rating:4.25 stars

this. book. the importance of it. i read it so fast. two days and i was done with it. and maybe that has to do with the fact that it's really short but hey, that's still fast.

topics of rape and sexual abuse really hit me hard. reading about it never gets any easier but i think its important for me to do so. especially since this book doesn't paint owen as a "bad guy" necessarily. yes he raped hannah. yes, that doesn't make him pure or good or whatever. but seeing as the book is from his twin sister's pov, mara, she is never able to see him as a straight up rapist.

it brings a whole new perspective to the story.

Spoiler

not to mention that owen never actually realizes that he might have actually raped hannah. for a while he thinks that she had consented, or tries to convince himself that he did. and he doesn't ever seem like he did it antagonistically. which, again, is new. because most rapists will know what they did and take pleasure and pride in it. while owen seemed severely conflicted and at the end of the book, seems to feel guilty about it (from what i can remember)

.

this book also had some lgbtq+ relationships? which was a nice touch. along with mara figuring out her problems and thoughts about owen, she was figuring out her own problems in terms of relationships. also the other thing.

honestly, this whole book was done well. there were dynamics from every pov and i was near tears towards the end. the book broke my heart and put it back together again, but it was a learning experience and i'm glad that i read it.