You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: January 2, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
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Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Book Depository | Kobo | Goodreads
Synopsis:
A moving, lyrical debut novel about twins who navigate first love, their Jewish identity, and opposite results from a genetic test that determines their fate—whether they inherited their mother’s Huntington’s disease.
Eighteen-year-old twins Adina and Tovah have little in common besides their ambitious nature. Viola prodigy Adina yearns to become a soloist—and to convince her music teacher he wants her the way she wants him. Overachiever Tovah awaits her acceptance to Johns Hopkins, the first step on her path toward med school and a career as a surgeon.
But one thing could wreck their carefully planned futures: a genetic test for Huntington’s, a rare degenerative disease that slowly steals control of the body and mind. It’s turned their Israeli mother into a near stranger and fractured the sisters’ own bond in ways they’ll never admit. While Tovah finds comfort in their Jewish religion, Adina rebels against its rules.
When the results come in, one twin tests negative for Huntington’s. The other tests positive.
These opposite outcomes push them farther apart as they wrestle with guilt, betrayal, and the unexpected thrill of first love. How can they repair their relationship, and is it even worth saving?
From debut author Rachel Lynn Solomon comes a luminous, heartbreaking tale of life, death, and the fragile bond between sisters.
Review:
Rachel Lynn Solomon's You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone was one of my most anticipated books of 2018, which made starting it all the more nerve racking. I wanted to love it. The premise sounded amazing and fresh. The cover is stunning! Plus, there's nothing but high praise coming from the YA community about it.
Thankfully, You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone was fantastic - hands down one of the BEST books I've read this year! Heartbreaking yet vastly hopeful, You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone is an eye opening look at how a Huntington’s diagnosis drastically changes two twin's lives.
You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone is told in the alternating POVs of Adina and Tovah, two twins who couldn't be any more different.
Charismatic as well as elusive, Adina is the twin everyone talks about yet no one truly knows. Adina is okay with that - she likes her hermit like existence, she'd rather focus on her music than live the typical teen experience.
Tovah, on the other hand, is the sister that often blends into the background. Dedicated to her studies and becoming a doctor, Tovah has little time for nonsense or love.
Tovah and Adina are complicated characters, ones who are more unlikable than likable; however, there's something about both that makes them incredibly compelling and easy to root for. I loved getting to know both. Out of the two, Adina was my favorite. She gives off a larger than life feel. Her emotions are dramatic and colorful. She's never someone to do something quietly, and I admired that about her. I loved her passion and dedication. Tovah, on the other hand, is quiet and more straight forwarded than Adina. Tovah's life focuses on following the "rules" - getting good grades, the right experiences, the best recommendations. She leaves little time to breathe and just experience life, and I could relate to that - I've been there before.
The one aspect that I found the most interesting about Tovah and Adina was that they weren't best friends. In fact, they start off the book hating each other. Throughout the novel, I was dying to know what lead them to that point - what could make someone hate the person they shared the most with? To make it even worse, Tovah and Adina become even more estranged after the diagnosis. They do horrible things to each other- things that made my stomach turn. Yet at the same time, I felt that showcasing those events and their feelings made their characters more real, more gritty in a sense.
The plot in You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone mainly revolves around the outcome of the test results. I knew a decent amount about Huntington’s disease prior to starting this, but there's such a difference between knowing the facts and seeing a family experience the disease. It was heartbreaking to witness Adina and Tovah's mother fall apart right in front of their eyes. I respected that Rachel Lynn Solomon didn't sugar coat anything when it came to that.
Additionally, Rachel brings about an interesting dilemma within the girls - is there truly a winner when one twin has it and the other doesn't? The short answer: there isn't. Over the course of the book, we see both girls deal with the backlash of being the twin that has it versus being the twin that doesn't. Both roles bring about their own set off complications and emotions, and I enjoyed seeing those come to live within Adina and Tovah. It was interesting to see how one diagnosis could change everything, that sometimes even the best laid plains aren't what's meant to be.
I also valued the Jewish rep You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone offered. It was interesting to see how religion meant many different things to the twins- Tovah being a strict follower while Adina was more loose with her following. Plus, as someone who is not Jewish, it was interesting to learn more about the religion.
In all, I could go on about this book all day, but I won't bore you with that. Instead, I'll live with you this: give this book a chance. I won't sugar coat it: it's a hard read, but it's so incredibly worth it. I loved so much, in fact, that I'll be pre-ordering a copy just so I can re-read it :)
Source: eARC provided by publisher for blog tour
About the Author:
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Rachel Lynn Solomon's You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone was one of my most anticipated books of 2018, which made starting it all the more nerve racking. I wanted to love it. The premise sounded amazing and fresh. The cover is stunning! Plus, there's nothing but high praise coming from the YA community about it.
Thankfully, You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone was fantastic - hands down one of the BEST books I've read this year! Heartbreaking yet vastly hopeful, You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone is an eye opening look at how a Huntington’s diagnosis drastically changes two twin's lives.
You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone is told in the alternating POVs of Adina and Tovah, two twins who couldn't be any more different.
Charismatic as well as elusive, Adina is the twin everyone talks about yet no one truly knows. Adina is okay with that - she likes her hermit like existence, she'd rather focus on her music than live the typical teen experience.
Tovah, on the other hand, is the sister that often blends into the background. Dedicated to her studies and becoming a doctor, Tovah has little time for nonsense or love.
Tovah and Adina are complicated characters, ones who are more unlikable than likable; however, there's something about both that makes them incredibly compelling and easy to root for. I loved getting to know both. Out of the two, Adina was my favorite. She gives off a larger than life feel. Her emotions are dramatic and colorful. She's never someone to do something quietly, and I admired that about her. I loved her passion and dedication. Tovah, on the other hand, is quiet and more straight forwarded than Adina. Tovah's life focuses on following the "rules" - getting good grades, the right experiences, the best recommendations. She leaves little time to breathe and just experience life, and I could relate to that - I've been there before.
The one aspect that I found the most interesting about Tovah and Adina was that they weren't best friends. In fact, they start off the book hating each other. Throughout the novel, I was dying to know what lead them to that point - what could make someone hate the person they shared the most with? To make it even worse, Tovah and Adina become even more estranged after the diagnosis. They do horrible things to each other- things that made my stomach turn. Yet at the same time, I felt that showcasing those events and their feelings made their characters more real, more gritty in a sense.
The plot in You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone mainly revolves around the outcome of the test results. I knew a decent amount about Huntington’s disease prior to starting this, but there's such a difference between knowing the facts and seeing a family experience the disease. It was heartbreaking to witness Adina and Tovah's mother fall apart right in front of their eyes. I respected that Rachel Lynn Solomon didn't sugar coat anything when it came to that.
Additionally, Rachel brings about an interesting dilemma within the girls - is there truly a winner when one twin has it and the other doesn't? The short answer: there isn't. Over the course of the book, we see both girls deal with the backlash of being the twin that has it versus being the twin that doesn't. Both roles bring about their own set off complications and emotions, and I enjoyed seeing those come to live within Adina and Tovah. It was interesting to see how one diagnosis could change everything, that sometimes even the best laid plains aren't what's meant to be.
I also valued the Jewish rep You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone offered. It was interesting to see how religion meant many different things to the twins- Tovah being a strict follower while Adina was more loose with her following. Plus, as someone who is not Jewish, it was interesting to learn more about the religion.
In all, I could go on about this book all day, but I won't bore you with that. Instead, I'll live with you this: give this book a chance. I won't sugar coat it: it's a hard read, but it's so incredibly worth it. I loved so much, in fact, that I'll be pre-ordering a copy just so I can re-read it :)
5 stars!!
Source: eARC provided by publisher for blog tour
Rachel Lynn Solomon is a Pacific Northwest native who loves rainy days, tap dancing, red lipstick, and new wave music. Her debut contemporary YA novel, You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone, will be out from Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse in spring 2018, with a second book, A Year of Bad Ideas, to follow in 2019.
Rachel has written for newspapers, produced a radio show that aired in the middle of the night, and worked for NPR, and she currently works in education. Rachel lives in Seattle with her boyfriend and tiny dog. She's represented by Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency.
Giveaway!!
Prize:1 signed Hardcopy of YOU’LL MISS ME WHEN I’M GONE by Rachel Lynn Solo-mon (US Only)
Starts: January 2nd
Ends: January 17th
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Tour Schedule:
January 2nd
The Unofficial Book Addiction Fan Club & Pink Polka Dot Books- Welcome Post
January 3rd
It Starts at Midnight- Review & Fave Quotes
YA Wednesdays- Q&A
The Hermit Librarian- Review
January 4th
The Cursed Books- Q&A
The Layaway Dragon- Review
Vicky Who Reads- Review
January 5th
Amanda Gernentz Hanson- Review
Life of a Literary Nerd- Review
Life of a Simple Reader- Review & Fave Quotes
January 6th
Never Too Many to Read- Review & Creative Post
Book Princess Reviews- Guest Post
Here's to Happy Endings- Review
January 7th
That Bookshelf Bitch- Review
Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf- Review
Rainy Days and Pajamas- Promo
January 8th
I read this yesterday and it absolutely destroyed me. It was just so good and I loved every word of it. I wasn't expecting the twins to hate each other as they did, but I loved the complexity of their relationship, and how different they were from each other. Glad you loved it too, Lauren!
ReplyDeleteVery nice review!
ReplyDelete