Joint Review: Loud, Awake and Lost by Adele Griffin

by:  Adele Griffin
published by:  Knopf Books for Young Readers
publish date:  November 12, 2013

There was an accident. Ember knows at least that much. She was driving. The car was totaled. She suffered back injuries and brain trauma. But she is alive. That's the only thing left she can cling to.

Ember gets in a car accident and suffers terrible injuries.  She doesn't
even remember the accident or the 6 weeks leading up to the accident.  Now that it's been nearly a year and Ember is finally getting out of the rehab hospital Ember is ready to get her life back on track.  However, facing real life means facing the reality of the accident which is something that everyone has been keeping from her all these months.

I found this book to be kind of a let down.  I thought there was going to be some grand mystery and there wasn't really.  There was a little bit, but I was expecting something major like the mafia or aliens or just barely surviving a serial killer.  I found the actions of her friends to be really strange.  They were always cagey and weird, they seemed dishonest.  I didn't really click with the main character, so the whole book just just kinda downhill from there.

Unlike Autumn, I didn't finish the book.  I was bored and gave up.  I was also frustrated with all of the "let's hide everything from Ember" business. It got tiring and when has it ever been a good idea?  But, then I guess there would be no book.  I ended up asking Autumn if my suspicions about the end were correct.  I was, so, I skipped to the last few pages to see what really happened that night. I found the details of the accident to be kind of underwhelming.  I'd say skip this one.