Monday 27 June 2016

This Is What Goodbye Looks Like- Olivia Rivers BOOK TALK

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This is exactly the kind of book I needed to read right now! It gripped me from the very beginning and I didn't want it to end.
It's a story that I couldn't put down and stayed up until ugly hours to finish. It's been a while since I've been all-consumed by a book so it's nice to get that feeling back.
This story follows a girl called Lea. Lea watched a boy die in the same car accident that ruined her legs and put her sister in a coma. She's the only eye-witness and had the opportunity to put the drunk driver responsible into jail, giving justice to the boy's family.
But, instead, she lied in order to keep her mum out of jail.
With the trial over and her sister still in a coma, Lea attempts to rebuild her shattered life. When transferring schools, she finds herself in the same class as Seth Ashbury- the brother of the boy who died in the accident. As she grows closer to him, the lies begin to pile up and Lea has to decide whether to continue with an oblivious Seth and comforting them both or telling the truth and risk destroying this new life that she's built herself.
I'm obsessed with this book and I wanted it to go forever. This book just had that special 'it' factor that I can't name.
This book was phenomenal and, obviously, I would recommend it. Be sure to pick it up!

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
First of all, I'd like to thank the publishers for sending me this so that I could review it!
This book was so adorable and yet it had so many dark subjects weaved throughout. This whole story centres around grief, despair and pain and it was portrayed so flawlessly and dealt with so maturely. Personally, I'm a big fan of very dark and melancholy themes and it was written so well in this book. This was beautifully realistic and it was pulled off effortlessly.

I also fell in love with the characters instantly. Lea was a likeable character from the beginning despite her making some mistakes in the past. Her heart was always in the right place and she struggles through so much pain and grief that I feel sorry for her.
And then we have Seth. I knew that I would love Seth as soon as Lea decided to vomit all over his lovely black vans. One thing I didn't expect going into this was that Seth would be blind. It brought an interesting dynamic to the story. We don't see enough disabilities in young adult literature so I always appreciate when they are handled so beautifully.
Seth was a swoony, gorgeous fictional guy and it was all too easy to fall in love with him. He was the definition of dreamy. He holds so much grief but still manages to comfort and care for others and I admire that about him. The amount of times I wanted to pull him into a hug was overwhelming.
Brie was another character that I fell in love with instantly. She was the out-going and fun friend that you wish was your own best friend. She was so supportive of everyone even though she had her own troubles going on. She had a shadowed past that we only got to see a glimpse of and I could easily read an entire book following her story. Lea and Brie had a lovely relationship and it's nice to see a female friendship that works so well.
One thing I love about this book is that every character has a full and complex background. The whole book isn't solely based on a couple of characters but can explore many.
This story follows many different types of pain and struggle. Lea especially goes through so much and yet she is the person who hides it most. She manages to get through her pain and do something constructive with what she's feeling. I think this sends a strong message that pain is real, even though it may not be obvious. We don't truly know how someone is feeling and sometimes a seemingly happy person with great grades can be hurting inside in ways we can't imagine.
The epilogue was so amazing as it was such a relief to see Camille awake again, Jeremy maintaining a good relationship with Lea and, most of all, the implication that Seth and Lea get back together.
Boy, did I need this book to continue, though!
This book was the breath of fresh air that I've needed and I'm so excited to jump into more of Olivia Rivers books.

Thanks for reading! Comment your thoughts below! See you soon,
Chloe x

Ps- I also thought Koda was adorable. (I couldn't not mention her).

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