A Review for Saving Zoë by Alyson Noel

Posted by Donna
Release Date: January 5th, 2013

Finished Date: December 1st, 2012

Publishers: Macmillan Audio
Source: Bought

Format: Audio Book

Length: 6 Hours and 3 Minutes
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

It’s been one year since the brutal murder of her older sister, Zoë, and fifteen-year-old Echo is still reeling from the aftermath. Her parents are numb, her friends are moving on, and the awkward start to her freshman year proves she’ll never live up to her sister’s memory. Until Zoë’s former boyfriend Marc shows up with Zoë’s diary.

At first Echo’s not interested, doubting there’s anything in there she doesn’t already know. But when curiosity prevails, she starts reading, becoming so immersed in her sister’s secret world, their lives begin to blur, forcing Echo to uncover the truth behind Zoë’s life so that she can start to rebuild her own.

Prepare to laugh your heart out and cry your eyes out in this highly addictive tale as Alyson Noël tackles the complicated relationship between two sisters and shows how the bond can endure long after one of them is gone.

The Review: Alyson Noël was one of the first authors I ever read after reading Twilight, and I have to admit she really had me hooked with her Immortal Series. Admittedly it’s been a while since I’ve picked up any of her books but when I came across Saving Zoë on Audible UK, I thought I’d try it because I haven’t tried any YA contemporary by Alyson so far. 

Saving  Zoë is just over 6 hours long to listen to and I have to say within a few minutes I couldn’t stop listening. I literally spent my whole Sunday afternoon listening to this book while making Christmas cakes and I had so much fun, even though the book is based on such a hard subject. Zoë – Echo’s older sister is murdered and Echo and her family – including Zoë’s boyfriend Marc, are still struggling with her death. When Marc gives Echo Zoë’s diary, Echo is given the chance to truly get to know and understand her sister – but will she take it?

I really did enjoy this story – so much more than I originally thought I would. Its money well spent if you ask me. I wasn’t looking for anything to complicated, I wanted a short and enjoyable read and that’s what I got, but I also go so much more because it was emotional, gripping and mysterious too. All you really know from the start of the book is that Zoë was murdered, but you don’t know why or by who until later on, and by Echo reading her diary, you also get to know Zoë and what happened before her death. I really enjoyed it. It felt as though Zoë was there all the way through and even though I felt Zoë was a normal teenager, she just made a few mistakes along the way but for her, she paid a very high price for them. 

I really enjoyed Echo’s character too. She goes through so much with the death of her sister that she will do anything to try and hold on to her – even going after her sister’s boyfriend. Echo and Marc have a complicated relationship, they meet to talk about Zoë and find a common ground but that’s about it. I was kind of rooting for them to be together but I guess it could never really work because although Zoë is gone, she is still a very big part of their lives. Not only that but there’s secondary characters that play a huge part in the story too, which was great because it added that little bit more to the story. 

Overall, Alyson Noël disappoint me with Saving Zoë and I’m definitely going to be looking out for more of her contemporary novels.