This Can Never Not Be Real

Oh my gosh just finished This Can Never Not Be Real
I was on edge the whole time and gripped from the start
Can honestly say this is one of my favourite books this year
Such a brilliant book that I was lucky enough to read before publication

This book is gripping. Each and every character is well built and developed, and I appreciated that the author takes steps to not reveal the motivation behind the attack, but focus on the characters experiences and feelings during it instead. This tackles a tricky subject beautifully and is definitely a book which will stay with me.

I could not put this book down. From the first page it was like this book reached out and grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go until I finished, it was just so brilliantly addictive.

This was written to show the survivors story rather than focusing on the terrorists themselves. I found this idea captivating and was glad to find it executed well.

When I started this, I wasn’t sure I would like the way the POV changed so quickly but within a few pages I realised why this was actually very effective. It kept the story moving in a very fast pace and made it intense. Even though each POV is short, I still felt a connection to the characters and even though most of it was told in the small-time frame of one night, I still found I got to know them.

The pacing of this book was perfect in my opinion. There was always something happening and keeping you emotionally invested, I could not tear my eyes from the words for a second because it felt like I would miss something. The plot itself was good and you always felt on the edge of your seat. I was hooked all the way to the end.

This was a raw, emotional and fast paced read and I definitely recommend picking it up if you want a fast paced contemporary.

(This book depicts a terrorist attack so please be aware of the following trigger warnings; blood, death, explosions, gun violence, micro-aggressions (racial and faith-based, discussed), negative body image, serious injury, suicide, surgery, a terrorist attack, and Violence.)

A thrilling, heart-wrenching story that kept me hooked from the very first page.

The writing was particularly commendable; everything felt intentional, even in the most chaotic moments. The characters were written incredibly well, all of their decisions felt like they made sense given their individual circumstances, and they all just felt incredibly real and human. It was a little intimidating at the start of the book to try and keep track of everyone's names, but after a couple of chapters it was easy to tell who was who. I read this in one sitting, because I couldn't bear to stop at any point; there was a constant drive to know what happened next, to know how it ended.

When I had finished This Can Never Not Be Real I’m not afraid to admit I sat down and cried. I’m not entirely sure which part of the multi layered narrative finally broke me but I was a wreck of a person at the end.

This novel follows a group of young people caught up in a heinous and unexpected attack, cut off from safety and help, thrown together in a struggle for survival that feels eternal. Sera Milano is a purely brilliant writer, in her grasp of character, her ability to set a scene and to tell a story with the immersive feel of absolute reality. You live it.

This is not a thriller this is a human story that celebrates in the end the beauty of triumph over adversity, yet acknowledges that this triumph ends up as a life goal, it doesn’t end once safety is achieved it simply morphs into something new..

Through the eyes of Ellie, Violet, Joe, Peaches and March we see things unfold in vivid clarity, the violence is in tune with, but on the periphery of ,their story. As intense relationships form, as love and loss play out in front of them, as the smallest of decisions take on the complexity of the hardest maths problems, you will be utterly hooked. This is a gripping, intense and emotionally wrenching narrative that never loses focus on the things that ultimately make us human.

This might be a novel for young adults but it is a story for us all and certainly as an adult it really resonated with me. This is not a story about the bad guys this is a story of hope and love in the face of unbelievable danger and even though it made me cry I loved it and it has gone straight onto my books of the year list.

Highly Recommended.