Eva V. Gibson

[2.5]
This is it. I finally found a book that will stop me from purchasing books based on the cover, which is a bit disappointing, but hey, at least I might save money. Though, to be fair, it wasn't completely awful; the premise wasn't bad. In fact, it was pretty intriguing, so when I finally read the summary after getting home, I had hope in it. However, this book just ended up as an extremely long and frustrating read.

The characters were one of my main problems with this book. I expected to be able to connect with Lane, but I just couldn't, even with the few similarities. I do think that I may have enjoyed the book a bit more if I could've connected to her. Sadie was absolutely the most frustrating character. She felt fake, and her mood swings drove me insane.

As with Sadie, Grey just didn't sit right with me. At the beginning, he seemed like a really sweet guy. Unfortunately, the way he treated Lane was gross, and he was even condescending at times. I did sympathize with him over the way he was treated by Sadie, but other than that, I just couldn't stand him.

Connor was my favorite character, though he could be awful at times as well. Even so, he was the most redeemable character in my opinion. He was sweet, and you could tell he truly adored Lane, which I think she deserved. I also really liked that he managed to pick himself up after going through hell.

The storyline itself was okay. It was interesting, but there were parts that felt awkward and unnecessary. I did feel like it could have been several pages shorter, which is pretty rare for me. Some of the metaphors used were also unnecessary and made almost zero sense. I do believe that if it was just a few pages shorter and some of the metaphors weren't there, it wouldn't have been such a frustrating read.

Like I said before, it wasn't all bad. I actually really like that Gibson talked about extremely serious issues that most young adult books either gloss over or don't address at all. Though some of the interactions felt awkward and forced, there were others that felt genuine, whether they were awkward or touching. The ending was also really good, and I loved the message of it.

Trigger Warnings: This book contains mentions of suicide, drug and alcohol use, trauma, and death.… (meer)

Everything that happens in this book, to Lane, Grey, Sadie and Connor, has happened to other teens. I doubt a group ever had so much occur, let alone all of the events that unfold in this story without imploding. These realities, Lane's ever present nightmare, Grey's issues around abandonment and attraction, Sadie's fragile vision of a perfect ever after, and Connor's darkness after being tossed to the curb by his parents, all drive them in a perfect storm that could easily have become lethal, but didn't. There's an old saying to the effect that nobody gets out of this world alive. Well it's miraculous that all of these teens survive this book, but they do, and reading how that happens is quite satisfying. I deducted one star because there were (in my mind, at least) too many gratuitous F-bombs.… (meer)