Title: What's Broken Between UsAuthor: Alexis Bass
Pub. Date: December 29, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 241
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Rating: 3/5 stars
Synopsis:
A year and a half ago, Amanda Tart's brother got behind the wheel drunk and killed his best friend. Today, he's coming home from prison.
Amanda's been the one living with the fallout, made worse by her brother's recent unapologetic TV interview. People think he's a monster. Still, she loves him. It's her dark secret, until she starts getting close to Henry again--whose sister is paralyzed from the accident.
A year and a half ago, her brother destroyed his life. Now Amanda has to decide if she'll let his choice destroy hers.
Amanda's been the one living with the fallout, made worse by her brother's recent unapologetic TV interview. People think he's a monster. Still, she loves him. It's her dark secret, until she starts getting close to Henry again--whose sister is paralyzed from the accident.
A year and a half ago, her brother destroyed his life. Now Amanda has to decide if she'll let his choice destroy hers.
Review:
This novel is a bit hard for me to rate because while I didn't love it, I also didn't hate it. It's an average book to me that didn't have anything that made it stand out. I feel like by the end of 2016 (or even in a couple of months) I won't remember that much about this book besides the description. For me, this says a lot about the book. Don't get me wrong, this book was good for what it was, but it wasn't memorable, and this is the type of book that could have been memorable.
The main problem with this book for me was that not much happened. I didn't take much away from the book after I was finished reading. Yes, it was a quick read, but I still wanted a bit more. I had no clue what would happen in this novel. It has a unique premise, and I was interested to see a story from the perspective of the family rather than the victim or the perpetrator. But the problem with this was that it didn't result in anything happening in the story. It ended up being a bit boring. The characters seemed to remain stagnant throughout the story, but did start experiencing perhaps a little bit of growth toward the end. I wish this happened earlier on in the story because it would have been nice to see how Amanda, Jonathan, and the rest of the family would have grown and developed later on. There is cheating in the story, and if you know me, I can't stand cheating. It's often unnecessary in books, and just seems to be thrown in for added drama. And that was exactly what it was in this book. There was really no reason for it, and I lost a lot of respect for Amanda and Henry after this.
The characters were also a bit tough for me to read. I absolutely hated Jonathan, and I mean hated . I was expecting him to be at least somewhat remorseful for what he had done, and maybe want to change his ways. But he didn't seem that way one bit. This bothered me a lot, but what bothered me even more was his behavior throughout the story. Instead of trying to make an effort to change, Jonathan just falls back into the same pattern as before he went to jail. He hangs out with a girl who is toxic to him (and herself but that's a whole other story), and hurts every single person around him even more. Now I have no idea how realistic this is, but I feel like someone would want to make just the tiniest bit of effort to change their ways so they don't end up in the same situation that landed them in the whole mess in the first place. Amanda was just a so-so character for me. I didn't love her, I didn't hate her. I felt the same about Henry, and several other characters.
Contrary to this review, I didn't hate this novel. I did enjoy it, but it didn't blow me away. I wish I could have loved this novel more than I did, but it wasn't as memorable as it could have been. It had a lot of potential, but for me, it wasn't my cup of tea. I can't say I would recommend reading it, but if you're looking for a quick read that is dramatic contemporary, then this book might be for you.
The main problem with this book for me was that not much happened. I didn't take much away from the book after I was finished reading. Yes, it was a quick read, but I still wanted a bit more. I had no clue what would happen in this novel. It has a unique premise, and I was interested to see a story from the perspective of the family rather than the victim or the perpetrator. But the problem with this was that it didn't result in anything happening in the story. It ended up being a bit boring. The characters seemed to remain stagnant throughout the story, but did start experiencing perhaps a little bit of growth toward the end. I wish this happened earlier on in the story because it would have been nice to see how Amanda, Jonathan, and the rest of the family would have grown and developed later on. There is cheating in the story, and if you know me, I can't stand cheating. It's often unnecessary in books, and just seems to be thrown in for added drama. And that was exactly what it was in this book. There was really no reason for it, and I lost a lot of respect for Amanda and Henry after this.
The characters were also a bit tough for me to read. I absolutely hated Jonathan, and I mean hated . I was expecting him to be at least somewhat remorseful for what he had done, and maybe want to change his ways. But he didn't seem that way one bit. This bothered me a lot, but what bothered me even more was his behavior throughout the story. Instead of trying to make an effort to change, Jonathan just falls back into the same pattern as before he went to jail. He hangs out with a girl who is toxic to him (and herself but that's a whole other story), and hurts every single person around him even more. Now I have no idea how realistic this is, but I feel like someone would want to make just the tiniest bit of effort to change their ways so they don't end up in the same situation that landed them in the whole mess in the first place. Amanda was just a so-so character for me. I didn't love her, I didn't hate her. I felt the same about Henry, and several other characters.
Contrary to this review, I didn't hate this novel. I did enjoy it, but it didn't blow me away. I wish I could have loved this novel more than I did, but it wasn't as memorable as it could have been. It had a lot of potential, but for me, it wasn't my cup of tea. I can't say I would recommend reading it, but if you're looking for a quick read that is dramatic contemporary, then this book might be for you.
Happy reading :)
~Cassie
I can't stand when I'm reading a book and reading a book and reading a book--and nothing is happening. That is kind of annoying. AND hating a character not good. I am passing on this. Thanks for this review!
ReplyDeleteAnytime!! And I 100% agree! I was generous in my rating for this book, but I would definitely skip it. I hate saying that, but it's not worth it.
Delete~Cassie
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