I am so excited to share with you a very special review for a book that I got the opportunity to read as an e-ARC from NetGalley! Thanks so much for allowing me to read When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriquez.
As always, I will start with the synopsis of the book and then move into my thoughts,
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.
I was really looking forward to reading this book, in fact, it was on my pre-order list. I have to say, while it did very much enjoy it, the first half seemed to drag on a little bit.
Overall I enjoyed the story, it was a stunning story about the struggles of being a teenager and deals with a very serious topic, teen suicide. As I have previously mentioned, this is a sub-genre of YA that I find fascinating and quite enjoy reading. When Reason Breaks was no exception.
At the beginning of the book, you are introduced with a letter to a teacher from a girl who has just committed suicide. The book then flashes back to before and the events leading up to the suicide, however, you don't find out which girl it is until the very end.
There were many points in the novel where I questioned who it was, on chapter I was sure and then the next chapter I was convinced I was wrong. In the end, I was surprised, but not for the reasons you would think.
In the end, I really appreciated the way the author chose to write this story. I will definitely be purchasing this book for my shelves, and I think you should too!
I gave this book a 4/5 stars on Goodreads, and highly recommend you check it out!