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bookishdoll's review
4.0
Read my review here: https://bookaddictsahoy.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/bleed-like-me-by-c-desir/
kaylee_reads_quietly's review
4.0
A dark, tense snapshot at something that many YA novels don’t take the time to portray: an unhealthy relationship.
Brooks rubbed me the wrong way from the moment he first met Gannon, but he was supposed to. There was always something off about him, something that Gannon herself sensed too, but I found myself agreeing with her that he deserved a chance to be a good guy. Gannon and I were both wrong.
The progression of this extremely unhealthy relationship full of emotional abuse, control, and manipulation is very well done, and I would argue that the fact that Gannon still misses Brooks at the end of the novel, despite his possessiveness—and the fact that he endangered her life and manipulated her into saying that she loved him and running away with him to live in a shitty apartment with two strangers and no bathroom—is realistic to what a victim of an abusive relationship would feel.
Gannon’s feelings don’t just turn off when Brooks is gone from her life, and that’s rightly portrayed in the end of this book. Things are better for this girl but still not really okay.
I’m glad to have found a YA fiction novel that isn’t afraid to take a raw, unapologetic approach to mental health and drug addiction. This kind of book needs to be more widely read among teens and young adults.
Brooks rubbed me the wrong way from the moment he first met Gannon, but he was supposed to. There was always something off about him, something that Gannon herself sensed too, but I found myself agreeing with her that he deserved a chance to be a good guy. Gannon and I were both wrong.
The progression of this extremely unhealthy relationship full of emotional abuse, control, and manipulation is very well done, and I would argue that the fact that Gannon still misses Brooks at the end of the novel, despite his possessiveness—and the fact that he endangered her life and manipulated her into saying that she loved him and running away with him to live in a shitty apartment with two strangers and no bathroom—is realistic to what a victim of an abusive relationship would feel.
Gannon’s feelings don’t just turn off when Brooks is gone from her life, and that’s rightly portrayed in the end of this book. Things are better for this girl but still not really okay.
I’m glad to have found a YA fiction novel that isn’t afraid to take a raw, unapologetic approach to mental health and drug addiction. This kind of book needs to be more widely read among teens and young adults.
ash_ton's review
2.0
2.5 I guess. This book was fucking terrible. It tries to make us think abusive relationships are okay and that self-harm is so romantic. It's fucking not. It pissed me off to no end.
somanybooks2read's review
4.0
I read this book pretty fast given my limited reading time. The pages just turned fast form one to the other keeping me interested and I then ordered fault lines half way through this book bc I was enjoying it so much. The only issue is the ending kinda ... well ... sucked. NOT terrible. But felt so rushed.
I really wish Desir would have added another 30 or so pages dealing with Gannons grief and how everything happened to get her where she was at the end inside of just jumping 3 months. I rate the book 5 stars except the end. I just felt empty with the end. Due to the end I had to downgrade to 4 stars 💔
I really wish Desir would have added another 30 or so pages dealing with Gannons grief and how everything happened to get her where she was at the end inside of just jumping 3 months. I rate the book 5 stars except the end. I just felt empty with the end. Due to the end I had to downgrade to 4 stars 💔
heykellyjensen's review
This is a story of Gannon and Brooks and it's the story of a destructive, disturbing, broken relationship between a girl who feels abandoned by her family and a boy who is on the run from his past. It's a risky, edgy, dark read, and Desir is not afraid to go straight for the bone. The book explores cutting and unhealthy-as-hell relationships.
The writing is solid, and Desir knows how to plot. Character development, though, didn't necessarily knock it out of the park for me, and the ending felt like a let down, especially after the build-up. I wanted to care more about the characters, and I didn't find myself caring about them one way or the other, in part because I knew so little about them beyond what it was that made them who they are (in other words, Gannon is a cutter because it makes her feel something and Brooks is a sketchy guy who has been bounced through the system).
Readers who want risky stuff will be into this, especially if they're fans of Ellen Hopkins. It's fast paced and immediate.
A word of warning: there is and while I know cutting and sexualization/fetishization of cutting can be a trigger, it was the spoiler-cut thing that bothered me the most. In some ways, this book made me uncomfortable, especially with how sexual the cutting between Gannon and Brooks became. But it fit the story and fit the characters, so it didn't stand out as trying to be risky for the sake of being so. Drugs also play a huge role in their relationship.
The book features a high school drop out (two, actually, and it's never quite clear), a teen who works a part-time job, and lower socioeconomic class for readers who keep an eye out for those things.
The writing is solid, and Desir knows how to plot. Character development, though, didn't necessarily knock it out of the park for me, and the ending felt like a let down, especially after the build-up. I wanted to care more about the characters, and I didn't find myself caring about them one way or the other, in part because I knew so little about them beyond what it was that made them who they are (in other words, Gannon is a cutter because it makes her feel something and Brooks is a sketchy guy who has been bounced through the system).
Readers who want risky stuff will be into this, especially if they're fans of Ellen Hopkins. It's fast paced and immediate.
A word of warning: there is
Spoiler
completely unnecessary to the plot animal death which angered me since it was out of the blue and felt like a too-easy way to evoke emotion from the readerThe book features a high school drop out (two, actually, and it's never quite clear
Spoiler
whether Gannon ends up going back to school in the epiloguewlwryder's review
5.0
i loved this book. it’s so heartbreaking and lovely and relatable. such big trigger warnings!!! the ending truly shocked me, and i was crying because of the fact that the ending was so shocking.
emldavis0314's review
3.0
This book was very...graphic to say the least. I was not expecting THAT much detail about the topics in this book. I'm 18 and I was uncomfortable. I don't think even teens should read this book. I don't even think adults should. Just be cautious. This book is wack.
thewickedbookworm's review
2.0
I feel like if I'd read this in high school, I'd have enjoyed it much more. However, I also feel like it would've reinforced the terrible ideas I already had about relationships. This book is cringy and horrifying at the same time - but it is a pretty accurate portrayal of "jaded" teen attitudes, and it does get slightly better in the last handful of chapters.
lucysyvarth's review
4.75
THIS BOOK.
i can’t tell you how much i freaking loved this book. like idek how to explain it so please read the description of it and go out and read it. it really tore me apart while reading it and i still cried days after i finished it. this author is truly such a queen i love her. READ THIS BOOK
i can’t tell you how much i freaking loved this book. like idek how to explain it so please read the description of it and go out and read it. it really tore me apart while reading it and i still cried days after i finished it. this author is truly such a queen i love her. READ THIS BOOK