theragereader's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
In true Laura Weiss fashion, she crafts a heart-breaking tale of Sayre, a seventeen-year-old whose life has been full of hate, cruelty, fear, abuse, and lovelessness. She knows no kindness and struggles to survive the chaotic, narcissistic hurricane that is her addict mother and her mother's enabling and equally addicted best friend, Candy. We're brought along with Sayre's confusing, conflicting emotions when it comes to her dysfunctional, abusive mother and her dry, sad life currently.
Each event bleeds into the culmination of her mother's selfish behavior, coming to a head right before the start of the book. My heart broke for Sayre at the horrible situations she would be forced into due to her mother's selfishness, and I wanted to cry for such a smart, sweet young girl being abused and sneered at by her own mother. The saddest part, I think, was the small slices of happiness she was afforded only to be snatched cruelly away due to Sayre's mother's own jealousy and self-destructive behavior. I also loved Sayre's speech to Red about how forgiveness in regards to her mother (as someone with their own toxic parent.) and it was so cathartic to see all my own hurt and rage put into words I could never say.
My jaw would drop at the absolute apathy and ugliness of all the adults—Candy, Sayre's mother, Harlow—in Sayre's life. And Sayre finally getting to say her piece and give herself closure and striving to be better than her mother really warmed my heart.
Each event bleeds into the culmination of her mother's selfish behavior, coming to a head right before the start of the book. My heart broke for Sayre at the horrible situations she would be forced into due to her mother's selfishness, and I wanted to cry for such a smart, sweet young girl being abused and sneered at by her own mother. The saddest part, I think, was the small slices of happiness she was afforded only to be snatched cruelly away due to Sayre's mother's own jealousy and self-destructive behavior. I also loved Sayre's speech to Red about how forgiveness in regards to her mother (as someone with their own toxic parent.) and it was so cathartic to see all my own hurt and rage put into words I could never say.
My jaw would drop at the absolute apathy and ugliness of all the adults—Candy, Sayre's mother, Harlow—in Sayre's life. And Sayre finally getting to say her piece and give herself closure and striving to be better than her mother really warmed my heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia
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