I am so, so, so excited today to share the gorgeous cover for Gardenia, the latest novel by Kelsey Sutton!

As you may know, Kelsey Sutton became one of my favorite authors when I read her debut young adult novel, Some Quiet Place. I was just as moved when the sequel, Where Silence Gathers released. Earlier this year, Kelsey released her first middle grade novel in verse, The Lonely Ones, which is hands down one of my favorite reads of the year.

Next year, Kelsey returns to young adult with Gardenia, which you can add to your “To Read” list on Goodreads right now! I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of Gardenia and I share my spoiler free review below the cover. Stay tuned for an extended review with spoilers this February!

About Gardenia

Seventeen-year-old Ivy Erickson has one month, twenty-seven days, four hours, fifty-nine minutes, and two seconds to live.

Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been able to see countdown clocks over everyone’s heads indicating how long before they will die. She can’t do anything about anyone else’s, nor can she do anything about her own, which will hit the zero hour before she even graduates high school.

A life cut short is tragic, but Ivy does her best to make the most of it. She struggles emotionally with her deep love for on-again, off-again boyfriend Myers Patripski. She struggles financially, working outside of school to help her mom and her sister. And she struggles to cope with the murder of her best friend, another life she couldn’t save. Vanessa Donovan was killed in the woods, and everyone in town believes Ivy had something to do with it.

Then more girls start disappearing. Ivy tries to put her own life in order as she pieces together the truth of who ended Vanessa’s. To save lives and for her own sanity.

The clock is always ticking. And Ivy’s only hope is to expose the truth before it runs out completely.

Melody’s Spoiler Free Review of Gardenia by Kelsey Sutton

I was honored to be able to read an advanced copy of Gardenia which I cannot wait to own this February so I can add a beautiful, shiny first edition copy to my shelf next to Kelsey Sutton’s previous titles! I loved Gardenia as Sutton proves once again why she quickly became one of my favorite writers.

Ivy Erickson is a 17-year old high school senior in Kennedy, Minnesota and she has one month twenty-seven days, fours hours, fifty-nine minutes, and two seconds to live. She’s going to die before she graduates high school and she knows this because she can see a timer over everyone’s head which counts down to their time of death. Though when it comes to TV and print, she can’t see the numbers on people. Ah, I love this world building detail, that her seemingly unending gift has its limitations. And that this limitation isn’t necessarily a drawback, but could be seen as more so a respite or reprieve for her.

One moment Ivy couldn’t escape is actually one of my favorites as Ivy recalls the first time she realized what the countdown on people’s foreheads were. The innocence conveyed here as Ivy, a child thought the countdown was a fun game before the realization came that it indeed was not. Oh, man. This memory took my breath away. I can’t wait for you to read it.

Hallett Cottages, a nursing home/assisted living facility is the only place in town for the elderly and the place where Ivy has volunteered since she was nine years old…to create happy endings for the elderly as they complete their last chapter. I love, love, love that as such a small child with such an enormous gift, there was such a great acceptance, understanding, and growth for Ivy and she decided so young to use her gift in the best way she knew she could. And she remained faithful in doing so. That is beautiful.

Through Ivy’s interactions with the elderly, who are in their final days, months, and years, we see how differently people take on the world when they know the end is near. Through Ivy and how she takes on the world everyday with her gift, and knowing when she’ll take her own last breath, we discover what we truly want to see, hear, think, believe about ourselves, our lives, living, giving, receiving, and love in our last days.

When Ivy’s not volunteering, she’s at Kennedy High School where she’s been an outcast since her best friend, Vanessa was murdered in the woods. Before Vanessa is murdered, Ivy understandably thinks that Vanessa’s diabetes will be the cause of her premature death. Not so. And because Ivy was the last person to see Vanessa, everyone thinks she knows who the killer is and isn’t saying anything. Hence being shunned by essentially the entire town. Not only do we experience Ivy’s everyday school life, but we get to see it as she’s still mourning the death of her best friend, still very much aware of the empty desk next to her in each class, and dealing with no one in school talking to her because of what they think rather than what they know.

Ivy thankfully finds a friend in the new girl. She is the type of friend that you relate to in so many unspoken ways and you see at very distinct times and specific moments in your life. I love that they connect so deeply in Ivy’s last days while saying so little. It’s beautiful. (How many times can I say beautiful in this review? I don’t know but I won’t apologize for it!)

When Ivy’s not volunteering or at school, she can also be found working at her Uncle Nick’s diner, alongside her mother, godmother, and a small, intimate staff that makes working at the diner Ivy’s home away from home. When she’s ready to head home, I love that in Ivy’s last days, she not only holds tight to her loved ones and cherishes every moment as much as she can but she reminds them what’s worth cherishing, what’s worth fighting for while you still have the time to do it.

Gardenia has some of the most dynamic and captivating characters and relationships that I’ve read in a long time. Add that to being hit with a bombshell about one of those characters and all that unfolds afterwards and you’ve got one very mysterious, thrilling, and suspenseful read here.

The story gradually becomes a wild maze of gardenias that leads to truth coming to light and Ivy’s loved ones finally being able to begin to live their best lives because of it. I love that all of Kelsey’s YA work that’s been published so far speaks so much on life and death and what it means to live. I love how mundane Ivy’s life is and how she doesn’t try to fight it in her last days. She has hopes and dreams like everyone else but she still sees the beauty in all that surrounds her. It’s easy to forget. But I guess with a timer on your forehead, you can’t. I love how extraordinary Ivy’s life is, one that someone from the outside looking in might just see as ordinary. if you only knew.

From October to December, we follow Ivy on a fascinating journey as she finds closure in her best friend’s death. We follow Ivy to her secret place as she retreats to paint her greatest affirmations that will ride around the town longer than she will. As she gives herself an unending road in a life where everywhere she looks, she sees an end.

We follow Ivy as she turns to people close and not so close to her in her last days and gives them everything she has, hoping that they will truly see all that she has to give. Gardenia is a pure and haunting story about the beauty in our hopes and desires, our vision of the world, and how we choose to spend our time and live in each and everyday because of that vision. That flower blooming or that flower dying. Us choosing to care for and tend to it or not. What happens when we’re not consistent in doing so. What happens when we are. What happens when what grows isn’t good for us. And so on. Long story short, I loved Gardenia so, so much and I hope you will too. Stay tuned for my extended review on release day!

Pre-order Gardenia by Kelsey Sutton which releases February 28, 2017.