Saving Sophie by Debbie Schrack is a poignant tale of romance that instantly grips readers, surprising them through every page with twists. Seventeen-year-old Gabe Hunter finds it difficult to come to grips with a car accident caused by his half-brother, Josh, an accident that killed four members of a family, leaving sixteen-year-old Sophie, the only survivor of the accident, struggling with amnesia and brain injury. Gabe accepts to tutor for his senior service and is stunned when he discovers that he will be tutoring Sophie, a National Merit Scholar finalist and the same survivor of the accident caused by his brother. This offers an opportunity for Gabe to make up, even in a small way, for the pain that his brother has caused her. The only thing he never planned and foresaw is falling in love.             

Debbie Schrack’s extraordinary storytelling craft shines in the story’s close point of view and the author’s finesse in character depiction. Readers will adore Gabe, a young man who deeply cares about his brother, but whose sense of purpose and strong connection with Josh is crushed by a reckless accident that leaves a young girl utterly vulnerable. The emotions are written in detail and the characters are genuinely flawed, truly human, and surprisingly relatable. The themes of family ties, trauma, the quest for purpose, and love and fully and intelligently drawn. This is not your run-of-the-mill romance, but a tale of a young man falling in love with the most unlikely character. You’ll want to find out what happens next; you’ll ache for the characters and find delight in the excellently crafted intimate moments. Saving Sophie is a winner!