Theresa's transformation is shocking and not cliche. When Theresa me and James' mom and realized it wasn't her fault that James killed himself. It wasn't cliche at all and is an emotional story. It never lets up on the gravity. AHS/MR

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Everyone carries around some sort of guilt or regret. Most don't carry the burden that Theresa does.

James is her next-door neighbor. He's attractive, but a bit too bizarre for Theresa. And he's in love with her. He left for two years for the military and wrote her every week. She thinks she sent him maybe two letters in return.

Theresa is in love with her boyfriend, Randy. They've been dating for nine months now. However, he's just told her that he wants to take another girl, Rachel, to their friend Frieda's end-of-school party. There have been on-again and off-again periods with Randy before, but this is a first. Theresa lets him go, and in retaliation, she asks James if he'd like to go to a party with her. She is up front with him that it's purely for show, but James is thrilled to have the chance for even a pretend date with Theresa.

While James is off getting Theresa something cold to drink, Randy comes crawling back to Theresa, realizing he made a mistake. Theresa tries to think of James, but before she knows it, she and Randy are in a heavy makeout session. It's only after she hears James' motorcycle pull away that she starts to worry what he may think.

But that's not the worst of it. James doesn't come home, and Theresa goes to the cops. Not long after telling the cops he's missing, they come knocking on her door to tell her that his motorcycle has gone over the side of a cliff.

No one is to blame, but Theresa believes it's all her fault because of what James saw. Not able to handle the guilt or the remorse, she leaves home to reinvent herself.

Living in a beat-up trailer, a young neighbor girl starts hanging around. Before Theresa realizes it, life is changing again, and the thought-provoking actions of an eleven-year-old slowly brings Theresa back to the living.

What a powerful story. Theresa is determined to keep James' memory alive out of guilt. But Ms. Hyde weaves the story beautifully and the reader gets to see the slow healing process that Theresa, and also Cathy, her young neighbor, go through. You will surely laugh and cry with the story, but will come out much better for it on the other side. Just like Theresa did. ( )

James was Theresa’s neighbor. It was obvious to everyone, even to her that he was in love with her. Theresa however didn’t feel that way about James, she couldn’t help it, it just wasn’t there. He was four years older than her and besides that she already had a boyfriend, Randy. When Randy moves onto another girl, Theresa can’t help but use James’s willingness to her advantage. She knows he loves her, and she knows that using him is wrong, but he insists that he wants to be used. Theresa, however, didn’t foresee the events that would play out the night of the party, or she never would have asked James to be her date. Theresa broke his heart and he killed himself.Overflowing with toxic guilt, Theresa flees her old life. She shaves her head, changes her name and moves to a new town where no one knows her. Determined that she won’t let herself hurt someone again.Unexpectedly, Theresa’s salvation comes in the form of a young scraggly abused child, that lives next door to her trailer. They set out on a road trip that ultimately aids in healing them both.I can’t say enough good things about Hyde as a writer. She gets me everytime! The moral of this story is simple, be careful with other peoples hearts. The story, however, is anything but. The plot is intense, and the sporadic journal entries by Theresa add significant depth. Once again Ryan has superbly crafted a compelling tale that I soon won’t forget. The Day I Killed James: May 13, 2008. ( )

This powerful story had me hooked from the beginning, lost me a little bit in the middle, and got me again at the end. Theresa never meant to hurt James. When her boyfriend Randy broke up with her, she took James to the party as revenge. James knew that she wasn't that into him. But James never came home from that party and Theresa knows it's her fault. The Day I Killed James is a powerful story about a girl coming to terms with her grief and her guilt. ( )

James loves Theresa. Unfortunately Theresa doesn't feel the same way about him. They both know the situation, so when Theresa needs a date to a party James is more than willing to go as her date. He knows she is using him, but he wants to take her anyway, and this is where things go horribly wrong. Because of this one night neither of their lives will ever be the same again.
"This compelling tale of love and loss shows what it means to hold someone else's heart in your hands--and how to begin to repair your own when it's been broken in two." (Quoted from book jacket)

Once you start reading the first page of this book you will be hooked. Throughout all the sadness and struggle, no matter how hard you want to put this book down to avoid the pain you can't, it's like a magnet is pulling you into the story. The reason for this is the writing. After reading Pay it Forward i knew Catherine Ryan Hyde was a brilliant writer, but this book blew me away. The plot flawlessly twisted and took some turns that i never would have expected, but seemed prefect for this story. Anyone who hasn't read this book really needs to. ( )