Amazon.com: Saving Zoe: A Novel: Alyson Noel: Books

Review

“Alyson Noël finds the perfect balance of heartbreak and humor in this story about sisters, secrets and saying goodbye. I loved every minute of it!”
–Hailey Abbott, author of the New York Times bestselling Summer Boys series

“Even though you know from page one where the story will eventually lead, Saving Zoë pulls off the amazing trick of keeping you guessing. You have to follow along with Echo, the good sister chasing the tail of the “bad” one through the streets of darkest suburbia. Prepare to read this in one long sitting. Think Chinatown. Think "Where are you going, where have you been?" Think Veronica Mars.”
–Maureen Johnson, author of Devilish

“Noel writes a smart and compelling story about life, love and loss that you won't be able to put down. Saving Zoe is a must-read.”
–Cara Lockwood, author of Wuthering High

Product Description

In Alyson Noël's newest teen novel, one sister's secrets save the other's life--in more ways than one.

Meet fifteen-year-old Echo, a typical teen trying to survive high school without being totally traumatized by boy trouble, friend drama, and school issues. As if she didn't have enough on her plate, Echo is also still dealing with the murder of her sister Zoë. Although it's been over a year, Echo is still reeling from tragedy that changed everything. Beautiful and full of life, Zoë was the glue that held her family together, and although the two sisters were as different as night and day, they still had a bond that Echo can't let go of. When Zoë's old boyfriend Marc shows up one day with Zoë's diary, Echo doesn't think there's anything in there she doesn't already know. But as she gives in to curiosity and starts reading, she learns that her sister led a secret life that no one could have guessed--not even Echo.

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Product Details

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (September 4, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312355106
ISBN-13: 978-0312355104
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #117,067 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#66 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Sisters

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, December 4, 2007

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

Fifteen-year-old Echo has had to deal with more tragedy than anyone, regardless of age, should have to bear. Her parents' relationship is made up of alternating periods of arguments and silence. Her two best friends, Abby and Jenay, seem to be drifting apart -- from her, and from each other. She has a boyfriend named Parker, a great guy that she can't seem to work up any emotion towards. And her older sister, Zoe, is still dead and gone.

Echo and Zoe could not have been more different. Echo is diligent in her studies, quite happy to take the quiet path of least resistance. Zoe, on the other hand, had the sunny, naive disposition that led her to live life however the mood struck her. In fact, it was that same sweet and fun personality that may have led to her death.

Zoe's boyfriend, Marc, is still struggling to deal with the death of the girl he loved. However, he has something that has helped him a great deal; something that he decides to give to Echo, to help her know the sister who no longer is. Zoe left her diary with Marc the last time they were together, and he's held onto it ever since. Now it's Echo's, and, at first, she resists reading it. After all, she already knew everything there was to know about Zoe, right? Turns out, not so much.

As Echo becomes immersed in the last few months of Zoe's life, she learns that she really didn't know her sister at all. The struggles, the insecurities, the traumas that her sister faced and never spoke about -- these aren't things that Echo would have ever associated with her bright, popular sister. As she delves deeper, into both the diary and the need to be like Zoe, Echo learns that although her sister will never return, she will always live in Echo's memory -- and in the justice that Echo is determined to get in her sister's name.

Although Alyson Noel is best known for her lighter, contemporary stories, she has taken a serious, heartbreaking plot line and turned it into a winner that you'll never forget. I found myself as immersed into Zoe's life as Echo did, and found it hard to put the book down the entire time I was reading. Ms. Noel has done an awesome job with this weightier subject matter, and I hope to read more stories in this vein from her in the future.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not amazing, not terrible, January 27, 2009

By	An Anonymous Child - See all my reviews

I'm surprised to come here and find that most reviewers loved this book. I read "Saving Zoe" and found it to be simply written (a pro in this case), kind of bland, and not quite much of anything. I really liked some parts, while at the same time some parts bothered me immensely.

The storyline is simple. Echo's spirited older sister Zoe is gone, and Echo tries to piece her life together through her final diary entires. As she enters Zoe's world bit by bit, she finds herself in similar situations, meeting the same people, and facing similar dilemmas. She strikes up a strange relationship with Zoe's boyfriend and begins to distance herself from her former good friends.

"Saving Zoe" read realistically at times, but there were moments where plot and writing felt cheap and out of place. Zoe's diary entries often felt supremely fake (like most diary entry books), with whole quoted conversations and a writing style remarkably similar to that of Alyson Noel. What a curious coincidence.

But the story never really lifts off. I read it quickly enough but without feeling like I'd gotten close to any characters. The plot is one that's fairly common and the writing isn't special enough to warrant a read (though it's most certainly quite nice). The cover is also bewildering: how anyone can call this book "hysterical" is beyond me. It's a girl's book, no doubt, and while it's not amazing, it does have a certain charm to it. In the end, I didn't come away from it feeling like I'd enjoyed the hours spent on it. I didn't actively dislike it, but there was nothing in it for me to particularly like.

Not amazing, not terrible, and nothing out of the ordinary. "Saving Zoe" is good for teen girls looking for more substantive drama (dealing with loss, boyfriend drama, friend drama, etc.), but too flat for avid readers in search of a meaningful book to tug on heartstrings and take you to a whole new world. Take your pick.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SAVING ZOE TWO THUMBS UP!, October 25, 2007

By	Nicki "NICKI" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Alyson Noel has done it again! Another book thats off the charts. Saving Zoe is different from the rest of her books. This is a book you wont want to put down.
A year and a half ago Echo's sister Zoe is killed. Echo starts high school without her sister and with people talking and whispering behind her back. Until one day Zoes boyfriend Marc gives Echo Zoes diary telling her she should read it. At first Echo isnt sure, in a way she feels that she would be betraying her sister by reading it. But after a while she realizes Zoe would have wanted her to read it. Once Echo begins the diary she starts to realize she didnt know her sister as well as she thought. And the picture perfect life she always thought Zoe had. . .was about to be shattered with each page she read.
As your reading this book your sucked into the lives of Zoe and Echo. Asking yourself many questions. Like what happened to Zoe? It all comes together in the end leaving you a book that can make you laugh and make you cry.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars You will never want to put is book down

Echo is 15 years old and is in high school. 1 year ago her sister Zoe was murdered by an internet predator. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Mid-Prairie Teen

5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive!
This is a great book about Echo who's older sister Zoe was murdered a year ago. Then Zoe's boyfriend gives Echo Zoe's diary. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Michelle

1.0 out of 5 stars Teenage Porn
This book is essentially teenage porn: sex, bondage, drugs, date rape, and a brutal murder.

An endorsement on the cover says it is "hilarous". Read more

Published 11 months ago by R. O'Leary

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad and kind of scary at the same time
This is the kind of book that will literally make you sit at the edje of the couch and read the whole thing in 3 hours! Read more

Published 13 months ago by Roberta Pompeu

5.0 out of 5 stars Emotional and Beautiful
On Echo's fourteenth birthday, she received the worst present ever: new of the disappearance and death of her older sister Zo�. Read more

Published 13 months ago by The Book Muncher

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put this poignant and sad story down
This was the kind of book I refused to put down, which is my favorite kind to read! I have read Alyson Noel's other novels in the past, fully enjoying them, but this is by far my... Read more

Published 18 months ago by K. C. Dennison

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, haunting and smart
Alyson Noel's SAVING ZOE is a novel you'll want to read again and again. Noel creates a unique plot with a lead character you'll cry and laugh with. Definitely a must read!

Published 20 months ago by Jessica M. Burkhart

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss this one!
I'm a die hard fan of anything by Alyson Noel, but Saving Zoe is by far my favorite. Set aside a few hours before you crack the cover on this one because you won't be able to put... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Stephanie M. Hale

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