Gr 7 Up-In the hours following a tragic bridge collapse, a group of young adults gather in the waiting room at Boston General Hospital to await news of their loved ones. Two siblings, Jason and Alexa, are waiting to hear about their parents. The death of a close friend, coupled with an agonizing secret that is tearing Jason apart, has placed a strain on their relationship. Scott is waiting for news from his girlfriend, Aimee. They've been through a rough patch. Scott knows he's been a jerk, and he just needs to talk to her again. Skyler is waiting to hear about the fate of her sister Kate. Skyler and her sister were raised by their grandparents, who are now in Cambodia. Kate is the closest person Skyler has to a mother. She doesn't know how she would possibly carry on without her. This moving story is told in alternating chapters, offering each character's point of view. As listeners anxiously waits for news with the teens, secrets are revealed that offer insight into the lives of the youths and the ways these diverse strangers are far more similar than they are different. However, the narration by Holly Linneman is slightly flat and doesn't quite convey the anxiety and tension expected given the subject matter. VERDICT An additional purchase where realistic fiction is popular or where the print book circulates well.-Lisa E. Hubler, Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, OH © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In the wake of a bridge collapse in Boston, five teenagers from different backgrounds find themselves in a hospital waiting room. Through flashbacks, overlapping perspectives, a vividly described setting, and an effective use of dramatic irony, Lawson carefully develops each character's story and their accidental relationships with one another. Regardless of its neat ending, this debut novel is a worthwhile study of tragedy's wake. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Reader Linneman's emotional, empathetic narration draws readers into Lawson's YA novel about a tragic bridge collapse that brings together several teenagers who meet in the waiting room of Boston General Hospital. When the Tobin Bridge collapses into Boston's Mystic River, the initial death toll is over 200. As Skylar, Morgan, and siblings Alexa and Jason wait to hear whether their loved ones survived the collapse, they form connections with each other. Rather than a straightforward reading, actor Linneman captures the emotional toil of each character over the course of that one harrowing evening, as well as in flashbacks revealing their relationships to the victims. Her voice trembles tearful, joyful, loving, or scared--depending on what the moment requires. This brings an immediacy and vibrancy to such lines as, "The first time he kissed Kyle, Jason had felt like he was both lifting off the earth and sinking into it." Linneman also creates distinctive voices for the characters, most memorably the strong Boston accent of Morgan. Linneman's impressive narration elevates this excellent novel. Ages 12-up. A Razorbill hardcover. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

In the wake of a bridge collapse, several Boston-area teens find themselves at a hospital to hope and mostly wait for word on their loved ones. Alexa and her brother, Jason, consider life without their parents. Scott regrets the way things ended with his girlfriend. Skyler tries to summon the strength of her older sister, Kate. And Morgan, already touched by death, reaches out to bring them all together. What results is a remarkable story that explores growing up through the lens of mortality, told through multiple points of view and featuring flashbacks that allow readers to gain insights into each character. Lawson is adept at gripping the reader while eschewing typical tropes of YA literature (e.g., romantic entanglements and social drama). Rather, the spotlight is on the relationships the teens have with loved ones, the relationships they begin with each other, and the insights gleaned from a harrowing experience. Young readers looking for a change of pace will be rewarded by this quiet yet powerful meditation on life and death.--Suarez, Reinhardt Copyright 2017 Booklist

A lot can happen in the hospital waiting room in the wake of a tragedy.When Boston's Tobin Bridge collapses into the Mystic River, it takes nearly 200 drivers and passengers with it. A third-person omniscient narrator alternates through the perspectives of five teen charactersstrangers who are connected to the victimsas they wait with hundreds of others at the hospital for news about the incident. Siblings Jason and Alexa are "well-to-do New England WASPs" from Back Bay whose lives have already been transformed after the death of a close friendcloseted Jason's secret boyfriend. Cambodian-American Skyler, who is raised by her grandparents, is mixed up in an abusive relationship with an upperclassman. Scott and Morgan, who are both white, have their own secret back stories. Vanity Fair film critic Lawson's teen fiction debut is a careful exploration of the rippling effects of tragedy. Alternating viewpoints give multiple sides of the same story, while flashbacks give the important contexts of the characters' lives before the accident. Boston-savvy readers will know and appreciate all the local references. But the promising premise doesn't quite deliver and is spoiled by a too-tidy conclusion. Patient readers will fall for the characters; others will wonder if it's worth the waiteven with lives on the line. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.