Every Last Promise

by Kristin Halbrook

Overview

Perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson and Gayle Forman, Every Last Promise is a provocative and emotional novel about a girl who must decide between keeping quiet and speaking up after witnessing a classmate's sexual assault.

Kayla saw something at the party that she wasn't supposed to. But she hasn't told anyone.

No one knows the real story about what happened that night—about why Kayla was driving the car that ran into a ditch after the party, about what she saw in the hours leading up to the accident, and about the promise she made to her friend Bean before she left for the summer.

Now Kayla's coming home for her senior year. If Kayla keeps quiet, she might be able to get her old life back. If she tells the truth, she risks losing everything—and everyone—she ever cared about.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062121295
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/21/2015
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	622 KB
Age Range:	13 Years

About the Author

Kristin halbrook is the author of Nobody But Us. When she isn't appeasing her sense of wanderlust, she lives in Seattle, where gray skies and good coffee make ideal writing conditions, and where fine company is provided by her husband and a gaggle of pixies.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Nobody But Us: “Raw, immediate, and utterly unflinching. A thought-provoking read.” — ALA Booklist

“Two teenagers on the run, á la Bonnie and Clyde, for Gayle Forman fans.” — Shelf Awareness

“Perfect for readers who like to be on the edge of their seats, perhaps with a box of Kleenex at hand. Recommended for readers of Lisa McMann’s and Patricia McCormick’s books.” — School Library Journal

“A dark, romantic wild ride reminiscent of Thelma and Louise.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Praise for Nobody But Us: “Raw, immediate, and utterly unflinching. A thought-provoking read.

ALA Booklist

Two teenagers on the run, á la Bonnie and Clyde, for Gayle Forman fans.

Shelf Awareness

02/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—Unlike her three best friends—Jen, Bean, and Selena—high school junior Kayla wants to remain in their small town of Winbrook, MO, forever. When Kayla causes a car wreck after a party that kills a classmate and injures Jen's twin and high school football star, Jay, Kayla spends her summer with her aunt in Kansas City. Upon her return, she is a temporary outcast and the foursome becomes a threesome with Bean forging new friendships. Though Kayla pretends not to remember what happened the night of the accident, she does. She remembers wanting to crash the car and the reasons why. Told in alternating chapters between the spring before and the fall after the accident, Halbrook slowly reveals the truth of what happened that night. The author explores the effects a "boys will be boys" mentality can have on a town, and how personal safety and comfort are often valued more than a friend's justice. Though readers may be conflicted over Kayla's decisions and priorities, most will connect with her strong characterizaton and feel her come alive on the page with genuine turmoil. VERDICT Halbrook presents a fictionalized exploration of why so many sexual assault cases are never reported that is on par with yet different from Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (Farrar, 1999).—Adrienne L. Strock, Teen Library Manager, Nashville Public Library

School Library Journal

★ 2015-01-20
A small-town girl is forced to choose between doing the right thing or fitting in after a night of unforgettable violence. Kayla adores her hometown of Winbrooke, Missouri. While her three best friends, Jen, Selena and Bean, all dream of moving away to attend college, she hopes never to leave. But everything changes the night of Jen's party, when a boy is killed in an accident involving Kayla. After a summer spent with her aunt in Kansas City while she recovers, nothing can prepare Kayla for the way her once-beloved town has turned on her. The halls of the high school are filled with whispers, and even Jen and Selena greet her with hostility. But Kayla witnessed a rape at that party, and it led to her role in the accident—and some people know this. If she admits to any of it, she risks losing even more than she already has, forever. Lyrically written and ebbing with suspense, the story of Kayla's hometown implicates everyone involved for their silence and for the grotesque hero worship that guarantees it. Kayla's no hero, either, and her journey to finding her truth is as authentically difficult as they come. Halbrook interleaves the stories of before and after chapter by chapter, leading characters and readers to the devastating conclusion. A devastating, important examination of the far-reaching, insidious nature of rape culture. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Review