Series: Stand-Alone
Finished on: December 7, 2012
Released: October 25th 2012 by Alluvion Press
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Rating: 3/5
Summary from Goodreads:
Mae McBride and Heidi Foster were the very best of friends. Tied at the hip from early elementary school, their relationship was the stuff of storybooks, legendary even, in the minds of their high school classmates.This was a very touching and very well-written story. I would definitely recommend for a quick, enjoyable read. I flew through this in just a few hours.
Unshakable.
That is, until Mae's father died while saving Heidi's life. When Mae finds out, she blames Heidi. She blames her father for putting Heidi ahead of her. She blames her friends for taking Heidi’s side. She begins to unravel amid that blame and her uncontrollable and atypical anger.
At the same time Heidi is beset by guilt, falls into depression and stops eating properly; wasting away physically and emotionally while waiting for Mae to let her back into the friendship she misses so dearly.
Mae, consumed by her hatred of Heidi, the confusion regarding her father’s motives, the perceived desertion of her friends and her mother’s grief, loses more and more of herself.
What could possibly bring these two old friends back to each other? A miracle?
Hating Heidi Foster, is a young adult novel about the place of honor true friendships hold in our lives. It is about suffering and loss and the ethics of grief. It is about a deep and painful conflict, the bright light of selflessness and sacrifice and the love that rights the ship and carries us safely to port.
Everything written about the situation and especially the feelings every one of the characters are going through regarding the loss of someone very, very special to them was completely on par and fantastically true-to-life.
The one thing that truly bothered me about this story, however, is that in my honest OPINION, the dialogue and voice of the main character is in no way authentic to the voice of an actual high school girl. Through out my entire high school life, and now three years of college, I have never once encountered a fellow peer who used the type of tone and word usage as Mae. It was very 1940's/1950's and definitely not the voice a typical 2000's teenager would have. It didn't take away from the story too badly but it was distracting enough that more than once I had to stop and think "I've never been around a high school age kid who talks anything like this!".
The dialogue and tone of the young characters felt off to me but the descriptions of the situation and the feelings and thoughts that accompanied each of the characters were extremely realistic. The author takes on an extremely tough subject matter and creates a sometimes heartbreaking, but overall very touching story.
Perfect for anyone who's ever suffered the loss of someone they love or anyone who just wants to understand the grieving process better.
In the end this was a very short, but quite beautiful book.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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