Touching the Surface Review

When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.

     Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.

     As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.

“Being brave isn’t about not being scared.  
Being brave is what you do despite being scared”.

The first words out of my mouth after reading this book were “Beautiful. Simply beautiful”. It almost goes beyond words and you’ll see what I mean if you decide to read it.  Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini is an impressive debut novel that was a little different to what I expected as the book is set in the afterlife.  It tells the story of Elliot who’s a third timer – she’s lived and died three times now and obviously isn’t getting something right so she’s stuck at the Obmil (think spiritual rehab for the dead) trying to figure out who she was, how she died and her growth plan amongst other things.  Throw in some best friend issues, a guy called Oliver who she has an instant soul connection with and a guy called Trevor who hates her guts but doesn’t know why and you’ve got an interesting story on your hands.  The only way to figure it all out is to “delve” for their memories which is akin to slipping into a moment on earth and experiencing it all over again but will they figure it all out?  Can they learn from their mistakes?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I was constantly driven on by the need for answers to those burning questions about the characters and how they were connected.  I can’t say too much about the plot for fear of spoiling it but some explanations will shock you and when it all comes together at the end; I was well and truly floored.  If you’re a spiritual person (note, I did NOT say religious), you’ll probably appreciate some of the content perhaps more than readers who aren’t but all in all, it’s a fantastic book that needs to be read and appreciated.

Basically, reading Touching the Surface is akin to slowly sipping and alcoholic drink and by the end, you’re drunk on life and realise you love everyone.  This was a fantastic standalone and very different to anything I’ve read so far.  If you’re after a different sort of YA read, THIS IS IT.

Touching the Surface was published on 30th October, 2012.  To find out more about Kimberly Sabatini and her books, please click here to visit her website.