The Year After You

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Pub Date 14 Feb 2019 | Archive Date 15 Apr 2019

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Description

Up in the Alps, Cara's old life feels a million miles away. Nobody at Hope Hall knows her past. With secrets to keep, can Cara allow herself this chance to live again?

New Year's Eve, San Francisco.

The most promising party of the year ends in tragedy.

Georgina is gone and nothing will bring her back.

Nine months later, Cara's mother decides a Swiss boarding school will be the fresh start Cara needs. Up in the Alps, Cara's old life feels a million miles away. Nobody at Hope Hall knows her past – and she intends to keep it that way.

Yet, as much as she keeps her distance, her new friends break down the walls she has so carefully built up – especially the offbeat, straight-talking Hector, who understands how she feels better than anyone. But the closer Cara grows to Hector, the more her old life slips away.

Embracing life at Hope Hall means letting go of the past. With Georgina gone, how can Cara allow herself this second chance?

Up in the Alps, Cara's old life feels a million miles away. Nobody at Hope Hall knows her past. With secrets to keep, can Cara allow herself this chance to live again?

New Year's Eve, San Francisco.

...


Advance Praise

'A skilful, compelling story with intrigue that keeps you whipping over the pages.' – SOPHIE KINSELLA, author of Finding Audrey

'A poignant, touching story of grief and guilt that you will hold tight until the very last page . . . I loved this sad, beautiful, hopeful book.' – KATHLEEN GLASGOW, author of Girl in Pieces

'An exploration of grief and loss that breathes new life into the boarding school genre.' – LAUREN JAMES, author of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

'A hugely moving, thoughtful and sensitively written story about friendship and growing up.' – SOPHIA MONEY-COUTTS, author of The Plus One

'It tugs at your heart strings and gives hope to those recovering from the loss of a loved one. Watching Cara slowly allow her heart to thaw after being frozen in so much pain was truly beautiful.' – AKEMI DAWN BOWMAN, author of Starfish and Summer Bird Blue

'A poignant story of grief and guilt, hope and healing, set against the backdrop of a Swiss boarding school. Beautifully written and very touching.' – SOPHIE CAMERON, author of Out of the Blue

'A skilful, compelling story with intrigue that keeps you whipping over the pages.' – SOPHIE KINSELLA, author of Finding Audrey

'A poignant, touching story of grief and guilt that you will hold...



Average rating from 39 members


Featured Reviews

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with and arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot put into words how much I loved this book!
When I started this book I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did but I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.
This book took me on an emotional roller coaster and I spent a majority of the book with tears streaming down my face.
Cara is such an amazing and complex character. I just wanted to hug her so badly. Her emotional journey was turbulent and amazing.
She was engaging and I felt every emotion she was feeling as if it was my own.
I adored Ren and thought she was such an amazing friend to cara when she was at her lowest.
Hector was probably my favourite character because I connected most with his story.
I love how this wasn’t an insta love story but one that slowly grew into something amazing, genuine and beautiful.
Overall I have to say this book is now one of my favourite books ever. I connected with it in a way I haven’t connected with a book in a long time.
I felt everything while reading this book and it was defiantly worth the ride on the emotional rollercoaster!
If this book is any indication Nina is going to be one of my all time favourite authors.
5 stars isn’t enough for how good this was.

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This book was so good! I devoured it within one night and it kept me on my toes throughout.

The story tells us about Cara who moves to a Swiss boarding school in order to escape her troubling past. The issue is, she can't seem to. She meets different characters with their own demons, an example being persistent Hector. As the book progresses, more is revealed as Cara starts to come to terms with that happened to her.

"The Year After You" deals with topics of grief, guilt, love and acceptance. The writing was fluid and Cara's obvious struggle was evident.

I definitely recommend this book and therefore give it a 4.5/5

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Have you ever had so many options and ideas in your head not to be able to sort it through? So many emotions, so many thoughts that the clutter becomes indistinguishable? How can you put down on paper in a linear and clear way what you feel about something, and analyse that something for people to understand what goes on in your head? I finished The year after you almost a week ago, I read it in less than Four hours and I honestly am still struggling to bring this review to you. I feel like words– no, I feel like my words and my vocabulary is not enough in the four languages I can speak to sort through the level of love that I have for this book.

The year after you managed in so many things for me that in those three hours I sobbed my heart out and fell in love and was born again. This book managed to make me fall in love with a female character, things that didn’t happen since I was 14 and that made me realise maybe my path was not properly a straight line. This book made me fall in love with a genre that I thought I was maybe getting too old to find relatable. This book managed to position itself in a timeless moment in my heart and gain a position into my favourite pile and I’ve already propositioned it to so many people I lost count. It’s the book I twitted about mid-reading ( things that I rarely do because of obvious reasons – first among them my peculiar relationships with endings and how I seem to never be satisfied with them, but not with this one! ) …

So what makes it so special? What makes this simple newborn not yet published young adult into this gem? Well, This book and its characters are like a diamonds, pressed by the weight of their guilt they’ll find a way to polish themselves and shine… in other words:
character growth.



This book is not simply a journey, doesn’t only have representations, isn’t simply about teenagers in a boarding school in the Alps. this book is about grief, about guilt and self-hatred. This book is about touching the ground and realising you have the strength to push back up. You can’t grasp that possibility while you are falling, gravity will pull you down, but once your feet hit the ground, once you have something to leverage onto you can push through the pressure and come out of it anew. The pain will always be there when you lose someone so important they will always be a hole in the frame of your life, but that guilt, that pain will slowly fade away and you are left with memories. You need to keep on pushing or you’ll die with them.

This book surprised me, and I’m not easily surprised, every turn every discovery, every piece of honesty was raw and real as a punch in my feels and I felt like I could breathe again only at the epilogue. Feeling for others is easier than feeling for yourself, running away is all good on paper but you need to face things to actually grow, and this book helps you go through a daunting process, feeling every bit of it but without triggering anything that might make my anxiety spike up! It’s a story about acceptance, about people that love with the tools they are given, about teenagers that become adults maybe a tad bit too early. It’s a story about hope, a hope that you didn’t even dream of on the first page.

Would I love another book? Hell yeah! Tell me all about Rae babe! But in general, I’m glad about how this book is, and I’ll treasure it forever.



what to say, Nina de Pass is now definitely one of my favourite authors and currently my only favourite young adult writer. Her character is vivid and flawless. You start her book and think you see typical tropes but soon you discover that there is so much more.
The ending was flawless, the middle was superb, I love the communication and the total absence of stupid “misunderstanding” Just for the sake of it. This book is outstanding, The cover is amazing, the writing is enchanting, I just want to go on the alps and open a boarding school for kids who might need it now!



Would I recommend it?!?
I will personally walk you to the bookshop on the 14th of February
and force you to buy and read it!
Now that’s what I would call a Valentine’s date 😉
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
booksandcurves.com
@booksandcurves

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That was an emotional journey if I ever saw one.
I definitely tend to stop myself from reading books like this, but when I actually finish reading them, it’s like I’ve been given this gigantic reward.
My favourite books of all time have been things like ‘Neverland’ by Margot McGovern, ‘The Sister Pact’ by Stacie Ramey and ‘Love Letters to the Dead’ by Ava Dellaira, all of which follow in the same vein as this book.
I think there’s something so beautiful and haunting about this book. The atmosphere is so encompassing, like a shroud of energy - not the bad kind though - that leaves you in a trance-like state.
I love, love, LOVE all of the main characters in this story. In fact I could go so far as to say I loved all of the characters because they were so developed as people and not just as props to make the protagonist look good. It had those important messages about friends, family, support systems and mental health. It was just a lot of really good things and it hit the right points for me over and over again.
‘The Year After You’ is one of those books that will stick with you for a long time. Would definitely recommend picking this up!

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5 Words: Friendship, grief, blame, second-chances, forgiveness.

Content Warning: Grief, PTSD, homophobia

This book. This glorious, gorgeous book. It broke my heart and lifted my soul and I really don't think I can put in to words how much I loved it.

I think I'll start with the setting. I am a sucker for boarding school settings, the way that everything is so much more intense in close quarters, how relationships run at a different pace, the family-like quality of the people around you even (especially) if you don't like them or like them more than you think you should. And The Year After You absolutely excelled at manipulating the setting into emphasising the story. All at once the place is remote and lonely, crowded and loud, passions were heightened and everything held a new level of drama.

Hope Hall is like a motley collection of broken people finding themselves and learning to love themselves. It's a place full of hope and a little expectation, with support networks and an incredible view and I want to go there please.

The Year After You has the most amazing characters too. I loved Cara, even if I did find her frustrating at times. She is absolutely an unreliable narrator, and it is done in the best way. I absolutely adored her, but I wanted to give her a huge hug and a good shake and tell her to be honest all at the same time. I emphasised so much with her, and I loved the journey she took within herself between the pages. I felt her fear, her pain, her anger. She is open minded yet guarded, honest yet always lying. She is so incredibly complex and I love her dearly for it.

I loved Ren and her loyalty. She's a soft lesbian Hufflepuff, and honestly so relatable. I want to give her a squish and thank her for being amazing. She doesn't have the easiest time at Hope Hall due, lets be honest, to shitty people. And at times she can be a bit shitty because of it but I don't blame her because Same.

When it comes to the boys in the story, I actually have a lot of time for them both. They're juggling secrets, staying loyal, looking out for each other. They care, and they show that they care. They love their friends and they show that. And sure the road might get a little bumpy, but doesn't it always?

I loved the fake relationships, the half truths, the slow burn, the steady revelations. The Year After You is like the perfect YA novel.

And the writing itself, oh my. Excellent characters, excellent setting, excellent plot, excellent writing. I will absolutely read anything and everything this author writes next. I loved the expression on the pages, I picked out so many quotes. So. Many. Enough that I'll be sharing my top ten after the blog tour. It's lush and expressive, and full of feeling.

Honestly, The Year After You by Nina de Pass is marvellous. It was my first read of the year, and over 20 books in is still my favourite. It will take a lot to knock this beauty off the top spot (I don't think that'll happen).

"People always hurt the people they care about." Her mouth transforms into a pitying smile. "That's why it hurts so much."

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Really good book! There was not all that much happening at the start and I felt it was a bit slow to get into, but past the first bit I really enjoyed it!

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I could not put this book down, it was absolutely brilliant and I didn't want the book to end! It was a really good story

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The story focuses on Cara and her life as she attempts to face up to the aftermath of a life changing event. I really loved the setting for this book and felt that the author gave enough detail to allow me to clearly imagine the school without it feeling like the flow of the story was interrupted. I also loved that the characters weren’t perfect people who always made the right choice and acted in the best way possible. The characters felt real and relatable. At times I was on their side, exasperated with them, down right annoyed and heartbroken. An engaging and enjoyable read. I would highly recommend this book.

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*4.25 Stars*

Cara has lived something traumatic and her mother decides to send her to a boarding school in Switzerland so that she can process and heal. But Cara has a lot of trouble connecting considering how guarded she is. And who could blame her? But Hector and Ren insert themselves into her life and Cara can't help but feel things and it's not without its challenges.

I'm a sucker for boarding school stories and this was no exception. I loved the mountains setting and I could picture the snow and even feel the cold. The characters were all layered and all around interesting. I felt for Cara a lot and I really liked Ren and Hector. Cara's pain was very relatable and touching, it even moved me to tears. I really liked how everything was balanced and how the interactions between the characters were told, especially the flashbacks. I do love an unreliable narrator.
I did see most of the big twists coming though and I couldn't understand why everyone was so angry at the end, and it made me mad on her behalf. I also wasn't all that swept up by the romance. But all in all, this was simply a great story about friendship and grief.

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This is a wonderful, soul-searching, but sad story of hope and grief and it is one of the best books that I have read in a while.

It is set in Hope Hall, a Swiss boarding school located in the Alps. For me, one of the things that Nina de Pass did very cleverly was using the setting to maximum effect in THE YEAR AFTER YOU. Since my childhood, I have loved boarding school settings, as everything is so much more intense when in close proximity, such as romantic liaisons and relationships which tend to run at a different rate.

The main protagonist in this novel is Cara, who I found to be exceptionally frustrating at times, though this did not spoil the story for me in any way. From an honesty point of view, she was pretty unreliable as a narrator, however, I had a great deal of empathy for her because of what happened to her best friend Georgina. I loved that Nina de Pass developed Cara’s character so well.

I really liked all of the characters in THE YEAR AFTER YOU because they were so well formed as people with their own parts to play and were not just added after-thoughts to make the protagonist look better. For me, the story-telling also held some poignant messages about support mechanisms of friends and family and mental health issues.

I think that THE YEAR AFTER YOU is a book that I will remember. I would certainly recommend reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Black & White Publishing and Nina de Pass for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a voluntary, honest review.

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I loved this a lot. This book deals with topics like mental ilness and guilt (PTSS). The author did a great job of writing the characters, they are very believable. The setting is a boarding school so that's always interesting. I love how you kept learning more about the main character's problems and why she isn't perfect. But she too deserves forgiveness!

So, great book for young adults or just adults. Possible trigger warnings: guilt, homophobia, suicide, mental ilness.

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‘the year after you’ hit so many nails on the head. The book was written beautifully and I was hooked by the first chapter and in love by the second.

* trigger warning* mentions of suicide, mental health and anxiety.

“ People always hurt the people they care about... That’s why it hurts so much “

A whirlwind story of grief, honesty, friendship and acceptance.

The book is narrated by Cara and we follow her on an emotional journey of self acceptance, new friendship and grief. Cara has been sent to a boarding school in Switzerland after a traumatic accident which left her guilt ridden and traumatised. During her stay she is befriended by Ren, Hector, and Fred; here she discovers, everyone has their secrets and their pasts which blur their future and burden their present. They discover the importance of forgiveness and acceptance. The guilt that Cara faces allows her to make a truly honest connection with Hector, sharing their horrible truths with each other and they both realise the importance of each other.

The author allowed us to get a glimpse into the background of each main character and made you fall in love with each one a little more. They were relatable charters which faced a multitude of different issues between them which young adults and teenagers will be facing today. Thus making them more relatable and loveable.

I loved the complexity of each character and how their issues were a key factor of the book, but their personalities and issues which arose never overshadowed the direct aspect of the plot. The storyline and characters were well balanced and made the book such an enjoyable and page turning read. I read it in one sitting and could not put it down!

I don’t think there was one aspect of this book I didn’t like. Would recommend to anyone who loves books that contain a little mystery, genuine friendship and character development driven books.

Loved it!!!!

My review is also posted on my goodreads account.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2713926279

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In this book we meet Cara a 17 year old girl who lost her best friend in an accident. She is sent to a boarding school called Hope in Switzerland by her mother to make a fresh start. At Hope Cara meets new people but because of her trauma she has trouble letting them into her life.
This book deals with grief, guilt, friendship and family. I loved the way the friendships were build and how Cara developed herself after her trauma. I loved how Hector and Cara developed their romance and how Cara was able to cut through Hectors thick wall of emotions.
The book was nicely written and I hope to her more from Nina de Pass in the future.

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"This time round, despite what will inevitably come after, I will be honest. It's the only hope I have." - Nina De Pass, The Year After You

I requested this book from Net Galley to review, it was one of my very first advance reader copies, the cover art alone peaked my interest. Then I read the synopsis and thought it would be a interesting and easy read.

Before I begin, I'd just like to say that this review contains thoughts and opinions that may spoil the plot. There are topics covered in this story that may be triggering to you such as: PTSD, grief, suicide and survivors guilt.

As a preface to the main story, the main character Cara survives a horrific car accident on New Years Eve, but her best friend Georgina does not.
The story begins nine months after the accident, Cara is struggling, she is consumed by guilt and grief. Her mum has sent her to a Swiss boarding school in the hopes that it will be a fresh start.

For my full review see: https://readbyamity.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/review-the-year-after-you/

This book ticked all of my boxes, easy to read, had me laughing, crying, internally screaming at, and empathising with the characters. It explored some difficult topics, and showcased beautifully how hard it is to be forced to endure the cruel things the world can dish out to you. I found the writing well developed, and it exceeded my expectations.

For these reasons, I rated this book a solid and well deserved 5 out of 5 stars. Would most definitely recommend.

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A compelling boarding school YA novel all about overcoming trauma and the saving grace of true friendship – a perfect book to snuggle up with on a snowy winter's night.

Nina de Pass's debut YA novel is a fab read - I devoured it over a couple of days, racing to discover more about the secretive characters and their dark pasts, and to find out if, and how, they find redemption.

Cara, the main character, is sent to boarding school in Switzerland as a last resort to overcome the trauma of a car accident in which her best friend died. But there's more to the story than that, and if Cara is to start over, she must keep the truth from those who would befriend her. Yet at the same time, can she really forge new, lasting friendships if she doesn't come clean about her past?

For anyone that has ever felt lonely and struggled to face their demons, Cara's story will feel familiar and cathartic. If the prose is sometimes a little heavy on the foreshadowing, it's hardly a deterrent to read the book as the characters are each unique and complex, and the strength of their relationships will draw you deeper into the story and its glittering, magical setting in the snowy Swiss Alps. Keep a tissue nearby - it's a sometimes emotional ride!

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(I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!)

This story is as refreshing and heartwarming as it is devastating.

The storyline focuses on Cara, a teenager who has lived and lost her best friend within one night. We follow her journey from the beginning point of being enrolled to a Swiss boarding school, through all the hardships she faces from the previous year as well as the new ones she is met with.

I cannot begin to express how much emotion this book brought out in me. The start was slow and didn’t quite grasp me, but the characters and setting were enough to make me read on, and I am so so glad I did. The plot, the characters, the shockers - all of the elements in this book knitted together to present itself as something beautiful.

Hector charmed me to no end, his own life being an interesting tale to learn about, especially given the circumstances with Cara. Ren was a perfect friend with a struggle of her own, persevering with Cara to welcome her and ultimately befriend her. Fred was a necessary character and his personality made me very intrigued on multiple occasions, his kind nature making me smile.

Cara, the focus. Through this story I didn’t realise how much I loved Cara. I didn’t realise how much her personality annoyed me as it did make me happy. Given her circumstances, her cold nature is understandable, and seeing her blossom through this story gave me a relief I never knew I could feel in a book. I’m proud of her and will continue to long for more, to want updates to how she is feeling.

An honest 4.5*
A wonderful story.

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This YA novel takes place in a Swiss boarding school in the mountains of the Alps. The setting is wonderful and made me want to travel to a place like that immediately. The Year After You is narrated by Cara, our main protagonist, and we follow her journey during the year after a terrible car accident in which her best friend died. Cara survives the accident but not without scars and finds herself struggling with depression. In hopes of helping her daughter find peace and offering her a clean slate, Cara’s mom sends her to Hope Hall, a boarding school in Switzerland where Cara finds herself experiencing new emotions and her boundaries are pushed.

Possible trigger warnings: guilt, homophobia, mental illness, suicide.

The characters in this book have a very real feel to them, they make it easy to feel compassionate for them or to understand their struggles. Because Cara is so secretive, this book will definitely keep you guessing and even might confuse you since Cara isn’t the most reliable narrator.
My only problem with this is that it quickly became very predictable. The story is quite slow paced and for me it started becoming too predictable for my liking, especially because there are a few parts in the book where nothing seems to happen at all.
In the end, I think the author did an outstanding job in portraying these characters struggles and emotions in a beautiful and meaningful way. A very sweet story on how family and friends can be the very best support organism there is and play a vital part in our everyday life.

Thank you Black and White Publishing for providing me a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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This book. This glorious, gorgeous book. It broke my heart and lifted my soul and I really don't think I can put in to words how much I loved it.

I think I'll start with the setting. I am a sucker for boarding school settings, the way that everything is so much more intense in close quarters, how relationships run at a different pace, the family-like quality of the people around you even (especially) if you don't like them or like them more than you think you should. And The Year After You absolutely excelled at manipulating the setting into emphasising the story. All at once the place is remote and lonely, crowded and loud, passions were heightened and everything held a new level of drama.

Hope Hall is like a motley collection of broken people finding themselves and learning to love themselves.

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I really enjoyed reading this book and sharing Cara’s headspace.
The writing style was easy to follow and I found myself becoming emersed in the plot.
Grief is never an easy emotion and I expect it is even harder to write about, it affects people in different ways and they all have ways and means of coming to terms with it and accepting it.
This is what I liked about this book.
It was real, there was no quick and easy fix for any of the problems presented. It took time. It took a lot of self exploration and steps forward and backwards and even at the end it wasn’t neatly tied up.
There was the beginning of closure, sure but I didn’t feel disappointed with the ending, like it had been tied up neatly in a bow or something.
So yes I am really happy that I got to read such a well written and thought provoking book.

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Despite this book being set within grief of teenagers it was a really uplifting read. Focussing on both grieving the loss of of loved ones and the loss of potential futures the characters were well developed and believable as teenagers who had seen too much loss in their young lives. Yes there were typical teenage concerns, however that is what made it realistic,

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Can we all take a moment to highlight how beautiful this cover is? Along with the personal title, Nina de Pass definitely leaves you wondering...

I really liked the writing, especially the descriptive language—at times I thought I was in Switzerland lost in another dimension of Harry Potter (school, uniform, facilities, etc.) because it was easy to visualize. The building of suspense was used well in a way where I didn’t say ‘ugh get on with it!’ as i sometimes do. Everything just flowed naturally at a good pace, I was instead left with ‘okay, now what? What’s more to come’ and what came, left me, jaw dropped. When that progression ended, it became a bit draggy where it’s like a chase situation—the only thing that turned me off about the plot but other than that I enjoyed it.

The characters were unique. At first, I wasn’t sure on Hector because I already knew his purpose. When he was introduced, it’s like a sign above his head that explained his aim. I liked him throughout the novel, but when he ignored Cara, and they were both confused, I was annoyed. It’s like that space between them were filter chapters. However, it was a way in which Cara grew closer to Ren and Fred. I thought Fred was irrelevant, maybe just to even out the two girls, two boys?

Onto the main character, she was different from other grieving main characters which I admire. It wasn’t all just drab and mourning. It made me feel what she felt. Or perhaps, all the emotions someone might feel when going through grief. At times she was irrational where I even picked up what was happening or what other characters thought that she couldn’t get. Cara was too self-absorbed at times, some times even too hard on herself. Though, it’s what made her character so raw and intriguing.

Grief was the central theme shown, and I like how de Pass viewed it from Cara’s perspective and someone else. It showed that everyone has their own way of grieving. It gave Cara reassurance that she wasn’t alone. Many people have lost at least someone, so it didn’t seem new that Cara was the only one in the book.

Thoroughly, I enjoyed this book and the different setting. It definitely made me curious about boarding schools as I always loved to read and watch them. The originality of these characters really stood out, not just on their appearances (even though they all wear the same uniform lol!) but mentally and what they are thinking, going through, etc. I’m happy to rate this beautiful book four out of five stars!

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