Book: What Happens Here by Tara Altebrando

Rating: 5 Stars

Release Date: May 6, 2008

Summary:

We were going to see the world together, Lindsay and I. We were going to eat it up, whole. But it didn’t happen that way. It didn’t happen that way at all….

When Chloe’s parents decide to take her to Europe the summer before senior year of high school, she’s ecstatic…she only wishes her best friend, Lindsay, could come too. Living in Las Vegas, they have long imagined the world through the casinos inspired by great cities and have vowed to travel the globe together someday. Unfortunately, Lindsay’s parents won’t agree to send her along.

So Chloe goes to Europe and sends postcards to Lindsay every day. But when she comes home, she must cope with shocking news that rips her family — and Lindsay’s — apart. And as she tries to uncover the truth about what happened, Chloe soon begins to feel that Lindsay’s brother, Noah, is the one person alive for whom she’d go to the ends of the earth….

Overall:

Chloe and Lindsay were best friends that were supposed to grow old together. They had their lives mapped out from where they were going to live(homes all over the world) to who they were going to marry(twin brothers). Little did they know, things would not go that way.

The summer before their senior year in high school Chloe gets the chance to live out one of their dreams: go to Europe. Chloe’s family gets to spend two weeks traveling all over Europe while Lindsay is forced to stay home in Las Vegas with her own family. No matter how much they begged neither of the girls could convince their parents to let Lindsay join them on the trip.

The night before Chloe leaves for the trip she and Lindsay get into a fight. Lindsay decided that she was finally ready to “go to Vegas” with a guy she works with., sleazy Chris Nolan. While Chloe has already “gone to Vegas” she doesn’t think it is the right thing for Lindsay to do and especially not with Chris Nolan. After arguing it out the girls part ways angry and not speaking. That was the last time they ever saw each other.

SPOILER ALERT

After returning from a fabulous two weeks in Europe, Chloe finds out that while she was gone having the time of her life, Lindsay was losing hers. After a night out partying with Chris Nolan and his friends, Lindsay was kidnapped and her body was found two days later in a nearby dumpster. She had been murdered.

END OF SPOILER

Chloe can’t seem to get over the shock and return to her life. She lives in constant fear that she or someone she loves will die. The only time she feels normal is when she is with Noah, Lindsay’s older brother. She knows that if Lindsay were alive she would hate their budding relationship and so she ends it but she still can’t forget about him or the way he makes her feel safe. She may not want to face it but Noah may be the only person who can help her face life head on and truly live.

I admit to having a little trouble getting into this book but once I actually focused on it alone I was blown away. Tara Altebrando’s writing was so detailed and vivid I felt like I was drawn into the book. I could almost picture Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower or the Piazza San Marco.

I also admit to tearing up a little while reading this book. Chloe was such a likable character, I just couldn’t help but feel her pain and her joy. This book earned everyone of the five stars that I gave it. It addresses such a real issue without making it into a huge downer. I think that any teen girl can benefit from reading this book!

You can order this book here.

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