Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.
When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free? Debut writer Jennifer Shaw Wolf takes readers on an emotional ride through the murky waters of love, shame, and, ultimately, forgiveness.
In reading the summary of this novel on NetGalley, I was instantly intrigued. Mystery, romance... this book seemed to have it all. And while it delivered on both the mystery and romance, I was left somewhat underwhelmed. The path to get to the end just seemed overly torturous for me to fully enjoy.
Allie is the protagonist and narrator, and is painted in a relatively believable way. Many of her decisions were hampered by self-doubt and guilt, which given her previous abusive relationship I guess seemed appropriate. However, I found her a bit weak. She just took far too long to stand up for herself, which made the plot have unnecessary moments. Also, there were two characters in this book that I just did not care for. The first was Blake, her childhood friend turned love interest. We are supposed to believe that he has been nurturing a long-burning love for Allie, despite many personal trials and her outright rejection of him when she hooked up with Trip. For whatever reason, I just didn't buy it, especially since he is keeping some secrets that I feel a loyal friend would not. The other character was Hannah, Trip's previous girlfriend. Though it's never explained in the book, I have to assume Trip wasn't abusive towards her - it is the only way to explain her borderline obsession with him that leads her to treat Allie horrifically. Bright spots in the characters were Allie's twin brother Andrew (who is in a wheelchair due to cerebal palsy), and his girlfriend Caitlin (who is just downright awesome and unique). Both of these characters had personal strength and integrity that I wished had been present in some of the others.
As I said above, the plot of this novel dragged on a bit for my taste. Many of the roadblocks thrown in Allie's way as she tries to remember the truth about Trip's accident were very similar, so they just didn't all seem necessary. Honestly, I am struggling to come up with other ideas about the plot, because I just didn't find it totally inspiring. Interesting to read, sure, but it didn't stand out against many similar YA reads. Instead, it seemed to follow a very similar path to other novels like it. The whole, "I have feelings for him... but I can't" motif contained in so many YA novels is becoming a bit predictable, and this book was no exception.
Content-wise, there wasn't too much to be worried about, save the obvious mature themes in the book. For any reader who is hesitant to explore issues like abuse, this would not be a recommended read.
Overall, I found this book as just... fine. For readers who enjoy similar titles, it would be a good read, but it fell a bit flat in terms of a standout.
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