The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey is an emotional young adult novel that tackles some very difficult subjects such as teen suicide, grief, depression and drug use. It is a realistic and very compelling story that is thought-provoking and ultimately, healing. Due to some of its content, I recommend the novel to older teen (and adult) readers.

In the aftermath of her sister Leah's suicide, Allie Blackmore is grief stricken and haunted by her sister's death. They were incredibly close and as teenagers, they devised a suicide pact. Struggling to understand why her sister ignored their pact and killed herself, Allie begins a downward spiral of using cold medicine and eventually illicitly obtained prescription drugs in an effort to numb her pain. Although she is seeing a psychiatrist, she refuses to open up to her doctor and against medical advice, she stops taking her prescription for anti-depressants. Desperately trying to pick up the pieces of her life, Allie's efforts are hampered by her inability to paint, a toxic relationship with her longtime crush and ghostly appearances by Leah.

Allie is a likable yet incredibly exasperating character. Instead of being honest about how much she is struggling, she keeps insisting everything is "fine". Her relationship with her parents is fraught with tension even before Leah's death and now they are wrapped up in their own grief, Allie is essentially left to deal with her problems on her own. With all of her father's high expectations weighing on her, Allie resents his autocratic orders and dismissive attitude toward her and her mother. Her mom is of absolutely no help since she relies heavily on Xanax to get her through the day and continues to allow her soon to be ex-husband to steamroll over her. It is little wonder Allie chooses unhealthy ways to help cope with her crushing grief and her pain positively radiates off the pages of the novel.

As she tries to understand Leah's decision, Allie keeps going over the events of their last day together. Her memories of their final evening together at a party are hazy but bits and pieces begin to come back to her. Did something out of the ordinary happen to Leah at the party? Do the answers lie in the sisters' dysfunctional home life? The further Allie digs into Leah's life, she is stunned to learn that her sister was keeping many secrets and despite the information she uncovers, she may never discover the reason for Leah's inexplicable decision.

The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey is a riveting young adult novel that is gritty and unflinchingly honest. What initially drives the story is learning the truth about Allie's family, the reasons for the suicide pact and why Leah committed suicide. However, by the novel's conclusion, it is Allie's journey of self-discovery that holds the reader's attention. All in all, it is a very moving novel that I recommend to adults and older teens. ( )

Who holds your secrets?

What if the one person you thought you could trust turned their back on you and left you all alone? What if everything that you thought you knew was suddenly turned upside down? What if you went from young and fun to suddenly searching for a way to just escape it all?

The Sister Pact by author Stacie Ramey is the story of Allie, a high school junior who is learned to live her life without her sister who committed suicide just a couple months back. Best friends, close sisters, artists, and holders of a life pact, suddenly Allie must make sense of why her sister would choose to leave her here when she did. A mixture of an artists struggle and an endearing story of sisterly love, Allie learns that it's not always easy to just get back on your feet and move on - not when something affects you so deeply. Drugs, betrayed friendships, and unanswered questions make each next step forward an uncertain one.

Who do you turn to when the person you once depended on decides to leave? Left sister-less, friend-less, and emotion-less, Allie must figure this out on her own if she ultimately wishes to find happiness.

Admittedly, I don't read a whole lot of young adult novels. And though I don't think this book was bad or anything, it reminded me why I tend to shy away from them. The whole premise is high schoolers facing adult problems but handling them like children. Maybe that's to be expected, but I spend half the book being frustrated with how unrealistic things feel.

With that being said, this book was certainly entertaining and if you're the type of person who enjoys YA novels, I feel like this is a solid choice.

I give it 3 stars - well written, entertaining, and easy to follow but just not quite my cup of tea.

My Rating: ★★★✩✩

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM ( )