A Novel About Teenage Tragedy.
Life can’t get much worse for Anna, and abusive parents just top the list. When she 
sneaks off to the senior formal and puts her brother’s life in danger she hits rock bottom – and there might never be a way back.
A novel set in Australia. Where Anna has to learn to deal with her emotions, trust her friends, stand up to her parents, and be responsible for her actions.
Anna is an average teenage girl, she isn’t a kick-ass action character and there’s no supernatural powers coming to the rescue here, just everyday hope, some hard work and a bit of help from her friends. She discovers words and writing help her sift through her thoughts and emotions and that sometimes right and wrong aren’t always clear-cut – but sometimes they are.
‘Every teen girl needs to read this book,’ samanthasbooks.com
‘Dark and dangerous, YA readers will love this,’ bookscoffeesleep.com
Tags, teen, love, romance, abuse, hope, trust, friendship, high school, college, drama, coming of age, boyfriends, clean read, action, and adventure, contemporary.
A short novella about teenage life and struggles written by Cassandra Webb.
Fighting, shouting, blaming… that’s just a few things that Anna’s parents always do. What Anna doesn’t understand is why they still fight and why they tend to hurt them when they had the chance to do so. They don’t even do something for them to get angry, but Anna and her brothers always get the blame. When they don’t do well in their school or when they made some mistakes, her parents would still punish them. If they achieve something, her parents would always claim that they who made you do it – that they should get the credit for it. When Anna experienced what her older brother had experienced before he run away – she also thinks of doing the same thing but she just doesn’t know how since she’s still studying and she doesn’t have any job to support her, and she can’t also just leave her younger brother in the care of their parents. As the days passed by, she made a decision that would change her life forever.
The story was told from many point-of-views, but more of it was from Anna and Mitch.
Anna is an easy-to-read character. Maybe, because I already know what she will do after experiencing cruelty from her parents. Even though she’s still unsure of what to do, she always finds a way to escape and to forget what had just happened in their house.
In just a young age, Anna and her brothers already experience what kids shouldn’t deserve. People who never know how to be a parent should be prohibited to see their child anymore if they don’t know how to give them proper care and love. Their way of disciplining their child is not acceptable. It is okay to be strict but not to the point you would almost kill them. If I were Anna, I would immediately run away, just like how her older brother did. Or just go to some authority and report them.
I liked how the book shows how some other kids experienced unloving treatment from their own parents. How they are shown cruelty instead of caring affection. This book shows how a girl – who only knows how to be scared because their parents might hurt them – stands up and finds her own place to be called home with her brothers.
I just don’t like how some scenes seem irrelevant to the story. Just like the POV of Jemma. I don’t think she is helping to tell the story of Anna, and I also got annoyed by her attitude. The author should just delete those unimportant scenes. It should focus on the purpose of this book.
I also don’t like how the story ends. There are a lot of questions left and unanswered.
I would recommend this for people who don’t know how to fight and stand up for themselves. It is a good book for those who experienced cruelty from their parents. This might even give you some courage to free yourself from the grasp of unworthy people to be called parents.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the author via YA Buddy Reader’s Corner.
Publisher: Sparkle Publications
Publication Date: April 5, 2016
Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary
Language: English
Cassandra Webb is a chocaholic writer from the small coastal village of Narooma, Australia. A writer of children’s and young adult fiction, fantasy and picture books. Cassandra also enjoys writing creative non-fiction. She grew up in rural and remote Australia and remembers riding horses, working with helicopters and being homeschooled. Now on the coast with her three children, she enjoys the beaches in summer and the nearby snowy mountains in winter
Alys in Bookland 