This book was ok just wasn't for me wasn't anything to do with the author it just wasn't my type of book

Gabe just wants a normal senior year. But his brother, Josh, is in prison after drunkenly crashing his car and killing four people, leaving just the sixteen year old girl alive, and orphaned. How can Gabe possibly have a normal senior year when he is living the repercussions of his brother's mistakes, and can’t move on because he absolutely cannot forgive his brother?

By the time Gabe signs up for his senior service project, there aren’t many options left. He opts for a math tutoring position, and finds himself in a difficult situation. The girl he’s signed up to tutor is named Sophie, and suffers from amnesia and seizures after being involved in a car accident that killed her family. Sophie doesn’t remember anything from before the accident, but Gabe certainly does, and he is all too aware that he has placed himself directly in the middle of the mess his brother caused. And yet, Gabe can’t ask for a different service project - he has to try and help put things back together. His brother ruined Sophie’s life, and he has a chance to maybe help her, if only a little.

There is a very big message of forgiveness in this book. Gabe finds it very hard to even think about talking to Josh, he can’t understand how Josh could have been so reckless to cause the accident in the first time, let alone how he doesn’t seem to hold any remorse for what happened. Sophie doesn’t remember anything from before the accident, so she doesn’t remember the family she lost and has a disconnection from the accident, unlike Gabe. But as situations change, they both have to come to terms with what happened, and Gabe grows to realise that maybe forgiveness just takes a while to come around.

It seems almost inevitable that Gabe and Sophie’s relationship will evolve to more than friends. The progression is slow, and paced perfectly. Sophie doesn’t jump into anything because she is unsure how she feels, and Gabe is afraid of hurting her after she suffered so much at the hands of Josh. But secrets threaten to tear everything apart – Sophie doesn’t know that Gabe is Josh’s brother, and Gabe keeps the fact that he is tutoring Sophie a secret from everyone he knows. Secrets in relationships are also a big part of this book, and they never end well. It’s all the secrets that cause the wondering as to whether forgiveness is possible.

There are several characters in this book that I absolutely loved. Sophie and Gabe are obvious favourites, but also Jess, one of Gabe’s best friends, and Joe, Sophie’s seizure alert dog. I don’t think anyone could help but love Joe! I definitely related to Gabe’s obsessiveness over being the best he possibly can be. He strives for perfection and is never satisfied with second best. I think Gabe in particular came across as a very real character. He struggles with very real problems, and his reactions are depicted wonderfully.

There are a lot of real and difficult topics covered in this book. After the accident, Gabe swears off drinking for fear of doing the same, but plenty of his teenage friends don’t. Parties with heavy drinking, and drug use, are depicted, as well as Josh being in prison and struggling with alcoholism. There are some difficult decisions that have to be made with regards to an unplanned pregnancy, although I can’t talk about that too much for fear of giving away the story. The characters in this book are teenagers, barely adults, and yet they are all dealing with very adult problems, most of the time without the support of the adults around them. In addition to all of this, Sophie’s physical needs, such as a limp and her need for a seizure alert dog, are all intertwined with the story very realistically. Not everyone feels pity for her, or understands, but instead many make fun of her, and she struggles a lot. It is finding a friend in Gabe that allows Sophie to build confidence, and realise that she is strong enough to do what she wants.

This is a book that I read in any spare moment I had. I couldn’t leave the characters for too long without missing them, and I clung to every word. As the book neared the end, I did start to grow a little concerned that there would be a cliffhanger, or an unresolved ending that would be picked up in a second book, but that was not the case. Everything came together in a neat little bow and the ending was definitely one that I was satisfied with, although I’m not going to say any more about it! I did absolutely love reading this book, it is most certainly one that I will read again and again until I know the story inside and out. If you are a fan of YA romance, this book is a must!

Saving Sophie by Debbie Schrack, 292 pages. Fire and Ice Young Adult Books, 2022. $14.
Language: R (108 swears, 2 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Everything has gone downhill since Gabe’s brother, Josh, caused a fatal accident as a drunk driver. Not only has Gabe (17yo) had to deal with rumors at school, but his mother is pushing Gabe to forgive Josh as if Gabe is the one in the wrong, and he’s being forced to visit Josh in jail on Thanksgiving – his favorite holiday! The only bright spot has been tutoring Sophie after school, but even that is complicated: Sophie is the only survivor in her family from the accident Josh caused, and she doesn’t know that Gabe and Josh are related.
Forgiveness is hard, whether giving it or asking for it. Gabe struggles throughout the book on both sides of forgiveness, and it’s easier to see why others should forgive than why he should. Schrack invites readers to learn with Gabe on this journey of forgiveness. However, I found it frustrating to see Gabe procrastinate making good decisions, which made reading the last half of the book more painful to read than it should have been as I waited for the dramatic consequences I knew would follow.
Gabe is half Italian and shown as White on the cover, Sophie is described as “pale” multiple times in the text but appears to have darker skin on the cover, Matt is White, and Jess is Black. The mature content rating is for drug use; underage drinking; mentions of sex, condoms, boners, and rape; discussions of abortion; innuendo; and sexting. The violence rating is for fist fighting, discussions of a bad car accident, and mentions of gun use.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I was given this book as an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review …

The premise for this story gripped me straight away - and while I didn’t fall in love with the characters I did like them and I empathized with the situations they found themselves in. For me - Gabe was a little unrealistic and the ending was rushed …

Overall - I’m glad I read it but it’s not one I would revisit

Intense, heartbreaking and completely captivating, Saving Sophie is an intense, high heat read. Filled with pain and heartache, alongside hope, growth and healing this book gave me all the FEELS.

Gabe is a perfectionist, but he cannot no matter how hard he tries find his perfect girl. Never in 1 million years what he thought it would be the only one of his brothers victims to live after the drunk driving accident that put her parents brother and little sister in the grave and his brother Josh in prison. What are the chances that his senior project would be to help her with math and what are the chances that she would be the one.? The only problem is Sophie doesn’t know his brother was the one that caused her to forget, have seizures and be an orphan he has other problems as well like his best friend Matt thanks he cheated with his longtime girlfriend Jeff and worse than that he is now going to Sophie‘s school. He knows he hast to tell Sophie Kenny work up the courage to do it before someone else does? This book was so so good! A definite five star read! Gabe is still young enough to believe in his forever love that to him is who Sophie is but if he doesn’t work up the coverage to tell her he could lose her… Forever! The story quickly progresses in the tension mounts as he tries to decide what to do and it is so good this book could be read by any age I am 49 and thoroughly enjoyed it. I received this book from net galley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

It was just a lot. Overall, I loved the concept of the story. I loved Sophie’s character, but I just wish she was actually in the story more. There was just a lot of dramatics that I didn’t think were 100% necessary. I wish we could’ve seen more of Sophie and Gabe and they’re story together and less from literally everybody else.

This teen romance was such a vulnerable, gripping and realistic story about finding forgiveness and your purpose in life.

Seventeen-year-old Gabe Hunter is struggling with his inner demons (or as he thinks of it, the chimpanzees racing around in his mind) and all thoughts about his half-brother Josh in prison after a drunk driving accident that killed four people, the strained relationship with his mother, worry about the future and problems with his friends who don’t understand him anymore. After the accident, Gabe is so filled of anger and hatred for his brother, and struggles to forgive him (because how can you forgive the unforgivable?). He also keeps thinking of the only survivor of the accident, a sixteen-year-old girl named Sophie, who has now been left an orphan. So, when he gets assigned to do math tutoring for the very same Sophie, he sees it as a way to make amends for his brother. What he hadn’t counted on was falling in love with her, that she would be the “forever-girl” he’s been dreaming about.

This was such a heartfelt, sweet and vulnerable story. I rooted both for Gabe and Sophie and the problems they dealt with were very realistically described. The author Debbie Schrack has spent her professional life working with children and young adults with special needs and learning struggles, and it’s clear that she drew from her own experience when writing this book.

I really appreciated Gabe’s character growth and how we readers got to follow him on this beautiful journey of finding a way in his heart to forgive his brother – not for what he did, but for being human and making a mistake. And Sophie was such a wonderful character, who unfairly had her life shattered and had to struggle with amnesia, learning disabilities, seizures and the feeling of being a “freak” in school. My heart ached so much for her!

There was a lot going on in this book, perhaps a bit too much, with a side plot drama with Gabe’s best friend Matt and his girlfriend, that was handled quite badly by all parties involved. I also wished that the supporting characters could have been a little more fleshed out.

But overall, even though this book dealt with a lot of heavy and sad topics, it was such a sweet, heartwarming and hopeful story, showing the power of love and forgiveness.

I absolutely loved this book! I I saw this book as an option on Netgalley and thought I need to read this book it’s right in my wheelhouse. I can’t believe this is Debbie’s debut as author! We meet Gabe who is riddled with guilt after his brother Josh drove drunk and killed 4 people a mom, dad and two kids. There is one sole surviver Sophie but she has a TBI ( traumatic brain injury) and as a result has seizures plus amnesia. Gabe is angry and can not forgive his brother for what he did. He thinks about Sophie a lot wondering what she is like and how she is doing. Gabe then has to do a senior project and picks tutoring someone in math. The person he tutors ends up being named Sophie. Gabe thinks to himself “ it can’t be here there are lots of Sophie’s right?” Wrong it turns out be the Sophie from the accident. Gabe starts to tutor her and through the time spent together Sophie learns to excel in math and starts getting parts of her memory back. Gabe has fallen head over heels for Sophie but how does he tell her the truth? I loved that we saw a seizure alert dog and epilepsy representation. In the disability filed that I work in I have experienced supporting people with epilepsy and I found the author was spot on. I loved Joe he is such a good dog for Sophie! I liked the way Gabe’s anxiety was explained through monkeys and chimps. Gabe is extremely smart and they always say the smartest people have the crowded brains. My favourite quote from the book is “ Almost every element here on Earth, including the ones that make up humans, we’re formed at the heart of a star.” I could go on and on about how beautifully written this book was! Everyone needs to pick this up! Highly recommend!
Can’t thank you enough Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for this amazing experience!

A sweet high school drama romance.

Gabe strives to be the best of the best. All his plans derail when his brother goes to prison for drunk driving. The family he hit only had one survivor, Sophie. He’s never met her but can’t help but be devastated for her and what she’s lost. When he decides to tutor for his senior project he can’t believe his luck when it’s Sophie who needs the tutor. As time goes on and their friendship grows, he learns a lot about himself.

A sad but beautiful journey. You really feel for Sophie and everything she deals with. I wanted to give her a big hug. Gabe is so sweet with her. Lots of drama which I didn’t care for but played a big part on the story. I wish Gabe spoke more of his feelings to Matt.