Hyrum Sutton's Reviews > All in Pieces

I somehow blast through Susanne Young novels in periods of less than 48 hours. I think it's a coincidence, but it's also a testament to her good writing.

I got Freaks and Geeks crossed with Shameless vibes from this book, with a hint of Mean Girls. I didn't like everything about it, but where the plot lost some points, the writing earns them back. It really takes you back to high school; the feelings, the memories, the friendships. I felt like the characters and their dialogues were very believable.

I think I was just hoping this book would be more about the social issues and less about the relationship. The story deals with the heavy topics of poverty, violence, family dissolution, and even, I think, anxiety, and while I thought they were all handled fairly well, sometimes they took a backseat to what, for me, was the less-interesting topic of love. I was satisfied with the ending, but it's not exactly the ending I was hoping for.

This was also the first time I've read a book with a character named Sutton, which was a little disconcerting at first.