Look, I'm a sucker for a book that is going to have me bawling my eyes out before the end, so of course I had to pick up What You Left Me -- the premise promised me a proper ugly cry, and it did not disappoint. I love that Martin and Petra are just friends, because I think it made the situation feel even more poignant and authentic. There are so many books out there dealing with loss and tragedy in high school relationships, but focusing on a tragedy in a friendship felt more universal and upped the stakes for me. In all honesty, the storyline didn't unfold the way I expected, but I still enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different that will probably make them cry but also leave them feeling hopeful too.

I tried reading this book but sadly I didn't make it very far while reading this book. I think that the different point of views made it a bit difficult to understand . I usually love this author's books and I hoped that this one would work out for me.

Honestly I forgot the synopsis of this one so I was totally hooked on Petra and Martin's meet-cute and was devastated when Martin ended up in a coma only a few short pages later. I feel like I might have adored this had it been a contemporary romance, but this is definitely not that. It''s heavy, and hard to get into. It was also hard for me to tell who's chapter I was reading when the POV switched, as they weren't labeled and the voices weren't that distinct.

Archived before I was able to read and review. I am still interested in reading and will provide a updated review then. Thank you for accepting my request for WHAT YOU LEFT ME by Bridget Morrissey.

I really wanted to love this book. It has a great premise and I loved the characters but I couldn’t tell them apart. The POV’s weren’t marked and they switched after small paragraphs sometimes. I love a good dual POV novel, but the two characters have to be distinct enough that there’s a point to hearing from both of them. This one didn’t have that for me. I didn’t realize there were even multiple POV’s until like 15 pages in. I think this could’ve had a great impact and been just as relevant as If I Stay had the characterization and voices been better and they were more distinct. Great plot and message, bad execution.

CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT

This was a tough book to read. The content was very raw and emotional and I had to take breaks between various chapters. What You Left Me is a story about love and friendship and about survival. You will be captivated by the characters from the first page until the last sentence.

Something about this story was magical. It's these moments we experience and people we meet that draw us so openly into this world. I enjoyed it.

When I'd requested the book, I was really excited and as I started getting into it, I got more and more disinterested. This books isn't what it seems. The author has already mentioned that it deals with the aftermath of sexual assault on Petra, so, trigger warning! I failed to connect with any of the characters nor did I get into the whole magical realism thing (at least I think thats what it was) and frankly speaking, the book dragged on without any real material.

I didn't like the writing style and it was a bore tbh.

What You Left Me is an odd mixture of reality and absurdist that somehow is able to work. I love this book so much. The character development is amazing, especially in Petra. I wish there had been so more character development for Martin but at the same time I think his whole purpose in the story was to help others develop.
I personally love the idea of tragedy bringing people together who normally wouldn't gravitate towards one another. It's sad but true that when something bad happens we tend to meet and befriend new people. It's just one of the ways that good things can come out of bad situations. I especially love how Petra and Martins respective friend groups already have connections to each other that they never even saw until the accident.
While this book is sad and at times it really hits you I would still say this is a heartwarming book. It makes you see that good things come out of bad situations and it restores hope.
While the whole plot idea of Martin appearing in everyone's dreams seems weird, the way the author writes it makes it seem like the most natural thing ever. And the way that the author switches character point-of-view is seamless.
Overall, a well written and uplifting story.

Ack! I'm so sorry that I didn't get to finish reading this advance copy before it was archived! I loved the premise and the writing, though, and I look forward to purchasing a hard copy when it's out.

Thank you for the opportunity to read the ARC. It means so much to educators as we decide how to stock our in-classroom libraries and what books to recommend to students.

When I requested the book, I definitely had a different kind of story in mind. The premise was good but to be honest this book just felt... weird. And not in a good kind of weird. There are times where this book confused the hell out of me. I didn't connect with any of the characters and I actually wanted to dnf'ed this so bad

DNF around 30%.

I might come back to this later, but I really doubt it. I'm not a huge fan of the book so far - there are multiple indistinguishable perspectives that switch in confusing ways, and I don't think the idea of shared dreams is being executed all that well - but besides that, this is getting too close for comfort to some personal stuff and I just really don't want to read anymore. I would prefer to not give this a rating, since I read so little of it and didn't have strong feelings about the book's quality because of that, but NetGalley is requiring that I include a star rating with the review. The two-star rating included here (which I did not put on Goodreads) is largely arbitrary.

What You Left Me is a great young adult story about Petra and Martin. I really enjoyed this book and the two lead charcters.

I thought I wouldn't like this book after reading the synopsis, because it just didn't sound like my kind of book. It really impressed me, because I was enthralled, even though I usually don't get into this type of book. It captivated me, it kept me interested, and it ended up being a great read.

I got an ARC of this book.

I liked the idea behind this book more than I liked the book. So let's start there. The book follows Petra as she tries to help out a boy she has just met deal with being hit by a car in a drunk driving accident. The twist here is that he is not awake for this, he is in a coma. So they communicate with dreams. It was a bit more woo-woo than I wanted, but it didn't really focus on that. Instead it was  more about the people around Martin taking steps forward.

There was a random subplot of Petra dealing with an attempted rape. It was hinted at a lot and then it was shown a few times. She hadn't dealt with it and the consequences could have ruined her future. It was refreshing to see a character heal from an attempt. It wasn't a full blown, graphic rape scene like a lot of sexual trauma in books has become. Instead Petra was able to escape by biting his hand before too much had happened. She was strong and scared and traumatized. This was not talked about on the back cover, so it felt like I really needed to be graphic with that. The author included a trigger warning in her review on Goodreads, but that didn't help me when I stumbled on it. 

The gay sub plot was weird. It felt rushed. It also felt like all of the plots of this book were a bit rushed and fueled by alcohol. There would been no plot at all without drinking outside of Petra's sexual assault. 

The formatting could have been drastically better. There was no distinction between who was the narrator. You had to guess, but all of the characters sound the same. Most of the time, I didn't know who was speaking until they mentioned someone else or they mentioned their trauma...I mean their one character trait that could be used to tell them apart. 

So while I liked the idea of the book and generally liked reading it, this isn't a book I would tell everyone to go out and read immediately. If you can look past the formatting then the story is enjoyable.

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. The writing was good, but I felt the story moved a bit too slow. I liked all the characters, but the way the book was set up made it very confusing who’s POV I was reading. I also thought the dream sequences were odd. This may work for others, but ultimately did not work for me.
* ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the advance reader copy, What You Left Me by debut author, Bridget Morrissey, in exchange for an honest review. Teens will enjoy this stunning debut, that examines through alternating perspectives and dream sequences, the power of love, friendship, hopes, and dreams when two teens, Petra and Martin, seated next to each other (alphabetically) meet for the first time at their graduation from high school. Petra has a secret so she holds Martin’s antics at arms-length, but she really enjoys his kidding, prodding, and agrees to attend his graduation party that night. Morrissey has a real gift for description and drama as she treats the reader to Petra and Martin’s friends and the way they talk, laugh, cry, and communicate with each other. I really enjoyed these teens, their honesty and fierce protectiveness toward each other. Much will be learned through the time these new friends spend together as they gather in the hospital, waiting for news about Martin after he and his best friend are in a car accident. Verdict – a must read for teens!

3.5 stars

I loved the premise of this story and even though I try so hard not to read angsty things, I couldn’t resist.

I liked Petra and Martin. They’re both interesting MCs and their relationship was fairly captivating. There’s a pretty large cast of characters here, but I never felt overwhelmed.

Plot wise, it was a struggle to settle into. All of the POVs sounded exactly the same and there isn’t any indication of whose turn it is. For that reason alone, I wanted to DNF and seriously thought about it around 35%. Somehow in a last ditch effort to try, I kept reading...and I’m mildly glad I did. This was a great story of friendship, how everyone is intertwined, and how everyone keeps a few secrets.

Overall, it was the characters who kept me reading. I was intrigued enough was their individual situations, that I couldn’t help but want to know how it ended.

And FYI: there is talk of sexual assault. One of the characters is assaulted and it is referenced often.

**Huge thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for providing the arc free of charge**

This debut novel by Morrissey struck a chord with me and I’d recommend that others read it. I read it in two sittings, it took me maybe 3/4 hours total. It’s perfect to curl up with and remember your tissues, there were a few times that I had a few tears.

Initially set over the course of what is effectively a long weekend, this is a first person, dual point of view, YA contemporary novel. Our protagonists, Martin aka ‘Fly’ and Petra are both likeable. I found their perspectives complimented each other and I didn’t find myself wanting to skip one for the other as I sometimes can feel when reading a book with more than one POV.

The secondary characters were a cool bunch and I really liked it that the two groups merged. Aside from Fly, I’d say my favourite was probably Turrey, he came across as a really genuine character and I liked that.

Martin’s parts were quirky and his voice came through for me; I wanted to be his friend and could tell why he is so beloved to his friends and family. It’s made clear from the offset that Petra has a ‘Secret’ and I was intrigued to find out what it was. Martin and Petra’s story wound together well and I thought that how they communicated worked well; it is a clever idea.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were parts that I found difficult to stomach, and it reminded me a lot of some other YA books I've read recently, but all in all it was great!