If you could choose one person to bring back to life, who would it be?

Seventeen-year-old Lake Deveraux is the survivor of a car crash that killed her best friend and boyfriend. Now she faces an impossible choice. Resurrection technology changed the world, but strict laws allow just one resurrection per citizen, to be used on your eighteenth birthday or lost forever.

You only have days to decide.

For each grieving family, Lake is the best chance to bring back their child.

For Lake, it's the only way to reclaim a piece of happiness after her own family fell apart.

And Lake must also grapple with a secret--and illegal--vow she made years ago to resurrect someone else. Someone who's not even dead yet.

Who do you need most?

As Lake's eighteenth birthday nears, secrets and betrayals new and old threaten to eclipse her cherished memories. Lake has one chance to save a life...but can she live with her choice?

Super interesting idea. On your eighteenth birthday, you can "resurrect" anyone whose body has not been cremated and did not die as a result of suicide or assisted suicide. The main character, Lake Devereaux is about to turn eighteen and suddenly the choice she had to make is anything but simple.
I really enjoyed this book for a variety of reasons; there are twists I didn't anticipate and that doesn't happen very often, I liked the ethical dilemma about giving people the power to bring someone back to life, and I liked that the book had more to it than just a teen romance.
Due to the mature content, it is probably best suited to very mature grade 8 students and higher. There are references to premarital sex, drug and alcohol use.
This will be a book that will NOT ever be sitting on the shelf - guaranteed. ( )

Lake hat noch 23 Tage bis zu Ihrem Geburtstag, an dem sie achtzehn wird. 23 Tage, um eine Entscheidung zu treffen, die über Leben und Tod bestimmt. Niemand möchte so eine Entscheidung treffen und auch für Lake ist es nicht leicht.
Lake lebt in einer Zeit, in der man das Recht hat, an seinem 18. Geburtstag einen Menschen wieder zum Leben zu erwecken. Dafür gibt es strenge Regeln. Lakes Bruder Maat ist nach einem Unfall querschnittsgelähmt und findet sein Leben nicht mehr lebenswert. Sie könnte sich für ihn entscheiden, wenn er vor ihrem Geburtstag zu Tode käme, aber er darf weder durch Sterbehilfe noch durch Suizid sterben. Er wäre danach wieder gesund. Aber da sind auch noch Lakes beste Freunde Will und Penny, die durch einen Unfall gestorben sind. Die Familien der beiden versuchen Einfluss auf Lake zu nehmen, was ihr die sowieso schwierige Entscheidung noch mehr erschwert.
Wir können Lakes Geschichte bis zum Geburtstag erleben, erfahren aber zwischendurch auf immer wieder Begebenheiten aus der Vergangenheit.
Das Buch liest sich sehr leicht, auch wenn es um ein schwieriges Thema geht. Darf jemand das Recht haben, ober Leben und Tod zu entscheiden? Vielleicht will der Erweckte ja gar nicht mehr zurück in diese Welt. Warum also sollte man einem so jungen Menschen eine solche Bürde auferlegen? Dürfen Andere verlangen, dass man sich in ihrem Interesse entscheidet?
Lake muss sich alle diese Fragen stellen und eine Entscheidung treffen. Wie die aussieht, sei jetzt einmal dahingestellt. Aber indem sie sich mit dem Thema beschäftigt, wird sie auf jeden Fall reifer.
Lake hatte eine besonders innige Beziehung zu Penny und Will, denn ihre Eltern haben sich nach Matts Unfall nur um ihn gekümmert und Lake geriet ins Hintertreffen.
Ich konnte sehr gut mit Lake fühlen, die innerlich zerrissen ist, und hätte nicht in ihrer Haut stecken mögen. Zum Glück hat sie einen neuen Freund, der zu ihr steht und ihr Halt gibt. Aber auch Matt konnte ich gut verstehen.
Es ist ein hoch emotionales Buch, dass streckenweise auch sehr traurig ist. Aber ich kann diese tiefgründige und berührende Geschichte nur empfehlen. ( )

If you’re looking for something super sci-fi and devious, this is not for you. More contemporary than anything else, This is Not the End by Chandler Baker is a very interesting YA book that I initially disliked but really ended up enjoying it by the end. The reasons for which will likely be made in a spoiler vlog in the next day or two. That said, yes, there is something devious, and yes, there is a kernel of sci-fi, but where the heart of the story lies is with Lake facing her truths and the truths of expectations unknowingly placed.

The premise, I have to be honest, feels a little flawed. That there is a procedure that can bring people back to life, but can’t actually be modified to help the living is weird. I know, sci-fi, suspension of belief, but there has to be something there to make it rational, and for me there wasn’t. Then, to limit that choice of resurrection to someone on their 18th birthday and only then, is just weird and feels arbitrary. Why 18? I suppose, for the story’s sake, it needs to be 18, but in general, it just doesn’t seem realistic.

Aside from the unrealistic premise, the story was actually really, really good! I was completely absorbed by it, right there with Lake trying to decide WHO she should resurrect, and then trying to figure out WHAT was actually going on. I had figured out a major spoiler fairly early on, but Baker still managed to surprise me with it as I hadn’t guessed the entire truth. Untangling the relationships Lake has with her family, friends, and boyfriend was well written. It felt so realistic, which is what ultimately won me over — because I could see these characters as actual people and actual situations.

Ultimately, This is Not the End by Chandler Baker isn’t about a cool sci-fi premise, or about some shadowy black market world. It’s about people, relationships, and how they all face their traumas and deal with the repercussions. Solid pacing, good use of the dual time framing technique, and incredibly human characters all make this a solid recommendation from me.

// I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this title. // ( )

At the age of 18, you are allowed to bring one person back to life. Many forego using their resurrection, but weeks before Lake turns 18, her best friend and boyfriend are killed in a car accident. Throw into the mix a quadriplegic brother, who is planning on dying the day before her birthday, so he can be reborn whole. Lake has a horrible choice to make, who to bring back.

This book had a very interesting premise. I wish the author had gone more into the idea of one resurrection at 18 and explained a bit more about the process. However, this is a book for teenagers, and they are probably more interested in her emotional dilemma. Overall, a well written and engaging book. 4 stars. ( )