How to Save a Life

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr follows two girls Jill and Mandy who find their lives intertwining.  Jill is recovering from her fathers death and she has to deal with her Mother who has decided to invite a pregnant stranger into her home whose baby she is going to adopt.  Mandy is scared and pregnant and running away from an abusive home.  The two have to figure out how to move on with their lives and decide how they are going to live.

This is a very good book and I loved the dual perspective of the two girls who are both very different and going through different issues that intersect and while this was an issue book it wasn't filled with excess trauma.  The one problem I had with the book (and it's a problem I have with all pregnant teen books) is that the pregnancy and adoption ending worked out just a little perfectly.  I really enjoyed the book and finished it quickly.

Appropriateness:  The main characters are in their late teens.  There is sexual content but nothing excessively descriptive.  There is also discussion of child sexual and emotional abuse.  I would recommend this book to teens 14+