The artist is Katie's older brother. the solitary. The young man with the menacing eyes and innocent smile.

Till the evening of Katie's accident, Eden had never really known Truman. That was the night they had finally begun to orbit one another, only to have the sky collapse on them.

Eden is left to deal with her own sadness because Katie is in the hospital and Truman fled his grief silently. Can Eden, however, allow Truman back into her life when he returns to the city knowing that it was their first kiss that tore their world apart?

My Review

Since I've already read The Upside of Falling, which wasn't very new or surface-level, I kind of expected something similar here. I felt that this one was lacking, though. Unfortunately, the actual book's potential was not fully realized.

With flashbacks to the circumstances leading up to their first meeting and the horrible accident, the story is told from the perspectives of both Eden and Truman. Because these two characters deal with strong emotions, the book's portrayal of mental health is remarkable.

The portrayal of grief is quite accurate. But if I'm being completely honest, the main characters' struggles with accepting who they are were overblown. I found our primary characters to be remarkably similar to one another. It would be challenging to distinguish between their tones and accents because they both have similar tastes and even a shared friend.

There were some enjoyable moments, but after halfway, with the same behaviors and emotions, I yearned for something different. Simply put, it's lacking in detail, and their intended personas weren't adequately conveyed through their portrayal. Character growth is basically nonexistent, and after a while, certain cast members just disappeared from the plot altogether.

Don't even bring up the writing itself. It appeared foolish. Too many pointless, lengthy descriptions are present. Even a statement or character that deliberately draws attention to the plot or the characters is too much to take. It seemed to be going in circles with no purpose.

The plot is convoluted and requires some effort to understand. The structure of the book is unclear. I think the pacing was strange and that several story threads weren't given enough time, which I probably should have recognized.

It wasn't the absolute worst book ever, but it was disappointing nonetheless. I would have given it a one-star rating. Still, I can still make sense of the ending's message, therefore I'll give it two stars because I can see its potential.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.