blurb for Accidental drew my attention, due to the timely discussion around gun violence and the way it shattered a family’s lives, with teenage Joanna trying to sort through all these emotions of just now finding out, especially the part about her being the one who pulled the trigger as a young child. 

I love how it dealt with Joanna’s burden in light of finding this out, as well as how it impacted her relationships with her grandparents and estranged father. Her journey towards coming to terms with these issues is conveyed beautifully, and it’s truly uplifting. 

I didn’t care much for the romance with Milo…it felt a little awkward, especially in terms of some of the descriptions of sexual intimacy. However, there is still a sense of realism to that too that complements the rest of the story. He’s not a knight in shining armor, perfect romance novel hero; they’re teenagers and this is her first real relationship. 

This is an important book I hope a lot of kids and their families read, prompting discussion about the issues in it and how it relates to what’s going on in the world today.

Johanna’s life has always looked a little different from her friends.  Her grandparents have raised her since the age of two, when her mother died and her father disappeared.  Other than being told her mother died in a car crash, Johanna knows next to nothing about her as her grandparents have never been willing to talk about their daughter.  That all changes when Johanna is contacted by her father out of the blue.  When her father rolls into town and blows the cover story of her mother’s death, Johanna’s world is turned upside down.  Her father reveals that her mother died after being shot by Johanna who, at the age of two, had found her father’s loaded gun in her parents’ bedroom.  When the truth starts to spread around town, Johanna is left grappling with her guilt publicly while facing bullying for a “crime” she can’t even remember at school.  As her junior year draws to a close, Johanna struggles to sort through her complex emotions surrounding the resurgence of her father, her mother’s death, her grandparents’ lies, and a budding relationship with the new boy in her class.  

VERDICT is that this is a timely story about gun violence that I think has the potential to open teen readers eyes in a new way to this topic.  I thought having Johanna as the accidental perpetrator of gun violence as a child was a heartbreaking way to approach this topic and had me thinking more expansively about what is at stake without much stricter gun laws nation wide in the United States.  I really liked Johanna as a character and was really invested in the relationships she had with her grandparents and best friends Gabby and Leah.  I thought the role of the new boyfriend she encounters at the beginning of the story felt a little contrived, but he was a really likeable character and an important outlet for Johanna.  I hope folks reading this novel will be pushed to think about gun violence and how it affects countless lives every day, as well as their own role in helping creating safer communities through stricter regulations.

I can’t remember how I heard about Accidental but I do remember I wanted to read it as soon as I learned about its existence. It seemed like a book that not only had never read anything like, but something that is current and could almost have been ripped from the headlines. I knew it would be a heavy book, and I was prepared. And although it wasn’t as emotional as I expected, Accidental was a book I was happy to have read.

Accidental is about 16 year old Johanna who is being raised by her grandparents after her mom was killed in a car accident when Jo was 2. At least that is what she is raised to believe. But when her MIA father shows back up in her life Jo learns the truth, her mother never died in a car accident. Her mother was in fact shot by Jo with an unsecured gun her father owned. Suddenly the easy like Jo was living is no longer right. Jo is just angry. She is angry at her grandparents and at herself and at her life. And when everyone at school finds out things get worse and Jo has to really decide if she can forgive herself for something she doesn’t even remember doing or if she is going to let her anger eat her away.

What I liked about Accidental is that it wasn’t a book that was preachy about gun violence which obviously is a problem we have here in the US. Alex Richards took a subject and wrote about it in a thoughtful manner that made you think and sympathize. My heart broke for Jo and all the other kids this has happened too because it is senseless and stupid and something that just doesn’t have to happen. That is what I liked about this book the most. I also really liked Jo. I understood all of her emotions and why she would push people away and then feel bad. She went from thinking one thing her whole life to learning she played a part in killing someone she didn’t even remember. That has to mess with someone’s head.

Accidental is a solid read and one you should have on your TBR. Whoever told me to read this one was right, it is not a book to miss. My review may be a little vague because it is hard to explain until you experience the pages, but just know this is one you should read.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Accidental

Author: Alex Richards

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: gun violence, contemporary, part trauma

Publication Date: July 7, 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 16+ (gun violence TW, blame, death, gore)

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Pages: 368

Synopsis: Johanna has had more than enough trauma in her life. She lost her mom in a car accident, and her father went AWOL when Johanna was just a baby. At sixteen, life is steady, boring . . . maybe even stifling, since she's being raised by her grandparents who never talk about their daughter, her mother Mandy.

Then he comes back: Robert Newsome, Johanna's father, bringing memories and pictures of Mandy. But that's not all he shares. A tragic car accident didn't kill Mandy--it was Johanna, who at two years old, accidentally shot her own mother with an unsecured gun.

Now Johanna has to sort through it all--the return of her absentee father, her grandparents' lies, her part in her mother's death. But no one, neither her loyal best friends nor her sweet new boyfriend, can help her forgive them. Most of all, can she ever find a way to forgive herself?

Review:  Overall, the book was amazing! The book had some great writing and the characters were compelling. The world building was also done well and I think the author, for the most part, handled the issue of gun violence very well in her book.

However, I felt really weird about the second half of the book. It felt like the author was taking a political stance and using this book to vent about the issue than to let the story develop naturally. It book was great and I loved the message about gun safety, but it just felt like a political debate at the end of the book. Of course, there are no easy answers when it comes to gun violence, but for the sake of the book and putting aside my own beliefs it didn’t feel natural.

Verdict: It’s a great read!

As always, a copy of this book was provided by the author or publisher in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.    

Part of me isn't sure how to approach reviewing Accidental. It is one of those novels that is so aching and beautiful and honest that it feels like non-fiction even though it isn't. Writing about books like Accidental is always difficult because no matter what, you can't square away the emotions you felt for it and cram them into a tiny, well spaced, coherent review. I'm not sure it's possible.

We all know that, as someone who grew up devouring every Lurlene McDaniel book she could get her hands on, I love a good cry-worthy novel. They help me process my own emotions (which are another one of my weaker points) and are honestly just... so good. Accidental had this going for it, but the synopsis felt unlike any emotional read I've encountered yet.

And it definitely lived up to my expectations.

It definitely felt like Accidental was an experience of its own. Every page was an exploration of life, and living with certain pieces we'd never really known were missing. I found the story itself to be refreshing and completely compelling. Not only did I find myself getting teary-eyed as the story progressed, I found my heart racing with something like hope and anxiety. Accidental ignites the right series of emotions from its readers and pulls them into the story instantly.

The fact that Accidental is Alex Richards' debut novel is astounding to me. The quality of this novel is on high; the writing smooth and undeniable. And the emotionally charged moments are so potent sometimes I felt downright like an intruder on someone else's life. When I say that Accidental is an experience, I mean that literally--and it's an experience that reader's will embrace wholly.

Johanna is sixteen-years-old, has two best friends, lives with her strict, old-fashioned grandparents and is drooling over the very handsome new guy at her fancy private school. Though her mother died in a car crash when she was little, she barely remembers her or the father who abandoned her when she was little. She’s always been with her grandparents, and everything was fine until suddenly nothing was fine.

Her estranged father sent her a letter wanting to reunite, so Johanna decided to take him up on it. When they met he told her she’d killed her mother by shooting her with a loaded gun she’d found under the bed. He was remorseful that he’d left his loaded gun in a place where a toddler could reach it, but that didn’t stop Johanna from going into a tailspin. Furious at her grandparents for lying to her for years she cuts off communication, but also can’t forgive herself for killing her own mother. Though everyone tells her it wasn’t her fault she doesn’t believe them, and neither do the students who start bullying her at school and online.

Gun violence, unsecured guns, statistics for family shootings, and gun control are just some of the topics readers will learn about as Johanna fights a battle to heal her damaged soul. Her story may give readers the impetus to think about ways to raise awareness for these societal issues.

Recommended for ages 14 and older.

I received a digital advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book is simply unforgetable. It's the first book I've read about a school shooting, and it was just as horrifying and jarring as you would expect. Sadly, I think this book's only selling point is the subject matter, however. It was gripping and tragic, but the characters, writing, and structure didn't support that very well.

A lot of the time I was grappling for details, not sure what was going on or who was who. The characters themselves didn't have a lot of time to be fleshed out, and by the end of this book, I didn't find myself particularly attached to them.  I do not feel as if I was given enough information so that I cared for these characters, the characters all felt flat to me. Perhaps it was the way in which the story was written.

The end of this book was something that held the best message for me personally. I really enjoyed that even though the situation that everyone went through was traumatic and terrible, there was an air of hope. That aspect was done in a way that was respectful to the tragic events and helped bring a positive message to the difficult narrative that this book represents.