This is Me Trying by Jenna Adams - #bookreview #blogtour

 

The Blurb

In this contemporary coming-of-age YA novel, a teenage girl navigates a romance with an older boy when they're cast as the leading roles in their drama group's production of Romeo and Juliet.

When Brooke and Matt are cast as romantic leads in their drama group's performance of Romeo and Juliet, they don’t mean to actually fall in love. Secrets and lies seem a small price for Brooke to pay for an older boyfriend, until they take their relationship to the next level one night in an empty auditorium. After she learns of the illegality of Matt’s actions, Brooke’s anxiety reaches breaking point and she makes a decision that changes her life forever. Years later, Matt is reunited with Brooke, desperately seeking redemption. But what sense can they make now of a love that never did run smoothly?

Exploring mental health, co-dependency, and the blurred lines of sexual consent, this captivating debut recounts a young woman’s journey to independence as she strays beyond all she has ever known to confront her traumatic past.

Previously published as Can I Stray.

My Review

This was a five-star read for me, and I enjoyed every page.

The two main characters in this book meet at a drama group when Brooke is fourteen, and Matt is eighteen. They are cast in the roles of Romeo and Juliet. Brooke already has a crush on Matt, and it is not long before her feelings are reciprocated. What follows is a complicated, messy romance, which made for fascinating reading. 

The chapters are alternated between Brooke and Matt and cover the coming few years. We can observe them mature through their individual narratives, which gave a fabulous insight into their thoughts and emotions. 

This is a very heartfelt and emotive book. There were times when I felt heartbroken at the story that they had to tell. They both had to face some very complex issues. The author did a fantastic job of portraying the range of emotion and complex needs that both Brooke and Matt have to face.

Thus, the book deals with some difficult themes, and Ms. Adams deals with them with sensitivity and compassion. The issues of consent, depression, and codependency are covered in this book with realism and honesty. My heart went out to Brooke in particular, and how her lack of self-esteem affected her and those around her. It would be impossible not to feel devastated on behalf of her mother.

This is Me Trying is being published tomorrow, and I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy. However, I should add some trigger warnings to that recommendation. Issues of consent, mental health issues, and abandonment are all present in this book. But it is a brilliant book and well worth reading.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1917275101

Publisher:  Neem Tree Press

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  432 (paperback)

Previously published as Can I Stray

Preorder Links

Bookshop.org

Blackwell's

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Jenna Adams began writing at the age of fourteen and now writes from her third-floor flat, which is full of houseplants. She has written for a variety of publications including The Book Network, Brook Charity, and The Content Wolf, and is passionate about exploring mental health, consent, and codependency in her writing.

You can also find Jenna at:

Author Website

Instagram

Tik Tok

Facebook

Why not check out some of the other fabulous bloggers on this tour.

 

(ARC and media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop - #BookReview

 

It's TOO HOT to be outside for long. Sweat is starting to dampen my scalp, thickening in the roots of my hair and pooling in the crevices of my collar bone. My t-shirt sticks to my spine and my arms are tinged pink, an ungainly line of skin beginning to blister along the top of my thigh in the almost unseasonable blaze of sun. I curl my toes into the damp sand and feel the sharpness of a small shell against the sole of my foot.

Please, don't let him have left without me, I think, I'll do anything. I need him to come for me.

From my spot on the sand I can just make out the dock. Rising out of the sea is the rickety wooden platform where I disembarked months ago, seasick and tired...

***

Rachel has loved Alistair since she was seventeen.

Even though she hasn't seen him for sixteen years and she's now married to someone else.

Even though she was a teenager when they met.

Even though he is almost twenty years older than her.

Now in her thirties, Rachel has never been able to forget their golden summer together on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island. But as dark and deeply suppressed memories rise to the surface, Rachel begins to understand that Alistair - and the enigmatic, wealthy man he worked for - controlled much more than she ever realized.

Rachel has never once considered herself a victim - until now.

***

This is such a powerful novel that I hardly know where to begin. It is a book that is highly relevant to todays society and to the #MeToo campaign. 

Written in chapters alternately titled 'Then' and 'Now' it is a story of manipulation, control and deception. Consequently, it does not always make for comfortable reading. That said, the author treats the subject with sensitivity.

The main character, Rachel, is an innocent abroad and cannot see how she and her friends were being lured into a situation that they had not anticipated. She, in particular, becomes completely embroiled in the attentions of Alaistair, a man twenty years her senior, and is completely blind to the situation that is playing out around her. 

The descriptions of the stunning scenery were beautiful and a distinct contrast to the dark theme of the story. However, with the story being told from the perspective of Rachel, to whom life appeared wonderful, it is important that the author was able to portray her view of the surroundings and relationships. 

As the reader, I flitted between wanting to hug Rachel to giving her a strong wake up call. I was completely absorbed in the book and found Rachel a frustrating character. Her inability to later comprehend what had happened to her, how she had been used and abused and how she let this impact her future life in the way that she did made me feel rather exasperated with her at times. 

This is a sedately paced and atmospheric novel which is sufficiently compelling to ensure that I was fully engaged by the story. It has been well written and is an excellent debut from Ms. Bishop.

ISBN:  978 1787636002

Publisher:  Bantam

Formats:  e-book and hardback

No. of Pages:  353 (hardback)

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About the Author:

Katie Bishop is a writer and journalist based in Birmingham, UK. She grew up in the Midlands before moving to Oxford to work in publishing in her early twenties.

Whilst working as an assistant editor she started writing articles in her spare time, going on to be published in the New York Times, Guardian, Independent and Vogue.

Katie started writing The Girls of Summer during the first UK COVID lockdown, after becoming increasingly interested in stories emerging from the #MeToo movement.

The novel is inspired by her own experiences of backpacking, and by her interest in how personal narratives can be reshaped and understood in light of cultural and social changes.

In 2020, Katie moved back to the Midlands, and now lives in Birmingham with her partner. She is a full-time writer.

(book courtesy of the publisher)

(Author photo and information courtesy of the author's website https://www.katiebishopwrites.com/)

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*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.