Review: Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Sophie Winters nearly died. Twice.The first time, she's fourteen, and escapes a near-fatal car accident with scars, a bum leg, and an addiction to Oxy that'll take years to kick.The second time, she's seventeen, and it's no accident. Sophie and her best friend Mina are confronted by a masked man in the woods. Sophie survives, but Mina is not so lucky. When the cops deem Mina's murder a drug deal gone wrong, casting partial blame on Sophie, no one will believe the truth: Sophie has been clean for months, and it was Mina who led her into the woods that night for a meeting shrouded in mystery.After a forced stint in rehab, Sophie returns home to a chilly new reality. Mina's brother won't speak to her, her parents fear she'll relapse, old friends have become enemies, and Sophie has to learn how to live without her other half. To make matters worse, no one is looking in the right places and Sophie must search for Mina's murderer on her own. But with every step, Sophie comes closer to revealing all: about herself, about Mina and about the secret they shared

Publishes in US: April 8th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: YA contemp/mystery
Source: Disney Hyperion
Series? No

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    I wanted to read Far From You because even though I am not always drawn to mystery whodunnit type thing, I am drawn to the medical. So, the idea of Sophie almost dying twice and the pain pill aspect really drew me in. Besides, I really like the cover although to me it gives it more of a romance feel instead of girl who lost her best friend and finding the killer slash girl who deals with pain and of recovery. 

    I connected with Sophie, because she had an authentic, in pain voice. She is trying to deal with all of the hard things life has thrown at her, hoping to find a killer who the police have given up on, learn to recover from pill addiction, pain from her first accident, and on top of that, she has parents who don't believe that she was clean on and before that night. 

    The time jumps got to me a bit because they are so often, but it does make its own sense in piecing together the story and getting a full picture of who Sophie is as well as the wonderfully crafted thing that was her friendship with Mina. It had a bigger part in the book that I could have imagine, but it only brought it to life even more. 

     I wasn't expecting the LGBT aspect of this story, and I didn't mind it, but if you are against that sort of thing, just know that its there and I don't think that they really advertised that well. I think that the love triangle, square, some weird shape in this one was the most unique that I have ever read, and it makes the most sense because of how it happens and the feelings in it. 

     I wasn't really expecting who the killer was, I had a few suspicions, but they weren't exactly right. But, I am not one that can usually guess. 

     I liked Trevor, he was so sweet, and I wished that things could work for him. He is Mina's brother, which only adds that layer of complication. But I so admired how strong he was, and how good of a friend that he was to Sophie. It was so obvious that he was in love with her, but he put that aside to be her friend too and that said so much about his character. 

    The friendship and relationship between Mina and Sophie was forged over so many years, and it was the kinds that loved the flaws, never being blind to them, but pushing and helping the other to be better, and to rise above. I could feel the grief from Sophie, how much that she missed Mina and how hard she struggled that she saw it, and that her friend will never be by her side. 

     While I understand why she took some of the investigation on herself and her friend Rachel and eventually Trevor and another unexpected ally in it all. I also couldn't believe how reckless she was at times. But then again, she is surrounded and blinded by the fog of grief and the drive for some sort of revenge. The way it was woven in with the disappearance of the other girl was interesting, though as time I did get confused because it focused on her disappearance more so that finding the killer of Mina, although they are so entwined since we find out that Mina was investigating and must have gotten too close. 

     The ending was good, and I think that it wrapped everything up well, and in some aspects, you can't really have an HEA with this type of story, but you can have satisfaction and a sense of completion. 

 

Bottom Line: Solid mystery with interesting take on doing the romance.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Have you ever almost died?