Book Review: In 27 Days

“Hadley Jamison is shocked when she hears that her classmate, Archer Morales, has committed suicide. She didn’t know the quiet, reserved guy very well, but that doesn’t stop her from feeling there was something she could have done to help him.

Hoping to find some sense of closure, Hadley attends Archer’s funeral. There, she is approached by a man who calls himself Death and offers her a deal. If Hadley accepts, she will be sent back twenty-seven days in time to prevent Archer from killing himself. But when Hadley agrees to Death’s terms and goes back to right the past, she quickly learns her mission is harder than she ever could have known.

Time ticks away as Hadley looks for ways to not only talk to Archer but to know him on a deeper level. But just as she and Archer connect, a series of dangerous accidents starts pushing them apart. Hadley must decide whether she is ready to risk everything—including her life—to keep Archer alive.” (from Goodreads)

I saw this book at the library when it was first released, and it quite intrigued me. (Not to mention the cover is one of the most gorgeous ones I’ve ever seen. ❤ ❤ ) I looked at it a few times, but I always put it back because I wasn’t sure I was up for reading a book with suicide as the main topic.

Flashforward about a year later and my Goodreads feed blew up with friends leaving rave reviews of it. I got a few more details from them about the content (thank you for answering my detailed questions!) and finally decided it was time to give it a try. I couldn’t find a copy at my library, so I bought a used copy and I’m so glad I did.

This book is not what I was expecting. I have no idea what I was expecting, exactly, but this wasn’t it. This was so much more. More compelling. More emotionally tangible. More everything.

The opening chapter caught hold of my emotions so well. I felt every question, ounce of devastation, and shred of guilt Hadley did. The unexpected death of someone I didn’t really know has hit me twice now, so I related deeply. The suicide was never shown or explained even, but I didn’t feel that it need to be for me to see the devastating wrongness of it happening.

I really liked all the characters. Maybe liked isn’t the right word, since some of them were unsavory. They were well done, and I felt like I knew them by the end. Hadley was just really, really normal–not a Mary Sue or a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Even though she wasn’t the one who the deal was centered on, I loved how she had loneliness and worry for the future and some things she needed rescuing from just as much as Archer.

Archer. He was not a particularly likeable character, but I was rooting for his rescue every single page. He had so much to live for and yet so much trauma and unaddressed PTSD and guilt that threatened to suffocate him. Not to mention the social barriers he had built to protect himself. Every once in a while, I got a glimpse of the sweet man deep inside him, but I grew to love him in all his facets. Oh, and I very much loved his family. They were realistically loud and nosy and wonderful. XD

I guess Death is probably the third character of the main ones. He was as mysterious and unsettling as you would expect, but I liked the pretty strong hints that he’s definitely under God’s authority and possibly some type of angel. I wasn’t expecting that from a mainstream published book, so kudos.

And the crux of the story came directly from a Scripture. ❤

Friend, this book isn’t about a suicide or preventing a suicide or falling in love or rescuing and being rescued or the sanctity of life or learning to live even though it was about those things. No, the book was about answering the question, how far would you go to love someone? With nothing in return? Just because someone needs to love them. What are you willing to give up?

It was thoroughly amazing and challenging and tearjerking. ❤

I’m going to pass on the favor done to me by my lovely Goodreads friends and tell you a little bit about the content. This book was heavy on redacted language as well as a very obvious acronym for one word. I’ll be using some whiteout on my copy to make re-reads more to my preference. 😉 Also, the kissing in this was a little more descriptive than I prefer and happened in an undefined relationship.

Altogether, this was a truly impactful read. I’m so glad I took a chance on it. ❤