WOULD YOU

Sisters Claire and Natalie share a room, clothes and secrets until an accident separates them forever. Pretty and popular, Claire’s in a “perpetual good mood” as she anticipates leaving for college. Although Natalie’s busy with her summer job as a lifeguard and hanging out with her friends, she feels as though Claire’s abandoning her to face 11th grade on her own. Then Claire goes to meet her boyfriend, is hit by a car and ends up on life support in the ICU. Natalie relates the events in the week leading up to and following Claire’s accident in the present tense; this device is particularly effective as she describes the profound shock, disbelief and grief as she, their parents and their friends try to cope with the reality of Claire’s situation. Afraid to imagine life without her sister, Natalie’s honest enough to know Claire’s chances of survival are slim. The narrative’s strength is in its candor: At one point Natalie sees Claire’s new laptop and thinks it will be hers now, then instantly feels remorse. A realistic and very credible account of how one family’s life is inexplicably and unexpectedly shattered. (Fiction. 14 & up)