This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
My Review:Title: The awful wonderful Story of Us
Author: Jolene Perry
Published by: Indie
Release Date: August 28th 2018
Format: eARC
Pages: 324
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Coming of Age, Suspense
Potential Triggers: View Spoiler »
Source: the author
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 #LetsReadIndie Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 New Release Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 Platypire Diversity Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER Big Summer Birthday Bash 2018
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:
Blurb:Act strong. Feel strong. Be strong.
Are the words that London chants to herself to get through the day. She lives in a house where rules are inforced with fists, and drugs change hands in a near steady flow.Cole uses his carefully placed camouflage of studious athlete to cover up a past he wishes he could erase, constantly counting down to keep himself in check. At school he pretends. At home, he hides.
The two have a friendship based on an unspoken knowledge of past and present secrets. But when London’s dad sends her to the hospital, and Cole’s stepmom has the backstory, Cole steals the chance to help a friend.
Running away together feels like the perfect plan to keep London safe, but with Cole’s stepmother working on an investigation against London’s father, the two are being attacked from all sides.
Soon, it might not be a matter of fighting to stay together, but fighting to stay alive.
I received a free copy through the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.
4.5 stars — You guys, that blurb, and the whole concept of this book scared me. Not because I was worried it wasn’t going to be good, but sometimes I need a boost to dive into a book I know is going to give me the feelz. But my hubby was all “stop procrastinating, just do it!” and so I dove right in and couldn’t put it down. It’s been awhile since a book has held me so enthralled, but London and Cole’s “awful wonderful” story did exactly that.
There were parts of this story that were like watching a bad car accident…and my heart hurt so unbelievably hard for the things both London and Cole had to deal with at such a young age. I can’t even imagine…or at least I couldn’t, but I feel like through this story I maybe understand a bit more than I wanted to. The way Ms. Perry presented the damaging effects of Cole’s abuse and London’s abominable home life…well, it made a lasting impression.
I will admit that at times I had a hard time connecting with the writing itself…which is the ONLY reason this isn’t a full 5 stars. It’s happened to me before with Ms. Perry’s work, so I think it’s just a mismatch. But the thing that I find fascinating is that despite that, I still fell completely in love with this story. And that is down to amazingly real characters that I fell in love with, and a storyline that kept me clamouring for more.
While Cole’s abuse took place in the past, we really got to see how it was still affecting him in the present. I truly felt I understood his anxiety and his anger…his reactions always made sense to me from his perspective. Not in that that would be how I would react, but that I understood why he did. It was interesting to see the juxtaposition with London’s story, because she is still fully entrenched in her horror…it’s like they are on different parts of the abuse and recovery timeline. But it helped them to understand one another.
I can’t even with London’s story…it just hurts my heart to know—TRULY KNOW—that there are kids out there living that same life. Feeling those same feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness. There were moments when I hated the decisions she made, but I also understood them from her perspective…I understood why she was making them and why they were right for her.
Both characters were easy to connect to and love. London was so strong and spirited, but not without her own vulnerabilities. And Cole…OMG, I loved Cole. He was so adorable and sweet and real. And their connection with one another gave me butterflies (though don’t expect a romance, that’s not what this story is about).
I also really loved the strong adult characters in this book — from Deb and Cole’s Dad, to Mr. Brite, to even Jessica. They were believable, and doing the best they could. It was nice to have those in a book like this. It’s not that they weren’t flawed, or didn’t make mistakes, but their hearts were in the right places. I find so often in stories with these kinds of social issues, we don’t get that balance. Also, shout out to Milo — that dog was awesome.
So yeah. I may have been scurr, but I am so thankful I got over that so I could fall in love with this story. Ms. Perry has a knack for not holding back the realism in her stories — and sometimes that works for me, and sometimes it’s just too hard. I felt like this story had the perfect balance, and the ending felt true to the story while still leaving me with hope.
This sounds wonderful!