‘The Space Between Heartbeats’ (Alloy Entertainment, 2015, 286 pages), by Melissa Pearl

If you saw and enjoyed the 2014 film If I Stay, starring Chloë Grace Moretz — who plays a teenage girl who finds herself in a ghostly state between life and death after a fatal car crash — then you may enjoy The Space Between Heartbeats by Melissa Pearl.

The Space Between Heartbeats centers around Nicole Tepper — the “it” girl of her high school — who is constantly surrounded by her many friends and a dreamy boyfriend. However, when she has to fight for her life, her friends turn out to be who she least expected them to be. Soon, her life lands in the hands of the school’s outcast — Dale Finnegan — who helps her to solve the mystery of how she got in her situation.

Although I’m not usually keen on reading about protagonists who find themselves on sappy journeys of rediscovery, I liked how this book teaches us that sometimes the greatest help we will receive in times of doubt can come from the most unexpected places. This book also reminds us that the people who we think are our greatest allies can become our greatest enemies.

The Space Between Heartbeats is an intriguing mystery with a race-againstthe-clock setup as the reader tries to determine what happened to Nicole Tepper. The book also tackles the social challenges that teens faces in high school and how one can overcome them. If you’re interested in reading an engaging mystery novel with a dash of romance, this is the perfect summer read.

Sakara Griffin will be a senior at Santa Fe High. Contact her at sakara8823@gmail.com.