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A Year to the Day
National Book Award–winning author Robin Benway returns with an ambitious I’ll Give You the Sun meets Every Day story of love, loss, and sisterhood told in a reverse chronological narrative that will claim a permanent home in your heart.
It’s been a year—a year of missing Nina. A year of milestones—holidays, birthdays, everything without her.
Leo feels like she should remember what happened that night. But all she knows is that she left the party and got into a car with Nina and Nina’s boyfriend, East.
East, who once promised Nina he’d watch out for her younger sister. East, who has been trying to keep that promise every day since. But East won’t give Leo the one thing she wants—the one thing she needs. He won’t tell her anything about the accident. He won’t talk about that night at all.
As the days tumble one into the next, Leo’s story comes together while her world falls apart. The only constant is the one person who can help her bear the enormous weight of her love for Nina—and East might be carrying too heavy a load of his own.
Robin Benway’s signature exploration of love, family, and finding yourself is on display in her most ambitious story yet.
It’s been a year—a year of missing Nina. A year of milestones—holidays, birthdays, everything without her.
Leo feels like she should remember what happened that night. But all she knows is that she left the party and got into a car with Nina and Nina’s boyfriend, East.
East, who once promised Nina he’d watch out for her younger sister. East, who has been trying to keep that promise every day since. But East won’t give Leo the one thing she wants—the one thing she needs. He won’t tell her anything about the accident. He won’t talk about that night at all.
As the days tumble one into the next, Leo’s story comes together while her world falls apart. The only constant is the one person who can help her bear the enormous weight of her love for Nina—and East might be carrying too heavy a load of his own.
Robin Benway’s signature exploration of love, family, and finding yourself is on display in her most ambitious story yet.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 21, 2022
100 people are currently reading
8471 people want to read
About the author
Robin Benway
23 books2,036 followersRobin Benway is a National Book Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author of six novels for young adults, including Far From the Tree, Audrey, Wait!, the AKA series, and Emmy & Oliver. Her books have received numerous awards and recognition, including the PEN America Literary Award, the Blue Ribbon Award from the Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults, and ALA’s Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. In addition, her novels have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly, and have been published in more than 25 countries. Her most recent book, Far From the Tree, won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the PEN America Award, and was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, NPR, PBS, Entertainment Weekly, and the Boston Globe. In addition, her non-fiction work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Bustle, Elle, and more.
Robin grew up in Orange County, California, attended NYU, where she was a recipient of the Seth Barkas Prize for Creative Writing, and is a graduate of UCLA. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Hudson.
Robin grew up in Orange County, California, attended NYU, where she was a recipient of the Seth Barkas Prize for Creative Writing, and is a graduate of UCLA. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Hudson.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 369 reviews
June 23, 2022
RB is an author that isnt afraid to make a reader really feel something. ive love how emotionally striking her previous books are so, based on the synopsis, i was ready for this one to hurt.
but thing thing is… it didnt.
in theory, it should have. the content is full of grief and suffering, the problem of staying stagnant after loss, and feeling like you dont have anyone who can relate to what you are going through. all very deep subjects. i just think the way the narrative is structured removes any impact of these highly emotional topics.
this is told in reverse chronological order. it starts with one year after an accident, with the last chapter being the night of the accident. and i feel like, by telling the story backward, the narrative is inherently told in chunks, with pieces missing. it doesnt feel fluid or flow nicely, if that makes sense ..
such a shame i didnt click with the narrative choice, because this could have been a good one.
PS - someone needs to read this from the end to the beginning and see if its better! lol.
↠ 2.5 stars
but thing thing is… it didnt.
in theory, it should have. the content is full of grief and suffering, the problem of staying stagnant after loss, and feeling like you dont have anyone who can relate to what you are going through. all very deep subjects. i just think the way the narrative is structured removes any impact of these highly emotional topics.
this is told in reverse chronological order. it starts with one year after an accident, with the last chapter being the night of the accident. and i feel like, by telling the story backward, the narrative is inherently told in chunks, with pieces missing. it doesnt feel fluid or flow nicely, if that makes sense ..
such a shame i didnt click with the narrative choice, because this could have been a good one.
PS - someone needs to read this from the end to the beginning and see if its better! lol.
↠ 2.5 stars
September 14, 2022
3.5 stars, rounded up
This is a very heartfelt and moving YA book about dealing with grief. It's told in a unique way, and many readers won't be able to go with the flow of it's present-to-past backward storytelling. I found that when taken as a whole, this is a beautifully touching novel.
It's the story of Leo, whose sister Nina was killed in a car accident one year ago. Leo was also in the accident, as well as Nina's boyfriend East, but the two of them survived when Nina did not.
I intimately related to this book and it was so intriguing to read the present day sections and be able to see the journey of everyone's grief and then watch it unravel to see the actual progression. It's such a telling thing that when a person is in the midst of grief they feel stuck and like there is no end to the deep, aching grief. Yet this book clearly shows that there is life after losing someone. It won't always be pretty and grief isn't a linear route to "healing" but bit by bit life morphs into a something changed.
Although it seems like this book is somewhat of a mystery because Leo doesn't remember what happened during the accident, in the end it's not the point of the book at all. It's about enduring something unimaginable and being able to come through it.
I listened to this book as an audiobook and the narrator Sarah Beth Goer is excellent. She gave the characters unique voices that captured the depth of their feelings and their personalities.
I highly recommend this book, especially for those dealing with grief, because it can really help show that you are not alone in your feelings.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
This is a very heartfelt and moving YA book about dealing with grief. It's told in a unique way, and many readers won't be able to go with the flow of it's present-to-past backward storytelling. I found that when taken as a whole, this is a beautifully touching novel.
It's the story of Leo, whose sister Nina was killed in a car accident one year ago. Leo was also in the accident, as well as Nina's boyfriend East, but the two of them survived when Nina did not.
I intimately related to this book and it was so intriguing to read the present day sections and be able to see the journey of everyone's grief and then watch it unravel to see the actual progression. It's such a telling thing that when a person is in the midst of grief they feel stuck and like there is no end to the deep, aching grief. Yet this book clearly shows that there is life after losing someone. It won't always be pretty and grief isn't a linear route to "healing" but bit by bit life morphs into a something changed.
Although it seems like this book is somewhat of a mystery because Leo doesn't remember what happened during the accident, in the end it's not the point of the book at all. It's about enduring something unimaginable and being able to come through it.
I listened to this book as an audiobook and the narrator Sarah Beth Goer is excellent. She gave the characters unique voices that captured the depth of their feelings and their personalities.
I highly recommend this book, especially for those dealing with grief, because it can really help show that you are not alone in your feelings.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
January 23, 2023
2.5 stars
It pains me that this book didn’t work for me in such a big way. ‘Fall From the Tree’ is one of my all-time favorite YA books and I had such high hopes for this one.
It has heavy subject matter, but that didn’t bother me. It is told in reverse, which made things confusing and I never felt the story was cohesive. Also, being told in third person I didn’t feel what I wanted to feel from the characters. The end was sad, yes, but also anticlimactic.
I know there will be readers out there that loved this one, but sadly it just didn’t work for me. I probably should have just DNF’d it at the 40% mark when I realized how much I wasn’t enjoying it, but I had hopes it would get better :/
It pains me that this book didn’t work for me in such a big way. ‘Fall From the Tree’ is one of my all-time favorite YA books and I had such high hopes for this one.
It has heavy subject matter, but that didn’t bother me. It is told in reverse, which made things confusing and I never felt the story was cohesive. Also, being told in third person I didn’t feel what I wanted to feel from the characters. The end was sad, yes, but also anticlimactic.
I know there will be readers out there that loved this one, but sadly it just didn’t work for me. I probably should have just DNF’d it at the 40% mark when I realized how much I wasn’t enjoying it, but I had hopes it would get better :/
Audio book source: Libby
Story Rating: 2.5 stars
Narrators: Sarah Beth Goer
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary YA
Length: 10h 32m
August 6, 2022
This is the first time I’ve ever read a book where the timeline goes backwards. It’s a story about a family dealing with the lost of a daughter, sister and girlfriend who was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. The story was really depressing and I understand why death is just hard to deal with in general. So after reading this I really needed a pick me up. I felt like it was very repetitive and eventually I just wanted to get through it.
August 25, 2022
A YEAR TO THE DAY
Robin Benway
So, this was not really my jam. I don't really care for the sister in the car with the dead sib plot line, so I went in with a prejudice onboard. BUT yep, it didn't really go away. I didn't care for the backward timeline.
The book was ok, not much more than that.
3 stars
Happy Reading!
Robin Benway
So, this was not really my jam. I don't really care for the sister in the car with the dead sib plot line, so I went in with a prejudice onboard. BUT yep, it didn't really go away. I didn't care for the backward timeline.
The book was ok, not much more than that.
3 stars
Happy Reading!
July 13, 2022
An interestingly written YA novel about Leo (Leonora) and East, two teens grieving the death of Nina (their older sister and girlfriend). Uniquely told in reverse, this story starts a year after Nina's death and goes back to the accident itself as we, (along with Leo) learn what actually happened that fateful night as she has no recollection. Brought closer in their grief East and Leo become friends in the months following Nina's death. The story also deals with blended families and Leo's mother's depression. Great on audio this was an interesting read with a twist ending I didn't see coming.
August 22, 2022
A Year to the Day was just not for me. Maybe if you've never lost someone who means the world to you, this book would be easier to read? Or not. I don't really know and I'm grappling at air most likely. I just know that as someone who drowned in their grief, and struggled for months just putting one foot in front of the other, I never wanted to feel that dark and depressed again. And this book put me right back there. I read the whole book, but I was left feeling sad and empty.
I started out this book reading from the beginning. Weird thing to mention right? Well that's because this story was told backwards. We started at one year past Nina's death, and we worked our way back to right before the accident happened. Right away, you're drowning in their grief. It felt so somber and intense. And you know that choking feeling in the back of your throat, as though you're on the verge of crying, I wasn't able to escape it. Yet I couldn't connect with these characters. We were in the middle of their lives and I felt lost. Lost for who they all were and how they went together. It was awkward and I felt as though the story was disjointed. Hearing about things before it happened and not knowing all of the pieces confused me deeply. So I did something I have NEVER done before.....I was at 20% and stopped. Then I started reading the story over again, but this time from the back of the book.
Yes I read this book backwards! I started at that last chapter and worked my way back to the beginning, chapter by chapter. Finally, it made sense. It wasn't awkward anymore! And I was able to connect to the characters! I got tears in my eyes. And quite a few of those times I was mad at this book, because it made me feel. The writing was effective in that regards, but I couldn't like this story. It was too heart wrenching and depressing for me. Yes there were moments of growth in this story and finding solace with others that you wouldn't think you would. Discovering friends. Connecting with others. Learning to live with your grief and trying your best to function with it. But even with all of that, I didn't enjoy reading this book.
Finishing this book, well we know the first chapter is technically the ending and nope, it is not happy. And that last chapter, while it was right before Nina's death, it didn't give me comfort or happiness either. And maybe that's what is wrong with me. To expect to close a book and have a smile on my face or to feel happy. I didn't get that with A Year to the Day. Plus, there were some secrets that I struggled with. Her mom didn't know something, and the fact that we never got a resolution in regards to what that related to, I can't. That bothered me too deeply. I can see it being realistic, but I personally struggle when things aren't wrapped up in a bow. Unfortunately this book wasn't right for me at all. But if you're looking for a book that will make you feel and deal with grief, then I hope this book works out much better for you!
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
For more of my reviews, please visit:
It’s been a year and the grief still comes in waves, pulling the memory of Nina closer and then further away. Leo thought she’d be better at navigating these waters by now.
I started out this book reading from the beginning. Weird thing to mention right? Well that's because this story was told backwards. We started at one year past Nina's death, and we worked our way back to right before the accident happened. Right away, you're drowning in their grief. It felt so somber and intense. And you know that choking feeling in the back of your throat, as though you're on the verge of crying, I wasn't able to escape it. Yet I couldn't connect with these characters. We were in the middle of their lives and I felt lost. Lost for who they all were and how they went together. It was awkward and I felt as though the story was disjointed. Hearing about things before it happened and not knowing all of the pieces confused me deeply. So I did something I have NEVER done before.....I was at 20% and stopped. Then I started reading the story over again, but this time from the back of the book.
“Happy,” he repeats. “Are you happy, Leo?”
“I don’t . . .” She trails off, trying to think of how to respond to such a seemingly simple question. “I don’t really know what happy is supposed to feel like anymore, I guess, so I don’t know.”
Yes I read this book backwards! I started at that last chapter and worked my way back to the beginning, chapter by chapter. Finally, it made sense. It wasn't awkward anymore! And I was able to connect to the characters! I got tears in my eyes. And quite a few of those times I was mad at this book, because it made me feel. The writing was effective in that regards, but I couldn't like this story. It was too heart wrenching and depressing for me. Yes there were moments of growth in this story and finding solace with others that you wouldn't think you would. Discovering friends. Connecting with others. Learning to live with your grief and trying your best to function with it. But even with all of that, I didn't enjoy reading this book.
When Leo cries, it’s with quiet sobs that rack her bones, her face buried in her pillow so she doesn’t disturb her mom, her mom who’s gone from sleeping in Nina’s bed to not sleeping at all, wandering downstairs in the kitchen at three in the morning.
Finishing this book, well we know the first chapter is technically the ending and nope, it is not happy. And that last chapter, while it was right before Nina's death, it didn't give me comfort or happiness either. And maybe that's what is wrong with me. To expect to close a book and have a smile on my face or to feel happy. I didn't get that with A Year to the Day. Plus, there were some secrets that I struggled with. Her mom didn't know something, and the fact that we never got a resolution in regards to what that related to, I can't. That bothered me too deeply. I can see it being realistic, but I personally struggle when things aren't wrapped up in a bow. Unfortunately this book wasn't right for me at all. But if you're looking for a book that will make you feel and deal with grief, then I hope this book works out much better for you!
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
For more of my reviews, please visit:
August 7, 2022
I'm really sad to report that this book wasn't for me! "Far from the Tree" was so good, with such well developed plot and characters, but Benway's most recent book felt distant from her previous writing.
"A Year to the Day" is about sophomore high school student, Leo, and the grief she has experienced in the past year after losing her sister. Rather than starting with the inciting incident and moving forward in time, this book starts a year out (hence the title) and progresses backwards until the day before the accident that killed her sister.
The premise sounds interesting, but for me, it fell flat for a few reasons. The problem with structuring the book in reverse without revisiting the moment in time we start at is that there isn't much potential for character growth (in fact, you'd expect them to regress as we move back in time). While in retrospect, I could remember how different beginning-of-the-book Leo was to end-of-the-book Leo, it didn't really help me engage with the characters, with whom I never felt a strong connection. Theoretically since Leo also mentions she can't remember anything about the accident (dissociative amnesia), the conflict should have felt tense enough as we learn more about what actually happened nearing and on the date of the accident. But when we got there, I felt like the reveal was not worth spending the entire book leading up to it. And I think I would have much rather read how Leo dealt with learning the truth rather than her dealing with grief backwards for a year, never the wiser to what actually occurred!
It was an easy read, though not in content, and the ending was written well. It's unfortunate that the structure didn't work for me because I think if it were told in the chronological order, I would have ended up loving this one!
"A Year to the Day" is about sophomore high school student, Leo, and the grief she has experienced in the past year after losing her sister. Rather than starting with the inciting incident and moving forward in time, this book starts a year out (hence the title) and progresses backwards until the day before the accident that killed her sister.
The premise sounds interesting, but for me, it fell flat for a few reasons. The problem with structuring the book in reverse without revisiting the moment in time we start at is that there isn't much potential for character growth (in fact, you'd expect them to regress as we move back in time). While in retrospect, I could remember how different beginning-of-the-book Leo was to end-of-the-book Leo, it didn't really help me engage with the characters, with whom I never felt a strong connection. Theoretically since Leo also mentions she can't remember anything about the accident (dissociative amnesia), the conflict should have felt tense enough as we learn more about what actually happened nearing and on the date of the accident. But when we got there, I felt like the reveal was not worth spending the entire book leading up to it. And I think I would have much rather read how Leo dealt with learning the truth rather than her dealing with grief backwards for a year, never the wiser to what actually occurred!
It was an easy read, though not in content, and the ending was written well. It's unfortunate that the structure didn't work for me because I think if it were told in the chronological order, I would have ended up loving this one!
March 21, 2022
Many thanks to the publisher and EdelweissPlus for providing me with a DRC of this title. All opinions are my own.
I had high hopes for this book and it did NOT disappoint. While it did take a few chapters for the writing style to grow on me, in the end, I really liked it. The story is told in reverse, starting one year after Nina died. From there, each chapter takes you back closer and closer in time to the night of the accident. As the book goes on, the grief Leo (Nina's sister) and East (Nina's boyfriend) feel, along with the pain of their parents, becomes more and more palpable. This was a heavy, raw look at grief, but one that ultimately feels hopeful. Because you know, even at the end, when the pain and the shock are the worst, they have already lived through it. The characters came out the other side.
Highly recommend. This is a great read for anyone who enjoyed Benway's work Far from the Tree and titles by Jeff Zentner. First purchase type of stuff here.
I had high hopes for this book and it did NOT disappoint. While it did take a few chapters for the writing style to grow on me, in the end, I really liked it. The story is told in reverse, starting one year after Nina died. From there, each chapter takes you back closer and closer in time to the night of the accident. As the book goes on, the grief Leo (Nina's sister) and East (Nina's boyfriend) feel, along with the pain of their parents, becomes more and more palpable. This was a heavy, raw look at grief, but one that ultimately feels hopeful. Because you know, even at the end, when the pain and the shock are the worst, they have already lived through it. The characters came out the other side.
Highly recommend. This is a great read for anyone who enjoyed Benway's work Far from the Tree and titles by Jeff Zentner. First purchase type of stuff here.
September 28, 2022
I previously really liked both Emmy and Oliver and Far from the Tree by Robin Benway, but this book did absolutely nothing for me, unfortunately.
I would say that about 90% of that is due to the narrative choice of telling the story backwards. We begin one year after the accident that took Nina's life and work our way back to the night of the accident. This means that you're constantly reading references which you will only understand in the next chapter, earlier on the timeline. It's disjointed, it makes it hard to form any sort of attachment to the characters and it's simply the wrong choice if you're trying to tell a story centered on grief.
The third person narration didn't help either, it made everything sound even more awkward.
I would say that about 90% of that is due to the narrative choice of telling the story backwards. We begin one year after the accident that took Nina's life and work our way back to the night of the accident. This means that you're constantly reading references which you will only understand in the next chapter, earlier on the timeline. It's disjointed, it makes it hard to form any sort of attachment to the characters and it's simply the wrong choice if you're trying to tell a story centered on grief.
The third person narration didn't help either, it made everything sound even more awkward.
October 2, 2022
[Thank you to Epic Reads for sending me a physical ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]
It’s been one year since Leo’s sister Nina died. Nina’s boyfriend, East, was there the night of the accident. While Leo has forgotten most of the events of that night, he remembers everything. Told in reverse chronological order, A Year to the Day explores Leo’s grief as she attempts to piece together what happened.
The main selling point of this book for me was it being told in reverse chronological order. It was definitely interesting to see the events going backwards and the final event being the actual accident. However, given how many things repeat - recalling an event, the event, anticipation for the event - it got quite tiresome and it’s possible the book would be stronger in the standard format.
In my opinion, the ending - the accident - was the strongest part of the story. I didn’t feel for the grieving characters because I felt the author didn’t properly give life to Nina. It was more “this character was important to her family. Now she is dead” instead of giving the readers insight into who Nina was. Seeing Nina alive and thrive, knowing she was going to die was much more impactful than anything the story did prior.
The story teased Leo and East. Given how much time was spent on them, it would have been better to develop their connection in a more platonic way than what we got. Leo jumped at the chance to clarify they’re just friends one too many times to actually believe that.
I don’t think the grief was well done is this story. It was certainly present, but it didn’t do enough to pull the readers or touch them the way I’ve seen other stories do better.
The mystery of the accident also didn’t have much of a pull. The story jumped to events and didn’t feel cohesive enough to compel me to wonder what had happened. Seeing another review say there’s a twist to the reveal of the accident is really what heightened my curiosity. The fact an outside opinion rather than the actual narrative got my attention tells you everything about the flaws of this book.
The ending was written quite well, I certainly did not expect what was revealed.
If you like stories about grief, sisterhood, and a unique story structure, this is the book for you.
It’s been one year since Leo’s sister Nina died. Nina’s boyfriend, East, was there the night of the accident. While Leo has forgotten most of the events of that night, he remembers everything. Told in reverse chronological order, A Year to the Day explores Leo’s grief as she attempts to piece together what happened.
The main selling point of this book for me was it being told in reverse chronological order. It was definitely interesting to see the events going backwards and the final event being the actual accident. However, given how many things repeat - recalling an event, the event, anticipation for the event - it got quite tiresome and it’s possible the book would be stronger in the standard format.
In my opinion, the ending - the accident - was the strongest part of the story. I didn’t feel for the grieving characters because I felt the author didn’t properly give life to Nina. It was more “this character was important to her family. Now she is dead” instead of giving the readers insight into who Nina was. Seeing Nina alive and thrive, knowing she was going to die was much more impactful than anything the story did prior.
The story teased Leo and East. Given how much time was spent on them, it would have been better to develop their connection in a more platonic way than what we got. Leo jumped at the chance to clarify they’re just friends one too many times to actually believe that.
I don’t think the grief was well done is this story. It was certainly present, but it didn’t do enough to pull the readers or touch them the way I’ve seen other stories do better.
The mystery of the accident also didn’t have much of a pull. The story jumped to events and didn’t feel cohesive enough to compel me to wonder what had happened. Seeing another review say there’s a twist to the reveal of the accident is really what heightened my curiosity. The fact an outside opinion rather than the actual narrative got my attention tells you everything about the flaws of this book.
The ending was written quite well, I certainly did not expect what was revealed.
If you like stories about grief, sisterhood, and a unique story structure, this is the book for you.
May 9, 2022
Rating: 4.5 Stars
They say the first year is the hardest.
In her latest novel, Robin Benway explored the pain of losing a loved one. The thing that stood out the most was Benway’s choice to tell the story in reverse chronological order. It begins a year after Nina’s death, at her memorial where Nina’s loved ones were not fully healed but were okay. Since the story played out backwards, I could see the depth of the grief and how far they had come in their healing journey. There were many highs and lows, and I felt their pain and heartache in my bones.
But, I also experienced their overwhelming love for the young woman they lost. There were some really beautiful memories of Nina shared over the course of the year, and no recollections were as lovely as the ones shared between Leo and East. Both East and Leo loved Nina dearly. She was East’s girlfriend, as well as Leo’s sister and favorite person. They found a lot of comfort in each other, as they were not only connected by their love for Nina, but also, the fact that they were all involved in the accident. The duo had some tumultuous moments, but East became a dear friend of Leo’s. His friendship, and other things he did, were really meaningful.
Though the BIG reveal didn’t hit me in the way I believe was intended, I still felt the overall emotional impact of the story. Benway’s portrayal of this family’s grief was raw and real. It was moving and heartbreaking eliciting tears as well as smiles from me.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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They say the first year is the hardest.
In her latest novel, Robin Benway explored the pain of losing a loved one. The thing that stood out the most was Benway’s choice to tell the story in reverse chronological order. It begins a year after Nina’s death, at her memorial where Nina’s loved ones were not fully healed but were okay. Since the story played out backwards, I could see the depth of the grief and how far they had come in their healing journey. There were many highs and lows, and I felt their pain and heartache in my bones.
But, I also experienced their overwhelming love for the young woman they lost. There were some really beautiful memories of Nina shared over the course of the year, and no recollections were as lovely as the ones shared between Leo and East. Both East and Leo loved Nina dearly. She was East’s girlfriend, as well as Leo’s sister and favorite person. They found a lot of comfort in each other, as they were not only connected by their love for Nina, but also, the fact that they were all involved in the accident. The duo had some tumultuous moments, but East became a dear friend of Leo’s. His friendship, and other things he did, were really meaningful.
Though the BIG reveal didn’t hit me in the way I believe was intended, I still felt the overall emotional impact of the story. Benway’s portrayal of this family’s grief was raw and real. It was moving and heartbreaking eliciting tears as well as smiles from me.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
June 28, 2022
4.5*
Can we please talk about how underrated Robin Benway is? I have never read anything by her that didn't fully deliver, and yet she always seems to fly under the radar! Let's change that, yeah?
Anyway. I loved this book. Can I give you a hint that may help you love it more? When you finish, go back and read the first chapter again. It will give you a whole new perspective on what you've just read. When I first finished, I was hoping for a little more.... but then I went back and reread the beginning and I kind of felt totally fine with it! Just my suggestion, for what it's worth.
Anyway, as always with the author's stories, this one is emotionally driven. Given the synopsis, that was to be expected, and I do love when a book leaves me feeling a lot. This one certainly did. But beyond just the inevitable sadness about the loss of Nina, there was a lot of hope in the story, too. It was about more than just the grief that Leo was obviously feeling from the loss of her sister. Things like:
►Family dynamics, especially in the wake of a tragedy. Leo was going to have to move forward within her family unit in a different way, there is no question there. Because while she is grieving this huge loss, so are her parents. One of the things I loved most about this story was how the family was portrayed. The parents are divorced, but the stepmom Stephanie is wonderful. She's compassionate, and tries so hard to be understanding of the devastation of everyone around her- even while dealing with her own grief. Both parents are also handled really well. They aren't perfect, no, and they're both dealing with a lot, but it's so clear to see how much they love their children, and how much they are trying to be there for Leo.
►Leo's other friendships. Leo has always felt a bit alone, which is why it is great that she finds a friend in schoolmate Madison. East, Nina's boyfriend, also becomes an even more significant part of Leo's life after the accident. They bond because they miss Nina in a way that none of their peers can understand, and over time, they bond over more than just Nina. It's wonderful to see Leo building relationships.
►Therapy positive. In the same vein as Leo's parents supporting her, they also encourage her to talk to someone. Leo has to come to terms with her grief, which is no small task, but it is handled really well in the book.
There are a few loose ends that I might have wanted answered a bit more- and I will fully admit that I was hoping for an epilogue of sorts. But like I said, when I went back and reread the beginning, I felt more satisfied.
Bottom Line: Emotional and complex, this was another hit for Robin Benway.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
Can we please talk about how underrated Robin Benway is? I have never read anything by her that didn't fully deliver, and yet she always seems to fly under the radar! Let's change that, yeah?
Anyway. I loved this book. Can I give you a hint that may help you love it more? When you finish, go back and read the first chapter again. It will give you a whole new perspective on what you've just read. When I first finished, I was hoping for a little more.... but then I went back and reread the beginning and I kind of felt totally fine with it! Just my suggestion, for what it's worth.
Anyway, as always with the author's stories, this one is emotionally driven. Given the synopsis, that was to be expected, and I do love when a book leaves me feeling a lot. This one certainly did. But beyond just the inevitable sadness about the loss of Nina, there was a lot of hope in the story, too. It was about more than just the grief that Leo was obviously feeling from the loss of her sister. Things like:
►Family dynamics, especially in the wake of a tragedy. Leo was going to have to move forward within her family unit in a different way, there is no question there. Because while she is grieving this huge loss, so are her parents. One of the things I loved most about this story was how the family was portrayed. The parents are divorced, but the stepmom Stephanie is wonderful. She's compassionate, and tries so hard to be understanding of the devastation of everyone around her- even while dealing with her own grief. Both parents are also handled really well. They aren't perfect, no, and they're both dealing with a lot, but it's so clear to see how much they love their children, and how much they are trying to be there for Leo.
►Leo's other friendships. Leo has always felt a bit alone, which is why it is great that she finds a friend in schoolmate Madison. East, Nina's boyfriend, also becomes an even more significant part of Leo's life after the accident. They bond because they miss Nina in a way that none of their peers can understand, and over time, they bond over more than just Nina. It's wonderful to see Leo building relationships.
►Therapy positive. In the same vein as Leo's parents supporting her, they also encourage her to talk to someone. Leo has to come to terms with her grief, which is no small task, but it is handled really well in the book.
There are a few loose ends that I might have wanted answered a bit more- and I will fully admit that I was hoping for an epilogue of sorts. But like I said, when I went back and reread the beginning, I felt more satisfied.
Bottom Line: Emotional and complex, this was another hit for Robin Benway.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
May 2, 2022
Disappointed and feeling torn. . . I love Benway's voice and writing style, however, this story told in reverse might be a good writing exercise, but it does not work for me as a reader. It makes the story unfold differently, but was not enjoyable. The raw grief is done well and for that, I am rounding my rating to a 3. Unfortunately, when the ending was revealed, it made many of the characters' actions and choices early in the story, (but after the event) unbelievable.
March 22, 2024
I absolutely loved Far from the Tree, so I've been meaning to pick this one up for awhile, and while it was not up to that one, it's still a really high three stars, and this is a beautiful book about grief!!!
I really wonder if this book was more on the literary fiction side, and could have just focused on the grief, it would have been better... the format of the book is the story told backwards, back to how she died, which makes it feel (even more with the ending) that the mystery is the story, and how the accident happened it shouldn't matter!!!! This story shouldn't be driven by "got-you-moments", it doesn't need those, it loses its power with those!!!
The real point of this story and the beauty of it is the portrayal of its grief!!! Leo's love and missing her sister, and trying to move on and mourn her at the same time, learning who to share that grief with is such an incredible and painful thing to read... to see her trying to be a rock for her mother - the despair of losing a child so raw - and making her decisions led with that, but also finding support with her father and stepmom (honestly always here for positive step-family representations!!), and finding joy with a new sister (and how that gets to exist with joy and grief).
Then besides the family side, also the friendships with Easton, her sister's boyfriend, the common ground you find with someone also grieving, who can understand the intricacies of your pain... and then with Madison, again that connection, and the grief that can exist even without death, but with time lost.
Overall grief is just handled beautiful!!! I just think it gets lost in the format of the book - it did not need that build up to the accident - and it would be better with non-chronological storytelling (and also some past one year moments, that I would like). But it's still definitely a recommendation!!!
I really wonder if this book was more on the literary fiction side, and could have just focused on the grief, it would have been better... the format of the book is the story told backwards, back to how she died, which makes it feel (even more with the ending) that the mystery is the story, and how the accident happened it shouldn't matter!!!! This story shouldn't be driven by "got-you-moments", it doesn't need those, it loses its power with those!!!
The real point of this story and the beauty of it is the portrayal of its grief!!! Leo's love and missing her sister, and trying to move on and mourn her at the same time, learning who to share that grief with is such an incredible and painful thing to read... to see her trying to be a rock for her mother - the despair of losing a child so raw - and making her decisions led with that, but also finding support with her father and stepmom (honestly always here for positive step-family representations!!), and finding joy with a new sister (and how that gets to exist with joy and grief).
Then besides the family side, also the friendships with Easton, her sister's boyfriend, the common ground you find with someone also grieving, who can understand the intricacies of your pain... and then with Madison, again that connection, and the grief that can exist even without death, but with time lost.
Overall grief is just handled beautiful!!! I just think it gets lost in the format of the book - it did not need that build up to the accident - and it would be better with non-chronological storytelling (and also some past one year moments, that I would like). But it's still definitely a recommendation!!!
August 29, 2022
I so badly wanted to love this one. I did enjoy it, I didn’t love it and I think a lot of that comes from the fact that its told in reverse chronological order. It starts one year after an accident with the last chapters being the night of the accident and before. For me I found it didn’t flow nicely and I felt some of the moments in the book lose their significance because you see the outcome before what leads up to that outcome.
With it going backwards though you do get to see their grief and how far they come in dealing with it. The ending did have a small twist that I wasn’t expecting but also didn’t love.
While this one was a good read, I really didn’t love the reverse order. I would however be open to reading more from this author!
Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen.
With it going backwards though you do get to see their grief and how far they come in dealing with it. The ending did have a small twist that I wasn’t expecting but also didn’t love.
While this one was a good read, I really didn’t love the reverse order. I would however be open to reading more from this author!
Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen.
March 28, 2023
I loved the author's other novel "Far From the Tree" and was pretty confident I'd enjoy another of her books. Sadly, this was not the case.
A book told in reverse sounds really cool in theory, but I think it should have stayed as a fun creative writing experiment, instead of becoming a fully published novel.
There are several reasons why this storytelling device just doesn't work. One: it's repetitive. You read about the same things over and over, already knowing how it ends before understanding how it started. So once you find out how events started, it just doesn't have the same impact anymore. This also goes for the final "twist" in the book - which was basically the only thing I was reading it for. But once I got to the end - believe me - it was NOT worth it. Not in the slightest. Finding out the events leading to the sister's death did absolutely nothing to change anything or any of my feelings towards the narrative.
If that wasn't bad enough, the characters really were insufferable. Leo acted like she had ownership of grief the whole time, like no one in the world could possibly understand at all what she's going through, even her own parents! Like I get that she's a teenager going through something truly awful, but I just didn't find anything to like about her character. East was just as annoying to me, and I truly couldn't understand what was supposed to be so special about him. I found the relationship between Leo and East to be very odd and strangely icky. They have this really weird "we're just friends" will-they-won't-they between them I just couldn't stand. (Can I also just say I really don't like their names? I know it's a silly complaint but really, the names Leo and East irked me throughout the whole story. I'm sorry to be this way!)
A book told in reverse sounds really cool in theory, but I think it should have stayed as a fun creative writing experiment, instead of becoming a fully published novel.
There are several reasons why this storytelling device just doesn't work. One: it's repetitive. You read about the same things over and over, already knowing how it ends before understanding how it started. So once you find out how events started, it just doesn't have the same impact anymore. This also goes for the final "twist" in the book - which was basically the only thing I was reading it for. But once I got to the end - believe me - it was NOT worth it. Not in the slightest. Finding out the events leading to the sister's death did absolutely nothing to change anything or any of my feelings towards the narrative.
If that wasn't bad enough, the characters really were insufferable. Leo acted like she had ownership of grief the whole time, like no one in the world could possibly understand at all what she's going through, even her own parents! Like I get that she's a teenager going through something truly awful, but I just didn't find anything to like about her character. East was just as annoying to me, and I truly couldn't understand what was supposed to be so special about him. I found the relationship between Leo and East to be very odd and strangely icky. They have this really weird "we're just friends" will-they-won't-they between them I just couldn't stand. (Can I also just say I really don't like their names? I know it's a silly complaint but really, the names Leo and East irked me throughout the whole story. I'm sorry to be this way!)
May 1, 2024
Блин, какое-то погружение в кошмар
June 13, 2022
You know me at this point, I’m a sucker for novels that manage to perfectly capture emotions and moments in a realistic light. This novel processes the emotions of trauma after losing a loved one. The way that time seems to slow and your memories can’t help but recall everything as your chest holds tightly to the pain you’re attempting to process. This story hits so much more fervently with the timeline being told in reverse. Beware… you’re gonna need tissues.
October 26, 2022
After the death of Leo's older sister, Nina, Leo mourns with her parents and an unexpected bright spot, Nina's boyfriend, East.
Other reviews said they expected more grief in this story, but after losing my dad two months ago and my mom almost five years ago, I felt like the grief was palpable and spot on. I teared up more than a handful of times. Additionally, after surviving the same car accident, Leo and East can't help but feel survivor's guilt. Leo also feels the need to protect and heal her mother's broken heart. Of course, that's a lot for a teen to deal with, and I felt her pain.
I liked so much about this story — from the mother-daughter relationship to a sweet and caring stepmother (finally!) to the strong, developing friendship between Leo and East — but my least favorite part was how the timeline moved backwards. It started "A Year to the Day" after the car accident and then went back in time to just 23 hours and 28 minutes before the car accident which I found a bit confusing as I tried to remember the foreshadowing in reverse order (if that makes sense ha). Lastly, the ending included something I'd guessed early on and hoped wouldn't happen (although I do understand why the author wrote it that way).
3.5 stars
Far from the Tree (5 stars) remains my favorite by this author!
Audiobook
Other reviews said they expected more grief in this story, but after losing my dad two months ago and my mom almost five years ago, I felt like the grief was palpable and spot on. I teared up more than a handful of times. Additionally, after surviving the same car accident, Leo and East can't help but feel survivor's guilt. Leo also feels the need to protect and heal her mother's broken heart. Of course, that's a lot for a teen to deal with, and I felt her pain.
I liked so much about this story — from the mother-daughter relationship to a sweet and caring stepmother (finally!) to the strong, developing friendship between Leo and East — but my least favorite part was how the timeline moved backwards. It started "A Year to the Day" after the car accident and then went back in time to just 23 hours and 28 minutes before the car accident which I found a bit confusing as I tried to remember the foreshadowing in reverse order (if that makes sense ha). Lastly, the ending included something I'd guessed early on and hoped wouldn't happen (although I do understand why the author wrote it that way).
3.5 stars
Far from the Tree (5 stars) remains my favorite by this author!
Audiobook
September 5, 2022
I got very frustrated with this book at first for several reasons. First, it seemed to be moving so slowly! Second, why reverse chronological order? Shouldn't we be seeing Leo recover and move through her grief instead of spiraling ever downward with her? Perhaps the slow pace was more me than the book. I'm a fast reader, but I listened to all of this one, and it took f o r e v e r!! Perhaps it felt slow because so many moments brought me near tears? Or perhaps it was the reverse chronology. I already knew what happened, so why was I still reading? And yet, I soldiered on, and I'm so glad I did! The ending is worth it. Benway's portrayal of sisterly love made me wish I had a better relationship with my own sister, and the tears came alternately from fear of losing a child and remembering the grief of losing my best friend. Give this one a try. You may cry, but you won't regret it!
May 18, 2022
Dear @epicreads - I would like to speak with management. HOW DARE YOU! I would like to request my money back from the #free book you gave me because it SHATTERED MY SOUL. Who is responsible for waking up and saying to themselves, "Oh yeah, let's break some people with this one?" Oh, and don't get me started with you, @robinbenway – You wrote this BACKWARDS, so I was FULLY AWARE of what was coming, yet somehow, you magician slapped me sideways out of my seat sobbing. You know it is coming, YOU KNOW IT'S COMING, yet it still kills you. HOW. HOW. HOW. This emotionally swallowed me. I would happily sell my soul to the devil down in Georgia to reread this for the first time.
A year to the Day is a story told backward. Leo and her sister Nina leave a party with her boyfriend East, only to end up in a car accident. Nina is killed by a drunk driver. The story starts a year to the Day after Nina is killed, and you follow along as you watch the story unfold of how Leo and East form a friendship to overcome grief, with one of them knowing everything that happened and one not. They say the first year is always the hardest, and reading about the parents is what annihilated me. Although it will smash you into pieces, this is a worthwhile and rewarding read. Pre-order right now, save in GoodReads, request at the library, or do whatever you need to read this. You won't want to miss it.
Oh. & it's 5 stars.
A year to the Day is a story told backward. Leo and her sister Nina leave a party with her boyfriend East, only to end up in a car accident. Nina is killed by a drunk driver. The story starts a year to the Day after Nina is killed, and you follow along as you watch the story unfold of how Leo and East form a friendship to overcome grief, with one of them knowing everything that happened and one not. They say the first year is always the hardest, and reading about the parents is what annihilated me. Although it will smash you into pieces, this is a worthwhile and rewarding read. Pre-order right now, save in GoodReads, request at the library, or do whatever you need to read this. You won't want to miss it.
Oh. & it's 5 stars.
May 20, 2022
3 stars
I love Robin Benway so much that I've taught two of her novels - one for several years - in a college-level children's/YA literature course. Thus, I was thrilled to be able to read this newest addition to the collection and also so surprised to find myself a bit disappointed with it overall.
Leo, the m.c., is going through a terrible experience. When readers meet her, she's a year (to the titular day) out from her sister Nina's tragic death in a car accident. To make things worse, Leo and East - Nina's boyfriend - were also in the accident, and Leo cannot remember any details of the accident itself.
The best features of this book are Benway's characteristically flowing style and expansive (for the audience) character development. Come and then stay for this. What did not work as well for me is the structure. Readers start at that one-year mark and then work back in time toward the accident and the time surrounding it. It's tough - especially in such a darkly themed book - to feel any sense of hope as we all knowingly move toward the main event. We can't change the outcome, and it's also somewhat tedious to read about even the smallest life events or exchanges and then read about the anticipation of those moments...that we've already seen. It's an interesting concept, but I really struggled with this format. The biggest challenge is the accident itself. Leo makes a regular point, understandably, of questioning why she can't remember the details. It's not hard to guess what those details might be. Arriving at the details made me think, "Huh. I knew this was coming. I was dreading it. And that's the end."
No book about the unexpected death of a teenager is going to be uplifting, but this one really spirals down from times are tough to let's review how tough they were and end there. Rather than feeling innovative, this structure made me feel detached from the characters and from their outcomes...since we just keep going backward.
I remain a devoted fan of this author, but this one just didn't work for me.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I love Robin Benway so much that I've taught two of her novels - one for several years - in a college-level children's/YA literature course. Thus, I was thrilled to be able to read this newest addition to the collection and also so surprised to find myself a bit disappointed with it overall.
Leo, the m.c., is going through a terrible experience. When readers meet her, she's a year (to the titular day) out from her sister Nina's tragic death in a car accident. To make things worse, Leo and East - Nina's boyfriend - were also in the accident, and Leo cannot remember any details of the accident itself.
The best features of this book are Benway's characteristically flowing style and expansive (for the audience) character development. Come and then stay for this. What did not work as well for me is the structure. Readers start at that one-year mark and then work back in time toward the accident and the time surrounding it. It's tough - especially in such a darkly themed book - to feel any sense of hope as we all knowingly move toward the main event. We can't change the outcome, and it's also somewhat tedious to read about even the smallest life events or exchanges and then read about the anticipation of those moments...that we've already seen. It's an interesting concept, but I really struggled with this format. The biggest challenge is the accident itself. Leo makes a regular point, understandably, of questioning why she can't remember the details. It's not hard to guess what those details might be. Arriving at the details made me think, "Huh. I knew this was coming. I was dreading it. And that's the end."
No book about the unexpected death of a teenager is going to be uplifting, but this one really spirals down from times are tough to let's review how tough they were and end there. Rather than feeling innovative, this structure made me feel detached from the characters and from their outcomes...since we just keep going backward.
I remain a devoted fan of this author, but this one just didn't work for me.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
March 6, 2024
3.5 STARS
Novels told in reverse can be hit or miss for me. E Lockhart made the format work in GENUINE FRAUD by having the final chapter not the earliest, but latest. I didn’t see the point in Jodi Picoult’s A SPARK OF LIGHT, where the reverse storytelling felt gimmicky.
A YEAR TO THE DAY would have been a solid 5 stars if it had been told chronologically. The writing, characters and journey through the first year of grief were well executed. The reverse timeline was unnecessary and made the ending anticlimactic.
The audiobook narration was on point, raised my rating to 4 stars.
Novels told in reverse can be hit or miss for me. E Lockhart made the format work in GENUINE FRAUD by having the final chapter not the earliest, but latest. I didn’t see the point in Jodi Picoult’s A SPARK OF LIGHT, where the reverse storytelling felt gimmicky.
A YEAR TO THE DAY would have been a solid 5 stars if it had been told chronologically. The writing, characters and journey through the first year of grief were well executed. The reverse timeline was unnecessary and made the ending anticlimactic.
The audiobook narration was on point, raised my rating to 4 stars.
August 4, 2022
The end of this book GUTTED me. Did not see that coming one bit. The whole time I was thinking that the reverse chronological timeline didn’t really work but then you read the last chapter and it all pulls together and works beautifully.
January 19, 2023
I think I’ve said it enough that it’s become an official fact: I dislike books about grief. I don’t know. I just typically do.
Well, this is about grief. And I think I loved it?! I open up to page one and see immediately that it begins on my birthday; we’re off to a good start! And then, the book is told….backwards, chronologically!!! For whatever reason, the “unraveling” style of this helped me enjoy it SO much. Specifically, in a book about grief, as far as the end goes there is typically little “left to wonder about”. Someone is dead. Someone is going to learn to cope with it. We know all of these things. But this I maybe enjoyed because I was still curious? There were still holes to be filled? I totally loved the backwards timeline. It worked for me. And when I tell you…the ANTICIPATION I had in the last 30 pages of this..I’m talking I.had.to.know. Couldn’t stop reading. And yeah sure, it was actually a bit disappointing and anticlimactic. (Because, ya know, yeah. Someone is still dead!) The anticipation was still very enjoyable. *AND THEN* I had to go back and reread the first ~30 pages again. IT CHANGED EVERYTHING. (I don’t know how she wrote this. Did she actually write it beginning to end then flip it? How? How did she weave as much as she did in without losing her train of thought?!) I will reread this. I consider rereading a waste of my time, but I will reread this so I can’t pick up on alllllll of the things. It gets five stars based on that, the fact that I got *excited* about a grief book, and because I found the grief in this imaginable and realistic. Leo’s experience and her relationships were all SO believable. These characters felt real to me. I hurt for all of them in such different ways. But the book still brought me…joy? (I’m telling ya, WEIRD for a book focused on grief. ) I’ve loved Robin Benway since “Emmy and Oliver” a bazillion years ago but she kinda just blew my mind on this one. I don’t think *everyone* will enjoy it. But I was wildly into the unraveling style.
Well, this is about grief. And I think I loved it?! I open up to page one and see immediately that it begins on my birthday; we’re off to a good start! And then, the book is told….backwards, chronologically!!! For whatever reason, the “unraveling” style of this helped me enjoy it SO much. Specifically, in a book about grief, as far as the end goes there is typically little “left to wonder about”. Someone is dead. Someone is going to learn to cope with it. We know all of these things. But this I maybe enjoyed because I was still curious? There were still holes to be filled? I totally loved the backwards timeline. It worked for me. And when I tell you…the ANTICIPATION I had in the last 30 pages of this..I’m talking I.had.to.know. Couldn’t stop reading. And yeah sure, it was actually a bit disappointing and anticlimactic. (Because, ya know, yeah. Someone is still dead!) The anticipation was still very enjoyable. *AND THEN* I had to go back and reread the first ~30 pages again. IT CHANGED EVERYTHING. (I don’t know how she wrote this. Did she actually write it beginning to end then flip it? How? How did she weave as much as she did in without losing her train of thought?!) I will reread this. I consider rereading a waste of my time, but I will reread this so I can’t pick up on alllllll of the things. It gets five stars based on that, the fact that I got *excited* about a grief book, and because I found the grief in this imaginable and realistic. Leo’s experience and her relationships were all SO believable. These characters felt real to me. I hurt for all of them in such different ways. But the book still brought me…joy? (I’m telling ya, WEIRD for a book focused on grief. ) I’ve loved Robin Benway since “Emmy and Oliver” a bazillion years ago but she kinda just blew my mind on this one. I don’t think *everyone* will enjoy it. But I was wildly into the unraveling style.
June 25, 2022
Book Review: A Year To The Day by Robin Benway
A Year To The Day is a young adult contemporary novel about a teenage girl who lost her sister in a horrific car accident. It’s told backwards from the one year anniversary of her death to the day of the crash.
Leo doesn’t remember the details of the accident that killed her sister. Although she begs the other surviving passenger (her sister’s boyfriend East) he refuses to tell her and she is left with both unanswered questions and the overwhelming grief losing her sister. She is also trying to be there for her mother who is single and struggling alone while her father is expecting a baby with his second wife. Told in chapters that each take us further backward toward the accident we get closer to the truth of the memories Leo lost.
The Robin Benway did an amazing job of describing Nina (the deceased sister) so well that the audience is very aware of what Leo lost. Nina is the voice in her ear making sarcastic remarks, having strong opinions and doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Now Leo is on her own and trying to incorporate what Nina taught her plus navigate the tricky world of female friendships in high school. East is the sweet and grieving boyfriend who is trying to plan for life after high school and college without Nina.
This is a well written portrait of grief and life after losing a family member. Robin Benway did an excellent job of making the teenagers relatable and authentic and despite the topic of grief being difficult she still made it an entertaining and uplifting read
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Year To The Day is a young adult contemporary novel about a teenage girl who lost her sister in a horrific car accident. It’s told backwards from the one year anniversary of her death to the day of the crash.
Leo doesn’t remember the details of the accident that killed her sister. Although she begs the other surviving passenger (her sister’s boyfriend East) he refuses to tell her and she is left with both unanswered questions and the overwhelming grief losing her sister. She is also trying to be there for her mother who is single and struggling alone while her father is expecting a baby with his second wife. Told in chapters that each take us further backward toward the accident we get closer to the truth of the memories Leo lost.
The Robin Benway did an amazing job of describing Nina (the deceased sister) so well that the audience is very aware of what Leo lost. Nina is the voice in her ear making sarcastic remarks, having strong opinions and doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Now Leo is on her own and trying to incorporate what Nina taught her plus navigate the tricky world of female friendships in high school. East is the sweet and grieving boyfriend who is trying to plan for life after high school and college without Nina.
This is a well written portrait of grief and life after losing a family member. Robin Benway did an excellent job of making the teenagers relatable and authentic and despite the topic of grief being difficult she still made it an entertaining and uplifting read
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
April 18, 2025
If there was a 3.5 rating, I would choose that as opposed to just a 3 star rating. It was slightly above average but I would rate it at 3 stars only because I feel this story would hit more if told from multiple points of view. This story is told a year after a tragic car accident involving Nina (who died), her sister Leo, and Nina’s boyfriend East, in reverse chronological order. It was an interesting choice using reverse chronological order as that is something I haven’t read before but although Leo is the protagonist, Nina is the overarching main character throughout the story. There were so many opportunities to explore raw emotions from Nina’s mom, East and many others if the story wasn’t only told through Leo’s eyes. I especially wanted East to have a chapter as he is the only one that remembers the events of the accident compared to Leo that is suffering from dissociative amnesia. It may have been intentional on the author’s part but still a missed opportunity to flesh out the story more.
If you are looking for a story on family and handling grief, this is story is good, but Benway’s former novel ‘Far from the Tree’ knocks this one out of the park.
I however, did enjoy seeing how each character chose to handle grief when experiencing loss from the same person. This story is an intense view into how your life can instantly change in a matter of minutes.
If you are looking for a story on family and handling grief, this is story is good, but Benway’s former novel ‘Far from the Tree’ knocks this one out of the park.
I however, did enjoy seeing how each character chose to handle grief when experiencing loss from the same person. This story is an intense view into how your life can instantly change in a matter of minutes.
June 28, 2022
It's been a year since Leo's sister Nina died in a tragic car accident. The narrative moves backwards in time though and explores Leo's grief coupled with that of Nina's boyfriend East. Leo has no memory of what happened that night and she struggles to deal with losing her sister and surviving the accident.
A Year to the Day is real, raw, and packed full of emotion. I noticed that a lot of reviewers didn't like the reverse narrative format of the story, but I found it to be unique, and an interested way to put together a puzzle. Leo is a character full of pain and depth. She's believable, and likeable. The other characters don't have as much depth as she does, but maybe that's intentional. East is given more dimension, but still, this is Leo's story
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. I definitely would recommend this to young adults struggling to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. They might see a bit of themselves in Leo.
A Year to the Day is real, raw, and packed full of emotion. I noticed that a lot of reviewers didn't like the reverse narrative format of the story, but I found it to be unique, and an interested way to put together a puzzle. Leo is a character full of pain and depth. She's believable, and likeable. The other characters don't have as much depth as she does, but maybe that's intentional. East is given more dimension, but still, this is Leo's story
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. I definitely would recommend this to young adults struggling to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. They might see a bit of themselves in Leo.
January 23, 2023
Really solid and interesting idea with less than phenomenal execution.
The way this book handles grief is, in my opinion, well done. It talks a lot about how people grieve differently and that it’s okay to do what you need to to cope. The depictions of the many people’s different types of coping mechanisms was a nice and interesting perspective.
Unfortunately the story besides this is not something I really got into. I really did enjoy that there was one thing after the next in almost every chapter that made me want to continue reading to get more insights, but the reveals were not so exciting. The characters themselves felt not entirely fleshed out or interesting and I honestly couldn’t say much about the main character’s personality besides that she really loved and cared for her sister. The only character I really knew about was Nina.
One thing that was very confusing to me was near the end of the book when they are at the funeral. The kiss between Leo and East was strange but a relationship between the sibling and partner of a dead loved one is not unheard of. What I found to be off-putting here was that suddenly Leo was drunk right after he leaves and when Gertie shows up. There’s no mention of her drinking anything at all beforehand and it really took me out of it.
What really disappointed me was the finally reveal at the end when we finally learn what happened on the night of the crash. By the time we get to it, we almost have all of the information besides the fact that Leo was the one driving. Once I realized that, I expected it to have been her fault that they got into the accident but it seems like that didn’t happen. If that’s the only reason why East didn’t want to tell her it was incredibly hyped up and honest left me disappointed.
Overall I think this idea had wonderful potential and the book is certainly not hard or unbearable to read through at all, it just feels like it needed a bit more work in terms of story building and character development.
The way this book handles grief is, in my opinion, well done. It talks a lot about how people grieve differently and that it’s okay to do what you need to to cope. The depictions of the many people’s different types of coping mechanisms was a nice and interesting perspective.
Unfortunately the story besides this is not something I really got into. I really did enjoy that there was one thing after the next in almost every chapter that made me want to continue reading to get more insights, but the reveals were not so exciting. The characters themselves felt not entirely fleshed out or interesting and I honestly couldn’t say much about the main character’s personality besides that she really loved and cared for her sister. The only character I really knew about was Nina.
One thing that was very confusing to me was near the end of the book when they are at the funeral. The kiss between Leo and East was strange but a relationship between the sibling and partner of a dead loved one is not unheard of. What I found to be off-putting here was that suddenly Leo was drunk right after he leaves and when Gertie shows up. There’s no mention of her drinking anything at all beforehand and it really took me out of it.
What really disappointed me was the finally reveal at the end when we finally learn what happened on the night of the crash. By the time we get to it, we almost have all of the information besides the fact that Leo was the one driving. Once I realized that, I expected it to have been her fault that they got into the accident but it seems like that didn’t happen. If that’s the only reason why East didn’t want to tell her it was incredibly hyped up and honest left me disappointed.
Overall I think this idea had wonderful potential and the book is certainly not hard or unbearable to read through at all, it just feels like it needed a bit more work in terms of story building and character development.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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