Title: So Near The Horizon
Author: Jessica Koch
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: FeuerWerke Verlag
Source: YA Bound Book Tours
Release Date: September 6, 2017
Rating: ★★★★
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Jessica has an uncomplicated life and a promising future. Leaving the house one evening, she has no idea that she’s about to meet the love of her life – or that her entire understanding of the world is about to change. And before long, she’s going to face a decision that will shape her forever…
In ‘So Near the Horizon’ Jessica Koch describes a life lived somewhere between hope and fear, confronting true events from her own past with raw honesty and frank reflection – and exploring more than one difficult subject along the way.
A story of deep love. A story of trust, courage, pain, despair, and the strength to let go. A true story.
Review:
This is a very moving story.
One of the characters has HIV. I’ve never read a story like this before, and it was fascinating. There was so much about the disease that I never knew before. I learned so much from this book.
The story is very heartbreaking. It would be if it was just fiction, but especially since it is based on a true story. I always wonder how much of the story actually happened and which is fiction. No matter how much of the story is true, it is still heartbreaking.
At the beginning, I could tell that some parts were taken directly from real life because they didn’t flow as well in the narrative. I think some conversations were probably transcribed word for word, but that doesn’t sound very good in a story. However, the writing got much better as the story moved along.
The narrator changed abruptly in Chapter Fourteen. It had been from Jessica’s point of view, but then it was suddenly a limited third person perspective. Then, a few pages later it returns to Jessica’s voice again. I wasn’t expecting this change, and it was very strange at first but after it happened in a couple of chapters I understood why the author did this. Many of the other people who give their point of view also demonstrate their prejudices about HIV. And each time that person is proved wrong. This technique was slow to understand at first, but it made sense after a while.
If you’re looking for a moving story, this is the one for you!
About the Author:
Jessica Koch (born in Ludwigsburg, Germany) began writing short stories when she was still in high school, but never submitted her work to publishers. In late 1999, shortly after beginning her studies to become an architectural drafter, she met Danny, a German-American dual national. Her experiences with him eventually formed the basis for So Near the Horizon, though it was nearly thirteen years before she felt ready to bring the manuscript to the public.
The author describes a life lived somewhere between hope and fear, between optimism and despair. She reflects on events from her own past with raw honesty, confronting more than one difficult subject along the way.
Jessica Koch lives near the city of Heilbronn with her husband, their son, and two dogs. The second and third books in the trilogy, So Near the Abyss and So Near the Ocean, are already best-sellers in Germany as well.
Author Links:
Book Tour Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours
Thank you to YA Bound Book Tours for letting me participate in this blog tour.
Jill's Book Blog 
great review now i want to read this
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Thanks! It’s a beautiful story but very sad.
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Your welcome and good to know
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