Hello Book, So Long Sleep...

“They call it the drowning instinct. It's when drowning doesn't look like drowning. In real life, if the water's very cold, a person can't help but gasp. It's reflex. The thing is as soon as water hits your lungs, your throat closes off, even it the water's warm. Your body's trying to protect itself, and the reality is that a lot more people suffocate than truly drown. Regardless, to people on land, especially when you´re really close to the end, you don't look like you're in trouble. You don't scream, but that's because you can't, and you don't wave your arms either or expend a lot of energy flailing. You're just there. So people don´t notice that you're drowning. That's me. I think I've been drowning all this time and doing it so quietly, even I didn't know it.” 

 

"Everybody breaks sooner or later, Bob. Anyone can drown Sometimes you see it. Most often, you don't because the body protects and the skin hides, so drowning doesn't look like like drowning and some people scar so nicely.

Take it from an expert."

 

Another fast read. But before you read this book you should know, this book talks about "cutting" and it may be a  "trigger" for some people. If you know someone who does this do not recommend this book.

For more info on it see this page.

So basically this book is about two damaged people, sorry, several damaged people. There were certain things that made me pause and say "what? He just happened to be there? right."  If you've read the jacket cover then you know it's about Jenna and her teacher Mitch. The thing is I didn't feel how this relationship felt real for her. It really didn't dive into it, This may be because Jenna is telling her story through a tape recorder to a police officer, so she keeps herself distant and "just the facts" Maybe that's why it felt cold.

Overall fast read, but disappointing.

This is taken from the acknowledgement page:

         "One last word about this book: Are these damaged people? Absolutely. Are there monsters in these pages? Yes; one for sure. Yet many relationships are bound as much by hatred as love; growth may come from damage; and the reality is complex.

In my experience, the truly evil are few and good people, with the very best of intentions, often make very bad decisions and get in way over their heads before they know it.

People drown, quietly, before our eyes, all the time."