How to Save a Life

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Pub Date 27 May 2021 | Archive Date 27 May 2021

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Description

A heart stops. Their story starts.

'A sweeping, brave, epic love story. I was hooked from the very first page' - Josie Silver

Sometimes saving a life is only the start of the story . . .

It’s nearly midnight on the eve of the millennium when eighteen-year-old Joel’s heart stops. A school friend, Kerry, performs CPR for almost twenty exhausting minutes, ultimately saving Joel’s life, while her best friend Tim freezes, unable to help.

That moment of life and death changes the course of all three lives over the next two decades: each time Kerry, Joel and Tim believe they’ve found love, discovered their vocation, or simply moved on, their lives collide again.

. . . Because bravery isn’t just about life or death decisions; it’s also about how to keep on living afterwards.

A heart stops. Their story starts.

'A sweeping, brave, epic love story. I was hooked from the very first page' - Josie Silver

Sometimes saving a life is only the start of the story . . .

It’s nearly...


A Note From the Publisher

Follow Eva on Twitter at @KateWritesBooks

#MantleBookClub @MantleBooks

Follow Eva on Twitter at @KateWritesBooks

#MantleBookClub @MantleBooks


Advance Praise

'How to Save a Life is so rich and fully-rounded – a sweeping, brave, epic love story. I was hooked from the very first page. I loved it. All the stars!
Josie Silver, author of One Day in December and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

'A heart-stopping, heart-wrenching and heart-warming story that kept me reading well into the night. I loved it'
Clare Pooley, author of The Authenticity Project

'I was completely swept away by How To Save A Life which truly is a salve for the soul. It’s a beautiful book, full of drama, passion and truth: you’ll remember Joel, Kerry and Tim long after you finish reading their story'
Rowan Coleman

'How To Save A Life is an epic novel that starts with one life-or-death event and then follows the lives of three complex people to show how that moment changed everything. And this novel will change you. It’s extraordinary ― a very, very special book indeed'
Julie Cohen

'Couldn't put it down. Gripping, unflinching, honest and dramatic'
Jill Mansell, author of And Now You're Back

'An enthralling epic that swept me along through the highs and lows. I feel I’ve lived three different but tightly intertwined lives'
Katie Fforde

'How to Save a Life is so rich and fully-rounded – a sweeping, brave, epic love story. I was hooked from the very first page. I loved it. All the stars!
Josie Silver, author of One Day in December and ...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781529038644
PRICE £14.99 (GBP)

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (EPUB)
Send to Kindle (EPUB)

Average rating from 277 members


Featured Reviews

The opening is staggering. You are really drawn into the centre of the characters and get a feel for what they are like right away. It was rather eye opening because I wouldn’t know what to do if someone dropped down dead in front of me. I would probably be like the character Tim, frozen in place, aware of my surroundings but unable to move which is of no use to anyone.

This is a book with a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from sadness to rage. Bittersweet moments and drama aplenty, combined with elegant storytelling shows the talents of this incredible author. The ending made me tingle all over, so full of emotion. I loved every second of reading How To Save A Life and have zero doubt that everyone else will too.

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Absolutely loved this book from page one. Three incredible main characters, dozens of delicate topics written about sensitively and informatively (addiction, depression, PTSD, terminal illness, unrequited love, unwanted pregnancies, miscarriage, abortion). Definitely had the feel of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, I loved Kerry and Joel just as much! Really loved that it was set in my hometowns of Brighton, Worthing and Arundel too!

I went into this book thinking it may be a teen-romance read but it was SO much more than that! Would love to find out what happens to Kerry, Joel and Tim in their 40s!

I will definitely be recommending this to all my friends... A beautiful book!

Thank you so much to the publisher, author and Netgalley for this digital ARC.

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The first chapter had me gripped, and it didn't let go of me till the end. I won't spoil this book for you, but this is one of my favourite reads of 2020. I am going to get the paperback for my reading buddies, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Amazing title too!

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Such a lovely, fantastic book! I liked the three characters equally which is unusual for me. Excellent writing and character development. Perfect for your book club as the story deals with many controversial subjects and decisions.
I would say that the main theme of the book is self-actualisation, finding your own happiness and working hard to have the life you want. And, sometimes or in all times, how to thrive on your "option b".
I loved this book. Kerry, Joel and Tim will stay with me forever.

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How to save a life

I devoured this book in hours. I haven’t read anything as gripping in a long time. Bravo Eva Carter.

How to save a life tells of three protagonists- teenagers when we meet them - and weaves their life stories over decades as we see them love, lose, fail and continue to carry on.

I loved the character Kerry and genuinely found myself raging at circumstances which occurred and seemed to get in her way but that is testament to how well Carter crafts her and how keenly I wanted her to succeed.

The medical side of things was incredibly interesting and well researched. I found it fascinating and it was a great hook for each character as they had their own dealings with medicine and how their own lives are saved both literally and metaphorically.

All in all I couldn’t recommend this book more. I cared, I laughed and read the last few chapters with baited breath. Brilliant read.
5 stars.

Thanks to panmacmillan, to netgalley and the talented Eva Carter for the ARC which I received in return for this honest review

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This book may just save your life.
At the start of this book I would have classed "How to save a life" as a teen read, however the book evolved and we grow up with the characters and the plot develops, twists and turns.
I loved this book and really didn't want it to end. It tackled many emotive subjects and will stay with me for a long time.

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I loved this book, from the moment I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It reminded me of One Day but with a deeper theme of how your life develops from decisions that you don't realise you've made. Great read and thankfully not a disappointing rushed ending like so many books have.
Have already recommended it and will definitely be doing so to more friends.

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I’ve literally just read the last page of this novel and don’t mind admitting that I cried a little bit! What a great book - it has feature film written all over it and in my head, I’m already casting Kerry, Joel and Tim. Early in the novel, you think it’s just a standard love triangle but there’s so much more to it than that. Add in the practical information about saving lives and the technical knowledge of the writer, giving some depth to the context, and you’ve got an interesting, engaging and absorbing read. I liked the switching of narrative perspective too. No spoilers on the ending but it kept me guessing - I don’t like being able to work it out too early! This’ll be a chart topper.

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Move over Dex and Em, Kerry and Joel are the new couple who have taken a little piece of my heart.

At the start of the novel is the life-changing event that impacts Joel, Tim and Kerry. It is New Years Eve 1999, Joel's heart stops and Kerry leaps into action to perform life-saving CPR, whilst Tim is initially frozen in panic.

Tracking the three for the next twenty years and how this event has affected them, this is a coming of age story with an important medical message at its core. Told from the three perspectives, this added an extra dimension and insight into their thoughts and feelings. I shared tears with them over relationship fails, mental health issues, family crisis and the descent into substance abuse. My heart hurt as each of them made foolish mistakes, but then cheered them on as they attempted to put things right. The complicated relationship between Kerry and Joel was both frustrating but entirely understandable, and by the end of the novel, I could think of no better way for it to have played out.

I will definitely be buying a copy of the book to keep when this is released next year, and I hope it achieves the success it deserves.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

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