Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook

Review of Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook

Nobody But Us
Author: Kristin Halbrook
Category: Young Adult
Format: eGalley
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: 1-29-13
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. – Goodreads

Will and Zoe are two very messed-up kids, each with their own baggage and tragic story.  To escape her abusive father, they run away, but things quickly get out of hand.  It was interesting to read the way that the tables slowly turn as the story progresses.  Will is determined to take care of Zoe and shield her from all reality, but that never works and soon Zoe starts to gain some insight and becomes more of a voice of reason.  In between these turning points, however, is some monumentally poor decision-making.  There are a lot of moments when you want to hold your breath because you are sure that they will get caught.  I have to admit that the pacing of this book was good and kept the pages turning.

For such a short book, this story definitely packs an emotional punch.  I think this was accomplished with the alternating viewpoints of Will and Zoe.  Without getting mired down in narrative, you get a good picture of their lives and inner thoughts through each alternating chapter.  There is a certain Bonnie and Clyde feeling to this story, but that only goes as far as their actual running away.  I would say that their motivation for going and the motivation behind their behavior is much different, than the other famous duo.  There is no quest for glory or reveling in their infamy.  These two teens really just want to escape and it’s with a certain amount of innocence (or maybe denial) that they try to convince themselves that there is a way out.  I think the thing that kept me from really getting into this book was the ending.  It seemed very rushed to me and while I loved its open ended feeling (is it hopeful or foreshadowing of a repeat of the same destructive patterns?) I wanted more from it.  I think that this book will find a solid teen audience because despite the improbability of going on the run, the emotional turmoil and questions about the future are universal feelings that many will be able to relate to.

This book earned 3 birds:
 photo kateexlibris3bird-1.png

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Find Kristin Halbrook online:
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Kate

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6 responses to “Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook

  1. Ohh. I haven’t heard the best things about this book – and while it sounds intriguing… I just don’t know if it’s the book for me. I’ll be giving it chance, but I won’t be racing out to buy like I had previously planned on.

    great review!

  2. Kind of sounds like the books I’ve been enjoying lately – contemporaries about messed up teens. Although that’s too bad to hear about the ending because otherwise it would’ve been quite good.

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