Review: 5 Stars, Grab this one now!
**Thank you to Net Galley and 3P Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.** Trigger Warning: domestic violence, anger issue, loss of a partner, coma patients.
The book draws you in from page 1! It's written simply and makes you want to read it more and more. Sadie Mitchell's penmanship hooks you instantly. The books oscillates between the past and the present and the writing is precise and engaging. When the story moves from Dylan to James to Anna's current situation initially, not once do you feel like the preceding part should go on, or that the upcoming part is something you are not looking forward too. One is not more interesting than the other and that to me is purely due to how brilliantly the author has made each part intriguing and interesting. The characters are well developed and you can almost imagine them in your head. As the story progresses there is enough mystery to keep you engaged. What happened to Dylan? How did James get abusive? What did Anna do? How did she end up here? What is Pam up to, what is her role? These questions haunt you and you want to keep reading more. This is a hard to put down book. The book starts with this sentence "It's important to take stock of your life." This book will like make readers do just that especially if they are in a situation like Anna's. There are many pointers in this book that would help a lot women identify abusive partners, or at least make them stop and wonder. That in itself is a big accomplishment for a book that's written as a fictional one. The one aspect of abuse this book captures really well and makes you think hard about it is what happens when the abused becomes violent in response to the abuser, is the abused also be called an abuser in that situation or is it more like self defense. Does allowing it to happen make you responsible for it? Sadly I felt like Anna didn't always make the smart choice and find her way out of the situation before it escalated to a violent one. It is very disturbing to see a pattern, in all books with such subjects, of how abused women will keep going back to the abuser hoping they have changed, hoping that the 'good' guy they see glimpses of is real and the monster is now gone. At times I did feel like Anna probably needed help too, whether her behavior was purely a reaction to her abusive relation or something hidden deep within her is food for thought. I felt myself trying to understand and decide if she added fuel to the fire and does it make her somewhat responsible too? Not that it can be an excuse for the abuser. Her only responsibility is for not walking away, not breaking the cycle. What is even better is that the book makes you realize that none of what she did or said warranted James' behavior. It makes you see her as not only a victim but someone who could stand up for herself and react instead of silently taking the abuse. The book makes you think hard and makes you assess and almost create a plan in your head of what you would do if you were ever in such a relationship, what your exit strategy would be. This is the biggest reason that I highly recommend reading this book. The twist in the final 3 chapters of the book was completely unexpected and was handled beautifully. The point of view of a person being fully aware of everything around then but being trapped in their own body while in a coma is well presented and thought provoking. I am conflicted about the fates of James and Pam, but I don't know if any ending would be satisfying given the nature of the story. All in all, the book is well researched and believable. This is probably the longest review I've ever written which is not surprising since I completely loved this book. Take a bow Sadie Mitchell, this book is a winner.
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