Review of The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson

 I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

How do you put yourself back together when it seems like you've lost it all?

May is a survivor. But she doesn't feel like one. She feels angry. And lost. And alone. Eleven months after the school shooting that killed her twin brother, May still doesn't know why she was the only one to walk out of the band room that day. No one gets what she went through--no one saw and heard what she did. No one can possibly understand how it feels to be her.

Zach lost his old life when his mother decided to defend the shooter. His girlfriend dumped him, his friends bailed, and now he spends his time hanging out with his little sister...and the one faithful friend who stuck around. His best friend is needy and demanding, but he won't let Zach disappear into himself. Which is how Zach ends up at band practice that night. The same night May goes with her best friend to audition for a new band.

Which is how May meets Zach. And how Zach meets May. And how both might figure out that surviving could be an option after all.

My Review:

5 Stars

This was a very emotional story. Not often do you hear what the victim is continuously going through after the media coverage has ended and they are expected to return to their "normal" lives. 

May lost everything in a matter of minutes. The other half of her was taken tragically and she was allowed to survive though many others did not. No only is she being forced to live without her twin, but she's also lost what was left of the relationship that she had with her parents. 

Trying to navigate through this new existence, May unexpectedly makes a friend in Zach. A friendship that makes the dark days somewhat lighter. The hard times somewhat more bearable and her nasty attitude just a bit easier to endure. 

May however isn't perfect. She's made mistakes without thinking through how they would effect others. Mistakes that could threaten her new lighter reality and thrust her back into the darkness she now desperately wants to get away from. 

An emotional journey through one teen's grief and journey to find a light at the end of a long dark tunnel.