This Is How It Happened

May 1, 2017
A terrible accident shatters a teen girl's life.Genevieve Grace's boyfriend, Dallas Kade, is a blossoming rock star, but their relationship is starting to wilt. The two white teens leave an album launch party late one night and disaster strikes. Another driver slams into them, killing Dallas and knocking Gen into a coma. Gen wakes to find the world mourning the loss of a rising star and hating the intoxicated man that killed him. She flees reporters and police by spending the summer with her estranged father, but her surfacing memories of what really happened that fateful night loom large over her conscience. The ensuing tale of grief and forgiveness is smartly paced. Stokes doesn't lean too hard on the mystery element, revealing the cold truth early enough to follow through with all the baggage that comes with it. Gen's relationship with her father and stepmother is sweetly characterized, providing solid thematic reinforcement to boot. A Greek chorus in the form of the internet provides Gen and readers with updates on the chaos ensuing back home, while a hot, brown-skinned co-worker gives Gen a reason to work her way through her grief. Elliott is the weakest aspect of the book, just another muscled pensive dream guy that always says the right thing at the right time. A sobering exploration of absolution. (Fiction. 12-16)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2017

Gr 7 Up-High school senior Genevieve Larsen describes herself via hashtags: #blondambition, #premed, and #neversayquit. Her whole world changes when she wakes up in a hospital bed with no memory of the car accident that killed her boyfriend, Dallas Kade. The death of rising YouTube star Dallas creates a storm of online grief and hate. At first, the Missouri teen cannot remember the events that led to the crash. Eventually, Gen regains her memory and realizes the wrong person is being held responsible. Stokes explores the power of social media and online shaming as well as the dangers of "drowsy driving." The book effectively demonstrates the effects of cyberbullying. The life and reputation of the man initially blamed for the accident are ruined, and Genevieve faces deepening guilt as she recovers her memory. However, Stokes's narrative stumbles in the "drowsy driving" plot. The circumstances of the accident don't ring true. The story takes a turn as Genevieve heads to Utah for the summer, which makes the novel needlessly long. The pacing is bogged down by a shift in tone and focus as the plot veers into the summer romance genre. VERDICT An additional choice for YA collections.-Meaghan Nichols, Archaeological Research Associates, Ont.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Genevieve and Dallas met in Premed Club during freshman year, and four years later, they're still a couple, planning to become doctors together, despite Dallas' sensational rise to music fame via YouTube. Though Genevieve loves him, she's not into the music scene. One night, after attending a ritzy party, they're in a head-on car collision: Genevieve wakes up in the hospital with no memory of the accident, Dallas is killed, and an onslaught of social media grief and rage begins. Genevieve flees to Utah to stay with her dad, and the man driving the other car is demonized as #DrunkDriver, #HumanWaste, #Murderer. But when Genevieve begins to remember the accident, she realizes everyone has the wrong story. The supporting cast of characters is strong, from Genevieve's no-nonsense mother to Elliott, the boy with two dads, who works at Zion National Park. Stokes builds realistic tension with the bombardment of social media, that faceless jury so quick to judge, sentence, and execute. This tragedy wrapped in a compelling mystery will entrance readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)