First of all, I think it’s important to say that this book is POWERFUL. When I say that I like the book, it’s not because of what happened in it, nor the characters themselves. I hated some of the characters immensely. But that’s one of the reasons why this book has such an impact. It discusses themes that aren’t always represented in YA books, even though these things do happen in real life.
The main character, Zephyr, is extremely complex. She is smart, the captain of her field hockey team, and wants to be a marine biologist. She’s one of the popular girls in school, but she’s not a bitch. She’s popular because she’s nice to everyone, and people like her for that. Her best friend since birth, Gregg, is also very popular. He is the king of the school- but again, it’s not because he’s a jerk. It’s because he has earned everyone’s respect (plus his good looks helped a bit).
For years, Zephyr has never had a crush. She has never wanted to be in a relationship. But, one day, a new kid moves into school, and everything changes. It’s love at first sight. Alec seems perfect. Absolutely perfect. And then, then, Alec starts to let Zephyr into his mind. He’s insecure, jealous, and a bit unstable. But Zephyr still loves him. Of course she does! She is happy that he is letting her in, letting her see who he truly is.
But, here’s the problem. There’s a point in the story where Zephyr goes from being Zephyr, to being Alec’s girlfriend. She starts losing her individuality, but she doesn’t notice. And that point…that’s when it gets dark…
If you like dark contemporaries that make you think, you’ll love this book. I highly recommend this book for people who enjoyed Thirteen Reasons Why. I give this book 4.5/5stars.
I totally agree with you! I absolutely adored it and it really did creep me out. Everything Zee felt, we felt and Alec I just wanted to kick in the gollies. The reality and honesty of his novel was powerful. Great review.
Oops. My blog didn’t come up. Weird.
Not usually a reader of contemporary but this sounds good enough to make an exception! Thanks for the review, Nori!
*mental grabby hands*
I love that this YA book explores this reality. Sometimes I feel that most contemporary novels skip to “happily ever after” without ever talking about dangerous and unhealthy relationships.
Ahh, everyone keeps raving about this. I’ve read many reviews where they say this is such a powerful read. And I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that dealt with toxic relationships before so I’m definitely pretty excited about this one!
I can’t wait until I get the chance to read this book! It sounds like a meaningful book about toxic relationships that is detailed and very realistic. I also like that the main character is complex – it should be like that with such a subject matter.