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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I wanted desperately to love this book but ended liking it. I might have enjoyed it more four years ago at the height of the NA movement; I found it too predictable. I adored Blythe though and felt her story was beautifully written.
Spoiler
I thought she was way too forgiving of Christopher
Absolutely love this book it shows the darker side of people's pasts and that there are things you have to overcome in order to move forward. There is no quick fix when they have problems, they actually work through their issues over time.
There is a lot to like about this book….
What an emotional journey this novel was! The book opens up to the messy state Blythe is in but doesn’t exactly give you a complete picture. Then the next day she vows to be sober and take better care of herself. She end up going for a run even though she is terribly out of shape it’s the start of her healing process. As the book continues the theme of her getting stronger continues - tackling those emotional demons head on. For that this is a powerful book. What I didn’t like is she consistently gave the credit of her healing to her love interest Chris. While I felt like eh helped her in a lot of ways he didn’t save her as the book often proclaimed. Thee characters are phenomenal and you immediately fall in love with the Shepherd siblings. Which made the book an even better read. I’m giving it four stars because there was a lot of Jesus hate and religion bashing. Like whole chapters. That’s fine have your beliefs but I don’t want to read endlessly about it- feels prejudice and political. Especially when it’s made to be such a large part of the story and the Chris does the exact opposite of his beliefs and gets engaged - which was a story line that just didn’t make sense to me. I wanted Chris to fight for Blythe at any moment during the story especially after he hurt her so badly but he never did. I understand his emotional issues but Blythe deserves someone willing to fight for her. He’d propose to a random girl but won’t fight for his true love?
I’m excited to read the next one though!
What an emotional journey this novel was! The book opens up to the messy state Blythe is in but doesn’t exactly give you a complete picture. Then the next day she vows to be sober and take better care of herself. She end up going for a run even though she is terribly out of shape it’s the start of her healing process. As the book continues the theme of her getting stronger continues - tackling those emotional demons head on. For that this is a powerful book. What I didn’t like is she consistently gave the credit of her healing to her love interest Chris. While I felt like eh helped her in a lot of ways he didn’t save her as the book often proclaimed. Thee characters are phenomenal and you immediately fall in love with the Shepherd siblings. Which made the book an even better read. I’m giving it four stars because there was a lot of Jesus hate and religion bashing. Like whole chapters. That’s fine have your beliefs but I don’t want to read endlessly about it- feels prejudice and political. Especially when it’s made to be such a large part of the story and the Chris does the exact opposite of his beliefs and gets engaged - which was a story line that just didn’t make sense to me. I wanted Chris to fight for Blythe at any moment during the story especially after he hurt her so badly but he never did. I understand his emotional issues but Blythe deserves someone willing to fight for her. He’d propose to a random girl but won’t fight for his true love?
I’m excited to read the next one though!
I started this book assuming it was a romance, but it turned out to be so much more than that. It’s starts with Blythe in her senior year of college. For 4 years she has been depressed and kept to herself, traumatized by the death of her parents. Then she meets a family of siblings who begin to change her life for the better. For the first time in years, she has friends. Over the course of the 2 years the story covers, you will fall in love, laugh, cry and even stare in shock. Through all this you witness Blythe’s evolution to finding herself again. Left Drowning is a great story and I can’t believe I waited this long to read it. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!
Jessica Park es una escritora de la que he escuchada gracias a [b:Flat-Out Love|11096647|Flat-Out Love (Flat-Out Love, #1)|Jessica Park|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361307724s/11096647.jpg|16018629], pero como nunca me ha fascinado leer en inglés, nunca leí. Pero cuando vi que había un libro de esa autora en español y en pdf, dije ¿porqué no?
El punto es que lo leí y quedé decepcionada en un nivel épico. Esperaba mucho en cuanto a la trama, el estilo de la escritora y los personajes.
En orden de peor a mejor, la trama fue una desilusión total. Primero, porque empezó bien, con los personajes en un punto bajo y horroroso (borracha, deprimida y promiscua por un pasado triste), después de que se conocen los protagonistas y Blythe empieza a salir de su hueco auto-destructivo y comienza a correr, entonces cae en otro hueco llamado Chris (al principio sin darse cuenta, al final termina jugando con el barro en fondo del hueco). Segundo, las coincidencias que unían a los personajes fueron una locura (¿los eventos simultáneos que los relacionaban? ¿las cicatrices que encajaban?)
Los personajes principales son estúpidos, tanto Blythe como Chris, y ni siquiera quiero gastar mi tiempo escribiendo sobre ellos. Solo quiero decir que, tener un pasado triste no justifica que seas egoísta, auto-destructivo, abusivo o infiel. Los personajes secundarios, es decir, la familia de Chris y el hermano de Blythe son actualmente decentes y medianamente entretenidos.
Por ultimo, el estilo de la escritora es fascinante en algunos puntos y fue lo que le ganó a este libro su segunda estrella.
Aquí esta la verdad: Queremos leer demasiado en la vida porque es conveniente. O divertido. Pero no hay tal hombre imaginario, invisible en el cielo, que hace que sucedan las cosas.
Y por supuesto, el dialogo que le dio el titulo al libro:
—Tus padres murieron. Tu mundo se vino abajo.
Asiento.
Coloca su mano en mi mejilla. —Fuiste dejada para ahogarte.
Asiento de nuevo. —Y luchas para respirar.
Es cierto. Es una lucha constante para mantenerme cercana a la superficie. Tengo solamente el aire suficiente para evitar hundirme completamente, pero no suficiente para prosperar.
—Entonces, hazlo. Respira. Solo respira.
Might be unfair of me to give this a 1 star rating because I did not finish the book. This isn't for me. All the instant everything just wasn't working. The instant friendship with Sabin, the instant connection with Chris, the instant improvement in Blythe. And the thing where she meets Sabin and then Chris, when they all go to the same school, and they just happen to be brothers. Too much of a rush to get things going.
Reviews for this are great, so maybe I'll come back to it sometime in the future.
Reviews for this are great, so maybe I'll come back to it sometime in the future.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes