Review : How I Lost You by Janet Gurtler

Posted by on June 27, 2013 3:38 am in 4 stars reads | 5 comments

how i lost youHow I Lost You by Janet Gurtler
Pages : 309
Genre : YA, Fiction
Stand Alone My Rating : 4/5

What it’s about :

Grace and Kya are BFF, and nothing will ever change that. They work together, compete in paintball tournaments together, and trust each other with everything; in fact, Grace has been carrying the weight of Kya’s big secret for years now, never betraying her.

But this summer, things are different. Grace has her first big crush on a new guy while Kya is spiraling out of control. Nothing Grace says or does seem to bring back the Kya she has always known. As Kya slips farther and farther away, Grace worries this may be the end of their friendship.

My Thoughts :

Romance takes such an important place in YA fiction (probably because it also occupies an important place in most of young adult and teens’ minds!), that it feels like friendship is often the leftover theme of novels, served on the side when the story needs a little push forward. Yet I remember my teen years being intensely focused on my friends, with all the tears and laughter that involved.

In How I Lost You, Janet Gurtler turns things around by making Grace’s friendships the heart of the story, while the romance is light and cute, some sort of relief from Grace and Kya’s intensity. A refreshing change, yes, but also a realistically written friendship. It wasn’t difficult for me to believe these two were best friends, or to understand their dynamics. It’s one thing to say “these two are best friends”, but it’s another to write it convincingly – which I felt the author succeeded at here!

There were two details that slightly (but only slightly) took away from my enjoyment of the book. The first was the length; the book isn’t anything out of the ordinary in terms of page number, but I definitely felt certain scenes would have been even better by getting to the point faster. The second detail was all the foreshadowing to the ending and the hinting at Kya’s big secret. I felt like Grace kept getting out of her narration to unnecessary point at one or the other. In my opinion, the effect is only better if you hint at it once, then let the reader forget about it.

This being said, the novel had some other very strong points, one being all the relationships in Grace’s life, these being her other friends, her family or her new boyfriend. It was well balanced and believable. I love that her parents were present, and even though she described them as “not the hugging type”, I could definitely feel the love between them and their kids. It looked like Grace’s house would be a fun place to hang out to!

The characters were well drawn and complex – especially Kya. Her situation isn’t easy, which makes her both fun and unpleasant to be around depending on her mood. She’s the type of character you have empathy for, even though she breaks your heart most often than not. Add to these characters the amazing setting of paintball competition (I didn’t even know it was a thing! I had no idea there were organized teams and such!) and I found the novel to be well rounded. Its conclusion will pull at your heartstrings a little, but it is so true to life, too; I really liked it.

How I Lost You was my first time reading Janet Gurtler and it certainly won’t be the last! I already had her other books on my wishlist and I will now be looking for a chance to read them. In the meantime, I can only recommend this book to YA readers looking for a nice contemporary summer fiction!

 

Similar Reading

nantucket blueNantucket Blue by Leila Howland

I reviewed Nantucket Blue last week and, in fact, did read both books back to back. Coincidentally, they both shared themes, and I think readers who enjoyed one may very well enjoy the other!

Nantucket Blue may have a different setting (a summer close to the sea rather than paintball competition), its main theme is also friendships, and how they sometimes change as we grow up. Like How I Lost You, it has its tender moments and some more poignant, but in the end it is also a great contemporary YA read for the summer!

How I Lost You is available for sale today! Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire  for generously providing a copy of the book for this review!

5 Comments

  1. It was Brandon Sanderson that made me realize just how often good (or, at least, realistic) friendships are missing from books, so I’m glad to hear about this one.

    • Oh! I’m curious to know whether there was one particular friendship in Sanderson’s work that stood out for you? Sanderson does write some marvelous relationships, complex and so… human, I guess?

  2. How nice to see friendships front and center for a change. My teen friendships were much more important than my romances. I’m still in close contact with 2 friends from that time but not with any boyfriends. This sounds good!

    • It’s the same for me! Years after, I still have friends from my teenage years whom I am still very close friends with; can’t say as much about my crushes! 🙂

  3. I think you make a very valid point in noticing that friendships seem to take the back seat to romance in a lot of literature especially in YA lit. But friendships are so vital to who we are as humans and should therefore get a little more focus. This sounds like an interesting exploration of friendship.

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