Too heartbreaking. I understand that parts have/are being re-written. The Subject matter is so sad. Maybe after the re-write my rating will be higher.

The Lifesaver is a book that has lots of promise in becoming an emotive and powerful read if the author does as they have stated and changes the ending.

A high school student Avery saves the life of his classmate Tristan who he finds attempted suicide. What follows is a story of saving and friendship and an unlikely bond between the two. This story captured my attention first because I generally enjoy contemporary stories that talk about modern day mental health issues. It is quite important to research well these topics and how they must be talked about when targeting vulnerable readers. I liked the attempt here but I feel the dynamics could have been brought out more strongly.

The story is also quite intense in terms of all the trigger warnings it deals with. A bit of balance while countering these would also serve well. I received a notification that parts of this book were being rewritten. I think this plot has potential to be sharpened yet further.

I have read some reviews that this author is rewriting parts of this book, but I don't think I ever got an email to that effect. With that in mind, I am going to refrain from giving this an in depth review or a rating at this time.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This was a very interesting and troubling read. I hated the never ending sense of dread I felt while reading this. All in all, not for me.

Didn't get a chance to read very much before receiving an email about the author re-writing the ending. Will check this out again once that ending is out.

I feel like I have so much to say about this book. But, at the same time, I can't find the words to do it. So, here's my best try:
The Lifesaver tells the story of Avery Taylor. A high school senior, the best player on the baseball team, Taylor has a perfect girlfriend, an incredible best friend, the scouts would love to recruit him. But then, coming back home from a game, Avery finds an unconscious boy in the river and saves his life. And that changes Avery's life forever.
I'm going to try my best, though there might be some spoilers from now on:
I believe that "The Lifesaver" could have been such a great book, but it was not well developed, so fingers crossed that this will change on the rewriting.
My opinions about the characters:
I got attached to both Avery and Tristan. These boys deserved so so so much better.
I wish we could have seen more about Ashley because I can't figure her out. I don't know who she is but the jealous girlfriend, the mean girl who's picking on Tristan at every opportunity. I think she lacks a bit of personality.
I thought Drake was another character I wish had been more present, but because I liked him a lot. He was the best friend Avery could ask for, but sometimes it felt like he was only there to help Avery's storyline go on, not much about him.
I'm going to wait until we have the new ending so I can comment about it.

I stopped reading partway through as I received an email informing me of a rewrite to the ending.
I was enjoying the book as far as I had read so am looking forward the the revision.

I was granted an advanced copy of this text by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was great for the first 80%, but it fell off the rails past then. Mr. Steinhour, please write a different ending to this book! I would love to recommend it to my high school students, but as is, it is disappointing.

I read this before I was informed of a rewrite so I’m going to leave an honest review after the rewrite comes out!

Was part way through this book but got message author is re writing the ending so awaiting updated version before finishing.

Update: The author will rewrite the ending.

Why was Tristan in that river?
A fall? A push? A suicide attempt?
Was the story just about friendship?
Or would it be a queer love story?

The blurb of this story gripped me so much that I couldn’t control my curiosity and immediately started reading. Wrong. So wrong. I flew through the pages. I forgot the other book I was reading. I desperately wanted to know more about Tristan and Avery.

And in the meanwhile ...

I felt something nagging in my chest, an unease that became worse while reading the story. And I hated the ending. It’s wrong, so wrong!

Although I loved the premise and what the author tried to tell, I think this story is not ready for publication yet. Because it’s an indie-published book, I hope the author decides to edit and rewrite it once more. It could be a beautiful story though!

The most important issues I had:
The atmosphere, especially in the first part of the story. I cringed many times, and I believe some things could have been handled more subtly with the same outcome.

This is a raw and harsh story, and there should be trigger warnings. A lot of trigger warnings!! I don’t get triggered that easily myself. Still, I’m sure many YA readers do, especially those who experienced bullying, trash-talking, homophobia, (attempt to) suicide, abuse, mental illnesses.

The writing is more telling than showing and not always adjusted to teens. Furthermore, the writing seems to be more for younger YA readers, but the themes in the book and the way those themes are being handled are definitely not! And please skip the iPods! I know a lot of teens, and none of them still own an iPod.

The ending!!! Like I said above, it’s wrong, so wrong! Please, please change the ending! I’m still so angry about it!

Excellent story of friendship. Well written characters. Covers a lot of topics, wish they were explored more. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

The Lifesaver is the story of Avery, a high school athlete who saves the life of a classmate, Tristan, after he finds him unconscious in a river. Troubled by the event, Avery attempts to find out what happened to Tristan that day, and the two end up forming a deep and unexpected bond. However, there may be some wounds that run too deep in this book.

The Lifesaver is a heartbreaking book that grabbed my attention and held it until the end of the story. Avery as the protagonist had such a big heart, and the relationship between him and Tristan was very raw and emotional. However......this book needs some heavy trigger warnings associated with it. The story handles issues such as mental illness, suicide, homophobia, sexual abuse, and bullying, and the book often left me with a sense of dread as I was reading it. The main reason behind my low rating is because I do not feel as though the topics of mental illness and suicide were handled very well, and it bothered me quite a bit. When a book is geared towards a YA audience, care really needs to be taken when presenting a perceived message of hopelessness.

There is always hope, please hold on.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hidden Shield Publishing for this ARC; this is my honest and voluntary review.

A tough book, I think intended for the younger YA spectrum. Deals with mental health, suicide and LGBTQIA themes. I disliked the ending but I did enjoy how the two main protagonists fell in love