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A review by okevamae
Out of Love by Hazel Hayes
5.0
Out of Love is a bittersweet story about finding and losing love, told in reverse. We start with their messy breakup and move backward through their relationship, seeing how it fell apart, and then how it began. This is an unusual structure, but a very interesting one, as each chapter gradually sheds light on the future we’ve already seen, and places into context the chapters we’ve already read, slowly building to the full picture. We see all the ways this couple was bad for each other, but also all the ways they were good for each other, and the ways in which they grew as a result of their relationship, even though it ended badly.
As the book goes on, each chapter takes place further in the past, and that’s easy to track. But some chapters switch back and forth from the present to various flashbacks within the same rough time period, and the timeline within those flashbacks is harder to track. You really have to pay close attention to what’s written in present tense and what’s in past tense, as sometimes that’s the only indication as to whether we’re really in the present or not. But that’s a very minor complaint. Overall, the writing is gorgeous and really well done.
The book also takes a stark look at mental illness, as the narrator suffers from depression and anxiety. It does a good job of showing how depression never completely goes away, even when life is good, even when you “have nothing to be depressed about.” Depression doesn’t need a reason. It insinuates itself into the dark spaces in your life and burrows in, and it is always waiting. It dulls the shine of the good times and makes the bad times so much worse. We watch as the narrator has both good days and bad, frequently doubts herself, and has some very dark moments, but when we take a look at the story as a whole we see that in the end (beginning) she persists, she survives, and she has hope. I feel like that kind of story, and that kind of honest look at depression and anxiety (with a hopeful ending) is very important to portray.
Representation: Bisexual main character, Black side character, mentally ill main character
TW: depression, suicidal ideation, alcoholism, sexual situations with dubious consent, past domestic abuse, past child abuse, past sexual abuse, miscarriage
I received an ARC of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
As the book goes on, each chapter takes place further in the past, and that’s easy to track. But some chapters switch back and forth from the present to various flashbacks within the same rough time period, and the timeline within those flashbacks is harder to track. You really have to pay close attention to what’s written in present tense and what’s in past tense, as sometimes that’s the only indication as to whether we’re really in the present or not. But that’s a very minor complaint. Overall, the writing is gorgeous and really well done.
The book also takes a stark look at mental illness, as the narrator suffers from depression and anxiety. It does a good job of showing how depression never completely goes away, even when life is good, even when you “have nothing to be depressed about.” Depression doesn’t need a reason. It insinuates itself into the dark spaces in your life and burrows in, and it is always waiting. It dulls the shine of the good times and makes the bad times so much worse. We watch as the narrator has both good days and bad, frequently doubts herself, and has some very dark moments, but when we take a look at the story as a whole we see that in the end (beginning) she persists, she survives, and she has hope. I feel like that kind of story, and that kind of honest look at depression and anxiety (with a hopeful ending) is very important to portray.
Representation: Bisexual main character, Black side character, mentally ill main character
TW: depression, suicidal ideation, alcoholism, sexual situations with dubious consent, past domestic abuse, past child abuse, past sexual abuse, miscarriage
I received an ARC of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.