ARC Book Review | When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Publication Date: February 10, 2015
Pages: 304
My Rating:4.5 out of 5 stars

13 Reasons Why meets the poetry of Emily Dickinson in this gripping debut novel perfect for fans of Sara Zarr or Jennifer Brown.

A Goth girl with an attitude problem, Elizabeth Davis must learn to control her anger before it destroys her. Emily Delgado appears to be a smart, sweet girl, with a normal life, but as depression clutches at her, she struggles to feel normal. Both girls are in Ms. Diaz’s English class, where they connect to the words of Emily Dickinson. Both are hovering on the edge of an emotional precipice. One of them will attempt suicide. And with Dickinson’s poetry as their guide, both girls must conquer their personal demons to ever be happy.

In an emotionally taut novel with a richly diverse cast of characters, readers will relish in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and be completely swept up in the turmoil of two girls grappling with demons beyond their control.

My Review

Something to Note: I received this book through Netgalley from the publisher for an honest review. 

The Characters: Elizabeth Davis is probably one of my favorite characters up to date in this genre. Her character was not the usual happy girl who has all the friends in a usual contemporary (or many that I have read). She has some awful hardships that she went through in her life and it shows. She has anger issues, she doesn't trust anyone, and she is so distant from her family, except for her extremely cute sister, Lily. Elizabeth gets taunted a lot for looking the way that she does ('goth' if I had to name it something). But, honestly she doesn't take anyone's crap. She lives her life and tries to push through for as long as she can.

Emily Delgado is one of the preppy, popular girls who seems to have everything. Her dad is the definitely the man of the town (through this government like ways). She has two best friends who she has known since she was little and of course, she has the beauty. You hear all of this and wonder how could depression hit her? Well, her dad being the man of the town doesn't allow her to go out and have a bunch of fun, she is constantly watched. She has two best friends, but one of them just isn't the best 'best' friend. Emily is also such a lovely character and I was rooting for her throughout the book. 

The secondary characters...some were great, some weren't. There were two characters I really loved: the two main guys in the story. One character was so-so, which is Sarah, and then there was the one I just didn't care for due to her bossy attitude and that was Abby. Once you read the story, which you totally should, you'll see why I feel this way towards these characters.

OH NO, I almost forgot, Ms. Diaz, she was amazing and I really enjoyed how she tied in with this story, definitely a well though-out character.

My Thoughts: Now to my overall thoughts of the book...this book is wonderful. You see the hardships that everyone goes through in life. You see someone who hasn't had the best life and she deals with depression, then you see someone who has had the best life (from our eyes) and she also deals with depression. You see two different perspectives of life and how depression can swallow anyone who has it. It was beautifully written and I loved both sides of the story. 

I loved the tie in of Emily Dickinson and at the end of the book the wonderful author adds how she tied in Emily Dickinson a lot more than just her poems (which is sooooo interesting). 

I think this book speaks to me so well is because I just lost someone due to depression and seeing the two different sides and the struggles that each girl went through sheds some light on me. I think the author did a great job at showing what goes wrong and what could be someone's breaking point and it just broke my heart to see it happening. BUT, it also made my heart shine to see some of the characters work so hard to help them through their problems.

I am so sorry guys, I feel like I am continuously rambling on about nothing, but all in all...the book is amazing, you should totally go read it and yeah :) 

Why is the half star missing?: The reason the half star is missing is because I want to be more selective when it comes to reviewing...oh goodness, that's an awful reason. But, mainly because I just didn't fully feel like it was complete to me at the end, I guess. The end was a great way to put everything together, but lil' ole me always wants more. 

One Line Wrap Up: Beautiful story about depression, from two very different lives, that totally wraps you up and takes you on a journey of hope.