Review: The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

Expected Publication: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Gallery Books

Format: via publisher

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis

In the vein of Big Little Lies and Reconstructing Amelia comes an emotionally charged domestic suspense novel about a mother unraveling the truth behind how her daughter became brain dead. And pregnant.

A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.

When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?

My Thoughts

The NIght Olivia Fell is told in dual voices and chapters, that of her mother and of Olivia herself. We get the story of Olivia and how she got to the point she is and of that of her mother and her loved ones and how they are dealing with the aftermath of her ordeal.

Olivia is your average teen who is getting ready to go to college and one day on a school trip she sees someone who looks just like her so much so that she now questions her whole existence. Her whole life her mother told her that her dad is dead, that he died before she was born and she has always had this part that was missing in her life. That one meeting sets off something her in that will change her life forever.

Olivia is now on a mission to find out who this girl is and if they are related and if so how. Do they share a father and if they do why did her mother lie to her. What is her mother hiding? By Olivia wanting to know who she is cost her, her life. We know from the start that Olivia is dead and pregnant but the questions are by who and who is the father. Her mother wants answers especially after she finds out that the police haven't even been notified. So what is she to do but take action into her own hands. She sets out to bring justice for Olivia and her baby she knows Olivia won't come back but her grandbaby deserves a chance.

This book is part mystery as it unfolds Olivia’s last days and we see the people she encounters and things she has to deal with. However, I didn’t expect how emotional this one would be. The ending is so heartwrenching I was a cry baby. When we find out what all happened and Olivia’s last days you can’t help but be touched. This book grabs you from the very beginning and doesn’t let you go until the last page but believe me it stays with you way after that. If you are looking for a great read with an emotional twist this one definitely fits the bill.