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A review by sel21
Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp
3.0
"In Lost, different comes at a price."
Two best friends. One alive, one dead. Corey, the perfect picture of a good girl, who can do no wrong. Kyra, haunted by her diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. The two live in Lost Creek, a small town in Alaska. They're inseparable, despite the way the society around them views Kyra and her diagnosis.
That is, until Corey's mom takes a new job and her family has to move away. The two best friends part with a promise; Corey will come back, and Kyra will wait for her.
The promise is broken when Corey receives a call. Kyra is dead, and the reason is suicide. With that, Corey returns to Lost to try and unravel the mystery of her friend's death, no matter how the town tries to stop her.
Overall, the book was fairly mediocre. It was a fast read; I wasn't frantically flipping through the pages but I wasn't drudging through them either. The story is told mainly in the present, but features chapters told in the past, when Kyra was still alive, as well as letters that Kyra sent Corey while they were separated. The writing isn't overly flowery and descriptive but isn't plain or boring either. It had all the compents to be at least a 4 star book.
My problem was I couldn't connect to the main character, Corey. I wanted to feel bad for her, but I couldn't. As far as I'm concerned, she fell flat as a protagonist. I never felt like I got to really delve into her as a person, but only her as a student and as a friend to Kyra. Every other character intrigued me in at least one way or another, especially Kyra, when we got to see her. The townspeople managed to arise anger in me based on their actions, which is more than I can say for Corey. She just felt like a cookie cutter teenage girl with no depth other than her grief, which didn't even manage to feel fully developed.
Another thing that bugged me, but wasn't nessessarily a problem, was the underlying LGBT storyline. It was only there so the book could be considered diverse, much in the way a TV show will throw in a gay or African American character and then never develop or acknowledge them again.
I wouldn't tell someone to not read this book. However, it wouldn't even pass my mind when asked for a book recommendation. If you're bored and have nothing else to read, go for it. Just don't expect to remember it once you're finished.
Two best friends. One alive, one dead. Corey, the perfect picture of a good girl, who can do no wrong. Kyra, haunted by her diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. The two live in Lost Creek, a small town in Alaska. They're inseparable, despite the way the society around them views Kyra and her diagnosis.
That is, until Corey's mom takes a new job and her family has to move away. The two best friends part with a promise; Corey will come back, and Kyra will wait for her.
The promise is broken when Corey receives a call. Kyra is dead, and the reason is suicide. With that, Corey returns to Lost to try and unravel the mystery of her friend's death, no matter how the town tries to stop her.
Overall, the book was fairly mediocre. It was a fast read; I wasn't frantically flipping through the pages but I wasn't drudging through them either. The story is told mainly in the present, but features chapters told in the past, when Kyra was still alive, as well as letters that Kyra sent Corey while they were separated. The writing isn't overly flowery and descriptive but isn't plain or boring either. It had all the compents to be at least a 4 star book.
My problem was I couldn't connect to the main character, Corey. I wanted to feel bad for her, but I couldn't. As far as I'm concerned, she fell flat as a protagonist. I never felt like I got to really delve into her as a person, but only her as a student and as a friend to Kyra. Every other character intrigued me in at least one way or another, especially Kyra, when we got to see her. The townspeople managed to arise anger in me based on their actions, which is more than I can say for Corey. She just felt like a cookie cutter teenage girl with no depth other than her grief, which didn't even manage to feel fully developed.
Another thing that bugged me, but wasn't nessessarily a problem, was the underlying LGBT storyline. It was only there so the book could be considered diverse, much in the way a TV show will throw in a gay or African American character and then never develop or acknowledge them again.
I wouldn't tell someone to not read this book. However, it wouldn't even pass my mind when asked for a book recommendation. If you're bored and have nothing else to read, go for it. Just don't expect to remember it once you're finished.