Content Warning: Discusses Suicide

This week, I’m reviewing the adventure novel In 27 Days by Alison Gervais, @HonorInTheRain on the Wattpad website. This book has a unique plot that reminded me of the popular Netflix original 13 Reasons Why, based on the book by Jay Asher.

In 27 Days is about Hadley Jamison, an eleventh-grader living in New York City. When Hadley learns about the suicide of one of her classmates, Archer Morales, she is shocked. Even though she, like most others at her school, did not know Archer too well, she found herself attending his funeral and feeling as though she could have done something to save Archer from himself. After the service, Hadley has a run-in with Death himself, who gives her a seemingly impossible task: save Archer Morales in twenty-seven days and prevent him from committing suicide. He gives Hadley twenty-seven days because that was how long it took Archer to decide to commit suicide. Death warns Hadley that if Archer still chooses to kill himself at the end of the twenty-seven days, very bad things will come her way.

After her meeting with Death, Hadley wakes up twenty-seven days in the past in a run-down Chinese restaurant. At first a little confused, she realizes that Death has brought her back in time. Then, none other than employee Archer Morales walks over to tell her that she needs to leave, as the restaurant is closing. Hadley quickly strikes up a conversation, and after a ton of effort on her behalf, Archer reluctantly agrees to be her friend, but he warns her that he does not have many friends.

On her expedition to save Archer, Hadley learns that there is a lot more to the tall, threatening boy than meets the eye. As the man in his home, he works two jobs to help support his mother, grandmother, and three younger sisters. Even though he is seen as a loner at school, he does outstanding in the classroom and would do anything to protect his family. With added pressure from Death as Hadley runs out of time, she realizes that saving Archer Morales from himself will be the hardest thing she’s ever had to do, especially when people from the Morales family’s past come back to cause trouble.

I would recommend In 27 Days to the reader who is looking for an extremely realistic account of how mental health affects teenagers, their friends, and their families. This book reminded me of the 13 Reasons Why TV show and book because both deal with the concepts of suicide in high school. However, I liked the concept of In 27 Days better because the idea of the protagonist being brought back in time in order to keep a classmate alive was more interesting to me than the whole concept with the cassette tapes in 13 Reasons Why. To me, having the characters of 13 Reasons Why listen to Hannah Baker’s cassette tapes seemed pointless because she was already gone. There was nothing her thirteen reasons could have done to help her once they began to listen to the tapes. In 27 Days gives the main character a chance to save a classmate from taking their own life.

The aspect of In 27 Days that I think readers can benefit most from reading is the friendship Hadley and Archer form. Initially, Archer would rather do anything than become Hadley Jamison’s friend. But through her persistence, he eventually gives in and realizes that Hadley may just be the person he needs in his life. To me, Hadley and Archer’s friendship shows a new beginning in both of their lives. They taught me that sometimes the most unlikely friend can have the biggest impact on you, and may someday even save your life.

If you want to check out In 27 Days, the link to the story is below:

https://www.wattpad.com/story/765329-in-27-days-watty-award-winner-2012

Also, In 27 Days was published on July 25, 2017. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book, you can look on Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s websites. In addition, if you want to check out my other Wattpad reviews, you can click my name at the top of this page, and it will take you to a page with all of my articles. Thank you for reading! Be sure to leave a comment telling me what you think of this review!