Author: K.M. Walton

This was the most read and recommended book by my students last year. Since they were so busy passing it along to each other, I didn’t get a chance to touch it until now.

I can’t look down upon a book that sparked that must interest in young readers. Any book that can get students, especially at a middle school age, to read is worth having on the shelf.

I also get why my students were loving this book (and it had little to do with the minor bursts of strong language). There was definitely a more mature content they felt to be relatable – two teens going through a serious bout of depression after being on the receiving end of much abuse. They come at it from very different angles, but their viewpoints felt real.

It also deals with the topic of suicide in a very mature way.

Where I had to suspend my disbelief is how the conflict gets resolved. It does feel like an after school sitcom where conflicts are resolved in half an hour and every body is better for it.

I get it, there needs to be some kind of resolution. For me, it was too quick, too fast and too extreme. That many serious (and permanent) life changes in the course of five days as a teenager? Now we’re in the realm of fantasy… and I get why my students would latch onto it.

Still worth the read at the end of the day.