The Truth of Letting Go by Amy Sparling

Genre: YA, Fiction

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Date Published: 19 December 2017

Format: E-book

Page Count: 251

Date Started: 11 Dec 2017

Date Finished: 12 Dec 2017

Goodreads Rating: 4.3/ 5

My Rating: 5/5

Source: Amy Sparling

Disclaimer: I received this e-book from the author in return of my honest and unbiased review. 

This is my first read by Amy Sparling. And it was such a light and easy read. 27 chapters passed without me noticing the time.

When the story starts we are introduced to Lilah a normal high school kid and her cousin Cece who’s bipolar. Everything seems to be under control until Lilah’s parents decide to leave both Cece and her at home for a week during the summer break as they had to be out of town.

Things between the cousins take an interesting turn when Cece has a strong hunch that he brother, Thomas isn’t dead, and forces Lilah to follow her on a road trip to track down Thomas with his best friend Ezra.

During the road trip, Lilah learns more about herself and how she’s been absent from Cece’s life despite living under the same roof after the death of Cece’s parents. And the spark of attraction between Ezra and Lilah was a nice distraction. He made her see things that she was oblivious to.

Ezra reminded Lilah of the relationship she shared with Cece prior to the deaths of Cece’s parents followed by Thomas’ death six months after that. In my honest opinion, Ezra showed Lilah the kind of human she was becoming by shutting Cece away just coz she’s bipolar and goes manic at times.

What I really loved about this book is the way Sparling had taken the subject of bipolar and made the condition more understandable. We are often afraid of people who are bipolar because we are ignorant of how they feel. We are terrified of their highs and their lows and often forget that they too are humans and are trying to cope with their situation as best as they can. It’s not like they asked to be bipolar, it is something out of their control.

Amy Sparling has taken the themes of family ties, the loss of family members and mental illness, and have combed them with sophistication. When I read the blurb I was apprehensive, thinking it’s going to be a depressing and heart wrenching read, but I was wrong. This is such a easy read which is light and heart warming.

In the journey to find Thomas, Lilah and Cece find themselves. Lilah especially realises her faults and tries her best to make it up to Cece. They rekindle what ever they’ve lost and found out although they pretty much have their own lives but, deep down they’ve missed each other.

This books is so heart warming and easy to read. I was hooked from the very first page and I’m writing this review the moment I finished it. It sheds light on what a bipolar person might be thinking and how do they actually feel.

The ending was unexpected and I’m dying to know the development of Lilah’s relationship with Ezra and also Cece. How’s Cece coming with the truth that she’s found. I hope there’s a sequel to this book.

If you’re looking for a light and easy read but with something that could open your eyes, The Truth Of Letting go should be on top of your TBR list.

The summer before senior year, Lilah Monroe’s parents take a nine-day trip, leaving her as the guardian of her bipolar cousin, Cece. When Cece’s parents died tragically five years ago, she and her brother moved in with Lilah. Her brother soon went missing and was presumed dead.

Lilah and Cece couldn’t be more different. They used to be best friends, but high school has changed them both. Lilah likes order, schedules, and a tidy room. She has plans for her future and won’t let anything derail it, not even Cece whose life is constantly on the edge of chaos. Cece is messy, erratic and sensitive. She also has a reason to believe that her brother is still alive. Despite Lilah’s reservations, Cece tracks down an old friend who believes her theories. Ezra happens to have gotten really handsome since Lilah last saw him. Too bad they never really got along when they were kids.

Knowing the odds are stacked against them, Lilah breaks all of her parent’s rules for order and reason and joins forces with Cece and Ezra to set out on the road in an old RV in hopes of finding her dead cousin. Lilah and Ezra have a love connection amid the chaos, and when they discover what really happened to Thomas, it’s a truth no one saw coming. One that just might get them killed.

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