That Night

By: Cecily Wolfe

Narrated by: Sharmila Devar

Drug overdoses don't happen to girls with good grades and athletic talent, with longtime friends and a devoted boyfriend. Or do they?

When high school seniors Cassidy and Sarah, along with Kayla's boyfriend Paul, discover their best friend Kayla unconscious at a party, the idea that they have lost her to a heroin overdose is unbelievable. She didn't use drugs, except the pain medicine prescribed for a soccer injury, and she had no reason to accept any from a stranger. The month that follows her death is filled with anxiety, sadness, frustration, and questions. Answers won't bring Kayla back, however, so as Cass and Sarah struggle with the insensitive but predictable behavior of parents, classmates, and teachers, Paul falls into a depression that leads him down a dangerous path. With Kayla's younger sister Mia in mind, the three of them work towards forging ahead without the girl who has held them together since elementary school.

©2017 Cecily Wolfe (P)2019 Cecily Wolfe

So much filler and moved too slow for me...

*Slight Spoiler* That Night by Cecily Wolfe sounded really gripping from reading the summary. Unfortunately, the book missed its mark with me. I found myself over halfway through the book wondering when anything was really going to happen. I mean, besides the obvious heroin overdose at the beginning. I found that the rest of the story, except for the final chapter, could have been shortened down tremendously, as it seemed that not really much happened each day. Yes, they found the dealer, yes, there was sadness and the three main characters coped with their feelings all differently, but it just couldn't hold my attention for almost 7 hours.

Sharmila Devar did a good job narrating this story. While some reviews stated that she didn't have much emotion in her narration, I feel that was pretty accurate for how the characters were acting. There wasn't much in the way of major outbursts where a lot of emotion was needed. I would imagine that I would be fairly numb and unemotional too, once the initial crying and shock of it all had subsided. So, while she didn't read with tons of emotion, I feel that it fit the story just fine. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for an honest review.

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Excellent YA

Excellent story, really captures many real life issues and emotions. I enjoyed the characters. The narrator does an excellent job bringing the characters to life!

Everyone needs to hear this story

This book didn’t play out how I expected; it was better. The focus of the story wasn’t on the one that passed, but those that were left behind. The author did so well with the narrative, and it can really open a person’s eyes to not only addiction, but those who are left behind due to addiction. Great props to the author and narrator. Also, I loved the author’s note at the end.

Mundane

I wasn't overly fond of this book. It was incredibly mundane though I think a lot of that was by design.
Man, the narrator was bland and gave no emotion even though the content was supposed to be emotional. Her voice was so plain, that I had to stop and go back because I wasn't hearing the words.
Overall the story, walks you through each day Kayla's friends live after her death of a drug overdose. What shouldn't be emotional isn't. The author is trying to portray that even every day things are ruined by death but the narration betrays any feelings.
there were some highs as the characters dealt with depression and injuries and how Kayla's death affected those aspects of their lives. This is where the book is at it's best, truly develing into the psychology of those left behind.
Wolfe ends with a small bang. It explains something but not enough. And that's the most weighty issue here: we don't always know everything.

Teen Overdose Heartache

The heartbreak of losing a teen to drug overdose is real. This story is real. And it digs deep into the thoughts and feelings of the friends who were left behind. The ache. The questions. The sorrow. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for that kind of read. The narrator wasn't overly emotional, but I felt that she did a good job conveying the numbness that the characters were feeling.