Wow, much better than I had thought. I liked all of the subplots swirling around. The story is a little predictable and things wind up solved to nearly everyone’s liking, but the build of the story was believable, and with a story like this, that becomes seriously important.
I would definitely read another book by this author. ( )

Powerful. The one word that comes to mind after reading this book, my first by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen. How quickly life can change, no warning whatsoever. We have all known the popular kids in high school who seem to have it all. When a group is getting ready to go out for the school football game, they have no idea it will be their last night alive.
The ripple effects are profound and so many in the town are affected regardless of their place in life. I personally enjoyed the ghostly element to the book especially since it was not overdone. ( )

Small town, Friday night lights, football players are gods, cheerleaders are popular, one accident and 3 lives are lost, but others are destroyed. Author does a great job of explains life in a small town, especially when lines are drawn. Told by different characters so you can see all positions. Great read, couldn’t put it down. ( )

Gave up over halfway through. Unrealistic. Felt nothing for characters,not even dead girls.

I live in a small town, though not as small as Worthy, the Georgia town portrayed in this novel. Worthy is a big football town, as is mine, but while the football players and cheerleaders rule the school in Worthy, I don't feel that was the case in my town. Three varsity cheerleaders, the cream of the crop, are killed in a horrific car accident. Theyoung boy driving the other car, seriously injured but still alive, becomes the focus of the towns rage. As the others greive the loss of their daughters, we are treated to an inside view of how this town handles the accident.

So,all well and good up to this point, interesting and I was finding the viewpoints of the four mother's involved realistic and poignant. This is where is started t derail for me, pictures on a cell phone, another town target. Too much going on, the focus shifting before shifting back again. Worthy just had too much going on, and it began to seem like an episode of Knots Landing or any soap opera of your choice. A definite feeling that less instead of more would have been better, at least for this reader. A more focused rendering.

Then we have voices from the beyond, did we really need more? Then the emotions came off as over the top,too dramatic, just too much. I gave this a three because there were a few characters I really liked,among them sixteen years old Leah, who should have been in the car with the other cheerleaders. She has a big secret, though I guessed really early what that was, but through the course of the book she grows up and changes.

These are just my views, never been much for overdramatized speech and emotions, but you may find them perfectly to your liking. This is a good story, but I'm could have been better if the author had just pulled back a little.

ARC from Netgalley. ( )