This Can Never Not Be Real is one of those books that just will not leave your head. Since finishing it, the characters have stayed with me. Simply put, I cannot stop thinking about this book.

This is a truly claustrophobic, heart-racing and gripping book unlike any you’ve read before. I read this in one sitting as I was simply unable to look away from the devastating, heart-wrenching and all too real events on the page. Throughout, my heart was constantly pounding as the horror unfolded. The scariest part of this book is that it is so rooted in real life events. This kind of thing can and does unfortunately occur. Milano creates such a tight, tense atmosphere that grabs you by the throat the entire way through the book. You cannot tear yourself away from the pages, there’s a sense of needing to know how it all unfolds.

At its core, the light in the book comes from our cast of three-dimensional, flawed and fractured characters. They all have such distinct voices and watching the events unfold from their various perspectives adds new layers into the story. The points at which their tales intersect make for compulsive reading and the inclusion of wider perspectives reminds you of the scale of destruction being wrecked. All at once, you can see the smaller, claustrophobic picture of the setting of the attack and the wider picture of the further ramifications it is having on the surrounding area. You find yourself deeply rooting for every character, as their summer evening turns into a nightmarish fight for survival. They grow as people over the course of those terrifying hours, brought together by tragedy and the animalistic instinct to survive.

This Can Never Not Be Real is a pulse-pounding, totally gripping book that never releases its vice-like hold over the reader. It’s packed full of heart and brilliant characters, as they face the unthinkable but all too real horrors.

I could not put this book down. From the first page it was like this book reached out and grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go until I finished, it was just so brilliantly addictive.

This was written to show the survivors story rather than focusing on the terrorists themselves. I found this idea captivating and was glad to find it executed well.

When I started this, I wasn’t sure I would like the way the POV changed so quickly but within a few pages I realised why this was actually very effective. It kept the story moving in a very fast pace and made it intense. Even though each POV is short, I still felt a connection to the characters and even though most of it was told in the small-time frame of one night, I still found I got to know them.

The pacing of this book was perfect in my opinion. There was always something happening and keeping you emotionally invested, I could not tear my eyes from the words for a second because it felt like I would miss something. The plot itself was good and you always felt on the edge of your seat. I was hooked all the way to the end.

This was a raw, emotional and fast paced read and I definitely recommend picking it up if you want a fast paced contemporary.

(This book depicts a terrorist attack so please be aware of the following trigger warnings; blood, death, explosions, gun violence, micro-aggressions (racial and faith-based, discussed), negative body image, serious injury, suicide, surgery, a terrorist attack, and Violence.)

A thrilling, heart-wrenching story that kept me hooked from the very first page.

The writing was particularly commendable; everything felt intentional, even in the most chaotic moments. The characters were written incredibly well, all of their decisions felt like they made sense given their individual circumstances, and they all just felt incredibly real and human. It was a little intimidating at the start of the book to try and keep track of everyone's names, but after a couple of chapters it was easy to tell who was who. I read this in one sitting, because I couldn't bear to stop at any point; there was a constant drive to know what happened next, to know how it ended.

When I had finished This Can Never Not Be Real I’m not afraid to admit I sat down and cried. I’m not entirely sure which part of the multi layered narrative finally broke me but I was a wreck of a person at the end.

This novel follows a group of young people caught up in a heinous and unexpected attack, cut off from safety and help, thrown together in a struggle for survival that feels eternal. Sera Milano is a purely brilliant writer, in her grasp of character, her ability to set a scene and to tell a story with the immersive feel of absolute reality. You live it.

This is not a thriller this is a human story that celebrates in the end the beauty of triumph over adversity, yet acknowledges that this triumph ends up as a life goal, it doesn’t end once safety is achieved it simply morphs into something new..

Through the eyes of Ellie, Violet, Joe, Peaches and March we see things unfold in vivid clarity, the violence is in tune with, but on the periphery of ,their story. As intense relationships form, as love and loss play out in front of them, as the smallest of decisions take on the complexity of the hardest maths problems, you will be utterly hooked. This is a gripping, intense and emotionally wrenching narrative that never loses focus on the things that ultimately make us human.

This might be a novel for young adults but it is a story for us all and certainly as an adult it really resonated with me. This is not a story about the bad guys this is a story of hope and love in the face of unbelievable danger and even though it made me cry I loved it and it has gone straight onto my books of the year list.

Highly Recommended.

I’m flittering back and forth with this book and my rating because although I thought the books message is so important and I liked many aspects of this book, I also found it hard to get into and I didn’t like the structure of the book.

<I>I liked...</I>
- the writing. overall, this book definitely had some strong points and the writing was descriptive and I could immerse myself into the book.
- the message is so powerful and I liked how this book focused on the victims of the attack rather than finding out who did it.
- I liked most of the characters and their perspectives but it did take me a moment to distinguish everyone.

<I>What didn’t work for me...</I>
- I didn’t like the structure of this book. I could tell the author was trying to use this book in a form of transcripts etc but it felt muddled and unclear. The chapters weren’t written as transcripts and they were far too descriptive for what they were supposed to be.
- I found the multiple perspectives good but some of the personalities blurred into each other and we got a lot more from certain characters than others.

Overall, this book had a good message and I didn’t mind the ending. I thought the writing was good and I would read from this author again although I think a different structure would work better!
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fast paced, terrifying story that had my heart racing and breaking for the characters over and over.
An absolute page turner.!

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tried to read it but this book turned out not to be my type and interest. So Dnfing it.

'This Can Never Not Be Real' was a heart-breaking read following a terrorist attack and four students who are trying to survive.

I loved the way this book was written as if the four characters are telling the events that occurred as it makes you feel every emotion that the characters are feeling and made it so much more impactful. The writing was definitely one of my favourite parts of this book.

The whole book was utterly heart-breaking to read but I feel like this is such an important book to read. The ending made me cry in both relief and sadness for these characters who had been through so much in such a short amount of time.

I loved all of the characters. I loved seeing them slowly grow closer to each other throughout the book as they all intercepted with each other at different points throughout.

This book is such an important read, especially the authors note at the end so I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Egmont Publishing/Electric Monkey for providing me with an advance copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh just finished This Can Never Not Be Real
I was on edge the whole time and gripped from the start
Can honestly say this is one of my favourite books this year
Such a brilliant book that I was lucky enough to read before publication

In the unremarkable town of Amberside, the unthinkable has happened: Terrorists have attacked a local festival. No one knows why, and no one knows who the attackers are, but that doesn’t matter. What matters first is survival. And what matters after that is survival, too.

I'm so glad this book came with a trigger warning as I can imagine for some people, it is needed. The author has given the most brilliant story of something that does occur in real life and has occurred. The story is raw, emotive and keeps you gripped throughout. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This book is gripping. Each and every character is well built and developed, and I appreciated that the author takes steps to not reveal the motivation behind the attack, but focus on the characters experiences and feelings during it instead. This tackles a tricky subject beautifully and is definitely a book which will stay with me.

Wow. The clear trigger warnings at the start of this book do not overstate the intensity of Sera Milano's 'This Can Never not be Real'. From the very beginning, the plot is all-consuming and relentless as we follow multiple characters through a harrowing terrorist attack. Other readers do not lie when they say you cannot help but devour this book in very few sittings. The breakneck changes in narrator and the realistic lack of let-up in the violence as the horrific attack unfolds make this book very hard to put down.

I do not want to reveal too much about the plot as this will contribute to being in the moment when you read. However, Milano herself has stated she wanted to emphasise the trauma of experiencing and surviving a terrorist attack, rather than contributing to the narrative of examining the motives of the people who carry out such attacks. She achieves this successfully, powerfully depicting a range of perspectives and developing the characters enough that every fear, injury and loss cuts deep.

I was torn between 4 and 5 stars for this book so have settled on an indecisive 4.5. It is intense, relentlessly paced and allows the reader to see into the mind of a survivor of extreme trauma. It is also in part messy, breakneck and confusing. This certainly adds to the overall atmosphere but can be incredibly emotionally wearing. Overall, I was speechless and bereft when I had to leave this characters - what a book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

More like 3.5? It was a tense and gripping read but I found the ending a bit lackluster. Also, it's supposed to be written in the form of police transcripts but the writing didn't match that style at all. It was pure narrative - transcripts don't have long paragraphs of lyrical description and word for word quotes.

I read this in just two sittings; it was THAT compelling. I'm not awarding it a full 5 stars because I felt some of the voices could have been more distinct from one another but for pacing, plot, atmosphere and heart-in-the-mouth moments this scored top marks! The sense of place was so vivid and the atmosphere so tense and claustrophobic I felt like I was living the nightmare along with the characters. I also really liked the fact that you never really found out what the terrorists wanted i.e. they weren't given a platform. I think this has huge teen appeal and will be popular with our students..

This was a book that I Really enjoyed this read and I would recommend to others easily, I will be looking out for other titles by this author.