A review by rainbowbookworm
The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash, by Candace Ganger
4.0
I loved reading this heartbreaking book. Both Birdie and Bash are grieving. They meet at a party and were attracted to one another, but that encounter was cut short. Bash is a junkie and an alcoholic who uses these drugs to dull the ache caused by his mother's impending death due to cancer. One night after binging, Bash lets his friend drive and they run over Birdie's brother. Not knowing what they hit and afraid of the legal consequences, they flee the scene.
This was a tough book to read—it is not oxymoronic that it was tough to read AND I love it. The best friend character reeks of white male privilege and disgusted me every time he appeared. Bash wore the same clothes every day and was working himself up to self destruction because he could not picture life without his mom.
As for Birdie... Her story was a bit too close to home for me. Granted, my sister was an adult when she had her accident which resulted in traumatic brain injury, but Joanne's plight and Benny's were similar. I love how they did not shy away of discussing the obscene hospital bills—in little over a year my sister has raked up more than $400,000 dollars in medical bills. Birdie's story and that of her family rang truest of all.
As is mostly the case for me, I did not appreciate the ending which felt rushed. It was also hard for me to see Birdie's attraction to Bash, especially when she kept talking about his body odor.
This was a tough book to read—it is not oxymoronic that it was tough to read AND I love it. The best friend character reeks of white male privilege and disgusted me every time he appeared. Bash wore the same clothes every day and was working himself up to self destruction because he could not picture life without his mom.
As for Birdie... Her story was a bit too close to home for me. Granted, my sister was an adult when she had her accident which resulted in traumatic brain injury, but Joanne's plight and Benny's were similar. I love how they did not shy away of discussing the obscene hospital bills—in little over a year my sister has raked up more than $400,000 dollars in medical bills. Birdie's story and that of her family rang truest of all.
As is mostly the case for me, I did not appreciate the ending which felt rushed. It was also hard for me to see Birdie's attraction to Bash, especially when she kept talking about his body odor.