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A review by vereadsbooks
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I heard a lot of good things about this book. I wanted to read it ASAP. When I had the opportunity, I grape it with excitement.
The book is narrated from Macy's point of view in a dual time (then and now). Macy and Elliot meet when Macy's father buys a vacation home. There Macy meets her neighbor Elliot, and they begin a friendship.
Macy has an emotional dependency on Elliot. He becomes her emotional support and therapist at times. The relationship gets complicated when both fall in love. They got scared of ruining their friendship or being rejected by the other. This situation led them to misunderstandings, angst, and entanglements.
Elliot and Macy meet one day by chance after spending 11 years without speaking to each other. This encounter shakes them to their core. Macy realizes that her relationship with her fiancé Sean is not making her happy. She doesn't love him. They are together because the relationship is easy for them.
Elliot dumps his girlfriend as soon as he sees Macy. I would have liked to see Elliot's relationship with Rachel, his girlfriend. She was the person who helped him deal with the aftermath of his breakup with Macy. I dislike the way Elliot handled things with her. Rachel deserved better.
The thing about the adult Elliot is that we don't know anything about him. We know the sweet and thoughtful teenager Elliot. But Adult Elliot is a complete mystery.
The conflict drags on unnecessarily. Elliot and Macy could have worked out their problems from the start. Unfortunately, this harms the reading because once the truth comes out. What happened to them that night is intense, and we don't have enough time to process everything. As readers, we only have a little time to digest and deal with that information.
The climax of the conflict wasn't well handled. We find out that Elliot cheated on Macy with another girl. When Elliot explained the situation, it became clear that he was sexually assaulted. Elliot was so drunk that he couldn't consent to having sex. Emma preyed on him. Even more, considering how confused he was that he thought he was with Macy. Consent works both ways!
At some point, he admitted to having a breakdown while he was with a girl. That is PTSD!
It is a pity that the authors didn't treat the scene as it was. What happened to Elliot is as important and traumatic as what happened to Macy.
The book is narrated from Macy's point of view in a dual time (then and now). Macy and Elliot meet when Macy's father buys a vacation home. There Macy meets her neighbor Elliot, and they begin a friendship.
Macy has an emotional dependency on Elliot. He becomes her emotional support and therapist at times. The relationship gets complicated when both fall in love. They got scared of ruining their friendship or being rejected by the other. This situation led them to misunderstandings, angst, and entanglements.
Elliot dumps his girlfriend as soon as he sees Macy. I would have liked to see Elliot's relationship with Rachel, his girlfriend. She was the person who helped him deal with the aftermath of his breakup with Macy. I dislike the way Elliot handled things with her. Rachel deserved better.
The thing about the adult Elliot is that we don't know anything about him. We know the sweet and thoughtful teenager Elliot. But Adult Elliot is a complete mystery.
The conflict drags on unnecessarily. Elliot and Macy could have worked out their problems from the start. Unfortunately, this harms the reading because once the truth comes out. What happened to them that night is intense, and we don't have enough time to process everything. As readers, we only have a little time to digest and deal with that information.
The climax of the conflict wasn't well handled. We find out that Elliot cheated on Macy with another girl. When Elliot explained the situation, it became clear that he was sexually assaulted. Elliot was so drunk that he couldn't consent to having sex. Emma preyed on him. Even more, considering how confused he was that he thought he was with Macy. Consent works both ways!
At some point, he admitted to having a breakdown while he was with a girl. That is PTSD!
It is a pity that the authors didn't treat the scene as it was. What happened to Elliot is as important and traumatic as what happened to Macy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Car accident