Blog Tour and Book Review: The Year After You – Nina de Pass

Synopsis

On New Years Eve in San Francisco, Cara is in a deadly car crash. Incredibly, she survives, but her best friend Georgina is not so lucky.
Consumed by guilt and grief, Cara is sent to a Swiss boarding school by her mother, believing it will be the fresh start Cara needs. But Cara knows that swapping sunshine for snow won’t make a blind bit of difference. Georgina is gone, and nothing will bring her back.
Up in the Alps, Cara’s old life feels a million miles away. At Hope Hall,
nobody knows her past and she intends to keep it that way. But classmates Ren and Hector have other ideas. Cara keeps her distance, but she’s drawn to the offbeat, straight-talking Hector, who understands her grief better than anyone. Her new friends are breaking down the walls she has so carefully built up. And, despite it all, Cara wants them to.
The closer Cara grows to Hector, the more Georgina slips away. Embracing life at Hope Hall means letting go of the past; of her memories of that fatal New Year’s Eve. But Cara is quite sure she doesn’t deserve a second chance.

Review

Every so often, but not too often, I read a book that blows me away and leaves me emotionally drained. The Year After You did just that. This is not your typical ‘girl meets boy, boy saves girl’ trope.

We are drip-fed Cara’s life and the events of the New Year’s Eve that ended in Georgina’s untimely death. Cara is living with immense guilt, one which she has not shared with anyone until Hector comes into her life.

What struck me about this book is de Pass’ understanding of what it is to experience guilt and feel remorse. You are drawn in Cara’s world but also her mind.

“I can’t go back to sleep.
But mostly, I just can’t breathe.”

To feel personally responsible for the world’s events and other people’s lives seems unreasonable and extreme for most, but for some people, it’s their reality. It impacts every minute of every day of their lives and it is mentally exhausting.

The Year After You is a reminder that everyone’s experiences are their own and must be learned from, but it is up to you to give yourself permission to move forward.

A masterfully constructed story of redemption which you won’t be able to put down.

About the author

Nina de Pass started writing The Year After You, her first novel, while on a creative writing course at the Faber Academy. She has an MA in French and Spanish from the University of Edinburgh, and has lived in three other capital cities too – Madrid, Paris, and London. Nina now lives and works in London. You can follow Nina on Twitter.

About the cover design

The stunning cover of The Year After You was designed by Helen Crawford-White, also known as studiohelen. You can follow Helen on Twitter and check out her fantastic designs here.