Allie is devastated when her older sister commits suicide--and not just because she misses her. Allie feels betrayed. The two made a pact that they'd always be together, in life, and in death, but Leah broke her promise and Allie needs to know why. Her parents hover. Her friends try to support her. And Nick, sweet Nick, keeps calling and flirting. Their sympathy only intensifies her grief. But the more she clings to Leah, the more secretes surface. Allie's not sure which is more distressing: discovering the truth behind her sister's death or facing her new reality without her.
I am so glad that I decided not to judge a book by its cover. The premise of this book sounded great, but the cover is just boring. Luckily, I requested the book anyway and I am happy to say that I thought it was very well done.
Allie and Leah made a pact: they made a pact that if they ever decided to commit suicide, they would do it together. Allie is devastated when Leah kills herself. She desperately wants to know why and she also feels guilty. Allie thinks maybe she could have done something to stop her and she also feels like Leah betrayed her because she did it alone. This was such an interesting story. Allie was so messed up from grief and she was clearly torn between wishing she had gone with Leah and wishing she had stopped her sister from committing suicide. As with most stories about suicide, the people who are left behind are desperate for answers. Allie does get some answers about what happened the night Leah committed suicide, but she also has to struggle with the fact that no one could have stopped Leah.
Because of Leah's death, Allie turns to numbing herself with pills, alcohol and even cough medicines. Allie gives us little bits and pieces of her history with Leah throughout the book and it seems like Leah took pills and drugs way more than Allie did. Actually, Allie got made fun of because she hadn't even tried weed (or had sex, but that's another story). So I think Allie experimented a little, but didn't really use seriously until after Leah's death. Leah died of an overdose of pills and wine, so the last thing Allie needs is to take pills. But Allie is also an artist and she is having kind of a painter's block. I lost count of all the people who offered Allie pills . . . even her own mother. It seems like there were very few people in Allie's life to get her serious help. She was crying out for it.
Speaking of awful parents, Allie's were a joke. Her mom takes a lot of Xanax and Valium and spends most of her time high on some kind of pill combination. Meanwhile, her dad left the family months before for a new woman and as far as I could tell, he only showed up when there was an emergency. God, I hated him. All he did whenever there was an emergency was yell and bully. Allie spent most of the book grieving by herself and taking care of herself. I can see why she was hurting so much, especially when there was no one around to see how much of a downward spiral she was on.
Okay, let's talk about all the guys. There was Nick, who was kind of a bland, judgy character and then there was Max, who was a huge jerk. Allie and Max almost hooked up, but she wasn't ready for sex so he got bored and she got laughed at by her sister and her best friend. Ugh, I hate that. And despite the fact that Max goes from girl to girl, she still has a thing for him. This whole kind of love triangle, but kind of not thing bugged me at first, but maybe that's because it reminded me too much of high school. In high school, there is a lot of pressure to have sex and girls often like guys that are no good. Add a drug problem and a sister's suicide and it makes it even worse.
I think the main thing I didn't like about this book was that the ending seemed to forced. I just think certain things came too easily and wrapped up too neatly in the end.
Allie and Leah made a pact: they made a pact that if they ever decided to commit suicide, they would do it together. Allie is devastated when Leah kills herself. She desperately wants to know why and she also feels guilty. Allie thinks maybe she could have done something to stop her and she also feels like Leah betrayed her because she did it alone. This was such an interesting story. Allie was so messed up from grief and she was clearly torn between wishing she had gone with Leah and wishing she had stopped her sister from committing suicide. As with most stories about suicide, the people who are left behind are desperate for answers. Allie does get some answers about what happened the night Leah committed suicide, but she also has to struggle with the fact that no one could have stopped Leah.
Because of Leah's death, Allie turns to numbing herself with pills, alcohol and even cough medicines. Allie gives us little bits and pieces of her history with Leah throughout the book and it seems like Leah took pills and drugs way more than Allie did. Actually, Allie got made fun of because she hadn't even tried weed (or had sex, but that's another story). So I think Allie experimented a little, but didn't really use seriously until after Leah's death. Leah died of an overdose of pills and wine, so the last thing Allie needs is to take pills. But Allie is also an artist and she is having kind of a painter's block. I lost count of all the people who offered Allie pills . . . even her own mother. It seems like there were very few people in Allie's life to get her serious help. She was crying out for it.
Speaking of awful parents, Allie's were a joke. Her mom takes a lot of Xanax and Valium and spends most of her time high on some kind of pill combination. Meanwhile, her dad left the family months before for a new woman and as far as I could tell, he only showed up when there was an emergency. God, I hated him. All he did whenever there was an emergency was yell and bully. Allie spent most of the book grieving by herself and taking care of herself. I can see why she was hurting so much, especially when there was no one around to see how much of a downward spiral she was on.
Okay, let's talk about all the guys. There was Nick, who was kind of a bland, judgy character and then there was Max, who was a huge jerk. Allie and Max almost hooked up, but she wasn't ready for sex so he got bored and she got laughed at by her sister and her best friend. Ugh, I hate that. And despite the fact that Max goes from girl to girl, she still has a thing for him. This whole kind of love triangle, but kind of not thing bugged me at first, but maybe that's because it reminded me too much of high school. In high school, there is a lot of pressure to have sex and girls often like guys that are no good. Add a drug problem and a sister's suicide and it makes it even worse.
I think the main thing I didn't like about this book was that the ending seemed to forced. I just think certain things came too easily and wrapped up too neatly in the end.
Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy this one!
I liked but didn't love this one. Her parents were just so awful on so many levels. I just couldn't believe after her sister's death no one noticed just how bad she was and did something more. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Grace! Her parents were AWFUL. God, I hated her father so, so much. I am glad you liked it. For me, there were more pros than cons.
DeleteWow, Cynthia, this sounds exceptionally good. And I didn't know about it *slaps forehead* Adding it right now. Happy weekend, my friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ramona! Hope you love it!
Deleteman this book is appearing everywhere recently, the parents in this book make me wary though
ReplyDeleteLily, yeah her parents made me crazy. I hated her father so much. For me, there were more pros than cons.
DeleteI have some mixed feelings about this one. On the whole, it was more positive than negative, but some of the things DID bug me. Like WHY does everyone use pills? Like, I get that SOME people do, but... literally ALL the people did! And the dad. OHHH I hated him. I actually felt sorry for the mom, she seemed to need some serious counseling. I don't know, I feel like I liked it more at the time, and talking to you about it is making me wonder what I liked because I can only remember the stuff I didn't! Oopsie?
ReplyDeleteShannon @ It Starts At Midnight
Shannon, I can understand that. It was kind of crazy how pills were everywhere. Maybe I was a goody goody or maybe things have changed, but I don't remember drugs being that prevalent in high school. Maybe it's a little bit of both. And the dad made me SO MAD. I honestly wish the author would have let the MC have at least one supportive and loving parent. But maybe a decent parent would have meant less drug use or something. For me, I thought the book had more pros than cons. Sometimes, when I read a review from someone else, I feel the same way. I only remember the negative stuff and not so much the positive. That's one of the reasons why I try to write my review right away too.
DeleteGreat post dear! Have a wonderful weekend:)
ReplyDeleteirenethayer.com
Thanks Irene!
DeleteIt sounds like her family was left in a frightful emotional mess. Not in the mood for this type of book right now, but I definitely will consider this one. Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joy! There are a lot of tough subjects in this one, so I understand why you wouldn't want to read it right now. If you do read it, I hope you enjoy it.
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