A review by blakehalsey
Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

5.0

My second Brown novel did not disappoint. I feel like sometimes YA books that deal with difficult issues, such as abuse, run the risk of coming across as inauthentic, but Brown treated the situation of Alex's boyfriend, Cole, physically and verbally abusing her with delicacy, rawness, and a realness that made me chest ache. I loved Alex's relationship with her best friends. This book really let the reader inside that all-consuming question when one witnesses abuse like this--why doesn't she just get out?--and allowed us to see that it's not always so simple.