Review:
I snagged a copy of this book when it was a 'Read it Now' on Netgalley.
I'm always on the lookout for lesbian themed YA romances, its not something I see a lot. So I downloaded this title as soon as I saw it whilst browsing Netgalley.
Unfortunately, this was a bit of a blah book for me. The romance was mildly sweet, it managed a fairly decent emotional impact in certain points, however, I did find the ending to the novel a bit ridiculous. Also, I didn't like the main character very much.
Audrey, the heroine, comes from a low income family with an older brother, and a younger brother, her dad is a bit of a jerk, but he works, and her mom is suffering from what is described in the novel as bi polar. She can spend days at a time in bed and can't seem to bring herself to do anything. Audrey appears to be the responsible one of the family. The older brother has left school and keeps looking for work but doesn't seem to be able to hold a job for long.
Audrey is a very studios girl, determined to get a scholarship to a good college. She has strong ethics which I did admire, the other heroine of the story, Scarlett, a popular, wealthy girl asks Audrey to do her homework - she'll even pay her - but Audrey flat out refuses. However, it becomes fairly obvious Audrey has a crush on Scarlett. Audrey doesn't seem to deny her sexuality, though her dad is a jerk to her about it. Particularly when she finally does get together with Scarlett to help her with essays - help not do it for her - Dad grills her about whether or not they are dating.
Its up and down with the drama. Scarlett and Audrey find themselves thrown together. Scarlett however, has a girlfriend. Audrey is gutted. Audrey does have a very supportive best friend who listens and offers great advice. Audrey and Scarlett spent the bulk of the novel dealing with their feelings for each other. Thrown in with other drama, such as Audrey's family situation - they are poor and it has some limits that Audrey can't do a lot of things with friends and stuff simply because she can't afford it. Whilst sad, it did get very irritating with Audrey's constant references. She was trying to rise above it and do the best she could with what she had, but it still had an 'oh poor me' feel to it.
I just couldn't connect to Audrey as a character. She was kind of blunt and came across at some points as bitchy and controlling. She wants to be a good student so she thinks her brothers should as well as better education will help the older brother get a better job. She may be right, but isn't up to him to decide that without her going on at him? The little brother is struggling in school so she makes it her mission to help him. Admirable enough, but again, she doesn't listen to what he's trying to tell her when he doesn't get the work.
The relationship with Scarlett was fairly moving as they figured the other one out, and got to know each other better.
But then there was a side plot about a mysterious new neighbour who comes into Audrey's neighbourhood, who she tries to get to know but the neighbour is never around and becomes weird. There was another side plot about Scarlett and Audrey being in a restaurant when they over hear a loud public fight between a guy who finds out his best friend has been sleeping with his wife. Audrey meets the guy who was cheated on in a park and they form a sort of friendship and he becomes an adult outside of school and family she tends to ask for advice on stuff. Nothing untoward went on, it just seemed a little odd.
The plot with the new weird neighbour hit a stupid conclusion that was ridiculous. At least in my opinion. Overall, the whole thing was kind of meh. It was okay, and the writing certainly showed promise. I would probably read something by the author again, but this particular book didn't work for me.
Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1281397/review-carefully-descending-everywhere
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