Maddie thought she and Logan would be friends forever. But when your dad is a Secret Service agent and your best friend is the president's son, sometimes life has other plans. Before she knows it, Maddie's dad is dragging her to a cabin in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. No phone. No Internet. And not a single word from Logan. Maddie tells herself it's okay. After all, she's the most popular girl for twenty miles in any direction. (She’s also the only girl for twenty miles in any direction.) She has wood to cut and weapons to bedazzle. Her life is full. Until Logan shows up six years later . . . And Maddie wants to kill him. But before that can happen, an assailant appears out of nowhere, knocking Maddie off a cliff and dragging Logan to some unknown fate. Maddie knows she could turn back- and get help. But the weather is turning and the terrain will only get more treacherous, the animals more deadly. Maddie still really wants to kill Logan. But she has to save him first.
Current Goodreads Rating: 3.81 Stars
Hardcover, 297 pages
Published March 27th 2018 by Scholastic Press
This might just be one of my top ten in 2018. There is no over explaining and repetitiveness and I think that has to do with the perspective in this book. The details are kept at a point to how the characters would perceive them. The story switches between one girl when she was ten and then six years later when she is living a very different life. How could I not be drawn into this child’s perspective of the tragedy that unfolds in the first few chapters of this book. It’s raw to see what happens through the simplicity of this child’s eyes. You are not distracted by the details that an adult might notice, but simply the immediate emotional devastation.⠀ ⠀ It is short and sweet, the characters are well developed and you are not overloaded with an extensive cast. It was the most entertaining, yet light, fun read I've read for a while. It didn't weigh you down with rape, sex, cussing, or extensive scenarios. Not If I Save You First is a cute, quick read perfect for the summer and will cool you off thinking about all that Alaskan snow it's based in.⠀
