In 27 Days

Alison Gervais

Jul 2017 · Sold by Blink

About this ebook

“If you knew you had to do the right thing, but that something bad may happen to you because of it, would you do it anyway?” This hard-hitting, emotional, YA story of pain and love; right and wrong; and life and death is a masterful mix of suspense, romance, the paranormal, and the though-provoking questions we all ask surrounding the difficult subject of suicide.

Hadley Jamison is shocked when she hears that her classmate, Archer Morales, has committed suicide. She didn’t know the quiet, reserved guy very well, but that doesn’t stop her from feeling there was something she could have done to help him.

Hoping to find some sense of closure, Hadley attends Archer’s funeral. There, she is approached by a man who calls himself Death and offers her a deal. If Hadley accepts, she will be sent back twenty-seven days in time to prevent Archer from killing himself. But when Hadley agrees to Death’s terms and goes back to right the past, she quickly learns her mission is harder than she ever could have known.

Time ticks away as Hadley looks for ways to not only talk to Archer but to know him on a deeper level. But just as she and Archer connect, a series of dangerous accidents starts pushing them apart. Hadley must decide whether she is ready to risk everything—including her life—to keep Archer alive.

In 27 Days:

• Written by award-winning Wattpad sensation Alison Gervais
• Over 25 million reads on Wattpad
• Achieved a #1 ranking in the Adventure category, and has won the hearts of millions of readers around the world
• A story of redemption, first love, and the strength it takes to change the future
• Addresses tough but true topics and problems facing readers ages 13 and up, such as suicide and family issues

A twist on Groundhog's Day meets Death, this paranormal tale [In 27 Days] will have readers turning the pages to see if Hadley stops Archer from making a tragic mistake.” —YA Books Central

Ratings and reviews

To be honest, the blurb of this book had me a little hesitant but the prospect of a book involving a component of death and time travel was too much to ignore. (And in a small part, I was also intrigued by the cover). Anyway, the basic plot of the book is that Hadley is sent back 27 days in time, by Death, to stop her classmate from committing suicide. Considering the subject matter of suicide, I was mostly wondering if the romance would be a factor in the prevention of that (which is a problematic theme) but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that while there is romance, it focuses more on their friendship, and the fact that they can rely on each other and brighten each others' day. Hadley becomes a support for an Archer who is still recovering from events in his past. When Hadley is first sent back to save him, she barely knows him. All she knows is she doesn't want a fellow student to give up on his life - but Archer is quite closed off in the start. He frequently shuts down her attempts to befriend him, but she keeps persisting because she sees it as a defense mechanism. And while she gets to know him and his family, she finds a sense of belonging with them. They become like her family, and while her own is not bad, her parents are quite absent from her lives. The experience of their friendship changes Hadley and Archer both, with Hadley starting to realize to demand more of her life, and Archer finding some light (I would like to add -I would have liked this book better if we also had some Archer POV chapters) Now, on the supernatural aspect, it is not entirely clear why she is sent back to save him, or why Death even cared to save one boy's life. And with Havoc, I was also a bit disappointed on the resolution of his presence. It is definitely not a major plot point of the book, but just to add stakes to her mission, which kind of cheapens it. In all, it is a good book about relationships, finding a support system and family.

To be completely honest this book had me sobbing into my hands. The topic of suicide is one that always brings me to tears, but this novel brought more awareness to the fact that anyone could be faced with the problem of commuting suicide. There are so many people struggling to keep themselves together and to seem collected because on the inside their thoughts and emotions are tearing them to pieces. I know what it's like to be afraid of whether you will lose someone you care about that way. Thank you Alison.

I usual stick to sci-fi and horror books but this was a breath of fresh air despite my skepticism at first while reading the synopsis. It is a good read !

About the author

Alison Gervais is the author of In 27 Days and The Silence Between Us, for which she received the 2020 Schneider Family Honor Book Award. Alison works at a nonprofit organization that provides services to people with disabilities and writes as often as she can. Currently she lives in Colorado with her husband and their two daughters.