Reviving Evan

by Venessa Kimball

Just a few short weeks after the school shooting that rocked Braxton Springs, life has resumed. School is back in session, and, with it, the students who bullied Gavin Ferguson into bringing a gun to that fateful pep rally.
But life can never return to normal for Evan and her friends. Gavin is still in the hospital. Asher and Nikki are planning futures away from home. And Brody is pulling away from them all, leaving Evan feeling more alone than ever.
Just when she thinks she’s gotten control of her emotions and secrets, the spirals strike again. Evan struggles to regain her life free of medication and control the urges to fall back into dismantlement. But Brody’s hot-and-cold attitude confuses her, just as the community’s forgiveness to the bullying elite creates a bitter rock around her heart.
Will the suffering inflicted upon Evan and her friends throw her back into a spiral, threatening the life she has rebuilt for herself? Or will she rise above the tragedy and loss, reviving the life she thought she could never have?
Reviving Evan offers an insightful look into the lives of six teenagers thrust together by shared grief, and how those lives are individually affected by love, loss, and painful mistreatment by others. This novella proceeds the best selling novel, Dismantling Evan

Unknown Binding

First published November 13, 2015

About the author

At the age of five, Venessa Kimball began writing books made of scrap paper and bound with colorful yarn. The worlds she created were about beautiful unicorns and heroines. 

In 2012, Venessa published her first novel as a career author. She’s currently independently published.

Venessa is the best-selling author of eight novels. Her books fall into the categories of adult romantic suspense and science fiction/ urban fantasy thriller, as well as psychological/ horror thriller. Venessa has also published a Young Adult coming of age series for her teen readers.

When Venessa’s not plotting a new novel or writing, she’s spending quality time with her family and three dogs in Austin, Texas.

Reviews

[Bryan Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the story of Reviving Evan. You get to see her point of view on the events that took place during the time period of Saving Gavin and Resurrecting Gavin.

Evan has it tough around her as she puts the pieces back together in the final semester of High School. What was holding Evan together has now disappeared. Her life raft is her few remaining friends willing to talk to her. Yet, her tormenters got a slap in the wrist.

To find out how Evan deals with the situation at hand, I suggest you read Reviving Evan.

[Adrienne Cobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Venessa Kimball has done it again! Reviving Evan is the story of what happened to Evan and her friends after the incident with Gavin. If you read "Saving Gavin" and "Resurrecting Gavin," this will help you understand what went on outside of Pembroke and why Gavin did what he did. You will see how Evan and her friends band together to heal and move on with their lives. I loved this book and can't wait for the next one in the series!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so INCREDIBLY frustrated right now! Not with Evan, or the other characters (although they are certainly doing some frustrating things!) but with our society as a whole. We just want to sweep things under the rug, forget they ever happened. And those with the right clout (or the right amount of money) seem to be able to make that happen very easily. This is part of the reason why this series is so important...hopefully it will open up the eyes of those of us who would like to turn a blind eye to bullying, or mental illness, or other terrible things that exist in the lives of our teeneagers. (And adults.)

I'm not going to lie...I'm scared for Evan. And her friends. None of them really seem to be handling this situation the way they should be, and yet I can't blame them. Their just kids for Pete's sake! (They do handle a few things the right way, though. I had a few very proud moments.)

Anyway, I am DYING for the next book, because I don't know how long I can handle them all hanging in the balance like they are right now.

[Jennifer Treviño · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is one everyone should read!
I can not recommend it enough! Prepare yourself as Kimball walks us through the highs & lows of life ripping away our jaded glasses. We are swiftly thrust into this emotion filled journey never completely ready for the revelations we will find. Every tear was well worth it as we get to join in the joys as well as the pain of these families. Anyone who has ever gone to school can relate, & emotions are quickly put to the test.
If you have teens, know a teen, or even just remember being a teen I encourage you to read this! On top of the diverse group of characters, we fall for hard, the story hits many topics & various ways to look at things some may have not noticed before. Reminding us all that
"Life is unstable...but worth reviving."

We don't ever have it all figured out.
Just...Keep searching for your light.
Rejoice your triumphs. Celebrate your accomplishments.
Find your hope. Never give up.
http://jenisbookshelf.blogspot.com/20...

[Karyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t get enough of this series! Not only is the story amazing, the characters are brought to life to the point where the reader can forget they don’t really know these people.

For this book, Reviving Evan, we get to see the story through Evan’s eyes. Each novella brings us a different perspective of the same story and I love it!

Evan is such a strong character but views herself as weak. This pulls the reader in makes us root for Evan throughout the story. We are upset when she is and happy when she is happy. We also grow to love her friends even more and can sympathize with her parents worry.

We also get to see her relationship with Brody. It was great to see it from this angle as we only saw Gavin’s view on this from the last book.

I can’t wait to see what is next for this series!

[Penelope Bartotto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviving Evan is another book in the Contemporary YA/NA series by Venessa Kimball that tackles some hard issues that face teens on a daily basis. Due to the nature of the book I expected more from this tale as it is a companion to the Gavin novellas. A chance to share the impact that the events had on Evan and her friends, it fell a bit flat in action and emotional charge.
As someone who grew up with mental health and anxiety in my own life, I felt that there could have been a stronger reaction presented and more insight into each character's individual response as well as group response. There are some good aspects that were addressed, but in essence, it didn't fulfill the standard that Kimball has generally set for herself in my humble opinion.

[Charity · Rating 4 out of 5]

For full review please go to: 5girlsbookreviews.blogspot.com, Twitter @camartinez and Facebook "5 Girls Book Reviews"

REVIEW BY: Arianna, age 12 years, 11 months

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

This book was as touching as Dismantling Evan!

My favorite character is still Nikki because she is such a loyal friend. My favorite part is when they release the newspaper for Gavin because it is sweet and they do it to show the school what he went through.

[Lorraine Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great follow on to Dismantling Evan although wish it was longer. Would love to know what happens to the characters beyond this book. Downloaded this as soon as I finished Dismantling Evan and read from start to finish on same day. Well thought out characters making it a compelling read