Review: Loss and Love
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 3, 2014
Hanley is my kind of girl. She drinks and parties away her troubles. Well, maybe not away, but enough to cover them up momentarily."Being sober is overrated. Terrible way to live."She's a high school junior who lost someone close to her two years prior, and she hasn't healed. Not even a little bit. Then she meets a boy named Nate, and somehow starts slowly crawling along the right path. Of course, Nate has his own problems; I mean he is living in her garage and all. This book dealt with a lot of hard issues—drinking, homelessness, disease, and even more that I cannot list without giving too much of the plot away."Lies are easy. I've been telling them for two years. It's the truth that hurts, and I see that hurt in Nate."I really loved the interaction between Nate and Hadley, and even her and her friends and sister. They behaved like normal teenagers, to me at least, meaning stuff was messed up and they dealt with it by rebelling and partying, getting themselves deeper into situations they were not yet mature enough to handle. I had no problem relating to anyone in the book, even her absentee yet overprotective parents.My only issue with it was the speed and ease with which some really huge problems were wrapped up. It is all explained away, so I wasn't left wondering "How did they manage that?" or anything, but it didn't feel feasible. Generally, I don't hold that against a book unless it's a huge plot issue, as it felt here. There were also a few minor details that I would still like to know the answers to, but nothing I can't make my own assumptions about.Overall, the story was slightly heartbreaking and genuine, a sweet, enjoyable read that I believe mature YA fans will love!ARC provided by Netgalley, and reviewed by Lea