ARC Review: Aspen by Rebekah Crane

Title: Aspen
Author: Rebekah Crane
Pages: 236
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Summary: One quiet night in Boulder, Colorado, Aspen Yellow-Sunrise Taylor made a mistake. In the next instant, her life changed forever. Aspen doesn't want to remember the car accident that killed Katelyn Ryan, a sleek-haired popular soccer player. But forgetting is hard-- because Katelyn may have died -- but she didn't leave. Her ghost is following Aspen around, and heading into senior year, it's kind of a problem. Especially when Katelyn's former boyfriend Ben appears to be the only person at school with a clue as to how Aspen feels.  Popularity, Homecoming Court, hot guys - none of these things ever mattered to Aspen. She's been busy trying to keep her stoner mother Ninny in line and out of unemployment. But with Ben sitting next to her in Physics and her therapist begging her to remember all the things she wants to forget, Aspen is thrust into a vivid, challenging world she can't control ... and doesn't want to.  A darkly funny, emotionally gripping story of opening up, letting go, and moving on, Aspen is about the best-worst accident of your life ... and what comes next.
Review: I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I thought that this book looked cute based on the cover, but now that I'm finished, I realized that there was so much more to it than just cuteness. This was kind of your typical teenager in their last year in high school, except that our main character had no rules and was in a fatal accident (for the other person) that wasn't her fault. I enjoyed reading this book but it was kind of weird because everything was based around Katelyn, but neither us, nor the main character know anything about her. I would love a prequel all about her life heading up to the accident.  I loved watching Aspen struggle with what had happened but then come to terms with it in the end. I'm upset a little with the relationship between Aspen and Ben only because he sure didn't waste anytime, regardless of if his old relationship ended or not.  I would recommend this to those who aren't looking for a fluffy contemporary.

About this author

Rebekah Crane fell in love with YA literature while studying Secondary English Education at Ohio University. After having two kids, living in six different cities, and finally settling down in the foothills of her beloved Rocky Mountains, her first novel, PLAYING NICE, was published. ASPEN, her second YA novel, set in Boulder, CO, is due to release in summer 2014 from In This Together Media. She now spends her day carpooling kids or tucked behind a laptop at 7,500 ft high in the Rockies, where the altitude only enhances the experience.