Elizabeth Valchar-pretty, popular, and perfect-wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday party on her family's yacht, where she'd been celebrating with her six closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, what she finds will change everything she thought she knew about her life, her friends, and everything in between. As Liz begins to unravel the circumstances surrounding her birthday night, she will find that no one around her, least of all Liz herself, was perfect-or innocent. Critically acclaimed author Jessica Warman brings readers along on a roller-coaster ride of a mystery, one that is also a heartbreaking character study, a touching romance, and ultimately a hopeful tale of redemption, love, and letting go.
Between
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Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Jessica Warman is the author of Breathless, Where the Truth Lies, and Between, which have received six starred reviews among them. Between was published in a total of twelve countries around the world. Jessica has an MA in creative writing and lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
www.jessicawarman.com
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
While Between has some interesting aspects the writing felt repetitive.
August 9, 2011
Format:Hardcover
Elizabeth Valchar has the perfect life. Pretty, popular and privileged--the world is hers for the taking. Even her eighteenth birthday party is ideal: a night on her father's boat spent with her friends, her boyfriend, alcohol and maybe just a little pot.
Unfortunately when Liz wakes up the day after her party it's obvious that her perfect life is over in every sense of the word.
Liz is dead. Left staring over the side of the boat at her own dead body and watching the horrible fallout as news of her death spreads to her family and friends, Liz has no clear memory of how she died. She doesn't even remember much of her own life.
As Liz struggles to make sense of the person she used to be and what led to her drowning on her birthday, Liz realizes there are some things that are best left forgotten in Between (2011) by Jessica Warman.
Between is an uneasy blend of mystery and paranormal with the smallest dose of suspense thrown in. While the bones of the story are promising as Liz tries to decipher the events leading to her own murder, the execution was inelegant at best.
First and foremost, Liz is not a likable heroine. While she is at pains to tell readers she is a "good kid" Liz's actions often speak louder. Even her transformation over the course of the book does little to make her an approachable narrator. Her sidekick throughout the story remains similarly one dimensional.
While Between has some interesting aspects the writing felt repetitive as Liz explains things repeatedly at different intervals of the story in the exact same way. Other aspects of the story (particularly "Famous Richie" and why he is so famous) felt like gimmicks that added very little to the story. Combined with Liz's often prickly narration these elements made it very hard to get into this book.
The mystery aspect was well handled but too drawn out. Warman also paints a painfully authentic picture of the havoc eating disorders can wreak but again this thread takes so long to develop that much of its potency is lost. The book was also littered with shockingly inadequate adults, adding another layer of frustration.
Fans of books about life after death, particularly The Lovely Bones, will likely find a new favorite read in Between. On the other hand, readers hoping for an eerie mystery would be better served with a different title.
Possible Pairings: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley, Fury by Elizabeth Miles, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Unfortunately when Liz wakes up the day after her party it's obvious that her perfect life is over in every sense of the word.
Liz is dead. Left staring over the side of the boat at her own dead body and watching the horrible fallout as news of her death spreads to her family and friends, Liz has no clear memory of how she died. She doesn't even remember much of her own life.
As Liz struggles to make sense of the person she used to be and what led to her drowning on her birthday, Liz realizes there are some things that are best left forgotten in Between (2011) by Jessica Warman.
Between is an uneasy blend of mystery and paranormal with the smallest dose of suspense thrown in. While the bones of the story are promising as Liz tries to decipher the events leading to her own murder, the execution was inelegant at best.
First and foremost, Liz is not a likable heroine. While she is at pains to tell readers she is a "good kid" Liz's actions often speak louder. Even her transformation over the course of the book does little to make her an approachable narrator. Her sidekick throughout the story remains similarly one dimensional.
While Between has some interesting aspects the writing felt repetitive as Liz explains things repeatedly at different intervals of the story in the exact same way. Other aspects of the story (particularly "Famous Richie" and why he is so famous) felt like gimmicks that added very little to the story. Combined with Liz's often prickly narration these elements made it very hard to get into this book.
The mystery aspect was well handled but too drawn out. Warman also paints a painfully authentic picture of the havoc eating disorders can wreak but again this thread takes so long to develop that much of its potency is lost. The book was also littered with shockingly inadequate adults, adding another layer of frustration.
Fans of books about life after death, particularly The Lovely Bones, will likely find a new favorite read in Between. On the other hand, readers hoping for an eerie mystery would be better served with a different title.
Possible Pairings: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley, Fury by Elizabeth Miles, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I picked up this book because of the gorgeous cover, and the story did not disappoint! BETWEEN is the story of Elizabeth Valchar, who wakes up on her 18th birthday to find her life has changed dramatically. As she tries to piece together the events leading up to her birthday, she is forced to face some heartbreaking truths about herself and her privileged life.
I found this to be a beautifully-written, suspenseful story. It is thought-provoking, romantic, and poignant, and I highly recommend it.
I found this to be a beautifully-written, suspenseful story. It is thought-provoking, romantic, and poignant, and I highly recommend it.
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Wow this is one of those books that once you pick up, you won't be able to put down. I think I finished this book in less than 48 hours. And the reason for that is because I had to sleep, if not I would have finished it faster. I love picking up a book that I can't put down. This book kind of reminds me of that book called "If I stay". But in a different light.
Elizabeth a.k.a. Liz is one of those girls from your typical high school movies that is just a popular rich, spoiled girl. Everyone wants to be like her or be her best friend. She can basically get anything she wants from her dad. However she wasn't always like that. She became a spoiled brat when her mom died and her father had started giving her everything she wanted.
For her eighteenth birthday, her father let her have a small party on their boat. And you can be sure that in that party, there was alcohol and drugs. So instead of waking up with a hangover the next day. They woke up to find Liz was floating dead in the water. But the key to this story is the person that found Liz was actually Liz herself.
Liz woke up to a thumping sound and went out to investigate it. To only find a body in the water but little did she know as she try to find the identity of the body, it was her very own. In her frazzled mind, she couldn't remember what happened that she ended up dead. She only remembered fragments of the previous nights events.
Now Liz is basically a spirit watching everything around her. She watches as her friends deal with her death and how her father handles losing yet another person in his life. But most of all she can go back into the past and see what she did and see the kind of person she was. So that changes everything. Being an outsider looking in, she can see how she wasn't the person she thought she was. In fact she was a person that she didn't like at all.
There's more missing in this review, but I feel I gave you enough spoilers. Yes this book comes to a good end but it's the road the characters take to get to the end that makes this the book it is. I absolutely loved this book. I feel it's a good book for all teens to read, because due to drinking alcohol and doing drugs a tragedy happens. So it's kind of setting an example. One of my best this year! 5 stars for sure! And a definite "Good Choice for Reading"!
[...]
Elizabeth a.k.a. Liz is one of those girls from your typical high school movies that is just a popular rich, spoiled girl. Everyone wants to be like her or be her best friend. She can basically get anything she wants from her dad. However she wasn't always like that. She became a spoiled brat when her mom died and her father had started giving her everything she wanted.
For her eighteenth birthday, her father let her have a small party on their boat. And you can be sure that in that party, there was alcohol and drugs. So instead of waking up with a hangover the next day. They woke up to find Liz was floating dead in the water. But the key to this story is the person that found Liz was actually Liz herself.
Liz woke up to a thumping sound and went out to investigate it. To only find a body in the water but little did she know as she try to find the identity of the body, it was her very own. In her frazzled mind, she couldn't remember what happened that she ended up dead. She only remembered fragments of the previous nights events.
Now Liz is basically a spirit watching everything around her. She watches as her friends deal with her death and how her father handles losing yet another person in his life. But most of all she can go back into the past and see what she did and see the kind of person she was. So that changes everything. Being an outsider looking in, she can see how she wasn't the person she thought she was. In fact she was a person that she didn't like at all.
There's more missing in this review, but I feel I gave you enough spoilers. Yes this book comes to a good end but it's the road the characters take to get to the end that makes this the book it is. I absolutely loved this book. I feel it's a good book for all teens to read, because due to drinking alcohol and doing drugs a tragedy happens. So it's kind of setting an example. One of my best this year! 5 stars for sure! And a definite "Good Choice for Reading"!
[...]
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay.
The book was interesting, but similar to other YA books I have read. I thought the book was interesting right from the beginning, but The pacing of the book throughout was slow.
Published 1 month ago by Jamie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!
What happens after we die? Do we all have lessons to learn? These are some of the themes behind Jessica Warman's Between. Read more
Published 2 months ago by E. Crowe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Between
Never a dull moment. This book really connects you to the characters and their hard times. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good read. Read more
Published 2 months ago by kayla long
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing novel
I picked up Between at the library last week randomly, liking the cover and finding myself intrigued by the summary. Read more
Published 3 months ago by R.D.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but a bit stretched.
With Between Jennifer Warman wrote an incredible novel. The problem is she seemingly could not stop writing. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Karen A. Vandevander
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing
This was a great book. The emotions will stay with me for a long time. I recommend it to everyone
Published 3 months ago by Heather B.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good
This wasn't one of the best books I've ever read by far, but I'm definitely glad that I read it.
Published 4 months ago by Colleen Fitzpatrick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Omg.
This book was amazing. I think it is my new favorite book. My mom picked it out and I didn't think I'd like it but I loved it. I could not put it down!!! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Terra large
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
Sort of figured it out before the end but over all a good book. Thought provoking concening the afterlife and how people will really see us.
Published 5 months ago by September
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nano
This is a great book, loved every page, kept my interest the entire book. Would recommend for all to read!
Published 5 months ago by Nano
