Little Do We Know

Starred review from April 9, 2018
Despite their different personalities, Emory and Hannah have been best friends and next-door neighbors since childhood. But after a bitter argument, which ends with Emory calling Hannah a “sheep” for always following her minister father’s beliefs, the two don’t speak as they continue their senior years at separate high schools. Emory focuses on her lead role in a school play and her forthcoming acting audition at UCLA. Hannah continues to play the role of devoted daughter at the Christian school where her father is principal, but she is haunted by Emory’s words and begins to question everything she’s been taught. Then Hannah finds Emory’s boyfriend Luke unconscious in front of her house, changing the lives of all three teens. Touching on weighty issues, including sexual harassment, religious crises, friendship, and taboo love, Stone (Time Between Us) writes a thought-provoking novel that challenges conventional ideas. With well-developed detail, the characters have realistic vulnerabilities and experience profound transformations that lead them to look at the world differently. Ages 14–18. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

June 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Stone's latest novel explores how trauma of any kind can change us forever. Hannah and Emory were best friends until a few months ago. The grass between their two houses was their safe haven, but has been abandoned since the morning of a horrible argument. Hannah is questioning her faith in God as Emory is dealing with a hidden secret and the anticipation of having to part from her boyfriend, Luke, at the end of the summer. The teens' lives collide when Hannah finds Luke in an unresponsive state and Emory is forced to see her. Stone paints a true picture of trauma and its effects on our minds and bodies. The themes of faith, fate, and friendship radiate throughout. Though a few sexual scenes are present, they are short and not overly detailed. Readers who liked Emery Lord's When We Collided or Nicola Yoon's The Sun Is Also a Star will take to this serious topic and narrative style. VERDICT A realistic fiction novel for those who enjoy a dramatic romance; a must-have for most YA shelves. -Elizabeth Pelayo, St. Charles East High School, IL

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2018
A life-altering incident sets two ex-best friends on a collision course.Best friends and next-door neighbors Hannah and Emory haven't spoken since the fight when they both said things they can't share and can't take back. In alternating chapters, Emory focuses all her energies on theater and her boyfriend, Luke, while Hannah, the daughter of a pastor who is also the principal of her Christian high school, questions her faith as the result of the things Emory said to her that day. Their paths collide unexpectedly when Hannah finds Luke unresponsive at the wheel of his car late one night. Though he miraculously survives his injuries, he finds that he cannot move forward in the aftermath of the accident and turns to Hannah to confide the truth behind his near-death experience. When his story reaches a wider audience, things spiral beyond their control and the rift between Hannah and Emory threatens to grow even wider. Though Luke's spiritual experience brings him and Hannah closer together and threatens to drive him and Emory apart, these characters are clearheaded and sympathetic, and the narrative avoids typecasting them or straying into melodrama. Emory and Luke share a notably sex-positive relationship, and Hannah experiences a forbidden attraction that neither ends in scandal nor distracts from the central plot. Hannah, Emory, and Luke are white.A life-affirming story of friendship, love, and faith. (Fiction. 14-18)

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May 15, 2018
Grades 10-1 Straight-shooting Hannah, with her strong Christian faith, is outwardly very different from Emory, a gifted actress who sneaks her boyfriend, Luke, into her bedroom at night. But the girls have lived next door to each other their entire lives and were always there for each other?until the fight that changed everything. Now they are estranged with no reconciliation in sight. This leaves Hannah with no one to confide in when her faith begins to waver and when a handsome music director crosses the line. Then Hannah finds Luke slumped unconscious over the wheel of his car. With the help of her pastor father, they save Luke's life, which leads Luke to an interest in Christianity. There are a number of interesting story lines that respectfully twist around the issue of religious faith as Hannah simultaneously questions her role in her church while encouraging Luke in his own quest. Hannah and Emory are believable characters, individually strong and yet mourning the loss of an integral relationship. Recommend to readers looking for a nuanced treatment of religion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)