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reneeereads 's review for:
When We Were
by Diana Elliot Graham
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
*please check the trigger warnings for Diana's books on her website and be kind to yourself when reading*
I am in the depths of despair, and I fear I'll never be the same after reading this book.
Full transparency - I dnf'd this book at 37% because my anxiety could not take it anymore without knowing the ending. I read the last chapter and nothing made sense. So after going to book club, finding out spoilers, talking to the author (she told me not to read it ha!), and feeling much better prepared to tackle this book, I dove back in and stopped at 53% before going to bed and finishing the rest over coffee the next morning.
Needless to say this book consumed me in a way I haven't had with a book in a bit. After devouring the rest of the book, I sat and stared off into space while my ambience music playing because I needed time to just sit and process. It was so devastatingly beautiful and wrecked me (even though I knew what was gonna happen!), and I'm so glad I gave it another shot.
I'll never look at scrabble the same way or any of Diana's covers and first chapters, and I mean she essentially told us with all the hints!! She truly is a mastermind, and I adore her writing and stories even though they make me feel like a shell of human and cry.
Slight spoilers below:
Again please check the trigger warnings for her books! I did not and am so glad a friend warned me of the sexual assault. I thought the after was really well done and had me sobbing.
I am in the depths of despair, and I fear I'll never be the same after reading this book.
Full transparency - I dnf'd this book at 37% because my anxiety could not take it anymore without knowing the ending. I read the last chapter and nothing made sense. So after going to book club, finding out spoilers, talking to the author (she told me not to read it ha!), and feeling much better prepared to tackle this book, I dove back in and stopped at 53% before going to bed and finishing the rest over coffee the next morning.
Needless to say this book consumed me in a way I haven't had with a book in a bit. After devouring the rest of the book, I sat and stared off into space while my ambience music playing because I needed time to just sit and process. It was so devastatingly beautiful and wrecked me (even though I knew what was gonna happen!), and I'm so glad I gave it another shot.
I'll never look at scrabble the same way or any of Diana's covers and first chapters, and I mean she essentially told us with all the hints!! She truly is a mastermind, and I adore her writing and stories even though they make me feel like a shell of human and cry.
Slight spoilers below:
Again please check the trigger warnings for her books! I did not and am so glad a friend warned me of the sexual assault. I thought the after was really well done and had me sobbing.