Saving Casey by Liza O’Connor – Review

Long Blurb

Having been diagnosed with cancer, Cass Goldman decides to opt out of any futile medical care and end her life. While she has some thoughts on afterlife, she never expects to reincarnate into the body of a seventeen-year-old girl named Casey Davidson.

When she awakens in a hospital, Cass discovers two disturbing facts: One, she is now inside the body of a troubled teenager, and two, the former owner of this body committed suicide, but only Cass knows that. Everyone else believes Casey has survived, but suffered a complete memory loss. Cass has two choices: to take on Casey’s life and turn it around, or to confess the truth about her reincarnation and end up in a mental asylum. Given this second chance to life, Cass decides to take on the future life of Casey—the frightening ghoul-faced teen with short, black, spiky hair.

Every person around Cass has an ulterior motive and discovering the truth of Old Casey’s life is more complicated than the “new math” she is forced to learn in school. In addition, Cass has to contend with raging teenage hormones and the prior crimes of Old Casey, which she might not remember, but everyone else certainly does. However, her biggest frustration concerns her feelings for her father’s rugged security specialist who sees her only as a teenager and doesn’t want to explore the mutual attraction between them.

As determined as Cass is to turn this life around, Old Casey’s enemies are just as determined to end her life. She has no idea whom she can trust, but she knows she’ll never survive going it alone.

Review:

As most people know, I don’t read a lot of YA so when I decided to read Saving Casey this surprised some.  I’ve seen this book for a while out there in promo land and after following Liza on her blog and in loops talk about Cass/Casey and Troy, I knew that I had to read it.  I was so NOT disappointed.

I wish this book had been available to me when I was a young adult.  This is a brilliant book about the rich, privileged children in our society and how their parents will go to great lengths to protect them.  UGH!  In some parts, I really wanted to bitch slap a couple of the parents.  As a parent, some might say I’m a bit strict on my son but I want him to grow up to be respectable, responsible and an emotional stable adult.  Sue me…

This story could have been either the saddest or macabre book on the market but with Liza’s deft hand, she has crafted a story that is worthy of my list of books that teenagers SHOULD have on their summer reading lists in every school.  Adults will praise her for the sensitive subject matter that is not dumbed down for their teenagers and teenagers will be able to indentify with Casey and the bullies that have tormented her for too long.  Its refreshing to see how Cass/Casey uses humor but also the smarts of the 80 year old to come to grips with her old life and she is going to turn her life around.

The secondary characters, especially Cass/Casey’s dad is perfectly written.  An absentee father because of the nature of his work is heartbreaking in the end when he realizes that he should have been there for her.  Her mother is the true society mother that has been manipulated by people that she trusted and the end they were…  Sorry not going to spoil it.

While you might think that there would be an ick factor with the age difference between Casey and Troy, its not.  In fact, other than their dialogue about their feelings you don’t get the hint of a romance at all.  But trust me…  okay…not going to spoil it.

Buy this book.  Read this book with your teenagers/young adults.  Discuss it with them.  Ask your child’s librarian to buy it and read it.  This book discusses the most evil of bullies and how with the help of an 80 year old woman, a teenager learns to love herself and make a stand.