Everyone We've Been by Sarah Everett

Everyone We've Been
Sarah Everett
expected publication date: October 4, 2016

• Age Range: 12 and up 
• Grade Level: 7 and up
• 4/5 stars

Addie has met a cute boy, and begins to run into him in various places around town.  The problem is: no one else can see him.  Desperate for help, she goes to the local Overton Clinic, practitioners of "cutting edge neuroscientific procedures that can change your life".  Once there, she discovers that memories can be removed at the Overton Clinic--and that she's been there before.

Everyone We've Been alternates between Addie's past and present.  Everett does this skillfully, letting the reader into the backstory slowly and effectively.  I did feel that telling the past in the first person point of view wasn't appropriate; given how she learns about that past, I think a third person point of view would have been more suitable.

This novel is both a high school romance/drama, and a book about mistakes, the past, depression, and how to deal with these three.  At times obviously didactic, Everett gives a positive message that will most likely be beneficial to the targeted audience.

  While not outstanding, Everyone We've Been is a well written, solidly good debut, with a bit of mystery, a lot of heartbreak, and a fine conclusion.  

I was given this book by Amazon Vine in return for an honest review.