Review: Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook

Bonnie and Clyde meets IF I STAY in this addictively heart-wrenching story of two desperate teenagers on the run from their pasts.

They’re young. They’re in love. They’re on the run.

Zoe wants to save Will as much as Will wants to save Zoe. When Will turns eighteen, they decide to run away together. But they never expected their escape to be so fraught with danger....

When the whole world is after you, sometimes it seems like you can’t run fast enough.

Nobody But Us, told in alternating perspectives from Will and Zoe, is an unflinching novel, in turns heartbreaking and hopeful, about survival, choices, and love...and how having love doesn’t always mean that you get a happy ending. Described as “beautiful, heartbreaking, and exhilarating” by Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF, Nobody But Us will prove irresistible to fans of Nina Lacour, Jenny Han, and Sara Zarr.

My Review:

When I saw Nobody But Us online, I thought it sounded like a really good book.  I got it the week it came out, on Saturday.  I started it that day and finished it by Sunday night.  I wasn't immediately gripped to the story, wanting to know what would happen, but as I got further in, I couldn't put it down.  At some point, I realized that I had slowly fallen in love with the characters.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Zoe was an interesting main character to read about.  She had been abused by her father for many years, and she just wanted out of that situation so she could have a better life.  When Zoe was only six, her mom died from falling down the stairs.  This probably wasn't an accident since her Zoe's father probably pushed her mom.  When Will asks Zoe if she wants to run away with him, she says yes.  She is looking forward to a better life with Will, and without her father.  Zoe has some naivete still left, despite what she's been through.  She doesn't realize how much trouble Will could get in for taking Zoe, a fifteen year old, out of the state, if they get caught.

Will is a character who has two different sides to him.  One side is the impulsive, angry, and violent side.  The other side is his sweet and caring side.  It is clear that he cares about Zoe and loves her.  He actually is a good guy, but he's experienced horrible things in his past that shaped him in a way.  He was abandoned by her mother at a young age, and raised by some kind neighbors for a little bit.  Then, they had to give him to his grandma.  Eventually, he ended up in the foster care system.  Some of his foster families were great, and some were not.  As soon he turns eighteen, he leaves with Zoe.  His violence gets them into a few bad situations since he is too quick to throw a punch when he thinks it's necessary to do that to protect Zoe.

The ending of this book is an unexpected one, and it is not a happy ending.  I'm not going to say what it is.  I'm curious about what will happen to Zoe after that ending.  I wonder if she'll be able to move on with her life, and if she'll have to go back to her dad.

If you like emotional YA contemporary, read this book.

Katie