Review: Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini

Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Publisher

Description from Goodreads:
Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal debut novel that will send your heart soaring.When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.

Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.

As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.

I have been waiting for this book for a very, very long time. It was my first ever Waiting on Wednesday, and this author was one of the first I've ever interviewed. This said, it's to be expected that I would have high expectations. When you wait so long for something, you have to build it up in your mind throughout the meantime, right? So now I am so completely excited to say that this book EXCEEDED my expectations. It was just that amazing.

Beginning the book, everything was confusing. I didn't understand what was happening at all. Normally, this is the downfall of some books for me. They start off making zero sense to me, and then proceed to mix up my brain even more as the story thickens. But Touching the Surface fixed itself up as I got more into the story, shaping up to be an undeniably breathtaking debut.

Character Rundown:
Elliot: Elliot is one of those characters that I love and dislike at the same time. She is very selfish, but I give her respect for at least noticing this and then trying to change that. I also admired her strong will. It got somewhat battered throughout the story, but ti never really left and I liked to see it. Of course, there were little Elliot quirks that made me want to slap her, but overall, she wasn't too bad.

Oliver: This boy is such a sweetheart. I've come to notice that there is usually at least one sweetheart in every book I read. Ollie is most definitely it in this book. I was Team Trevor, but I felt right along with this boy throughout the whole story, too. I want to give him the biggest hug!

Trevor: So. Trevor. I'm on his team. I admit, he was a huge jerk in the beginning. And I mean a jerk with zero redeemable qualities at all, except his looks--so he wasn't another Daemon Black winning me over with his jerkish charm. No, Trevor was despicable for a good chunk of time. But then he transformed into a character I now love with all my heart, and that turn around is what got me. I was on his team from the beginning--because I'm a team masochist, obviously, and because I had hope for him--but I was completely stuck in him after he changed.

Other Characters: I do not like Julia. I see her side and understand her issues, but she made a big mess of things that hurt people more than she helped them and I don't like that. So Julia is not in my book of lovable characters. Mel: Mel is great. I'd love to have her as my guide, that's for sure. David: I have mixed feelings about him. Mostly, I just have sympathy. Still, he got on my nerves quite a bit. Amd Freddie. He's an amazing friend. He truly is.

The plot. This book took me through the wringer. I felt so much while reading this book, the emotions are just so raw and Kimberly does an amazing job of helping us feel them. I honesly had to take little breaks sometimes because my heart hurt so much. I got teary in some parts, too. One thing is for absolute sure, though--this book will not do what you expect. And that's all I'm going to say, so I don't spoil.

Sweetness. Oliver and Trevor create sweet moments throughout the book. There were inst-connections all over the place, but this is one of those books where it's done in the right way so that I enjoy it. A lot. Oliver is a sweetheart, and Trevor...ah, Trevor. Give him a chance. That's all I have to say.

The ending. Oh, this ending. I have no complaints. It left me with a nice feeling, though it was somewhat bittersweet. I think the bittersweet was because of the unknown, though, and not the actual ending itself. Either way, beautiful. So beautiful.

Overall, Touching the Surface is a gorgeous and mesmirizing debut by Kimberly Sabatini. I strongly, STRONGLY urge you to pick this one up. And now I cannot wait to see what comes next from Kimberly!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending me a hardcover copy for review!

♥Jessica(: