You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Soloman

You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone by Rachel Lynn Soloman
Published by Simon Pulse on January 2nd 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Goodreads

Eighteen-year-old twins Adina and Tovah have little in common besides their ambitious nature. Viola prodigy Adina yearns to become a soloist—and to convince her music teacher he wants her the way she wants him. Overachiever Tovah awaits her acceptance to Johns Hopkins, the first step on her path toward med school and a career as a surgeon.

But one thing could wreck their carefully planned futures: a genetic test for Huntington’s, a rare degenerative disease that slowly steals control of the body and mind. It’s turned their Israeli mother into a near stranger and fractured the sisters’ own bond in ways they’ll never admit. While Tovah finds comfort in their Jewish religion, Adina rebels against its rules.

When the results come in, one twin tests negative for Huntington’s. The other tests positive.

These opposite outcomes push them farther apart as they wrestle with guilt, betrayal, and the unexpected thrill of first love. How can they repair their relationship, and is it even worth saving?

From debut author Rachel Lynn Solomon comes a luminous, heartbreaking tale of life, death, and the fragile bond between sisters.

I’ll admit that I procrastinated on reading this one because I’ve been highly anticipating it for so long that I was worried about being disappointed. Luckily for me, that was not the case at all. You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone had exactly what I wanted: gripping writing and full of complex characters with an unputdownable intensity.

Adina and Tovah are twin sisters who don’t always see eye-to-eye. Adina is focused on her music career and becoming a viola soloist while Tovah has always aspired to go to Johns Hopkins and become a surgeon. When they turn eighteen though, they both take a test to see whether they’ve inherited their mother’s Huntington’s. The results are shocking, with one twin testing positive and one negative. The result drives them further apart in this heartbreaking and beautifully-written debut novel.

I loved both Adina and Tovah. While Adina was driven more by her impulses and Tovah was driven by logic and goal-setting, I really loved reading from both of their POVs. They were definitely complex characters and I could definitely picture them as real teens. I felt that the sister relationship between them was definitely fleshed-out and felt so real.

In addition, You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone was so beautifully written that I’m almost upset that this is only Soloman’s debut, I need more books!  Overall, I absolutely loved You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone and I highly recommend it, especially for people looking for a beautiful debut novel.

Bonus: we did an interview with the author, Rachel Lynn Soloman, last year. Click here to read it!