Review of 'In Too Deep' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I've read various other reviews on this one - people who loved it, people who didn't.
I liked the idea of this book, which is why I decided to give it a go. It's a good tale that gives a ton of warning signs for girls to look out for from guys they might be totally infatuated with. It lets them know it's not actually OK for him to treat you like this, and you can expect and do deserve better.
That being said, I did find Jake a little too good to be true... but I don't doubt there are men that empathetic out there, so I'm gonna roll with it.
The one thought I kept having through the book was that I kind of wish I could have gone through the journey WITH Grace. But the book opened at a point that SHOULD have signified the end of …
I've read various other reviews on this one - people who loved it, people who didn't.
I liked the idea of this book, which is why I decided to give it a go. It's a good tale that gives a ton of warning signs for girls to look out for from guys they might be totally infatuated with. It lets them know it's not actually OK for him to treat you like this, and you can expect and do deserve better.
That being said, I did find Jake a little too good to be true... but I don't doubt there are men that empathetic out there, so I'm gonna roll with it.
The one thought I kept having through the book was that I kind of wish I could have gone through the journey WITH Grace. But the book opened at a point that SHOULD have signified the end of her relationship with Noah and then jumped about here there and every where in the timeline of their relationship. It meant that I saw all the early interactions between then through jade-tinted specs. Yeah, I was pretty well over it already. What I would have loved would be to meet Noah as an innocent reader, be swept off my feet, have a few doubts planted by his odd behaviour and then slowly come to loathe him, as I think Grace would have experienced it... then it would have been the rollercoaster ride I think it was aiming for.
Regarding the jumping around in time thing... it left me confused a couple of times. I'm not sure if it was me or the book (I usually assume me). Can someone correct me... Grace breaks up with Joel the morning after "the Jack Johnson serenade", but the bit where Noah plays the Jack Johnson song to her starts with "It had been two weeks since I broke up with Joel." I may have missed something in all this, though?
All the references to the 90s Seattle bands had me thinking this was a book written by a 30-something woman recalling a relationship she had back in the 90s. A little research could have brought it into the here and now, but I'm guessing that wasn't the point. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Pearl Jam and Candlebox and the rest... but I am a 30-something woman. It wouldn't have been a problem, except that it made the jadedness of the MC feel a little like it wasn't just the MC's jadedness, if you get my meaning.
On the whole, I think this is a great book for teenage girls to read (that being said, I don't know any teenagers closely, so don't take my word as the be all and end all). It clearly states from the outset it's for girls suffering from emotional abuse - or it could be to help those who haven't experienced it avoid it... For that, I commend the effort.
I love going on an emotional journey when I read. I felt this was missing here, just because it was a "look back", which immediately took me out of the moment. But, what I look for may not be the healthy choice for the target audience here, so I won't bag it.
I did "Like it", hence the 3 stars. Overall, it is well-written and manages to be both educational and entertaining.