Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro

As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges how special they were.

Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special - and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.
(description taken from Amazon.com)

This is a beautifully written and haunting novel. It's what I consider a YA/Adult crossover. Older high school students will find this interesting as well as adults. Kathy begins the story narrating her youth from a newfound 31 year old perspective. Through artfully inserted flashbacks, Kathy relates the time when Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school still existed.

Hailsham students were protected, revered, and...feared. Within their own small circle, students like Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy had no idea why they really existed in a place like Hailsham. Readers have no idea either. Ishiguro is a master at revealing information to both Kathy and readers in such a way that the story unfolds like the petals of a delicate rose, creating a full bloom, touching the reader at the heart.

Kathy's journey into adulthood takes readers through loss, betrayal, revelation, heartbreak, love and friendship. It is a story that will make readers subconsiously think, while totally captivating the conscious mind. There were times I held my breath. There were times I cried. There were times I found myself just gently crying. It was truly beautiful.

PS - The reason I picked this book up in the first place was that I saw a movie trailer for it online and it looked very intriguing. Kiera Knightley is playing one of the girls. If you like the book, you'll have to see the movie!