A Year to the Day, by Robin Benway, follows a girl named Leo as she grieves the tragic loss of her sister, Nina, in a car accident over the course of a year. The narrative moves backwards, starting at the memorial service on the anniversary of Nina’s death, with each chapter describing a different moment throughout the year, culminating in the actual accident and the events leading up to it that night.

The narrative structure to the story lends an interesting angle to Leo’s story, since we see her reactions to events before we see the actual events. One might think that this would steal any sense of surprise from the work, but it rather adds to it, lending the book a feeling of a mystery being solved as the reader gradually uncovers the specifics of events that had been referenced earlier in the book. Finding out the actual story of the accident at the end of the book is very rewarding because of this. While this narrative structure might not be every reader’s first choice, I certainly enjoyed it.

Benway is very talented at depicting complicated sibling relationships. While her 2017 book, Far From the Tree, depicts siblings who were separated and adopted into different families discovering each other and learning about each other, A Year to the Day depicts a girl who is having to learn to live without her sister. Nina had always been Leo’s best friend, so losing her means not only losing her sister, but also leaves her adrift without much of a support network beyond her grieving family and Nina’s ex-boyfriend.

Although Leo is the central character, it is also wonderful to see how the rest of her family copes with their grief through her eyes. She is flawed in her judgement occasionally, but Benway does a lovely job of showing each character’s distinct journey and personal ways of coping. Although I luckily cannot personally speak to the mourning process after losing a close family member, each character has their own journey influenced by their own experiences that certainly feels very real and natural to the reader.

Perhaps the most rewarding part of the book was the opportunity to gradually learn about Nina through the other character’s recollections until the reader actually meets her in the final chapters before the accident. That, perhaps, is the largest benefit to the unique narrative structure of this book: it allows for Nina, who is perhaps the most important character in the storyline, to be gradually learned about and eventually live in the final chapters, rather than be introduced at the beginning only to be killed off immediately before the reader grows to care much about her.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Robin Benway has long been one of my favorite contemporary authors, and, while A Year to the Day doesn’t quite live up to Far From the Tree for me, I truly did love this book. It is lovely and heartbreaking and expertly-written with a real love for, and knowledge of, each character. Although a young adult book, adults will certainly find much to love about this book as well. I’m giving A Year to the Day 5/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.