Girl on the Brink: A Novel by Christina Hoag
A Contemporary YA Novel published by Fire & Ice Young Adult Books (8/30/16)
Summary:
“People have to help themselves. There’s nothing you can do. You have to protect yourself from dangerous people, and that means walking away.” (Kindle Locations 4238-4239).
On an assignment for her newspaper internship the summer before senior year, Chloe meets Kieran. He is attentive and charming and wants to be with Chloe. After her last relationship that went nowhere, Chloe is alll too happy to be with Kieran, but he immediately starts to take over her life. He is with her at all times and she slowly starts losing her friends because she only wants to be with Kieran. It isn’t all roses and dates, though, as Kieran’s possessive side is also full of violence just below the surface waiting for an opportunity to lash out. Relationships are never perfect, but Chloe will soon learn that this one with Kieran is bringing her down a path she will have a hard time leaving.
Keywords:
Physical and Emotional Abuse, Reporter, Internship, High School, Friends, Boyfriend, Romance, New Relationship, Bad Relationship, Bad Boyfriend,
My Review:
I wasn’t really sure if Kieran was a bad boyfriend or not. He gets possessive early on. On their special date it’s all about him and his acting and using her to video him to get ready. When she wants him to meet her friends he cleverly manipulates the situations so they don’t meet and she doesn’t see her friends that night. This could be normal or it could be the shallow end of a bad situation. Kieran is the puppy dog lover who follows Chloe around and makes her feel special with all the attention. So what if he’s jealous? So what if he makes her do things she doesn’t at first want to do? They are made for each other like peanut butter and pickles on a sandwich, right?
Anyone who’s been in a bad relationship will see the signs, but innocent Chloe doesn’t know any better. This book was so scarily accurate I had trouble putting it down and going to bed. I was waiting for that climax. I was waiting for something truly dreadful to happen to Chloe. I was waiting to see how far Kieran would go.
The beginning was a bit slow to get to the plot of the story, but the smooth writing style and interesting insight into Chloe’s relationships with those around her will keep you reading until you get to the meat of the story: Kieran.
Much like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Girl on the Brink is a book people NEED to read. Chloe had few relationships herself before Kieran came along and what he did might have appeared normal or justified, but seeing it from the outside the signs are much more clear. This could happen to you. It happens every day. Domestic abuse is NOT okay, either emotionally or physically and both boys and girls need to know what it looks like.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author and this is an honest review.
This novel was published by Fire & Ice Young Adult Books on August 30th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75
Links for more information:
Rachel Author Barnard 