I loved this book. It was not what I was expecting and not something I would have usually read. It was dark, gritty, raw and I believe a pretty honest account of life on the streets for runaways. If you are looking for a HEA don't stop here because you will probably not be happy with the outcome. I think this is a book that all teenagers and parents should read. Life as a runaway is not the often romantic visual that we have in our minds. It is this. And it is harsh and often deadly. Love is hard as well and I found myself really falling in love with Reese. In a different picture he would be "the one" and for August, he was the one. I was sad that she changed her thoughts about him at the end as the way it was written it truly seemed that he loved August as much as he was able and would not have thought of all he had done before until the end. I don't believe he would have wanted a bad outcome for her life. Well done. Makes one want to work in the system to get these kids more help even though they are sometimes over 18. Beautifully written.
This is a powerful and emotive book, it really took me on one heck of a journey. I love the way author Julie Frayn inserts honest grit and the edgy hardness of life into her plot and characters, after adoring her book Mazie Baby I was keen to read this one with an eager heart.
August is living on a working farm in "Hicksville, somewhere USA" - in her own words she doesn't feel she has a life, up in the morning to help with the pigs, collect the eggs, all before heading off to high school. Living under strict rules to not date, or do much at all that most teens are doing really, she rebels against the confines of her cage she feels she is in, from under the controlling aspect of her mother (who really only wants her to be safe and well) and decides to run away to the big lights in the big city. She is thinking it's going to be just like in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Not so dear girl, not so.
August is quickly dragged into the world of a group of street kids when her tiny amount of money runs out very quickly. She is helped by Reese, a charismatic young teen who has been on the streets of the big city for quite some time, a recovering heroin addict who has kicked the habit and trying to stay clean.
This is not a pretty young adult book at all, it pushed a lot of buttons for me as I too as a teenager was a street kid, but in Sydney, Australia and I related to a lot that was written in this book. Thankfully some elements of it never touched me, but it touches these teenagers and your heart will break for them. They sell their bodies to buy food and live, their innocence lost forever in the back seats of cars and on dirty mattresses in cheap "by the hour" hotels. This is not living, this is survival at it's ugliest. Trailing through garbage bins at the back of shops at dawn to salvage half eaten food and anything that is remotely edible. Seeing those they know both the walking dead and the actual dead with their addiction to heroin to numb the pain.
August falls heavy for Reese and he to her, their romance blooms under cardboard boxes for beds and their tender love is both beautiful and dangerous for so many reasons. August would do anything for Reese, and she shows her love in the most god awful heart breaking scenes I have read in a book in a long time, can't share, it's a big spoiler, but heck I was close to tears. Sweet girl, you thought it was going to be so darn glamorous. I guess not huh?
Reese is amazing, oh my God I felt so much about him. He was light and shade. His back story that is weaved into this book hit me in the guts and knocked me sideways. Tragic. I loved this boy. I really did.
Her parents back home and the police are searching for her and soon her photos is hitting the newspapers and she knows they want her home. August is not going anywhere, her devotion to Reese and her sense of belonging with his group of friends that he runs the streets with is too strong. No doubt she feels somewhat alive amongst the tragedy of it all.
The book pulled my feelings in all directions, it's raw and it's well written and it's powerful. I felt anger, happiness, sadness, despair and so much more. The characters are flawed in so many ways, you see the child within then you see the adults they have been forced to become. The streets are not a place for pretty rainbows and fairy tales. These are broken teens, broken when they should be having the best days of their lives.
But I loved their spunk, their courage, their determination. Loved their loyalty to each other through difficult and harrowing scenes. Very moving. Packs a punch let me tell you. And August? How long can she maintain her sweet, pure innocence?
With three massive twists towards the end of the book I was knocked flat, one I saw coming, the other two I did not. I was stunned, shocked, moved, I felt a million things. This is an author who is very good at throwing in difficult plot twists that wrench at your heart until you are spent.
I am a big fan of Julie's writing. I like the rawness she adds to the story, these are characters in a book, but there are millions of teens like the ones in this story out there today. I know, I have seen in first hand. Highly recommended reading if you like your books with a bit of grit and real life that are also highly enjoyable to read. Not your average YA/Teen novel, highly suitable to all readers.
I received a copy of this book thanks to the author Julie Frayn in exchange for a fair and honest review. Many thanks.
