All We Can Do Is Wait By Richard Lawson Review

Overall Review: 3.5/5 Stars

"In the hours after a bridge collapse rocks their city, a group of Boston teenagers meet in the waiting room of Massachusetts General Hospital."

Goodreads

Non-Spoiler Section:

All We Can Do Is Wait by Richard Dawson is the new author's debut novel. It follows a group of five teenagers, who don't all know each other but meet in a hospital following a bridge collapse that affects each of them in different ways. It is a Young Adult Contemporary novel, and I think it does have some strong aspects for a debut novel.

I went back and forth as whether I wanted to give this book 3 or 4 stars, before I settled on 3.5, which for Goodreads purposes, translates into a 3. I felt that some things that should have been tied up by the end of the novel and overall I wanted more from some of the characters. The concept is one that might have been done before, people waiting in a hospital waiting room, but this honestly did not feel like something I've read before, so it was very successful there.

This is your SPOILER WARNING! If you haven’t read All We Can Do Is Wait by Richard Lawson and don’t want to be spoiled, Stop Reading Now! (Of course come back after you’ve read so we can discuss!!)

Plot (B):

The plot heavily used flashbacks to show the relationships that each of the characters had with their family member(s) that were involved in the crash. I think it was used well for the most part.

A very large part of the story focuses on siblings Alexa and Jason who's parents were driving over the bridge when it collapsed. However, their story focused much more on their relationship with Kyle (Alexa's friend and Jason's boyfriend), who died a year ago, then it did with their parents. We barely see anything from their parents at all. And what we do see, just shows them as stuck up rich people. The other characters I felt like did show the relationships they had with those affected. Skyler is there for her older sister, Kate who is more like a mother and has done so much for her. Scott is there for his girlfriend Aimee, who we later find out is his ex-girlfriend. Morgan is there because earlier in the day, she found out her dad had died of cancer, but sticks around when she meets the other four for support.

Someone clearly had to die. I think it was a strong choice for Aimee to die, because it shows that Scott know has to move forward whether he likes it or not. If she had lived, he would have continued to try to get her back and might never have gotten closure. It was smart for Kate to live, because Skyler wants to pay her back and needs that support in her life. The fate of Alexa and Jason's parents is left unclear but it's assumed they live, which is something I don't love. I wish we were explicitly told what happens to them.

Characters (B+):

Alexa: We see a lot from Alexa and I enjoyed reading from her perspective. I wish there was more to her plot line. What I mean by this, is that we see her friendship with Kyle and that she's not doing well in school and doesn't want to go to college and those are basically her defining features. She seemed very passionate and I wanted to see her passion directed at something specific. Again, her parents are barely in it, so we don't know much about their relationship other than they are disappointed in her for her grades.

Jason: Jason is pretty aggravating throughout most of the novel. He's clearly angry and tends to be rude towards others. We find out that nobody knew about his relationship with Kyle and feels that he should have been with Kyle when he died and that he could have avoided it. (It was a drunk driving accident.) He doesn't seem to have a good relationship with his parents, or at least his mom, we never see him interact with their dad. I enjoyed his character development. By the end of the novel, he learns to be there for Alexa and they are finally able to talk about Kyle, which they haven't been able to do, since before he died.

Skyler: We learn that Skyler's mother left when she was young and though she was raised by and loves her grandparents greatly, her older sister Kate was her primary mother figure. Kate was on the bridge when it collapsed. It is also revealed that Skyler was in an abusive relationship that Kate saved her from. Kate lives and Skyler promises she will pay Kate back for everything she has done for her and never take her sister for granted. I enjoyed Skyler but she keeps getting texts from an unknown number that she automatically assumes is her ex-boyfriend, but we never find out and I wish there had been a bit more resolution there.

Scott: Automatically, it is easy to feel bad for Scott. We feel bad for all of them, but there's just something about the way he is distraught that is very upsetting. He is there because he says his girlfriend Aimee was on the bridge when it collapsed. It's only after Aimee's parents show up do we learn that they broke up and Scott desperately wants her back. I didn't dislike Scott, as many of the characters did after they found out that he lied. When we find out that Aimee died in the crash, Scott realizes he needs to move forward and learn to live without her. The only thing that bothered me was that Scott and Alexa seemed to like each other at a few different points and then nothing happened. Scott just leaves the hospital without getting Alexa's number or anything, they just say bye, and that confused me a bit.

Morgan: Morgan was interesting. She's introduced much later in the novel than anyone else. We know she's there for her dad, and while she never says he was in the crash, that's what we're lead to assume. It is revealed that Morgan's dad died earlier in the hospital from cancer before the crash even happened and she's now all alone. Staying with the other four gives her a sense of comfort. Morgan was shown as strong, since she took care of her dad on her own for a while and she actually gives the epilogue. I feel like Lawson did a good job of showing much of her backstory in a much more condensed amount of time than any of the other characters.

Setting (A):

I know, I know, how could a novel that takes place in a hospital get an A for setting? The flashbacks that take place outside of the hospital are so well done. We see the beach that Alexa and Jason's family spends summer at and it's so well described, down to their being dog walkers tossing tennis balls around. The bridge and how it looked and what happened when it collapsed was also so well done that you could see it happening so clearly in your head. Even the end, when Morgan is on the train, the train itself as what is going on outside the train is described so well that it's very easy to picture in your head.

Aesthetics (C+):

The aesthetics, meaning the cover and title were fine. There was nothing wrong with them at all. They were just nothing special. This book actually went through a cover change and I like the new cover a lot better. You can easily tell which characters are which on the cover. There is also a use of red and blue lights to signify an ambulance, which is smart.

The title is also fine. All we can do is wait is a recurring theme throughout the novel. The characters literally have to just sit there and wait to hear what happened to their loved ones. So, it works just fine, just not super memorable.

Recommended!