*Due to subject matter, please see content warning in review*
Author: Jolene Perry
Publisher: Tribute Books
Published: May 1, 2012
eBook: 240 pages
ISBN: 9780983741886, 9781476060316
FTC FYI: Review Copy
Summary: Shawn is the guy Ronnie Bird promised her life to at the age of fourteen. He's her soul mate. He's more uptight every day, but it's not his fault. His family life is stressful, and she's adding to it. She just needs to be more understanding, and he'll start to be the boy she fell in love with. She won’t give up on someone she’s loved for so long.
Luke is her best friend, and the guy she hangs with to watch girlie movies in her large blanketopias. He's the guy she can confide in before she even goes to her girlfriends, and the guy who she's playing opposite in Romeo and Juliet. Now her chest flutters every time he gets too close. This is new. Is Ronnie falling for him? Or is Juliet? The lines are getting blurry, but leaving one guy for another is not something that a girl like Ronnie does.
Shawn’s outbursts are starting to give her bruises, and Luke’s heart breaks as Ronnie remains torn. While her thoughts and feelings swirl around the lines between friendship and forever, she’s about to lose them both.
Content and Review
First of all, I feel I need to start with a content warning. This is a very well-written book, with a very heavy subject matter. There are two F-Bombs, sexual content, and some violence. The characters don't have sex, but there is a scene where Ronnie is attacked by Shawn. She is not raped, but almost. You may ask, why I would even review a book with this heavy subject matter, the answer is simple. I'm sure there are girls out there, parents out there, friends of girls out there, who this is happening to. It is a subject that possibly isn't talked about much, and this book would start a great dialog.
Ronnie keeps making excuses for Shawn. She is always doing what she can to make sure he is happy. Even down to not wearing the type of shoes she wants because they make her too tall, or performing in the school play because it takes time away from being with him. Luke is her friend, and is always there when she needs him. Mindy is Ronnie's best friend. At first Ronnie can't understand why Mindy doesn't want to constantly be with her boyfriend, she truly is so blindingly in love with Shawn, that it takes her a while to see his flaws.
3 1/2 stars. It would of been 4 if not for the language and sexual content. That being said, there was a lot that I liked. I loved Ronnie's relationships with her father, Luke, and Mindy. Her dad did stand back a times, but I think it was to help her make her own decisions. He wanted her to ask for help. Although, he didn't know the scope of what was happening to Ronnie until later, he would of interfered sooner if had known all the facts. Ronnie was good at keeping secrets, especially from herself.
Jolene is a talented author with many great books out now. Her latest Left to Love is available now on Amazon. It is Book 2 after The Next Door Boys. Look for my review of Left to Love in July. She has also written Night Sky.
Follow Jolene on FACEBOOK / TWITTER and her writing blog. Tribute Books FACEBOOK / TWITTER pages. Purchase links:
I've got a couple of her books but haven't had a chance to read them yet.
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