How to Save a Life

The plot of How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr is compelling in a soap opera kind of way, while delving into a very real and common issue with many modern teenagers. While teenage pregnancy is the story’s main theme, domestic abuse, death of a parent, and illegal adoptions are all touched on. The first few pages of the novel let the situation unfold through the perspective of a young girl who lives in Omaha named Mandy Kalinowski and the daughter of a middle-aged woman who has recently lost her husband, Jill MacSweeney. While Jill is the second narrator, Robin, Jill’s mother is the catalyst that drives the action of the plot line. In her initial email, Mandy says that she needs to get out of Omaha and that she has attached a picture that shows that she is healthy and Caucasian. Soon the reader discovers that Mandy is a pregnant teenager that wants to give her baby up for adoption, but has refused to participate in any of the legal paperwork usually involved.

Each girl’s character is developed thoroughly, yet each one remains a cardboard cutout persona as they serve their role in the overall drama. Mandy often refers to things that her mother has told her such as, ‘it’s better to be pretty than smart,’ or ‘never cry in public.’ Coming from Omaha, the stereotypical ignorance and old-fashioned notions are abundant in Mandy’s character. At one point she warns Jill “that’s bad for your heart,” when Jill shakes a dash of hot sauce into her tomato juice. It is difficult to find Many likable when the author chose to depict her as not only ignorant, but socially awkward. After approaching an older gentleman on the train a few times, he shut her out, then expresses an apology; he initially thought she was flirting with him, but that couldn’t possibly be the case, he decides, since she is very clearly pregnant with another man’s baby. Not only does she continue to hit on her travelling companion, while he is in the restroom, she peels the address sticker off of his magazine and proceeds to write unsolicited letters to him throughout the rest of the novel.

Jill MacSweeney serves as an effective foil to Mandy’s character, operating as the complete opposite of her in most circumstances. With her edgy streak of bright color in her hair, chipped nail polish, and impressive book collection, Jill is what you might expect from a more cosmopolitan city. Her bitingly cruel remarks to those she loves are often also directed at Mandy, and her behavior is repeatedly excused by the fact that she has recently suffered the loss of her father. Jill was much closer to her father than she was to her mother. Perceived just as strongly as any other character in the book, Jill often tells the reader what her father would do or say in a situation, glorifying the memory of him.

Sara Zarr’s Writing Style, Tone, and Dialogue

Cringe-worthy at times, the writing did succeed at sounding like the teenagers who were narrating. The grammar is intentionally on the casual side, but it seems to suit the diary-like feel of the narration. Since both narrators are going through a very difficult time in their lives, the tone of the novel is melancholy with rare touches of adolescent attraction.  Breezy, conversational, and full of dialogue, Zarr is good at making you feel like you’re watching television rather than reading a book.

Narrators and Characterization

Each character is thoroughly illustrated with flaws, weaknesses, and ugliness. Zarr avoids the problem that many similar novels have where the characters are too perfect, Mary Sue’s, a reflection of the reader’s own desires. However, each character is so deeply flawed that it is hard for a reader to relate, understand, or like either of the narrators. Robin, Jill’s mother, is the only character that is depicted as overly perfect, a portrait of the caring and loving parent who also manages to be intelligent, successful, compassionate, and capable. Robin’s physical descriptions are suspiciously similar to Sara Zarr’s author photo on the back cover of the book. The cultural assumptions about Mandy’s origins in Omaha compared to Jill and Robin’s more urban atmosphere is a little cartoonish at times. The author seems incredibly biased and expresses this by making Mandy incredibly unlikable and surprisingly does not pursue a romantic subplot with this character either.  Many reader will find the stereotypical archetypes to be predictable or even insulting; this is probably the book’s weakest element.

Lack of Fun Factor

There are light moments amidst the drama, but they don’t redeem the tone enough to make this a beach blanket read. The sparks of romance that are present in Jill’s life come across as forced or uncomfortable as she struggles with an on-again-off again with one guy while toeing the line of infidelity with a coworker she doesn’t remember having a class with in high school. Even as the characters attempt to lighten the undeniably dark mood, they end up failing miserably in the unsatisfying and confusing conclusion to this novel.