Friday, July 1, 2011

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

Rarely have I been so frustrated with the main character of a book. There were times I just wanted to take Alex aside and ask her what she was doing. I know she is in over her head and is truly a victim, butI just wanted her to realize it. But I am getting ahead of myself...

Alex lost her mom when she was young and her dad will not talk about her. She's knows her mom was heading to Colorado when she died, so that is where Alex has always wanted to go. She and her best friends, Bethany and Zack, have been planning the trip since they were young. Nothing will keep them from making the trip until Cole comes along.

Cole is the charming and handsome new student that Alex starts to tutor at school. He seems interested in Alex right away and before long they are dating. Cole is kind and gentle to Alex and their time together is wonderful, so she cannot understand why her friends do not like him. Overtime, Cole reveals he is verbally abusive and violent. Alex cannot reconcile the boyfriend she loves and the one who hurts her. "...I didn't understand how he could be punching my face one minute and telling me he loved me the next." Make no mistake, some of the scenes are brutal and hard to read.

What I really like about this book and author's other book the Hate List is how she takes us into the mind of someone in a difficult situation and shows the internal conflicts. There were times I was mad at Alex for denying the truth, but I was hoping desperately for her to open her eyes and find a way out.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

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