Would You

by Marthe Jocelyn

WOULD YOU RATHER know what’s going to happen or not know?
A summer night. A Saturday. For Natalie’s amazing older sister, Claire, this summer is fantastic, because she’s zooming off to college in the fall. For Natalie, it’s a fun summer with her friends; nothing special. When Claire is hit by a car, the world changes in a heartbeat. Over the next four days, moment by moment, Natalie, her parents, and their friends wait to learn if Claire will ever recover.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Death, Teen, Contemporary, Family

165 pages, Library Binding

First published July 8, 2008

About the author

Canadian born
22 books published for young readers"

Reviews

[Claire - The Coffeeholic Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly, life is so short… and borrowed. When you thought you had everything, suddenly, the world turns upside-down and all is lost in a blink of an eye.

For sisters Natalie & Claire, they had each other, against all odds.. When they’re together, they share almost everything – they share room, secrets, clothes & even crushes. Then tragedy strikes, and Natalie is left contemplating the things they shared and most loved.

In this tear-jerker novel, you are left with a lot of questions starting with Would You?

Would you be cruel to the person who hit your sister by a car when you learn that he did not really mean to hit and ran on her, that he was actually driving his wife who was about to give birth to the nearest hospital?

Would you blame Claire for running away to the street crying after breaking up with her boyfriend?

Would you blame Claire’s boyfriend for not chasing her back after their big fight?

Would you be happy now that the attention of your crush would soon be diverted to you instead after Claire’s gone?

Questions that seemed irrelevant but had been haunting Natalie since the accident. This novel teaches us how to cope up with life, with your family & friends, and with yourself. A very powerful book.. A sob story but an eye-opener nonetheless. Great read!

[Renee Chang]

Would you rather know what’s going to happen or not know? Would You by Marthe Jocelyn takes place in a summer night where two sisters, Claire and Natalie have different perspectives towards their summer. Claire is excited for the summer, because she’ll be going to college in the fall. Her younger sister, Natalie, is not as excited for the summer as her sister is. She’ll be hanging out with her friends and working on summer jobs, but nothing exciting and special. After Claire had decided to break up with her boyfriend, she chose to walk home; which was the decision of her life. Claire was hit by a car and struck into a coma. This story really makes the reader think about love, family, and hope. It focuses fragility and insecurity of life. One choice can change someone’s whole life. While reading this, I thought a lot about the main question in this book. Would you rather know what’s going to happen or not know? It really makes the audience think deeply to whether accept the pain or just be ignorant about it.

[Arlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve seen this game played a ton of times… Would you rather give up books for 10 years or never hear music again? Would you rather <> or <>. But this book is no game, in Would you, the main character is faced with the question of:

Would you rather know what's going to happen or not know?

Would you by Marthe Jocelyn takes place one fateful week Natalie’s world is turned upside down when her sister Claire suffers a horrific tragedy. It was the summer of new beginnings for Claire; she had just graduated high school, was on her way to college, but not before she made a decision to break-up with her boyfriend and walk home only to be struck by a car and slip into a coma.

This story explores the bond between sisters; the value of family and friendships; the grief that parents experience when their children are hurt; but most importantly, the fragility of life and how easily one moment can change the rest of your life. However, as the story progresses, you can help but continue to ask yourself… if you could, would you want to know what was going to happen even though you couldn’t change the end result? How would that change what you choose to do before that turning point?

I knew this story involved a tragedy, but I made some assumptions based on the art cover and the beginning of the story. Either way, when that scene occurred it was pretty harsh. It was definitely a journey filled with daunting possibilities. I don’t know how anyone who is a mother, sister, or even a friend can read this book without coming undone. Very emotional and definitely not an escape type book.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Natalie is forever hanging onto her older sister Claire. At times they can be the best of friends, even though Claire is older and has her own friends. One night changes a lot of things. When Claire is in an accident things start to look different from Natalie's point of view. Her friends game of Would You Rather? takes on a different feel as they try to figure out how to cope.

I didn't love this main character. The whole time I really wanted to feel bad or her having to go through all these things, but I just couldn't. At one point Natalie's father cries and she is completely insensitive saying he shouldn't be able to cry. Natalie did not strike me as a sixteen year old. Her and her friends seemed 12 or 13 not almost high school juniors. I liked the Would You Rather? question but that was just about it. I didn't really seem like Natalie was all that upset about her sister, so how could I as the reader be? Natalie was just very juvenile and insensitive, maybe she was in shock, but all in all I didn't like her or her story.

First Lines:
"Would you rather know what's going to happen? Or not know?"

Favorite Lines:
"Picture of neglect. Plenty of dust bunnies. Dust antelopes, actually."

[Brooke Shirts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot of this book is one I've seen many, many times in youth fiction: Natalie's beloved older sister is rendered comatose in a car accident; the rest of the family is left behind to cope. But Jocelyn handles this story with such deft characterization and with intense humanity that it's a significant cut above the rest. None of the characters are particularly noble or tragic; they are simply stumbling through the unbelievable, trying to come to terms with grief. Natalie is an incredibly believable teen -- the way she is rendered helpless in reaction to her parents' nearly all-encompassing grief, how she is initially sickened by the sight of her sister in the hospital, and the encroaching feeling of guilt when she realizes that, like it or not, her life is continuing without her sister.

I really enjoyed Jocelyn's other novel the oft-overlooked How It Happened in Peach Hill. I'm hoping that this book will find a greater readership, but with is so-so cover design and smarmy jacketflap copy ("the world can change in a heartbeat," bleh) I'm afraid it will be overlooked as well. Here's crossing my fingers . . .

[Juletta Gilge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, short, sad, but well written.

[Jamie Wullenweber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently read Would You by Marthe Jocelyn for a school "project". Marthe was born and raised in Canada. In tenth grade, she moved to Great Britain to attend a boarding school. She has had many jobs, but later decided to settle down in New York. After raising her two daughters, and reading children's books with them often, she was inspired to write her own children's book.
Later, Marthe began to start writing longer novels. Would You was published in 2008, and I picked it randomly of the shelf at a library because I "judged the book by it's cover. The book started off pretty normal, with a teenage girl Natalie just starting of her summer. She is a normal girl, with friends, and a loving family, including a sister, Claire, who is going off to college soon. Natalie spends a lot of her time either working as a lifeguard or hanging out with friends and going pool hopping. About less than midway in the novel, her sister is hit by a car, and is rushed to the hospital. Natalie and her parents are told that Claire is now in a coma, and there is nothing they can do to know if she will come out of it or not. The rest of the book is about Natalie dealing with her sister's sleeping state, friends, and family problems.
The first thing that intrigued me about the book, was the way the author wrote. I loved the humor that she gave Natalie, almost as if I were in Natalie's exact teenage thoughts. A lot of the book was just amusing and humorous to me. The author used informal diction to show the reader that this was a teenager, and the language that most teenagers used is informal. Also, the concept of "would you" was well portrayed in the book, because Natalie and her friends played the game of would-you-rather a few times, and it made me think long and hard. I love books that make me think deeply, and this book did a great job of this.
Another thing I loved about the book, was the authors use of syntax and figurative language. Marthe Jocelyn used short syntax to show when time was passing by quickly and Natalie's thoughts were confused, nervous, or scared. This occurred during the time when Natalie was first finding out that her sister had been hit by a car. The author also used long syntax to show when Natalie was tired and time dragged on. Long syntax was used when Natalie and her family had to wait for a doctor, and during the days when Natalie would talk to her sleeping sister in the hospital. The figurative language that the author used, beautifully, and sometimes disgustingly, described what Natalie was seeing or how she felt.
There were a few things that I didn't like about this novel. The biggest thing I didn't like was the abruptness of the ending. Of coarse, I do not want to give the ending away, but I felt like I was left with nothing to hold onto at the end. I felt like Natalie had a whole lot of problems to figure out, but she never dealt with a lot of them. It was just a big downside of the book.
Altogether this book was very well written, and I really enjoyed reading it. It's not extremely long, and I encourage anyone who has time, to read this novel. It may relate to something that happened in your life, because I know it did with me.

[Jessica Magdanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response:
I really enjoyed reading this book, and can not relate to it very well. I like that the character is my age and has a sister, but her sister is older and mine is younger. I have not had a family member get into an accident and get into the situation that she did, and I hope I never am in her place. I liked that right when you thought you were getting bored of reading it a plot twist came in so it kept you reading. I think that the reason for Nat's sister breaking up with Joe-boy is not a good one at all and if she wouldn't have gone over to his house that night then she wouldn't have gotten into an accident. My favorite part was in the beginning all of Nat's friends go pool-hopping because it sounds like something the kids who live around me would do.

Summary:
Nat is a teen girl who has an older sister, Claire, that is going to go to college in a month. Nat has a crush on Zack who is in a year older than Nat, a year younger than Claire. Nat, Zack, Carson, Audrey, and a few other friends decide to go pool hoping one night(jumping into other people's pools illegally). Claire decides to tag along this time because she decided you only live once so why not. The next night Claire talks to Nat and tells her she is going to go break up with her boyfriend because she doesn't want to date him while she's gone. Nat doesn't like this idea but doesn't stop her, and goes to hang out with her friends. When she comes back home her mom is sitting at the table and her dad is pacing around the room; Claire is no where to be seen. They tell her that Claire has been hit by a car when running back home from the breakup. She is in serious condition and is in trouble of dying. They go to the hospital and when they see Claire she is bloated with fluids, there are many tubes going into her, and she has a large gash on her head. As time goes by more and more family/friends come to give the family food, and Claire stays in a coma. Nat continues to hang out with her friends and try to carry on with life. Nat and Zack start getting to really know each other, and end up kissing. Claire is examined and the doctors say she is brain dead. In the end the family decides to pull the plug. Many weeks later it would have been Claire's birthday so Nat and her friends decide to go pool hoping in her memory.

Recommendation:
I recommend this book to sixth through ninth graders because it's an easy read yet it has a good concept behind it. There are some concepts that are slightly difficult, and there is a seriousness behind the story. If you like drama and problem solving then you would enjoy this book. I give this book a four out of five stars because it was a good book, but sometimes it repeats events.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a quick book to get through, but sadly, it turned out to be quite disappointing. The summary gave me the impression that this was going to be an emotional and powerful story, but it turned out to be rather "meh" and not as engaging as I had originally hoped.

First off, Natalie was not a very interesting character. She doesn't do much during the summer except work as a lifeguard at the local pool and hang out with her best friends. Her older sister, Claire, is leaving to college in several months and Natalie is still trying to adjust to the idea that her sister isn't going to be around. Natalie is such a flat character with little personality though, that I had a hard time liking her. The story is really set on her thoughts only, and her inner turmoil is understandable, but I still couldn't connect with her.

Once Claire's accident happens, the story picks up the pace a little, but doesn't make an extraordinary comeback. Natalie learns to deal with things, doesn't seemed too overly sad except for the first scene, and finds herself looking over her parents who are in a zombie-like state of shock. As the story continues while they wait to find out what will happen to Claire, Natalie sort of just goes on with her life, doing her everyday thing and all.

I can't really say much else without revealing the ending, so I will leave you letting you know that while there are a few sad moments to this book, it is not overall anything special. I definitely want to try Jocelyn's writing in the future (I have my eyes set on Folly) and hope I like it better.

[Sydney Bartel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Response:
I thought that this book was alright. I didn't think that that it was super good, but it was enjoyable. I thought that it was a little slow moving and lacked depth. The main character, Natalie, was not a very deep character. She had a very flat personality and that made it hard for me to like her. Overall, I wasn't really blown away by this book.

Plot:
This book was about a girl named Natalie. Her sister, Claire, was just about to go off to college when she got into a terrible accident. The accident left her in a coma and the doctors were unsure as to whether she would survive or not. The majority of the book was about Natalie coping with her Claire's injury and her parents grief as well as her own. In the end of the, Claire was taken off of life support and passed away.

Characterization:
Natalie was a girl who was in high school. Her character grew a lot throughout this book. She started out as this young, carefree teenager without a care in the world. After her sister's accident, she began taking life a lot more seriously. She realized that bad things do happen and to not take life for granted because you never know how long you have.

Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to middle schoolers and high schoolers. I think that this age group would enjoy it because that is about the age that the main characters are. I think that females would enjoy this book better because the main characters in this story are both girls. I would definitely recommend this book to anybody that is looking for a quick, easy read.

[Kellie Wagner · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Would You" is only the beginning to "Would you rather?" This is a game that Natalie and her friends play all the time. Whether they are sitting in a booth at a fast food restaurant or biking around town, they play this game learning about each other. In the middle of their carefree lives, they are faced with a terrible question, "Would you rather be dead or live a cripple?"

Natalie's older sister Claire is only weeks away from moving to college for her freshman year when she is hit by a car and left in a coma. Natalie is left to deal with the pain of her dead sister "only she is breathing" in addition to her zombie-like parents.

It isn't until her friends ask the "Would you" rather question that Natalie really thinks about what she'd prefer if she were in a coma like Claire with no brain activity.

The main character is Natalie, and the story is told through her point of view. Mostly the book is full of her thoughts with a few interactions with her high school friends and her parents.

I liked the concept of the book, but it wasn't deep enough for me. I didn't feel like I really knew or cared about the characters like other authors easily do through their writing.

Main issues include high school, small-town gossip, family, friends, accidents and death.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Natalie's world changes when her big sister, Claire, is involved in an accident that puts her into a coma. Natalie must come to terms with the fact that she may lose her sister forever. Would you rather die painlessly or live the rest of your life as a vegetable?

I didn't really like this book. It was hard to connect to Natalie, because at times she seemed younger than she really was, and some of the "Would You" questions. However, it was really easy to see how much Natalie loved her sister and how this accident affects her. This book is written simply, like a teenager would, in the form of a journal almost.

The ending is definitely what took this from a three-star rating to a two-star rating. I just felt like I read this for nothing, and that Natalie didn't really seem to change too much. This story needed better character development. It seemed that the most developed people were the parents, and ironically Claire herself. It was an interesting read though that makes you wonder if you would rather see a loved one die or live the rest of their life in a coma. I would recommend this one for younger readers.

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Jocelyn's How it happened in Peach Hill and enjoyed it, so I was happy to read Would You. The book has a very different feel and premise. The style is short paragraphs that go from day to day, in a span of about a week or so. Natalie ('Nat') is enjoying her summer before her 11th grade year. Her older sister Claire is 18 and about to head off to college. Claire has always been pretty, popular, likeable, outgoing, and happy. Natalie looks up to her and in some ways feels a bit overshadowed by her. Everything changes when Claire is struck by a car and left in a coma. The text is very short and poignant, I do admit I shed a few tears. However, I didn't give it 4 stars because I felt like Natalie's character could have been more developed. I don't feel like she changed or grew that much, so I was left feeling like 'what was the point of all of this?'. The ending was anti-climatic. I know death and dying is kind of a popular theme in YA literature right now, but the book could have gone farther. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy it, and I would recommend it.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very short (165 pages) novel written for young adults is tight, spare and very moving. Natalie is spending the summer before grade eleven working as a lifeguard and hanging out with her friends. She and her older sister Claire are that storybook pair of siblings who actually like each other. The story is a snapshot of the week Claire is hit by a car and Natalie has to face up to a real world of "would you ..." where hard choices have to be made. I enjoyed this book, if that is the word for it. The short paragraphs and short sentences carry you along. You walk with Natalie through the week and come to see there is more to her than the silly teenage girl we meet at the beginning.

[Gabriella Lalone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book but this book was sad because she drounds and she has a little sister

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would You

Would You? The book Would You, by Marthe Jocelyn is about a girl named Claire the gets in a really bad life changing accident at a party and no one knows what to do next. People come to visit her and don’t know what to think of her or what happened. People walk in with the overhead lights on her and say, “Oh my god they shaved your head and you have a huge injury on your skull, swollen, with black crisscrossed stitches, holding together this gash, no bandage, just there for us to look at.” Natalie, Claire’s sister, goes up to see her a lot. Natalie’s dad told her that they were able to salvage Claire’s brain and now they are pumping saline into her head.
Natalie and Claire are two very nice people and have a very nice family. Claire has faced some issues with her accident and now that has set her back a lot now. Natalie is very helpful with Claire and is a very nice, and a lot of people like her. Natalie does not really change much and she had nothing to change. Claire is not able to change because something terrible happens and you will have to read to find out. The girl’s parents are just ordinary parents and do everything for the girls. They helped Claire through her whole process and scary moments, but then they had a hard time at the end when everything else happens. Everybody liked them and all of the girls friends enjoyed coming over to talk to/see the girl’s parents. Also when all of Claire’s friends came to visit her they always enjoyed seeing the rest of the family.
I think the readability was pretty easy and very easy to follow. The reading was very organized and easy to pick out things and find where you are. When you get to some parts it is very surprising and gets your attention. The book is not one of those that I would not want to read on, it grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading. This book by no means is a sleeper it is very catchy and is a heart breaker. I recommend reading this book to find out the suspense parts and what happens at the end.
This book is laid out in a different way like instead of a chapter heading like, “The Girls,” they have the days of the week as there chapter headings. So each chapter is a day like so it starts of as, Friday and then it tells you what Friday is about. Then in each chapter there are little headings like, “The Mailman,” and then in that particular heading they are going to be talking about the mailman. I think the layout is good because it is organized and very self explanatory.
I really recommend you to read this book and hope you can pick out all the good things I picked out too. I think most people will like this book because it covers a lot of stuff, is well put together, and easy for people to follow. I hope you read this book to find out what the ending is and I hope you like it.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm wavering on the star rating because this one falls somewhere between a 2 and a 3 for me.

This books is uneven. The writing is simplistic enough for the younger end of the ya spectrum, but the characters are at the opposite end of the spectrum, as are their experiences in working, going out without parents, and dating. The book is also very short, with short chapters. There's a tension between who would best be served by the book and the actual book itself. Topically, it's not a best pick for reluctant readers because it's a sad story and because it's awfully (miserably) predictable.

Jocelyn does a great job of describing, there's no doubt. But the entire story is predictable. It is paced poorly, as the event that will become the central issue in the book happens in the first 30 pages. And you know it's coming, too. And when it happens, you know what the results will be. There's no surprise. I've read stories like this before when I was a younger reader, and I don't think that Jocelyn adds anything new or interesting besides, perhaps, a little more "realism" to the hospital descriptions.

That all said, I hated Claire. Because the book focuses on Natalie and her friends and parents more than it does Claire, it would be easy to overlook that the entire story could have been avoided had she used this incredibly brain she apparently had. And while teenagers make silly mistakes, often in the head of an emotional moment as Claire does in this situation, there is not enough going on in the minds of Natalie or her family about the fact Claire got herself into the mess herself. I dislike how this is not resolved in the story, and I seriously find it problematic that it is not given more time. Surely there is sympathy for the situation, but the whole reason the situation happens is a very poorly glued hinge. I also found a lot of the other descriptions a bit false and unrealistic -- standing out to me especially is the memorial set up in the spot of the accident. Since Claire is the reason it happened in the first place, and since it didn't seem like many people even knew what was going on, this doesn't feel realistic or authentic. I think it even detracts from the overall realness that Jocelyn has the ability to convey. I wish Natalie would have though on these things more. Obviously, when tragedy strikes, there should be mourning and sadness, but when you're the cause of it, I think it's worth investing time into thinking about that (at least in this story!).

I've read a lot better and I've read a lot worse. I'm not sure, though, where it fits.

[Randy Mcdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a small Ontario town, teenager Natalie often plays the game “Would You?”, a game of dares and questions with her friends Would you kiss that person? Would you eat that food? The game is normal enough, something that they’re all used to, sometimes a joke, sometimes a process that helps them determine more about themselves: what do they like dislike? what are the things that they hope for and the things that scare them? For Natalie, things are pretty good, with parents she gets along well with and a warm relationship with her older sister Claire, packing to go to university.

One summer day everything changes, though, when Claire is hit by a car. Rushed to hospital, the doctors determine that she has fallen into a coma, and that they aren’t sure if Claire will ever wake up. What would you do in that kind of situation?

Would You is a moving book, describing the painful situation that Natalie experiences hour by hour, day by day, as she waits to see if Claire will ever come out of her coma. We see everything that happens, from the gifts and good wishes of her neighbours and friends, to her investigation of who was the driver who hit Claire and why she was in the road in the first place, to her friends wondering what they would, and could, do. I was moved by Natalie’s grief and confusion, described so vividly in Jocelyn’s wonderful prose. It might be a cliché, but I really did care for these characters, trapped in the hell of waiting and wondering to do even as the know that this situation is out of their hands.

I recommend this sensitive, well-written book for everyone. I can’t think off-hand of a single reader who wouldn’t get something from this book, covering everything from teenagers’ movement into adulthood to the mechanics of grief. Would You matters.

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

“Would you rather have your father sing at the supermarket or your mother fart in the principal’s office? Would you rather have a piece of rice permanently attached to your lip or a fly always buzzing around your head?” These are some of the questions that Natalie and her friends idly contemplate as they spend lazy summer nights hanging out at the Ding-Dong and engaging in the occasional game of pool hopping. It’s a quiet, ordinary summer, except that Natalie is trying to avoid thinking about the fact that her older sister Claire will be going away to university in the fall and nothing will be the same without her. However, change comes sooner than anyone anticipates when Natalie and her parents find themselves forced to face the unimaginable pain of losing Claire in a completely different way. Marthe Jocelyn’s latest novel provides a brief snapshot of one family’s suffering in the face of a terrible tragedy. In its brevity it manages to depict, with startling clarity, the depth of their sorrow and the random nature of the accident itself. One of the book’s greatest strengths is the relationships that Jocelyn portrays. She also captures fragments of feeling, from Claire’s father’s unreasoning (though not unreasonable) anger towards the driver that hit Claire to Natalie’s sudden and intense fear that something might happen before she ever seizes the chance to kiss her best friend Zack. These bits and pieces weave themselves into the narrative but do not necessarily form complete storylines with clear resolutions. Rather, they come together to form a realistic portrait of grief, loss and letting go. This is a tender and deeply moving account that cannot fail to touch the hearts of readers.

Reviewed by Lisa Doucet in Canadian Children's Book News
Summer 2008 VOL.31 NO.3

[Sidra Imran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought “Would You” by Marthe Jocelyn was an amazing book. The book has a tragic ending but I love the plot and the sequence of events. The main character Natalie’s life is turned upside down in a “heartbeat” when her sister Claire suffers a tragedy. It’s summer and Natalie is having fun before eleventh grade, she’s hanging out with her friends, and is a lifeguard at the pool near home. Her friend’s would go around at midnight hanging out jumping into the pool. Something tragic then happens to her sister and Natalie is forced to think of what she would want. “Would she want this? Or Would she want that?”. Natalie’s life is turned over in one night, in a “heartbeat”.
I like how Natalie is being a typical teenager hanging out with her friends before things get serious in eleventh grade.

***SPOILERS***









I also love the suspense of not knowing how the accident that killed her sister was caused because that leaves you in suspense and makes you want to read on. While reading the book I had an image in my mind of what was happening and felt like I was there when Natalie was making hard decisions such as whether or not to pull the ventilator plug after her sister had gone into a coma? Marthe Jocelyn incorporates great imagery and style into her writing.
I really don’t like how the book ended with her sister dying. I had hoped that she would wake up. I also feel bad for everyone around her and how Natalie was reminiscing over past things and how she now realized that they fought over pointless stuff. Natalie is left to find notes from people who were her friends and has to face that her sister is dead. I wish there was more to the book on how the accident was caused. There was a brief and subtle explanation of what had happened.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that I am reviewing is called Would You by Marthe Jocelyn. The Book is main view is “Would you rather know what’s going to happen or not know?”

The book is about two sisters named Claire and Natalie. Claire is a High School Graduate that is enjoying her summer before she goes off to collage. Natalie’s summer will be fine, she thinks, but she knows that at the end of it, her beautiful, brilliant older sister Claire will be off to college. Then everything seems to turn to tragedy. On a Saturday night Natalie is coming home from work. She goes by a whole bunch of commotion and doesn’t pay any mind to it until she gets home. When she arrives her mother and her father look worried and nervous like something devastated happened. In the end “Life Changes in a Heart Beat”
The book was good I loved it; it had sorrow and suspense making you keeps reading until my eyes hurt. The book opens up a new topic about the words would you. This book really makes you think about how in a minute your life could be in the breaking point of getting to a freak accident or get injured really badly that you are a “Vegetable” in the hospital or even be dead. This book is looking at all of the kinds of tough choices and the painful thoughts that run through people's heads during moments of tragedy.


Plenty of Teenagers and Adults Would Love this Book because it relate to them through tragedy, death, sorrow, etc .If you have experienced it . If you have every Read SEXY by Joyce Carol Oates. You will see a similar comparison in the books. In Sexy a Boy try’s to understand his place in the world after his teacher is accused to be gay. This book is out of this world.

[Jennifer Rayment · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Stuff

• Brought back memories of the emotional YA books I read as a teen
• Some of the dialogue was snort out your nose funny
• Tear jerker
• Very realistic thoughts and emotions from the main character Natalie -- even the unpleasant and selfish thoughts that we all have, but very rarely admit to
• Relationship between the sisters is lovely, now I must go email my sister and tell her how cool I think she is and wish that we were closer as youngsters
. I look forward to reading some of her other works

Not so Good Stuff

• Should come with a warning not to read the sad stuff while on a bus. The sniffing made people stare at me like I was some kind of freak (heartless creatures)
• The break of each chapter was a little distracting for me, but I imagine it won't bother the teens
• Way too short, not enough development of character. Think if the story was longer if would be more enjoyable. Than again I am writing from the point of a 40 year old women not a teen

What I Learned

• Always tell those you love that you care, because you never know what will happen

Favorite Quotes/Passages

What is the deal with old women and facial hair? I know it's some function of aging and not producing estrogen and blah blah blah, but these old dames at the hospital, they've got nasty spiky hairs growing out of their chiny-chin-chins

But there never is only one broken person

And where are you going to find twenty or thirty girls whose last wishes include having sex with Carson Jefferson -- where are you going to find one

Who Should Read

• Teens will love this!

[Breanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

How would you feel if your life changed in a heartbeat? Unfortunately, this is what Natalie had to go through. Natalie is a typical teenage girl - she works a job, loves a good time, and can act a little rebellious. When her current school year comes to an end, she is excited to spend another fun, ordinary summer with her friends. Her sister, Claire, on the other hand, has a bit more going on; she has to prepare for college in the coming fall, plus she is having relationship problems with her boyfriend, Joe. One night, Natalie is off to meet up with her friends, while Claire is headed to a party. Seems like an standard evening right? Well it definitely wasn't. When Natalie arrives home, she finds out that her sister was in an accident - she was hit by a car. Natalie is overwhelmed with shock...just hours earlier, she was with her sister goofing around without a care in the world. Now, all she can do is hope that Claire will live to see another day. After all, how could she possibly survive without her beloved sister?

This suspenseful, dramatic novel was actually quite good. The author, Marthe Jocelyn, did a wonderful job of creating a scenario that seemed very real - at points, I felt like I was living in the story. Although this book was easy and short (only 165 pages), it didn't lack quality. I think that any teens who are okay with reading moderately sad novels, would enjoy this story.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. At some parts, the story was a little sad, but that only added to my excitement of finding out what would happen. I give this book a full 4 stars.

[Hailey Wheaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Response:
I thought that the book Would You was a very interesting book. I never could exactly pin a point on what was going to happen. I figured out that I like unpredictable books because it makes me want to read them more. I really liked how the author; Marthe Jocelyn included other characters thoughts because it made me more focused on the book.

Plot:
The book Would You started out with a normal everyday life in a small town. Everything seemed to be the usual routine until Natalie's older sister Claire wasn't paying attention and ran out in the middle of the road and got hit by a car. Everything changed after Claire was put in a coma. Natalie’s Mom is an emotional wreck because she knows her daughter has only a small chances of coming out of the coma. Natalie’s whole family was very sad to hear about everything. One day months after the incident while Claire was still in the coma, a little boy needs a heart transplant. Since Claire’s heart is perfectly fine and she is for surly brain dead, Claire’s family decided to agree on giving the little boy Claire’s heart. At the end of the book Natalie and the kids in the town celebrated Claire’s birthday by going to the strangers pool that they always used to go to.

Recommendations:
I recommend this book to students in high school. I recommend it to this age group because there are many serious conflicts in Would You, that students under middle school level would not take seriously. I also think this book would be a good book for people who are going through times like this because it will help them get through it and always find good in the end.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Natalie is one of those lucky teens that is really good friends with her sister Claire. In fact, they and their friends have been spending the summer before her junior year relaxing and doing an awful lot of swimming. That is even more so for Nat, who works as a lifeguard at the YMCA.

One night, Claire is off to a party, and everyone's lives change when she is hit by a car. She is rushed to the hospital with severe head trauma. After the surgery, it quickly becomes clear that Claire will never be the same again. Over the next week, Nat and her parents are confronted with the expected emotions (worry, anger, loss). The intensity of the situation grows as the family learns more about the severity of Claire's injuries.

The book is filled with poignant, realistic moments that tear at the heart, likely bringing a tear to the eye. Unfortunately, these richly written scenes are offset by others that present Nat and many of the other teens awkwardly and with a cruel, shallow self-centeredness that seems unnecessary in a book this short. It is these latter examples that make it difficult for the reader to connect fully with some of the character's pain since they sometimes take place during scenes full of grief. It just seems inconsistent with what is happening.

The title of the novel comes from the name of a game that Nat and her friends often play. In a way, it is not much different from Truth or Dare. The participants have to choose which option they would rather take from two equally horrific choices.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

"Would you rather know what's going to happen or not know?" This is the question that starts the powerful story that is WOULD YOU.

Natalie is Claire's younger sister. Claire has just graduated from high school and she's ready to begin the next chapter of her life. She has told Natalie that she is going to break up with her boyfriend, Joe, that night.

But that night, everything changes.

Nat and her friends sit around at the Ding Dong Diner discussing "would you" questions with each other. Little does Natalie know that the opening question would hit so close to home.

As Natalie is riding her bike home one night during the summer, she passes cops putting up police tape on Devon Road. She doesn't think anything of it until she gets home. There she finds out that her sister has been in an accident. She is still alive, but the doctors aren't very optimistic.

WOULD YOU tells the story of Nat's family over the course of a week during one summer. It explores the turmoil that Nat goes through, as well as the despair and struggles of her parents. Nat feels guilty for some of the thoughts that go through her head. Her friends have a hard time with the situation as well, and constantly stop themselves from saying the wrong things.

WOULD YOU is a short story that holds a powerful punch. Long after the cover has been closed, the reader will be pondering the opening question...would you rather know or not? Would it change anything?

[Anna Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small, unassuming volume doesn't look like much, but it packs a powerful punch. (Side note: This is the first of my reviews that I've gone back to the book to flip through - and I couldn't find it on my shelf at first, it's so narrow).

Taking place through four harrowing days, the narrator's voice is truthful, honest, and hurt, but not at all self-pitying which makes it stronger on the whole. She's dealing with the crap that comes from a terrible situation, but that's just the thing: She's dealing with it; asking hard questions, observing as if from outside herself, wondering how the world can keep turning and then finding that she can still be a part of it. Anyone who has been close to death will recognize the feelings here and they're not overwrought or milked for drama, despite being dramatic.

One of the things I liked most was the format of the book: Broken down into the four days, with subheadings between groups of paragraphs - sometimes just one, sometimes pages between - and the subheadings do as much to appraise her state of mind as does the narrative. They are just as much a part of the story as the text.


See also:
A Summer to Die
Phoenix Rising

[Sydney Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would you by Marthe Jocelyn is a book that everyone should read. The book doesn't have chapters but it is numbered each days. Within the days, there are tittles for each different moment that occurred, very unique. Would You keeps you hooked! It is an amazing book that I will read over and over again.

The question. The book, Would You, by Marthe Jocelyn starts with the question "Would you rather know what's going to happen? Or not know?" (Jocelyn 2). In Ontario, Natalie plays these "would you" games with her friends who are getting ready for the summer. She works at the YMCA as a lifeguard. Her older sister, Claire, is getting ready to leave for college in the fall. One day, one moment, can change a family forever. While coming home from a party late at night, Claire gets hit my car that came out of nowhere. Her family was in shock and didn't want to believe it was their daughter in the coma. Natalie and family visit Claire in the hospital every day. Her family talks to her hoping that it will help her recover or have any sign of life. Natalie doesn't recognize Claire lying there, so still. While visiting for the first time, Natalie talks to Claire saying "Claire. It’s you but not you" (Jocelyn 49). "It looks like [you] gained 20 pounds... [you’re] is puffed up like someone stuck a bicycle pump in [your] ear and pumped fast" (Jocelyn 50). Claire’s family is hoping that their daughter recovers from this devastating accident.

[Amber ~ The Reading Addict · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about sisters. Ironically, it was given to me by my little sis months ago. I don't really have any excuses as to why it took me so long to start. I mean, the book only has 165 pages, but the cover does kind of look like something whipped up on someone's photoshop account. So I put it off, despite my sister's words of praise.

Obviously, I failed to realize just how touching this book would be. My sister and I are extremely close. She's the one person who understands me better than anyone, and she can make me laugh until my sides hurt in an instant. As a result, this book's plot-line was like a punch in the stomach. The thought of losing my sister and dealing with the aftermath reached me on a deep level.

As I said before, Would You is not a lengthy read. I was surprised at the character development that occurred in such a short span of time. I really got to know Natalie and Claire, as well as their friends and family. While I would've liked the story to be a bit longer, I also appreciated the conciseness of the story. No need to draw out something this heart-wrenching.

Overall, I'd highly recommend Would You. It's well-written and poignant, and it'll only take you one afternoon in bed with a bunch of tissues to get through this sob story. In the end, I took away inspirational messages... and ran to my sister's room and tackled her in a hug.

[Paige Y. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s just a normal summer – Claire’s last summer before she goes away to college. Her sister Natalie is spending her days working as a lifeguard at the pool, and her nights hanging out with her friends. Natalie’s isn’t happy about Claire’s imminent departure (“We’ve been sharing a room since I was born. How can our life be reduced to occasional weekends?”) And then in one moment, her world changes. She arrives homes one evening to find out that Claire has been hit by a car. She’s in a coma, and nobody knows if she will be ok.

It must be first understood that I rarely cry while reading a book, so the tears rushing down my cheeks were a shock. Natalie’s love for Claire and her knowledge that her life has been changed forever just broke my heart. I must say that I really appreciated that this was not a lesson book. Claire’s accident is just that – an accident and was not caused by drinking or drugs, or anything else could be used to preach to teenagers. Because of this, Jocelyn can spend her time focusing on the effects the accident has on Claire’s family and the choices they have to make. I recommend this one to anybody who loves tear jerkers.