Title: Bad Romance
Author: Heather Demetrios
Date: June 13th 2017
Pages: 368
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company Inc.
As today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, I decided to review Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios, a Young Adult contemporary book published in June. It tells Grace’s life in her junior and senior year of high school, while she’s struggling trying to keep up with the demands of her mother and stepfather, Her dream boy, Gavin, starts to notice her. But after getting together, Grace will realise her own mistake.
The story was both wonderful and awful. I can’t put how it made me feel into words. The beginning of the story wasn’t very good to me, as the protagonist seemed a bit like a stalker, knowing even what Gavin had eaten the day before.
Slowly, but constantly, the story got better. Even though the content was disturbing, I loved the main character’s growing arc, especially how she became aware of the wrongness of what she was experiencing.
I am your oxygen, your breath of fresh air. But I’m not enough.
You’re angry. At yourself, at the emotions that spin inside you.
Heather Demetrios did an excellent job in writing this book, as she was in an abusive relationship too, and the message she wanted to give was this: it’s hard. They will trick you into believing this is love, they will make you feel guilty about things you have no control over, they will be very possessive about you.
But you need to let go of him. Or her. I believe that not only men can be abusive, but women can be, too. What Heather Demetrios masterfully says is that for your safety, for your freedom, you should break up with whoever is hurting you. It will be a hard decision, you’ll need the support of your loved ones, but you’ll feel relief and will be happy again after you’ll have done it.
When you’re a stupid girl in love, it’s almost impossible to see the red flags. It’s so easy to pretend they’re not there, to pretend that everything is perfect.
Beautiful rock gods who can kiss you until you’re dizzy always get away with murder.
While the story was enticing, certain things bothered me. Signs I think Grace should have picked up sooner. But this is one of the problems: they will seem sweet at the beginning, then there will be slip ups from the partner, until you’ll be in his or her clutches. Having lost yourself in this journey.
I think you should read it for the message the author wants to spread, even though I didn’t fully enjoy the story. I don’t know how to rate this book, therefore I’m trying to be in the middle ground, and give it 3 out of 5 stars.
⭐⭐⭐
About the author
When Heather Demetrios isn’t traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, she lives with her husband in New York City. Originally from Los Angeles, she now calls the East Coast home. Heather has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real. Her other critically acclaimed novels include Exquisite Captive, I’ll Meet You There, and Bad Romance. She’s also a creativity coach, snail mail aficionado, and hopeless romantic.
Advertisements Share this:- More
