3 OUT OF 5 STARSGenres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Publication Date: February 21st 2017
Disclaimer: A free copy of this book was received through LibraryThing Early Readers in exchange for an honest review.
Petula is sixteen and terrified of life. Freak accidents happen every day so she must always remain vigilant. She doesn’t cross without looking both ways, walk near construction sites, or eat ground beef. When Jacob joins her art therapy group, Petula begins to open up, but she isn’t the only one with secrets.
This book is quirky, cute and fun. From cat-lovers, crafters, record collectors, film geeks and bookworms this book has something for everyone. There’s plenty of good representation from gay to amputees. It’s a very diverse read that has laughs and cries throughout.
The romance is the issue. It’s fluffy and slow and a nice portrayal of sex, but it’s a little love as the cure-all drug. Love doesn’t make mental illness better. Throughout this book, several therapist type things are bashed and the real cure is a cute boy. No.
The other slight issue is FULL OF SPOILERS. LOOK AWAY TO AVOID SPOILERS. The love interest does something very bad. He deserves to feel guilty. He deserves to not enjoy life ever again. However, this book compares it to a tragic accident. That he’s been punished enough and people should still be friends with him. No. There are things that you don’t deserve forgiveness for and this is one of them. I was very unhappy with how this was dealt with and made to seem like he was even sort of a victim.
I want to love this book. Susin Neilsen has written things I love. She’s Canadian. I love cats and books. There are so many good things going on. I cannot, however, give this book the five stars I was hoping to when I began reading.
The story is good. There are so many cute moments with family, friends and lovers. There are cats. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a fun time and quite a quick read. However, the issues with the romance and how certain things were dealt with left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
For Fans of: All the Bright Things Advertisements Share this:
