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A review by rose_marie_fern
Pretending by Holly Bourne
3.0
***Major trigger warnings for this book***
I should have read more reviews before picking up this book. I had to go slowly through it as there’s quite a bit of discussion on sexual violence. I wasn’t entirely in the right frame of mind, but I still think this book is good. Despite all the hurt here, I felt that there are so many aspects to this book that are relatable. We all just want to be loved don’t we? We all want to be seen, but going through life to find the people that make us feel whole is a process, and that process can really hurt. We’re in an age where self care is being jammed down our throats, but self care looks different for everyone. I’m glad I got to experience April’s journey to self care in this book. She experiments with the world around her in a crazy way by going on dates pretending she’s a different person. It made my heart hurt for the man she does this to, but I was also proud of the honesty and hopefulness April ultimately found. This book is hard to swallow, but bitten off in chunks, I found it worth it.
I should have read more reviews before picking up this book. I had to go slowly through it as there’s quite a bit of discussion on sexual violence. I wasn’t entirely in the right frame of mind, but I still think this book is good. Despite all the hurt here, I felt that there are so many aspects to this book that are relatable. We all just want to be loved don’t we? We all want to be seen, but going through life to find the people that make us feel whole is a process, and that process can really hurt. We’re in an age where self care is being jammed down our throats, but self care looks different for everyone. I’m glad I got to experience April’s journey to self care in this book. She experiments with the world around her in a crazy way by going on dates pretending she’s a different person. It made my heart hurt for the man she does this to, but I was also proud of the honesty and hopefulness April ultimately found. This book is hard to swallow, but bitten off in chunks, I found it worth it.