THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED

A terrible accident shatters a teen girl’s life.

Genevieve Grace’s boyfriend, Dallas Kade, is a blossoming rock star, but their relationship is starting to wilt. The two white teens leave an album launch party late one night and disaster strikes. Another driver slams into them, killing Dallas and knocking Gen into a coma. Gen wakes to find the world mourning the loss of a rising star and hating the intoxicated man that killed him. She flees reporters and police by spending the summer with her estranged father, but her surfacing memories of what really happened that fateful night loom large over her conscience. The ensuing tale of grief and forgiveness is smartly paced. Stokes doesn’t lean too hard on the mystery element, revealing the cold truth early enough to follow through with all the baggage that comes with it. Gen’s relationship with her father and stepmother is sweetly characterized, providing solid thematic reinforcement to boot. A Greek chorus in the form of the internet provides Gen and readers with updates on the chaos ensuing back home, while a hot, brown-skinned co-worker gives Gen a reason to work her way through her grief. Elliott is the weakest aspect of the book, just another muscled pensive dream guy that always says the right thing at the right time.

A sobering exploration of absolution.