All We Know of Heaven
- by: Jacquelyn Mitchard
- Published by: Harper Collins
- New York, NY 2008
- 310 pgs.
- 5Q 4P S+
Bridget and Maureen, friends for as long as anyone can remember, are inseparable as they share secrets, clothes, and even identical physical features. One night, their perfect cheerleader lives change forever. While driving on a snowy December eve, their vehicle collides head on with a semi truck. Both girls are marred beyond recognition with life threatening injuries. The hospital believes they have done all they can to save Bridget’s life; however, Maureen loses her life on that dark evening. Or was it Bridget?? This novel tells the unbelievable story of two teens of mistaken identity (one dead, one alive) and one’s fight for survival among family, friends, and teenage life.
Mitchard’s novel though entirely fiction seems based on several true situations that have occurred with mistaken identity. Readers will fall into the life of one girl and her struggles she must endure to heal both physically and mentally. Life after the accident brings turmoil between the girls’ families and the relationships they had among their peers. Audiences will become involved in the reactions of the characters when they use this ordeal for self-fulfilling opportunities.
The author’s style tells the story from a third person point of view. Most instances can be seen from the eyes of the surviving teen; however, each character is introduced and plays a key role in the development of the story. With the death of a teen, a sad tone carries through even after the true identity of the deceased is revealed. However, as one girl miraculously recovers and prepares for her future, young readers can discover that no matter what life throws at them, there is always hope and success to be found. At the conclusion, the tone turns positive as upbeat descriptions are given for characters’ futures.
This novel possesses high readablity for a younger audience and would appeal to adults as well. The author used vivid details with truth and accuracy to tell the story of these two young girls. I found it interesting to see how each character dealt with various situations in their own way. The plot did not focus on only one aspect, but showed a complete display of how life experiences can affect many people in a variety of ways. This book would appeal to the teen audience with similiar stories being heard recently in the news. The book not only focused on the accident, but intertwined love stories, teen melodrama, and adult experiences. Family values and loyalty to friends and family members made this story have the appealing attributes of a worthwhile realistic fiction novel.
Teen readers ages fourteen and up would be drawn to the vivid details and intense interactions.
The cover art showed a picture of two young girls standing back to back with their heads together. I am not sure this would be appealing to teens. It did not make the novel “stick out” on the shelf. Readers could not gain much insight about the novel from viewing the book jacket. The black and white images are drab and unappealing to the eye. It’s too bad!! All We Know of Heaven is a great novel with my positive recommendation to the older teen reader!! One should never judge a book by its cover!
