Just Like That

i thought there were some major issues in this book. the main character Hanna claims to have no feelings toward breaking up with her boyfriend, but she gets so angry at other peoples relationships that she doesn't even tell the happy couple on an ATV about the thin ice. then she goes to quickly into something with another guy then later finds out he is 14 and she is 18, another issue. also her friends both do major damage toward her like one made out with her boyfriend WHILE they were still going out, and the other one blabers her secrets to her own boyfriend and he spreads it out everywhere. Overall didn't enjoy this read.

Reader reviewed by Gabrielle Carolina

Just Like That

Hanna was the last person to see two teenagers alive before they froze out on the lake. She grapples with her emotions, wondering if she could have saved them. She keeps her knowledge a secret, instead withdrawing from life and painting gruesome pictures to try and forget. When Hanna meets Will she finds herself wondering if everyone has secrets and how they can come unraveled, just like that.

My review:

I just loved this book. If you are looking for a subtle, intelligent read this is your book! The characters are flesh and bones, the plot is uncomplicated and realistic. The language is very fluid and you will really enjoy seeing the story through Hannas eyes, though she is an everyday girl her incites and the way she handles her life are so very, very interesting. Just Like That doesnt have sharp corners, or major plot twists, its reading a life and watching a protagonist make decisions that you dont necessarily think are wise. The setting was gorgeous, I kept hearing A Fine Frenzys Christmas EP while I read the book and I was always feeling snow under foot! The ending was amazingly perfect and well paced, I was so wholly satisfied! The theme is secrets, how no one really knows what the truth is, why you cant lock the important ones away and who you can trust to keep them. Great thesis!

Thoughts on names: Nothing really stuck out, but that fit in with the hazy subtly of the novel, so I wasnt incredibly bothered by that. When the girls use fake names, that is hilarious!

Thoughts on the cover: You have to read the book to understand and then I think youll find it wonderful. I dont think that is Hanna on the cover, I think its the girl she didnt save.

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Reader reviewed by kayla

Overall, this book was okay.

It started off really slow and it was hard for me to get into it. It was kinda depressing in a way because the main character Hannah is the last person to see to teens before they die. Hannah becomes very close then with Will, a boy who found one teens dead bodie. They become close very fast! Hannah then gets close with Will and his interesting family.

The book was okay, I thought it was kinda hard to understand some parts. But i did get the overall main theme and point the author was using. I just think there were to many little details and it was hard to follow. Honestly, I just wanted to finish the book because I never stop reading until I finish the entire book.

If you are interested in a deep meaningful book I would defenitely recommend this. But otherwise I wouldn't read it.

Reader reviewed by nhunggnguyenn

id have to say this book is a little more on the mature side but not completely. i love reading books about teenage girls going through very hard things. this book is about a girl named hanna who feels at fault for something horrible that has occurred. the book mainly shows what hannah feels as she does through this sort of transformation and a state of confusion. i love this book. its a page turner.

Reader reviewed by Hillary Krajewski

It's winter and Hannah just broke up with her boyfriend. Strangely, she feels nothing. No sadness, no freedom, not anything. She really thinks that she should at least feel some sort of emotion, but she doesn't. So she decides to go for a walk to the lake. When she gets there, she sees a couple on the lake. They appear to be happy. The ice looks to be strong enough for someone to walk on. After a while, she goes home.

A little later, she finds out that she was the last person to see them before the fell into the icy lake and died. She keeps it to herself, she doesn't even tell her best friend or her mother. When she meets Will, the boy she's been seeing all around town, she opens up completely. She tells him all about it, and finds that it wasn't so strange that they seem to be oddly good for each other.

I didn't really like this book. It wasn't all that great. I thought the story was a good idea but I don't really think that the main character of this story really handled anything that well. I found her slightly annoying.

The cover is cool, the petals and the feet, but they really didn't relate to the story at all. Let's see: 1. This story takes place in the winter...where it's cold and people usually wear shoes. 2. Flowers don't grow in the winter...especially when it's cold. The title fit the book better than the cover. I can understand why they called it that...but the cover is still confusing me. I just realized that now too.

I don't think I'd recommend this book to many people. I guess it really depends on the type of books you usually read. But I probably wouldn't run around waving it above my head and screaming "Read it! Read it! READ IT!"

Reader reviewed by bookworm9

After hearing about a local tragedy that she feels she could have prevented, Hannah is deeply depressed. Then she meets Will, who also played a part in the tragedy, and the two strike up a frienship. After sleeping together, however, Hannah discovers that Will is quite a bit younger than her, and is understandably upset by this. However, by this time she is already involved with Will's family, including his older sister Aerin, a reclusive former rock star with some personal tragedies of her own.

Very few people could carry off this strange plot, with so many different under and over tones, but Qualey is one of them. However, this isn't one of her greatest books, as it reads very unevenly and yanks the reader around a lot without giving enough in the end. The characters are compelling, as is the plot, but they don't end up doing as much as they might of.

Reader reviewed by Tallie

This book is about 18 yr. old Hanna. After breaking up with her boyfriend, she goes for a late night in the middle of winter walk at a frozen lake near by. she bumps into a teen couple who are obviously happy. feeling bitter, she leaves them alone and she goes home. the next day she finds out that that couple died shortly after she left. they fell in the ice cold lake. she immediately feels guilty because she feels that she could have prevented it.
Being a skillful artist, she expresses her sorrow by drawing. she goes to the park one day and begins to draw a strager who she finds interesting. she posts it up on her website without much tought. the next day, she is riding teh bus and sees him, the guy she drew but thinks nothig of it. one day while at work, she gets a visit from him. she is of course very shocked.
He tells her he needs to talk to her so they meet up. he tells her that his sister found out about her site adn saw the drawing of him. he fouund out who she was and after seeing her in the bus, followed her. he too has a secret, he was the one who found teh dead bodies of the teenagers. immediately they have a connection and are drawn to each other. eventually they have sex the first night they meet.
she has a relationship with him and is horrified to learn that Will is 14. Although she breaks off a romance immediately, she is drawn into his family, which, like her own, struggles with tragedy and secrets.
i recommend this book to anyone.

Reader reviewed by shopgirl

18 year old Hanna Martin breaks up with her boyfriend, Spencer, because she doesn't feel that oh so necessary spark. She feels breaking up is the kindest thing to do, despite this being a somewhat lengthy relationship. So, she ends things with him, and appears to be completely unaffected by it, and expects to go on with life.

Unfortunately, she decides to take a midnight walk and it changes her life forever. She is the last person to converse with two teenagers before they die, but she can't bring herself to tell anyone.

Needless to say, this messes her up greatly. She finds herself drawn to Will, a boy with his own secrets, and they find that they can confide in one another, and more, because each of them has a secret that pertains to the two dead teenagers.

This book isn't for everyone. Hanna is 18, and Will is younger, and doesn't disclose that to Hanna at first. I won't spoil this completely, but some people may be offended and/or find this storyline inappropriate.

That aside, this book is very emotional. It doesn't hit you in the face and say "this is emotional!" but rather the way the book is written - it moves rapidly, and somewhat jerkily. At first this bothered me, but I think it is more a reflection of Hanna's feelings, and constantly being up and down and having no idea how to react to what has happened.

I enjoyed this book very much, but I think it is indeed for mature readers, just because there are sexual situations in the book, though glossed over as they may be, and some issues that younger readers may not want to read just yet.