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A review by meghapatel
So Near the Horizon by Jessica Koch
5.0
4.5 out of 5
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. So thank you, Jessica Koch for giving me a copy of "So Near the Horizon." This review is truly how I feel.
Let's start with a little background of the book. If I'm correct this book is influenced on true events that took place in the authors personal life. The story is about a girl, Jessica, and a guy, Danny. It explores their love and struggle, hope and fear, strength and weakness. It's a story of true love.
There is no easy way to write this review without spoiling it but I'll try. The events that take place in Jessica and Danny's life are so raw. It left me feeling sick. It felt as if it was occurring to me or someone close to me. All I could do is read endlessly. At times I had to take a break from the book to gather myself together.
Before I slip into spoiler about the characters just go read the book. It's heart wrenching and breaking but it's a story that needs to be shared. When the author asked me to review the book, I gladly accepted to do so thinking I was gonna read a cute and adorable contemporary filled with love. While there was love in the book but it was not adorable, atleast in the sense. It does have some fluffy love content but the reality of their situation is always looming over them. There are real horrors that occur in the world and this book explores a lot of those topics. Reading it left me in a sobbing mess. But I'm still glad I read it. It opened my eyes in a way. Thank you again, Jessica Koch for approaching me and letting me read this wonderful story.
**Now there will be spoilers ahead to talk about the characters. You've been warned!! Go read the book and then come back here. Go now!!**
I'll start with Danny. This poor boy has literally been to hell and back. He is traumatized and tortured to the core. At first he came out as cocky but after like 2 more chapters I started to fall for him. I knew he'd been hiding a huge secret and I thought it would be just parental abuse. But nooo, it was along the lines but much much worse. It's sickening to just think about it. How can a parent be so disgusting? Along with being abused he was assaulted by his own god damn father! Over and over again. And to top it off his mother didn't do anything to stop it. Plus as a cherry on top, his father have him HIV. Despite all the hard times Danny went on with his life with positivity. He cares for people and respects them. He did not deserve what happened to him. Not one bit.
Moving to Christina aka Tina. She is Danny's best friend and roommate and with time became Jessica's best friend too. Just like Danny, Tina was broken too. She went through the same horrors of her father assaulting her as a child and because of that she became a drug addict. She was throwing away her life before Danny came in her life. Danny helped her get back to her feet and live a normal life. They both understood each other so well. Been gone through such traumatizing events at such young age bonded them together forever. Despite having Danny and Jessica in her life, the news of her father getting out spiralized her life to ground zero. I didn't blame her for her behavior, how can I even when person responsible for her damned life was getting free? It was just so heartbreaking to see Danny grieve over her. I could blame her for messing up Danny's life be it's just not fair. They both deserved better.
Then comes Jessica. She was living a perfectly normal life before. But being around Danny and Christina changed her world. Their lives influenced so much in her. It goes to show how naive we all really are until we tumble upon a person or situation that leaves us reevaluating everything. That's what Danny did to Jessica. She had to move on without him and live her life as Danny had wanted her to but she decided to make an influence. She shared the story and wants to start a foundation. I find that amazing because that way she can influence some people and let Danny live forever in a way.
Overall, it's an amazing read. It was fast paced and I was not bored even for a second. And the suffering these people went though is torturous. I swear I don't hope anything like that for my worst enemy.
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. So thank you, Jessica Koch for giving me a copy of "So Near the Horizon." This review is truly how I feel.
Let's start with a little background of the book. If I'm correct this book is influenced on true events that took place in the authors personal life. The story is about a girl, Jessica, and a guy, Danny. It explores their love and struggle, hope and fear, strength and weakness. It's a story of true love.
There is no easy way to write this review without spoiling it but I'll try. The events that take place in Jessica and Danny's life are so raw. It left me feeling sick. It felt as if it was occurring to me or someone close to me. All I could do is read endlessly. At times I had to take a break from the book to gather myself together.
Before I slip into spoiler about the characters just go read the book. It's heart wrenching and breaking but it's a story that needs to be shared. When the author asked me to review the book, I gladly accepted to do so thinking I was gonna read a cute and adorable contemporary filled with love. While there was love in the book but it was not adorable, atleast in the sense. It does have some fluffy love content but the reality of their situation is always looming over them. There are real horrors that occur in the world and this book explores a lot of those topics. Reading it left me in a sobbing mess. But I'm still glad I read it. It opened my eyes in a way. Thank you again, Jessica Koch for approaching me and letting me read this wonderful story.
**Now there will be spoilers ahead to talk about the characters. You've been warned!! Go read the book and then come back here. Go now!!**
I'll start with Danny. This poor boy has literally been to hell and back. He is traumatized and tortured to the core. At first he came out as cocky but after like 2 more chapters I started to fall for him. I knew he'd been hiding a huge secret and I thought it would be just parental abuse. But nooo, it was along the lines but much much worse. It's sickening to just think about it. How can a parent be so disgusting? Along with being abused he was assaulted by his own god damn father! Over and over again. And to top it off his mother didn't do anything to stop it. Plus as a cherry on top, his father have him HIV. Despite all the hard times Danny went on with his life with positivity. He cares for people and respects them. He did not deserve what happened to him. Not one bit.
Moving to Christina aka Tina. She is Danny's best friend and roommate and with time became Jessica's best friend too. Just like Danny, Tina was broken too. She went through the same horrors of her father assaulting her as a child and because of that she became a drug addict. She was throwing away her life before Danny came in her life. Danny helped her get back to her feet and live a normal life. They both understood each other so well. Been gone through such traumatizing events at such young age bonded them together forever. Despite having Danny and Jessica in her life, the news of her father getting out spiralized her life to ground zero. I didn't blame her for her behavior, how can I even when person responsible for her damned life was getting free? It was just so heartbreaking to see Danny grieve over her. I could blame her for messing up Danny's life be it's just not fair. They both deserved better.
Then comes Jessica. She was living a perfectly normal life before. But being around Danny and Christina changed her world. Their lives influenced so much in her. It goes to show how naive we all really are until we tumble upon a person or situation that leaves us reevaluating everything. That's what Danny did to Jessica. She had to move on without him and live her life as Danny had wanted her to but she decided to make an influence. She shared the story and wants to start a foundation. I find that amazing because that way she can influence some people and let Danny live forever in a way.
Overall, it's an amazing read. It was fast paced and I was not bored even for a second. And the suffering these people went though is torturous. I swear I don't hope anything like that for my worst enemy.