How to Live Without You
by Sarah Everett
Pub Date 17 May 2022
Clarion Books (formerly HMH Children's Books), Clarion Books
Teens & YA





I am reviewing a copy of How to Live Without You Through Clarion Books and Netgalley:





Seventeen-year-old Emmy returns home for the summer to uncover the truth behind her sister Rose’s disappearance only to learn that Rose had many secrets, ones that have Emmy questioning herself and the sister Emmy thought she knew.




After her sister Rose disappeared Emmy finds is a string of secrets and lies that she never thought possible, casting the person she thought she knew best in a whole new light. Reeling with confusion, Emmy decides to step into Rose’s life. She reconnects with their childhood best friend and follows in Rose’s last known footsteps with heart wrenching consequences.



How to Live Without You offers the readers a powerful and intimate look at sisterhood, as well as the darker side of growing up!


Five out of five stars!

When 17-year-old Emmy returns to her childhood home to find out the truth about her older sister's disappearance, she may be set to discover some uncomfortable truths about who her sister really was.

This was a really, really beautiful book. The writing was so lovely to read, it really drew me into Emmy's world. The pacing of the story was good, it didn't feel unnecessarily drawn out but it also didn't feel rushed. It carried me along the whole way, even when Emmy as a narrator got a bit grating.
That was the only real drawback of this book for me, Emmy's refusal to hear even the slightest word against her sister grew tiresome. For a while it made sense, she clearly idolised Rose, while Rose kept a lot to herself. But as the book went on it just felt like she was being intentionally ignorant to the idea that her sister might not be the perfect person she thought she was. At 17 I felt she should have had a little more sense that no one is perfect, everyone has flaws and problems of their own.
Levi, on the other hand, my heart really went out to. He deserves the whole world, that is all.
The ending of this one really hit hard, it was really beautifully handled. Heartbreaking and poignant, I really loved it.

A beautiful coming of age story with beautiful writing, would for sure recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Clarion Books for my e-arc of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

Several years after their parents divorce, two sisters (i.e. Emmy and Rose) become estranged. Emmy decides to spend the summer with her father, so she can find her older sister who has been missing for some time now. While visiting her father for the summer, she also manages to make amends with her neighbor and childhood friend Levi. This is an excellent title to add to your collection as a means of destigmatizing mental health issues.

This book was beautiful and heartbreaking. Everett always does an amazing job with her characters, and I think this is her strongest example yet. The story moved a little slower than I’m used to with her books, but I think it needed to happen that way. And even with that said, I still devoured this book in a day. Sarah Everett is solidly one of my favorite authors, and I will go do my grave recommending her books.

This book was intense in so many ways. A thought-provoking coming-of-age story, that will tug at your heartstrings. Emmy and Rose are what seem to be the best sisters, even though they live apart because their parents are divorced they are close and talk to each other every day, however, Rose has been missing for a few months and when Emmy goes home to visit her dad during the summer she as a goal in mind, find her. As she searches for the truth she uncovers secrets from her sister that makes her question their relationship and her own identity.

Throughout the story, I kept feeling angst and worry, and I felt Emmy´s sadness and confusion. Emmy was such a full character that discovered many new emotions in a short period of time. This book deals with mental illness and how it affects everyone around you. We get a little romance that was a great segway from the deep plot we were experiencing. All around, it was an emotional story, with complex characters that feel real. Although I felt like the ending needed more for me and I'm not a fan of open endings, I definitely recommend this. The author does a good job representing what mental illness can look like, also the author´s note she explains a little of her experience writing this and her own mental struggles, which I thought was very emotive.

A beautiful and heartfelt coming of age story. It follows Emmy as she searches for her missing sister, Rose. Along the way she discovered that she didn’t know Rose as well as she thought. A hard read at times, covering mental illness and attempted suicide, but still a beautiful read.

After falling wholly in love with Sarah Everett's Some Other Now last year, I knew I needed How To Live Without You in my life. Turns out, I was right. And I do love being right. In this lovely book, we meet Emmy, whose sister has been missing. Emmy's family has of course tried to locate Rose, but the majority seem to think that Rose left of her own volition and will turn back up. Emmy has doubts, big doubts, so she returns to her dad's where Rose was living to search for answers.

What she finds is not Rose, but the ghosts of her childhood. And wow, it is hard to go back. It reminds her of when her family was all together, and she knows that no matter whether she finds Rose, she'll never be in that situation again. During her search for clues, she reconnects with their childhood best friend, who she has a very complicated relationship with now.

As Emmy's search for Rose gets more intense, she finds out a great many things she never knew about Rose. That in itself is hard to come to terms with, because Emmy thought that she and Rose were incredibly close. Obviously, Rose has always loved Emmy, but the fact that she was able to hide so many facets of her life from Emmy is a gut punch. But as the story continues, one thing becomes abundantly clear: this journey is going to be about Emmy finding her own self far more than her locating Rose.

The book tackles a lot of issues surrounding mental illness, so please use caution if this subject matter is triggering to you. I thought that the author handled the sensitive subjects very well, too. I also loved that Emmy had to come to terms with the fact that she can't ever fully know someone else, even someone she loves more than anything. And the only person she has any control over, is herself. There were a lot of wonderful messages wrapped into this book, and I loved the focus on family dynamics and relationships throughout. And yes, there is a bit of romance to boot!

Bottom Line: Another emotional hit with a lot of important topics and wonderful characters from Sarah Everett!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

How to Live Without You follows teen Emmy who has returned to her childhood home in search of her missing sister, Rose. Though Rose’s disappearance seems to have been on her own terms, Emmy can’t help but feel like abandoning her beloved little sister with no warning is something Rose would never do. But as Emmy digs into the why behind Rose’s disappearance, she discovers that her older sister was far different than the person she knew.

This was a slow, often difficult, heart-wrenching and thought-provoking read. Everett really digs in on mental health in a way that feels authentic and genuine. I cried, I laughed, I swooned, and I left feeling like I was given a little sliver of genuine truth about what it means to be human.

There are frequent mentions of suicide, especially in the back half of the book, which may be triggering for some readers.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this read. Though some readers may find it slow, and perhaps some characters could be fleshed out more, the story feels more valuable than any of its potential flaws.

This novel follows seventeen year old Emmy whose sister Rose has disappeared, and Emmy feels like a part of her is also now gone. Rose had lived with their dad and Emmy lives with their mum across the country so Emmy decides to go to stay with her dad and is determined that she will find her sister herself. The novel follows Emmy over the course of the summer as she starts to find clues and unravel the mystery. Along the way she learns that not everything is as she remembered it, and she reconnects with an old friend. I found this a really engrossing novel and one that really made me emotional at times. It made me think of people I’ve lost along the way, and made me feel nostalgic for the summers of my teenage years. I recommend this one.

I loved this book. The Characters were great and their development throughout the story really felt believable. The metal health rep in this book was also something I really connected to. I definitely recommend you read this book.

**Review will be posed on Zbestbooks on 11th May 2022, as well as being uploaded to Goodreads.**

Overall, this was one of the best ARCs I've read so far. It was so gripping,, had a great story line and I really connected with the characters.

I was a little disappointed by the ending, mainly because there is this huge emotional build up with deep meanings and conversations and the last chapters fell a bit flat for me. It was like the author had given up and given in to the pressures of having a happy or at least hopeful ending. This is the reason for the 4.5 stars, but it didn't affect my opinion of the book as a whole and the message it gives out.

The character of Rose was just so well-crafted. She was fiery and outwardly happy and yet inwardly struggling and it's something I would love to see represented more. You can be outwardly happy and still struggle.

The pacing was spot on and I found it a really engrossing read. I read it quickly and and cared so much about the characters. There are a few trigger warnings including suicide, and divorce.

There is so much representation too of so many different people and lives, it was a joy to see.

I cried at this book, I laughed and the whole atmosphere and ideas....it was such a wonderful read! I don't really want to say much else but I really loved it and highly recommend picking it up!

I could not get the file for this book to open correctly. Only the first 11 pages would show and then there was nothing. As such, I cannot provide a review of this book.

When Emmys sister Rose goes missing, it feels like part of her has gone missing too. Returning home for the summer, she tries to uncover more about her disappearance only to discover that Rose had a whole different side that she never knew about and decides to step into her shoes and follow her last steps wherever they lead.

A poignant portrayal of sisterhood and family, this coming-of-age story explores the many versions we can have ourselves, and how easily it can be to hide who we are from those we love. As Emmy follows the mystery of Rose, she reconnects with childhood friends, finds out the struggles and secrets she'd been keeping from her, and learns about how Rose really saw the world, including her. The layers are slowly peeled away, until we finally get to the centre and Emmy can finally have closure one way or another.

Emmy was a beautiful character, I loved the way their relationships were written so compassionately and realistically, and raised an important discussion about the difficulty of trying to grow up amongst loss and heartache.

Note: Please read the trigger warnings before reading this book.

How To Live Without You is an emotional read about Emmy, the main character, and her relationship with her sister Rose. Emmy's life is turned upside down when her sister goes missing and she is left to pick up the pieces.

This was a quick-paced read that I didn't want to put down. I think this is a really important book for everyone to read as it explores the effects that mental health issues can have on the person struggling, as well as the whole family.

This was the first time I have read a book by Sarah Everett but I will definitely be looking for more!

This review will be posted on May 17, 2022 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

This YA is a heavy, emotional, and deep look at the bond between sisters, changing relationships, and mental health. Emmy's beloved older sister, Rose, has gone missing. She returns to their father's house, convinced she can find clues others overlooked because they're incredibly close. As she goes through Rose's room and reconnects with old friends, she learns that everything she knew about Rose may not be true. This is absolutely a novel to review the trigger warnings for before you read. #HowToLiveWithoutYou Rating: 🙂 / liked it
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This book is scheduled for publication on May 17, 2022. Thank you @clarionbooks for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read all of Sarah Everett's previous books and the thing I love most about them is how they tackle heavier topics, in this case depression, in a way that isn't too sad or hard for me to read.

How to Live Without You is about the relationship between Emmy and her older sister, Rose. When Rose goes missing, Emmy goes back to their hometown to find her. What she finds instead is that she didn't know her sister as well as she thought.

There's also a little romance which is always a plus!

When I first finished the book, I thought the ending was a little too convenient. But after letting it sit with me for a few days, I actually liked how it wrapped up.

This was a very emotional read with lots of twists and turns and I couldn't put it down!

I really enjoyed this one and loved the exploration of the relationship between the two sisters… full review incoming…

I really enjoyed the mystery elements of this book. The way Everett explored the bond and connection between sisters was really interesting and heartfelt.

I loved the story line of sisters who are also best friends. When divorce pulls Emmy and Rose apart their worlds are changed forever. This suspenseful novel takes readers on a wild ride. When Rose goes missing, Emma returns back to her father’s house in Ohio to help find her. She quickly learns what little she knew about Rose’s life. Mental health plays a large role in this story line and I appreciated the representation.

In this heart-wrenching, coming-of-age story about family, grief, and second chances, seventeen-year-old Emmy returns home for the summer to uncover the truth behind her sister Rose’s disappearance—only to learn that Rose had many secrets, ones that have Emmy questioning herself and the sister Emmy thought she knew. The author’s writing style lends itself perfectly to the genre. She knows exactly when to end a scene and mount suspense.