Unforgivable - Hardcover

Reed, Amy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062299603 ISBN 13: 9780062299604

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2016

Synopsis

In this raw, gut-wrenching, and beautifully written sequel to Invincible, Marcus continues Evie’s story of their intense romance, a stunning conclusion to this contemporary duology perfect for fans of Gayle Forman and Sara Zarr.

Marcus knows pain. The kind that swallows you like a black hole. His brother committed suicide, his mother left him, and his dad ignores him inside their cavernous house. Relief seems to come only from drugs, alcohol, and secret acts of self-destruction.

Until he met Evie. Together, they lived in the moment. They fell in love—hard—creating their own beautiful world. But they each had their own secrets, their own pain.

Unforgivable takes off where Invincible ended—with Evie drowning in San Francisco Bay. Marcus finds her just in time, but her survival is not the happy ending he was hoping for. Forbidden from seeing Evie by her parents and unable to reach her, Marcus learns of a pain that might break him completely.

The pain of losing Evie becomes tangled with the loss of his mother and brother, and he must face the ghosts he has been trying so desperately to outrun, or risk losing Evie forever.

About this title

About the Author

Amy Reed was raised in and around Seattle, where she attended a total of eight schools by the time she was eighteen. Constantly moving taught her to be restless, and being an only child made her imagination do funny things. After graduating from fillm school, she earned an MFA in writing from New College of California. Amy currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and a well-loved dog. She is no longer restless.

Reviews

Gr 9 Up—Readers familiar with Reed's Invincible will remember that Evie, once the cheerleader with a jock boyfriend, later a girl dying of cancer-turned-medical miracle who beats death, survives with no taste for her former life. Instead, she returns as a "bad girl" and ends that novel drugged, drunk, and in mortal danger. While reading Evie's story is not a requirement, foreknowledge will promote a greater understanding of the second novel's focus, the boy Evie's family assumes lured her into a life of substance abuse and self-destruction. Marcus, whose mother ran off and whose perfect older brother checked out of life, finds solace and love in Evie, and he saves her from the freezing cold waters of the San Francisco Bay by rushing her to the hospital. This is the "Now" of Marcus's life—Evie's mother won't let him see her, her sister also blames him, and he learns that his girl of only six weeks is in rehab and not seeking him out. In short sections named "You," Marcus emotes to the beautiful girl who appears to crave the very death she escaped in beating the big C. In past-focused sections called "Then," Marcus's white mother becomes unhinged and alcoholic following the betrayal of his high-powered African American judge father, and childhood memories make his brother's loss haunting. In the present, though, his dad is trying to start over with a new woman and to be more available for his son. Marcus will need to heal in the wake of his excruciating past and Hurricane Evie, perhaps to kindle a healthier love. VERDICT Only compelling for those who like their pathos chin-deep.—Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062299603
• ISBN 13: 9780062299604
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272