Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson

An icy road. A car crash.
A family changed forever.

Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident. But the image she carried resentfully of Hannah is challenged when she finds her dead sister’s diary and begins to read. Apparently Hannah’s final year wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.

Caught in a pattern of blaming each other, the Josephson family is falling apart. Their father has left, their mother is mixing opiates and alcohol, little sister Maddie has been shipped off to spend the whole summer with their grandmother, and Kiera feels utterly alone with her grief and anger. A summer job helping at a park in a poor section of town provides a friend and a purpose.

But it’s Hannah’s diary that fills her thoughts. For the first time in years, she feels close to the sister she’s lost. But can the knowledge she gleans about her possibly help her patch back together the family that seems determined to implode?

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About The Author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.


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My Review

As I began this book I soon realized this is a story about a parent’s worst nightmare, the loss of a child. The author gives us an in-depth look into the lives of the survivors, and it is apparent that there might not be a whole family unit by the end of this read.
The family consists of parents, and three children, and when the oldest is killed, the aftermath of guilt and loss becomes overpowering for those left behind, and we journey with the survivors, not knowing how this is going to end up.
This story felt so real, and the journey through these pages is not always easy, but it was a compelling read.
You might want to keep the tissues handy, but I recommend this book!

I received this book through the Publisher WhiteFire, and was not required to give a positive review.