Customer Reviews

Just Like That

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just Like That explores the story of a teenage girl named Hanna. After breaking up with her boyfriend, she thinks she'll have a quiet moment to herself, sitting near the frozen-over lake late at night. She sees a slightly older couple, who urge her to come with them to be safe. She stays put. They warn her about the thin ice and depart. Shortly thereafter, a couple about her age drives by on an ATV, loud and giddy, teasing her. Lonely and cranky, she doesn't pass on the warning about the ice.

The next morning, she hears about their deaths on the news. She realizes she was the last person to see them alive - and that she might have been able to prevent their deaths. But she doesn't tell anyone that she was there, not even her mother, not even her two best friends.

And things start to change.

Soon, Hanna meets Will, someone else tied in with that night's events. She gets involved with him rather quickly. Just as quickly, she finds herself drawn into a family with hearts on their sleeves and skeletons in their closet.

Just Like That is highly realistic dramatic fiction in the vein of Sarah Dessen - and that is a high compliment coming from me. It is a must-read book for anyone looking for a poignant story with true-to-life, flawed characters. When I make my top books of the year selections in December, Just Like That is sure to be high on the list.

From the Associated Press, November 26, 2005:

"CEDAR GROVE, Wis. - The deaths of two children and a man who broke through frozen ponds in southeastern Wisconsin have led officials to warn of the dangers of skating or driving on early winter's thin ice."

Just like that, the horror of the headlines plunged me right back into the tense, cold memory of Marsha Qualey's JUST LIKE THAT, a story of broken hearts and frozen secrets:

"Snowmobiles and ATVs were illegal in the city parks, but that didn't ever stop people from tearing down streets and over the lakes when there was fresh snow. A sinewy cloud of breath shot out of my mouth as I swore at the disturbance. I stood up, ready to stalk away so I could be alone with my bad mood. A four-wheeler raced past me toward the lake. Its bright headlight cut a swath out of the darkness. There were two people on the vehicle. More happy lovers, no doubt. I'd ventured out tonight to purge my head of thoughts of romance and look what I'd run into. The ATV sped over a snowbank at the edge of the ice and rode the air for a few feet. When it landed, the passenger tumbled off. The driver immediately cut the engine. A girl laughed and shouted, 'I love you Derek!' I sat back down. The movement must have caught her eye because she called out, 'Friend or foe?' They laughed at her wit in a merry tenor-soprano duet. Before I could answer 'Foe,' they sped off again. Then they made a sharp turn and came toward me, angling away at the last minute and stopping with a spray of snow that missed me by inches. 'It's our one-year anniversary!' the girl said. 'Here's a present in reverse! Find someone and have fun!' An unwrapped condom landed on my lap."

In dealing with the thoughts surrounding her having broken up with her longtime boyfriend, eighteen year-old high schooler and aspiring artist Hanna Martin impulsively takes a chilly midnight stroll and finds herself on a bench at the edge of frozen Lake Calhoun. And so Hanna is in no mood for the young couple's antics. She ignores her impulse, and neglects to warn the young lovers that a pair of skiiers had just come off the ice and had made totally sure that Hanna had no intention to go out on the lake, which the skiiers found insufficently frozen to be safe. Little does Hanna Martin realize, stuck in her own thoughts, that she will be the last person to see the ATV couple alive. The girl's frozen body is found the next morning at the edge of the lake, to where she had dragged herself before succumbing. The boy's body is later recovered out in the middle of the lake.

Just like that, they're gone. In coping with her role in the tragedy, about which she says nothing to family or friends, Hanna repeatedly returns to the pond, where she keeps spotting a young man who clearly must have a connection to the young couple. First, she draws him. Then she tracks him down and meets him. The young man, Will Walker, turns out to be the one to have discovered the girl's body. And the secrets surrounding Will--beginning with the fact that his father is the local Congressman--caused the young man to anonymously notify police about his discovery.

Through her getting to know and becoming involved with Will while sharing with him her feelings surrounding the dead teenagers, Hanna Martin will find herself immersed in his family's multiplicity of secrets and will become estranged from her longtime friends.

As Will tells her, "My family's close. We don't let a lot of outsiders in, not like we used to, but anyone who gets near us tends to get sucked in pretty good."

Just like that, Hanna Martin's entire life is scrambled. And there is little that Hanna can do to move on until she overcomes that belief that she has sole responsibility for what happened at the lake.

Marsha Qualey's JUST LIKE THAT is a bone-achingly cold, honest, and memorable tale of life after tragedy.

This was a wonderful book. I felt like I was right there in Minneapolis, in the cold winter. The author really brought home the feelings that come with betrayal and forgiveness. I would recommend it to any teenager.

High school senior Hanna is having a bad day --- she's just broken up with her boyfriend, and no one seems to understand why she would dump such a perfect guy. Confused and sleepless, she heads out for a midnight walk on a brutally cold Minnesota winter night. As she sits by the lake feeling sorry for herself, she witnesses what she later realizes is the lead-up to a deadly accident, a tragedy she's convinced she could have prevented.

As artistic Hanna revisits the scene of the accident to sketch out her feelings, she notices another solitary visitor to the site. Soon she discovers that another person, Will, is hiding his own secret about that terrible night. United by their role in the tragedy, Will and Hanna develop an immediate physical and emotional attraction. Soon, though, Hanna discovers that Will is hiding more about himself than she had expected.

Before Hanna realizes Will's secret, though, she's already gotten inextricably involved with his large, emotionally intense family. Hanna, who is an only child being raised by her widowed mother, is attracted by Will's passionate, close-knit family, especially by his older sister Aerin, who is recovering from her own tragedy. Hanna's exposure to this new kind of family inspires her to seek out the truth about her own family roots.

Marsha Qualey's novels for young adults always seem to avoid the kinds of clichéd plots that can mar much fiction for teens. An examination of Hanna's guilt over the death of two teenagers could have deteriorated into a simplistic expose of survivor's guilt. Instead, though, Qualey delves into the complexities of Hanna's reactions; she explores the impact on Hanna's friendships, on her academic work, on her artistic expression, and on her close relationship with her mother. The weakest aspect of the novel is the brief "What Happens Next?" epilogue, which ties up plot ends a little too conveniently and simplistically for what is, in all other respects, a challenging and complex portrayal of an intelligent and complicated young woman.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Life can change in an instant. When Hanna, who is 18, discovers she was the last to see two teens before their accidental deaths, she is overwhelmed with guilt and confusion. Her passion for art becomes an obsession. She finds comfort in Will, a sensitive senator's son who is also linked to the deaths. Hanna quickly ends her relationship with Will when she discovers his age. Subsequently, her best friends betray her trust, gossip spreads, and Hanna feels alienated. With enough credits to graduate, she decides to finish school a semester early. In her free time, she reflects on her father's death and the mystery of her runaway grandmother. An epilogue concludes with Hanna happily attending college in Chicago and Will of legal age.

Qualey's novel explores life's uncertainty, learning to cope with sudden losses, and the meaning of family. Hanna's intelligent and authentic narrative will engage readers. The subtle description of a brief sexual encounter between Will and Hanna demonstrates the author's finesse. Unfortunately, the epilogue conclusion is too tidy, and readers may feel cheated.

The premise of this book seemed interesting - but I found that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

I did come to semi-appreciate our MC, Hanna, who is experiencing an incredible amount of change in her life. Qualey managed to convey most of the reactions and emotions that one would feel in Hanna's place quite accurately. I felt quite compassionate for her during some of the more crazy scenarios that occurred; there were also times however when I wanted to give her a shove and basically offer my own unsolicited advice.

What I felt turned me off of the book, however, was that, apart from occasionally feeling for Hanna, I just didn't really care about much of the story or the characters. I'm not heartless, but I felt like the story was just a bunch of dramatic events pieced together haphazardly. Some of the characters also, were a bit two dimensional.

All in all, this is a pretty average read for me.

I bought this book for my granddaughter and as soon as she started reading it, she called to tell me it wasn't for her.... the word "bit**" appears 4 times in the first two pages and on page four the teens discuss their sex life.... guess we're just not that kind of family!

Just Like That by Marsha Qualey focuses on Hanna, a 18 year old senior who is at the time in her life where she is about to graduate high school but feels at odds about everything that is going on. She has a boyfriend, Spence, whom she has been with for almost a year yet doesn't feel connected to him in a way that most girls should feel with their long term boyfriend so she makes a grown up decision and breaks up with him. She has two very close friends who she shares everything with and after one of them breaks their word and lets a secret of hers leak out into the public, she cuts immediate ties with both of them. And Hanna is also an artist. She likes to paint captions of things that she sees. Two women in a coffee shop, her mother dancing in Hawaii, or a dead girl in the icy river. Taking a walk one winter night Hanna is the last person to talk to two teens right before they die on an icy river. She is so overcome with guilt at not being stopping them that she starts to have dreams of what it was like for them. Soon she meets Will whom also has an connection to the dead teens. Her relationship with Will starts off fast but has a foundation that is real and also pure considering how things started. Hanna spends her winter figuring out who she is and what is important to her while also coming to terms with something she did not have control over.

I liked the book more than I thought I was going to. I started to read it and got hooked immediately. It seemed like it was going to be your standard coming of age teenage girl story, but then the author threw in enough problems and obstacles for the character to overcome with out it being overdone and unrealistic. I thought the character of Hanna was going to be the female character type that I hate, but she was real and a lot of the thoughts she had many girls her age have. And I really loved Will, however, for his age the way he spoke and behaved did not seemed real to me. He was very mature for his age I guess I should say and even after we meet his family I still am not sure why he is that way. I did like the two of them together, I felt like they fit except for their immediate problem which I will not say what that is so as I don't spoiler anything for anyone who has not read it. However, after years have gone by I'm sure they will get their chance.

I give the book 4 stars. Good characters, good character growth, good story, and the writing style was clean. I will definitely check out the other novels this author has.

Just Like That creates a lot of mixed emotions for me as a reader, so I believe that best way to review this particular book is to explain why I am having the conflicted feelings. In the beginning this book seemed to be unnatural in the speed and intensity of this small relationship between Will and Hanna. I found it very hard to accept and understand the feelings being portrayed because it did not seem realistic. Once the story turns and we find out the true age of Will; I began to grasp the situation a little more willingly. Throughout this beginning, the pace of the book was quick and fluent a very easy read. Although, after this point the pace changes and the story begins to decrease peed; then abruptly begins jumping through time and highlighting certain moments. Even though, this book contains a very impressive storyline it doesn't seem to carry the same direction through the enitre book. This can be a very difficult adjustment to make in the middle of a story, and leaves the reader without any direction. I found this story to be very enjoyable, even with moments of uncertainity. Lastly, the very best aspect of this entire book is its ending. I actually find myself needing to reevalute my thoughts on the entire story, but of the deep love I have for the ending alone. Being a hopeless romantic, I love how the author wrapped up all of the story's events in this ending chapter. I feel that no stone was left unturned, and after everything coming unraveled it all has been safely rewrapped and tucked away nicely. Expect struggle this is not the easiest novel, but after completing it was well worth all my time. I will recommend!

Overall, I loved this book. Maybe it's because I love chick books or a fun boy girl love story once in a while. This book is a perfect read for those days at the beach where you want something light and fun to read. I read it in less than two days because I could not put it down.