About the Book

Book: Gone Too Soon

Author: Melody Carlson

Genre: Young Adult

Release Date: November 15, 2018

An icy road. A car crash.
A family changed forever.

Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident. But the image she carried resentfully of Hannah is challenged when she finds her dead sister’s diary and begins to read. Apparently Hannah’s final year wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.

Caught in a pattern of blaming each other, the Josephson family is falling apart. Their father has left, their mother is mixing opiates and alcohol, little sister Maddie has been shipped off to spend the whole summer with their grandmother, and Kiera feels utterly alone with her grief and anger. A summer job helping at a park in a poor section of town provides a friend and a purpose.

But it’s Hannah’s diary that fills her thoughts. For the first time in years, she feels close to the sister she’s lost. But can the knowledge she gleans about her possibly help her patch back together the family that seems determined to implode?

My Thoughts:
I'm not overly certain what I was expecting from this book but I got more. Much more. It is a heartbreaking story to read, but it is wonderful. Maddie isn't the perfect sister, that was Hannah. Hannah was their mother's favorite and it seems the glue that holds their family together because when she dies, everything starts falling apart.
It was heartbreakingly wonderful to read Hannah's diary and see how it affects Maddie. Then in turn, the rest of the family is affected. From her parents splitting to not being the 'chosen' grandchild and more, Maddie feels alone. The author does a wonderful job of helping you feel the emotions. You just have to read this to understand.
It was a 5/5.

Thank you to the author for the review copy of this book (via Celebrate Lit). I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

About the Author

Melody Carlson has written more than 200 books (with sales around 6.5 million) for teens, women, and children. That’s a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a “storyteller.” Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, True Colors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year. She’s won a number of awards (including RT’s Career Achievement Award, the Rita, and the Gold medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog.