“After some time, I could talk to people, but I couldn't say your name. I couldn't put your name next to how I was feeling. There was something broken, and I just . . . didn't think anyone could believe me.
So I wrote it down instead. I wrote this all for me . . . For you.”
If Trisha could summarize in one word her entire past relationship with Aaron, "The Baron," it'd be a long, sarcastic "thanks." For most of his life, Aaron Madison glorified being the butt of every joke, but after meeting Trisha four years ago, everything had changed.
If there was a time to speak, it was now.
Overall rating: 4 stars
I have been following Brista's progress with writing and editing this book since I met her last year during a write-in for NaNoWriMo. Since then I have watched all of her YouTube videos and given as much helpful commentary as I could. So I am immensely proud to see another one of my region's writers reach publication status.
That being said, this book honestly surprised me with how wonderfully realistic it was. Yes, sometimes narrator Trisha jumps around and there will be plot points that are actually left unanswered, but isn't that how life works sometimes? We experience events and then forget them or brush them aside for something we think is more important, regardless of whether or not it actually is. This book did that, thanks to a journal-esque feel to the writing.
While reading it, I could also tell that it was set in the general area where both Brista Drake and I happen to live. This setting is enriched by including details such as a day trip up to Cedar Point--an amusement park--, a performance at The Historic Palace Theater, and of course, the Ohio State Fair. Look, I was completely a band geek through school, and yes, I did participate in the All-Ohio State Fair Band for three years. That, plus all the other details, and the descriptions of the interactions of these high school characters, made reading this book an interesting trip down memory lane for me.
I did note a number of typos in my paperback, but hey, I've found those in my own book, so I typically don't mark down my ratings for that, unless I have no clue what was actually meant to be said. As the typos were mostly use of the wrong homonym (your/you're, passed/past, cord/chord), I can still grasp the overall meaning.
So...I guess the reason why I took this book from a 5-star to a 4-star is because I can see the potential to achieve more greatness, and the stars are my way to show that this was a great first novel, but we can all learn from our first attempts and get better. Also, I do feel like maybe there is more to tell with this story. Most of the plot that we see occurs during Trisha's sophomore year of high school, but there are brief scenes from junior year, and a tiny bit from after she has graduated.
Would the story have been enriched further if more scenes had been added? I can't say. But, once again, that's what you get with the way some people record their lives. Stuff will be missing. That is obviously the case with how Trisha thinks about her high school relationships, particularly with Aaron.
That is the other reason the book scores 4 stars instead of 5. I think we have all had relationships that have made little sense to us, but we go through the motions and such anyway. As an outsider (the reader), I didn't really connect with Trisha and Aaron's romantic relationship on an emotional level, though part of me did remember acquaintances who were in similar relationships back in high school. So I understand the decisions and the sometimes wildly swinging spastic feelings that ruled both Trisha and Aaron's actions, but I still couldn't see them as a couple.
Okay, this is getting long, and may be a little ramble-y but what I'm saying is that this was a really good first book, and a true-to-life glimpse at a typical high school student as she tries to navigate herself and her interactions with her peers. It is a coming-of-age story and a first love story and it did have some sweet moments and some intense ones. I would recommend it to my friends, for the nostalgia factor alone. Sometimes it is nice to think back to those high school days, and then to think about how much we have all learned and grown since then.
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