Resch Reads and Reviews

Review: Left Drowning by Jessica Park

SYNOPSIS:

What does it take to rise from life’s depths, swim against the current, and breathe?
Weighted down by the loss of her parents, Blythe McGuire struggles to keep her head above water as she trudges through her last year at Matthews College. Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning.

REVIEW:

This story was simply beautiful, that is the only word to properly describe the journey that all the characters take. It is truly an emotional rollercoaster, there were moments when I cried, moments when I laughed, and moments when I needed a cold shower.

I will start with Blythe who is my heroine who learns to overcome her own darkness and move past a past that is consuming her present and her future. Over the course of the book Blythe does a complete 360 on her personality. In the beginning she is dwelling on the pain and dwelling on the past. She is lost, broken, and ready to throw in the towel. By the end of the book though, Blythe is stronger then I ever thought she would amount to be. She confronts her demons and learns to accept her past because her past will always be apart of her.

Blythe doesn’t do this all on her own though, there is Chris to help her out. Sweet, confusing, mind-blowing, rage inducing Chris. Chris has been through so much in his childhood and teen years and he has built a damn near in-destructible wall – he is strong but vulnerable. I loved Chris, even at the moments when I was yelling at him through my Kindle to stop being so stupid and stop running away. There were moments when Chris got under my skin so completely and others when I wanted to hug him and tell him that it gets better.

So my only recommendation is that this is a definite must read. I can only hope that Jessica Park comes out with companion novels for the other characters: James, Estelle, Eric, Zach, and Sabin. Yes most definitely Sabin! I would love to hear how all these characters concur their demons just as Chris and Blythe did. So move on over to Amazon or Barnes and Noble, buy this book, and prepare to have your heart tossed around a little bit.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

I see perfection in things that are likely considered imperfections by others.

Death and grief make everyone around you vanish because death and grief are intolerable.

I am. It’s a constant struggle to stay near the surface. I have just enough air to stop me form totally going under, but not enough to thrive.

“You have the here and now,” Chris says. “You have a future. Deal with the past so you can stop looking back. It’s just pain.”

“You’re competing. Don’t compete. The music has its own pace, and you have to make yours. Be in charge. Find a zone. A holding space.”

BUY THE BOOK:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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