Review: Almost too intense to handle but beautifully written
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 30, 2013
I've read just about all of Jessica Sorensen's books spanning various genres, but it's only recently that I've started approaching some of her books (contemporary New Adult, to be exact) with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. Her stories are beautifully written and her characters are emotionally stirring and evocative. The words on the pages are raw and real, barreling unapologetically into territory foreign to most books in the New Adult genre, and her latest book, Breaking Nova, is no exception. Rather than steering away from uncomfortable/taboo subject matters like drug abuse and suicide, Sorensen confronts such issues head-on via protagonists Nova Reed and Quinton Carter.Upon starting Breaking Nova, I didn't exactly expect sunshine, rainbows and a cookie-cutter Happily Ever After, but I had no idea how much pain and anguish was in store for the two main characters. From the opening chapters of the dual narratives, it is apparent that both Quinton and Nova are supremely sad individuals who have experienced more than their fair share of heartache. They are both flawed and self-destructive, emotionally and physically scarred by horrifying past events. I read the book with a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach, cringing at their tragic circumstances, and not-so-patiently waiting to solve the puzzles of their respective pasts, sporadically revealed through snippets of flashbacks.Any moments of happiness and contentment are found in the budding friendship between Quinton and Nova. There's a romantic connection between the pair, albeit a reluctant one, because both have remained faithful to the ghosts of their past loves. Those few precious moments where the past is simply a memory are the reason why I kept reading through the difficult moments. Despite, or perhaps because of, all of their issues, I desperately wanted something good to happen to them.This book is one of the most heartbreaking, gut-wrenching stories I've read, which is saying something because Sorensen has a penchant for creating lost and hopeless characters. While Quinton is a large part of the story's progression, Breaking Nova is first and foremost about Nova's journey to finding herself after being affected by a terrible tragedy. Just a fair warning, this book does end in somewhat of a cliffhanger, although the ending serves as more of a set-up to the sequel than a continuation of the same storyline. I know that there will be at least two more books in the series and I'm eager to read more of what I hope will be Quinton's path to absolution.