Review: Four Three Two One by Courtney C. Stevens

Summary from Goodreads:

In this contemporary YA novel, a girl reunites with the three other survivors of a bus bombing that killed nineteen people, and together they face the secrets, struggles, and emotional warfare that each has been enduring.


Golden “Go” Jennings wasn’t supposed to be on Bus 21 the day it blew up in New York City. Neither was her boyfriend, Chandler. But they were. And so was Rudy, a cute stranger whom Go shared a connection with the night before. And Caroline, a girl whose silence ended up costing nineteen people their lives.

Though it’s been a year since the bombing, Go isn’t any closer to getting over what happened. Since Chan shuts down every time Go brings that day up, she decides to reach out to Rudy. Just like that, the two fall right back into their easy, deep connection. Facing the past head-on with Rudy has opened up a small window of healing Go never thought was possible. So she makes an impulsive decision: Round up the rest of the survivors and head to New York City. There they will board an art installation made of the charred remnants of Bus 21.


But things are never easy when it comes to rehashing the past. Uniting the four stirs up conflicting feelings of anger and forgiveness and shows them that, although they all survived, they may still need saving.

Review:


It is not surprising that I loved a Courtney C. Stevens novel. She is becoming one of my favorite young adult authors and one day I will read every single one of her books!  

What I Liked:

Characters. The best aspect of this novel is the unique and relatable characters that Stevens creates. It is not surprising because this author tends to do a great job in all of her novels of crafting interesting and well developed characters. It is hard to pick one character that I loved above all others, it is currently a tie between Golden, Becky, and Rudy.

Writing Style. I love Stevens beautiful writing style, I really connected with it. It made me always excited to pick up the novel because I knew I would be reading something well-written every time. 

Plot. I found the plot intriguing and unique. I enjoyed how the author focused on the aftermath of a tragedy and how people cope with being survivors.  The plot hooked me right away and I needed to know how it ended. 

Format/Point of View. The novel is mainly from Golden's point of view but also has some others sprinkled in. I enjoyed the sole POV but with a twist one as well, it made following the main story a lot easier. 

Romance. The novel has romance aspects but it does not completely focus on it. Stevens focuses more on the the characters instead of on one romantic couple. It felt like a story with a touch of romance and I loved that. 

I recommend checking out this hard hitting and well-written contemporary! 

Rating:

4.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars