Far From You
by Tess Sharpe
read in September 2017
format: paperback
spoiler-free review!
“But my heart isn’t simple or straightforward. It’s a complicated mess of wants and needs, boys and girls: soft, rough, and everything in between, an ever-shifting precipice from which to fall.“
I was nervous to pick up Far From You. I expected to love it, so I didn’t want to end up feeling disappointed. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case: I absolutely loved it!
This novel is raw. Sophie, the protagonist, is flawed, but I admired her and understood her actions. Far From You deals with many serious topics such as drug addiction and murder, and I loved that Sophie’s personality and behaviour reflected that.
The storyline is non-linear. Every chapter is followed by a flashback. Those were definitely intriguing, but sometimes confusing at the same time because they weren’t in a chronological order. Still, it was nice we got to know the characters more that way and I certainly understand why the author included them. They were very nice additions, though do pay attention to the time-line while reading.
Sophie is bisexual and Mina is a lesbian. There’s somewhat of a love triangle in here, but I didn’t mind. It felt very natural and it was very beautifully done: “If it hadn’t been for her, it would have been you.” Don’t worry, though, this author is bisexual and as a bisexual reader, I can tell you that these relationships didn’t rely on any harmful biphobic tropes.
Unfortunately, it took me almost two weeks to finish this novel. It’s not the book’s fault, but mine, because I haven’t been feeling well lately. But because of the abundance of characters, I was very confused at times. It was especially difficult to keep track of all the male characters with generic names such as Kyle, Adam, Jack, etc.
Before I read this novel, I wasn’t aware that it was a YA mystery. I thought the mystery was well done and I only guessed about one chapter before the reveal who was responsible for the crimes. Having said that, I would primarily recommend Far From You for the representation. Sophie is a drug-addict. She is disabled and has experienced chronic pain ever since being in a car accident. I prefer character-driven novels, so Far From You was everything I wanted.
content and trigger warnings for internalised queerphobia, drug addiction, murder, chronic pain, ableist language (such as cr*zy), d*ke, kidnapping and being drugged against your will, car crash
Far From You is an intriguing Young Adult mystery, but I especially loved Sophie’s journey. I’m very glad this novel didn’t disappoint me and I’m already looking forward to Tess Sharpe’s 2018 book releases.
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