A review by booksuperpower
I'd Give Anything by Marisa de los Santos

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I’d Give Anything by Marisa de los Santos is a 2020 William Morrow publication. 

Uneven- but quick and engrossing read-

The story begins with teenage Ginny- nicknamed- ‘Zinny’ writing out her thoughts in her journal. She is a teenager full of confidence and energy. She’s in love, has close friends, and lives her life with gusto. Her home life, though, is troubled. Her mother is not a warm person by any stretch of the imagination and Ginny’s brother, Trevor, is constantly at odds with her. 

Fast forward to present day- and we find Ginny married- not to the great love of her life- but to a safe, rather boring man. The bright spot in her life is her teenage daughter, Avery. Her stable existence is shaken up when her dependable husband goes off the rails by having an emotional affair with an eighteen- year- old and loses his job as a result. On top of that, an old secret that Ginny has held close all these years, is threatening to resurface. 

Thankfully, Ginny has her friends at the dog park to confide in- but she has no idea how close they are to the very secret she is so terrified will finally be revealed… 

I can’t explain why I found myself so caught up in this drama. I read it in one sitting despite the over used themes and the flat characterizations. 

Avery was the best character as she seemed to have no patience with half-truths or secrets. She was braver than most of the adults in the story, who still held grudges dating back to high school! 

The conclusion was a little too pat, but I was happy that everything was wrapped up in such a way that the characters can now move forward knowing the truth, hopefully finding peace, while also grabbing some emotional maturity and learning from past mistakes. 

Overall, the writing started out lush, only to become uneven and uninspired. The dialogue is often immature, and the topics are hardly original- oversaturated even at the moment- but I still found myself needing to discover all the secrets and find out how it would work out in the end. Therefore, because the book held my attention despite its flaws, I’m giving it three stars.