A review by hoffnungswolke
Paint My Body Red by Heidi R. Kling

5.0

Paint My Body Red!!! First things first: I received an ARC through NetGalley.
The book came out yesterday, so if it's something you are interested in, you should check it out.
 
There is that quote towards the end of the book, that I want to start this review with. Cause it's one of those quotes that I want to write down everywhere and that I had no trouble with tattooing it on my forehead.
 
"But he should know by now that life isn't black and white - it's red. And in that color is where we spend the whole of what matters, the vibrancy of life, the bloody mess of death, and the pulsing heart of love."
 
The book is just beautiful. The story is that special kind of sad beautiful, that tugs on every single one of your heartstrings. It's the kind of beautiful when a person goes through a lot and finally is able to start healing. And not just the story is beautiful but also the writing. I'm in love with the author's writing. Cause let's be real, a story about a teenage suicides is a tricky story. I can only imagine how hard it is to write something like that, to write it the right way. The author did it beautifully and tastefully.
 
The characters were wonderfully written. There were so many layers to every one of them and they were just really well thought out. At first I couldn't connect with Paige, who is the main character of this story. But through the pages she really grew on me. And now that i have finished the book, she is one of those characters that will hold a special place in my heart. She is just that important to me now. She grew so much in the story. I loved the difference between the 'then' and the 'now', how she acted and how she changed.
 
I also really loved the family aspect of the story. I mean this could have been a story about Paige going to her daddy's farm and meeting Jake and it would have all been about these two and their love and what not. But the author made it about love, but the love of family. Paige reconnecting with her father. Finding a second mother in Anna. Finding Jake, who truly believes in her. Of course they fall in love. But it's beautiful. It's slowly growing. It isn't rushed and it makes so much sense. And the love between Paige and Scout, that beautiful and stubborn horse (the connection between these two brought me back to my love for the tv show Wildfire!!!).
 
I won't say much about the plot, cause I had seriously no idea what I was getting into when I started reading this book and it surprised me and I feel like it's the best way to read this book. Not knowing and enjoying every turn of event.