Review: 5 Strung Out, Emotional, Angsty Stars!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 26, 2014
*Written for Craves the Angst Book Reviews*The Review:I have the biggest book hangover I've ever experienced right now. Its been two days since I finished Saving Quinton and I still feel like I'm submerged into the chaotic, bitter desolation I felt during this read. My emotions were one constant stream... a huge black void that sucked my mind into its nothingness and refused to let go.I knew going in this was going to be a hard read. Book one, Breaking Nova proved that when it left me heartsick and mournful for days after reading it but I was also left with a inkling of hope at the brilliant cliffy and a determined need to find out what happened next.I feel much the same way with this one. As dismal as it was, and trust me when I say it was dark, depressing and its angst meter was off the charts, it was also one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read.I completely, heart wrenchingly, cherishingly LOVED this book!Characters and Story...When we meet Nova in Breaking Nova, she's in torment, drowning in all her guilt and pain, from knowing she couldn't save her boyfriend, Landon, who killed himself. She's torn apart and hurting and her light is nearly extinguished. But her story takes a small turn when she finds Quinton who's in even more pain and despair than she is. He gives her pockets of time where she can concentrate on him, wondering what his losses are, what his life has turned into and she also gets side tracked by the amazing kisses they share and the patient listening he provides.And then there's the drugs, which they both turn to.Quinton has his own sad story and though he finds Nova beautiful, his pain overshadows everything else for him. A car accident took the lives of his girlfriend and his cousin, a car he was driving, and he feels the entire world blames him for their loss. He feels he should have died with them. He WANTS to have died with them.Together, Quinton and Nove drown, sinking further into the abyss, until the end when Nova realizes she has a reason to keep going and she chooses a different path.The path of life.She's left Quinton behind but when Saving Quinton opens up, she's on a mission to bring him into the light with her. But two problems stand in her way. One, she has to find him and two, Quinton scorns the light and doesn't want any part of it.When we see Quinton again, he's much worse than when we left him in the first book.He's a junkie, living in a crack den.There's no nice way of putting it. That's what his life has become. He cares about nothing but that next fix, that next line he can snort to carry his pain and thoughts away. His self loathing goes deeper than bone. Its so ingrained in him, so much a part of him, it is essentially all that he is anymore. The hate he feels for himself goes to the core, its part of his makeup now, part of his essence. You can still catch a glimmer of hope in the way he thinks that other people shouldn't be as low as he is and you can see that flickering glimmer when Nova is around... and it is that flicker that Nova latches on to, grasps hold of and yanks so hard that even Quinton sees the glimmer flare every so often.But there's always the drugs to darken his light, dull out his senses and offer an open door to escapism where there are no feelings, no guilt, no memories and no solid, concrete thoughts to hold on to that will weigh him down and drown him completely.He hasn't totally and completely given up though. There's still a very thin thread tethering him to this world and that's what Nova has to find, has to show him in order for him to come back into the light.Thoughts...I loved Nova's character. This girl never gave up. Even when things were hopeless and even when she started to drown once again and get sucked back into the despair she worked so hard to leave behind, she NEVER. GAVE. UP!Quinton was remarkable, even in his morbid hate for himself. This guys self abhorrence was excruciating to read and his thoughts seared into me and left me wounded. But the author makes you love him despite his addiction because he's not a bad person. He's not even close to a bad person. He's just a boy in pain who needs someone to reach out and show him his inner strength so that he can save himself.Told from alternating perspectives between Nova and Quinton, this book is dark, it's deep and it's all consuming. Once I picked it up, I COULD NOT, WOULD NOT put it down. I had to know how their story ended. I had to know if that small spark of life in Quinton was enough to bring him back from the edge.These characters endure painful, miserable, addicted lives. Their stories are powerful and real. The author didn't take an shortcuts in telling their story. There was no quick fix. They all struggled, some fell completely and others were barely hanging on.The Wrap Up:I love this author! Jessica Sorensen has a true gift for getting inside the readers head. She writes thought provoking angsty stories with amazing and exceptional characters. This book and the story of Nova and Quinton will stay with me for a long, long time to come. And the best part? Its not done! This book leaves off with a cliffy, just like book one did. Its abrupt and you fear for the characters and you aren't sure where its heading but also like book one, there's hope. And really, that's what their story is about.Note: Saving Quinton is book two in the Nova series and is a New Adult, Drama, Romance written by Jessica Sorensen. A gifted copy was provided by  Forever (Grand Central Publishing) through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.