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A review by jaimejustreadsromance
Life Unaware by Cole Gibsen
4.0
Sometimes when I've read a string of New Adult or Contemporary Romances and then I dive into a Young Adult/Coming of Age story I have a hard time reprogramming my brain to get into the mentality of a 15-18 year old. It's then that I have a hard time remembering what it was like to be young, naive and, yes, a little stupid which is why it was probably hard for me to get into this book for the first 25%. Do teenagers really act like this? Are they this cruel and selfish? Yes? That's why I hated high school, it's all coming back to me now.
This is why I focused so much on the romance aspect of the story. I needed something sweet and good to hold onto in the sea of crap these teens were giving each other. Enter Nolan, the outcast, annoying older brother of Regan's best friend. It's obvious pretty early that the dislike that Regan and Nolan have for each other will turn into something else but it was fun to watch (read, whatever, you know what I mean). Nolan was sarcastic and had a sort of bitterness to him but he was also smart and caring and it's clear he's going to go places and do things that go above and beyond himself. I could only sit and hope that his indifference to being a "nobody" would rub off on Regan.
Regan, she drove me crazy. Everything she did seemed so vindictive and cruel, especially when you know what she's dealing with all by herself. I guess that's the point though right? That bullies are usually bullies because they are trying to deflect their own problems from the spotlight to help them forget about the fact that they aren't happy.
When I finally started to see Regan changing, it's was a huge relief but it's then that I started to see that something deeper and darker was going on in that school with her friends. I had an idea of what was to come but when everything finally came out I was totally not expecting all of that. My heart broke for Regan, for Nolan and for everyone involved.
This was a well-written story of change, growth, acceptance and forgiveness and it will leave a sharpie mark on my heart for a long time.
This is why I focused so much on the romance aspect of the story. I needed something sweet and good to hold onto in the sea of crap these teens were giving each other. Enter Nolan, the outcast, annoying older brother of Regan's best friend. It's obvious pretty early that the dislike that Regan and Nolan have for each other will turn into something else but it was fun to watch (read, whatever, you know what I mean). Nolan was sarcastic and had a sort of bitterness to him but he was also smart and caring and it's clear he's going to go places and do things that go above and beyond himself. I could only sit and hope that his indifference to being a "nobody" would rub off on Regan.
Regan, she drove me crazy. Everything she did seemed so vindictive and cruel, especially when you know what she's dealing with all by herself. I guess that's the point though right? That bullies are usually bullies because they are trying to deflect their own problems from the spotlight to help them forget about the fact that they aren't happy.
When I finally started to see Regan changing, it's was a huge relief but it's then that I started to see that something deeper and darker was going on in that school with her friends. I had an idea of what was to come but when everything finally came out I was totally not expecting all of that. My heart broke for Regan, for Nolan and for everyone involved.
This was a well-written story of change, growth, acceptance and forgiveness and it will leave a sharpie mark on my heart for a long time.