Sarah Wylie

Okay. So I just finished reading this novel for the second time. And before you read the review please note TWO THINGS: 1. I do not usually read YA (I'm an adult fiction author... adult as in--- for grown ups, not erotic or anything) and 2. I'm biased because I've known the author online for a few years.

I've read many of the reviews of this book, which is why I read it again. I'd like to take a moment to address the issues that many readers have with Dani. (The MC of the book)

Dani is show more reeling from the reality that her twin sister has Cancer. AND she (even though they are twins) is not a match for any sort of cellular treatment. Here's the thing. When the book opens, Dani has already been going through ALL THE FEELINGS. So, it seems very organic to me that she would be defiant, defensive, and downright ANGRY. And this type of reaction makes many moments (when we see the REAL Dani shining through) even more powerful. I wanted to take her in my arms and love her. I wanted to nod my head and say "YEP, That's EXACTLY how I would react.)

All in all, this book has many things going for it: 1. It's a page turner. (I have to be involved with a book from page ONE for me to finish it) 2. The situation and characterizations in the books are REAL. Not sappy, or sophomoric. Real. 3. The "soft" paranormal element is absolutely fascinating and I found myself thinking about it over and over again in terms of my own life and my own relationships.

This book makes you think. And cry. And laugh! The author is so good at portraying these characters that she can actually make you laugh throughout all the sadness. In the end, it's a hopeful book. And it stays with you long after you leave it. So, that's my review. Thanks for reading it! show less

How would you react if you found out a loved one was facing a battle against cancer? Would you deny the possible and pretend nothing has changed? Would you immerse yourself into the physician's recommended regime to optimize the impact of the medicines? Would you distance yourself against the inevitable? When faced with the potential death of a loved one, everyone reacts differently. All These Lives is a poignant and amazing look into one family's struggle with the news that every family show more hopes never to hear.

Dani is one heroine with whom all readers will empathize. Her pain is physically palpable. Incredibly, Ms. Wylie uses a dearth of words to create this effect, but she does so with tremendous success. Dani is so convinced that she has nine lives that a reader is never completely sure whether it is a figment of her imagination or not. To say that All These Lives packs an emotional powerhouse is an understatement of the highest magnitude.

All These Lives is a gut-wrenching look at sisterhood and family and the impact of terminal illness on these relationships. Ms. Wylie captures the trauma involved and the various coping mechanisms with perfection. As a result, the reader is taken on an emotional roller coaster as they navigate through Dani's multiple and conflicting emotions at the possible loss of her sister. It is an amazingly powerful story that lingers with the reader well after the last page.

Acknowledgments: Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for my e-galley! show less

I love stories about sisters. As a person who both is a sister and has a sister, there's something I can relate to in books about sister-sister relationships. ALL THESE LIVES is absolutely a sister story -- but it's also gripping, romantic, tragic, and chilling.

In ALL THESE LIVES by Sarah Wylie, sixteen-year-old Dani is super close to her fraternal twin Jena. Dani's mother has always joked that she had nine lives. She's survived twice when she shouldn't have, which makes her wonder if her show more mother's sentiment is more than just a sweet joke. Maybe it's true. Which is totally unfair, because while Dani is healthy, even landing auditions as an aspiring actress, her sister Jena has leukemia. The only thing that can save Jena -- whose medicine has made her so sick she can't go to school -- is a bone marrow transplant, and Dani isn't a match. She feels helpless. Until she realizes that every time she gets into a scrape -- and survives -- Jena gets a little better.

What starts as an experiment to help her sister quickly becomes a whole new level of self-destructive. Dani has reached a breaking point, and will seemingly stop at nothing to save her sister, even if it means destroying herself.

ALL THESE LIVES is wrought with suspense and rich with atmosphere. It's a great novel for those who, like me, love sister books and also for those who, um, also like me, read every Lurlene McDaniel ever in 7th grade. ALL THESE LIVES is a page turner, and Dani's voice is expertly written. Definitely one to check out on a rainy summer night. show less

This book is loaded with emotional cliffs and we drop off more than one as we navigate, for a brief time, in the life of Dani Bailey's complicated and decidedly depressing life. Not that Dani does anything to make it better. But her twin, her other half, the one who knows her best, the one who she promised when she was six and had the chicken pox that she would die for her, is dying right before her eyes and she can't stop it. But she has this odd theory that she has nine lives from show more something her mother told her when she survived a car crash when she was little. And she thinks when Jena is at her worst, if she gives up one of those lives, then Jena will feel well. And so she goes from one suicide attempt to another without anyone really understanding what is happening. Except for Jack.

Dani and Jack have known each other since kindergarten and apparently Dani has been bullying Jack verbally since then. She loves to tease him and make him blush. But now that things have changed in her life, the stakes are higher and suddenly Jack is talking back. Somehow he knows what's going on and like everyone else, she uses her humor as a defense to push him away. Dani has essentially become a stranger to herself. She doesn't know who she is without Jena and she's so afraid that Jena is going to die that instead of savoring her moments with her, she pushes her away and stays away as much as possible. But to think "I will go on existing without her. Wear dresses she has never seen. One birthday cake instead of two. The thought is so absurd that I almost burst out laughing." That's what she thinks as tears roll down my cheeks.

Dani's parents make her start seeing a therapist after she crashes a motorcycle and she's still denying herself any help. If they could only see what we could see, they would put her on 24 hour lock down, and I'm not one to kid about that. She is a danger to herself always. Her biggest fear is being left alone without her twin. Seeing that empty chair at the table for four. Being the one left behind. Some of the last pages are the most profound in the story which I can't share of course. But it makes me wonder who is more scared, the person dying or the ones left behind?

Dani does crash land literally. And she has to decide is she going to quit before she even knows if her sister makes it through the cancer? Or is she going to live the life she's been given, considering she's wasting the one she'd do anything to give to her sister, which is impossible. She has a wicked sense of humor, which she keeps despite everything, but I think I'd be exhausted keeping everyone in my life at arm's length. And in the end, she finds out she isn't as enigmatic as she thought.

I'd definitely recommend this for YA readers that can handle death and suicide. It's heavy on both.
I received a copy of this from MacMillan Children's Publishing through NetGalley for review. The opinions expressed are my own. I was not compensated for my review. show less