Bitter End Review

Monday, May 16, 2011

Title: Bitter End
Author: Jennifer Brown
Publisher: LB Books for Young Readers
Published: May 10, 2011
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 359
Source: Gift

When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole, a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her, she can't believe she's finally found her soul mate-someone who truly understands her and loves her for who she really is.

At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her best friends, Zack and Bethany, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all of her time with another boy? But as the months pass, Alex can no longer ignore Cole's small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats. As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose "love" she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose - between her "true love" and herself.
Alex has found the guy of her dreams. He's everything - a star athlete, good looking and absolutely adores her. She can't imagine her life without him, and she has no intention of ever having to do so. There's something else taking hold of her relationship though, too. It's a kind of possessiveness that's foreign to Alex but very familiar to Cole. He doesn't want to have to share her, and he'll do anything to ensure he doesn't have to. Alex doesn't want to lose him, but it's more than that. She's afraid she's begun to lose herself, and she's not sure who she really is, or even was anymore.

I'm not going to dance around this review at all. I usually like to lead into a review and break it down into pieces, but some books make it easy for the reader to understand the book and feel fulfilled from the start. Bitter End was the epitome of a homerun YA contemporary read. Powerful, hard-hitting and extremely realistic, author Jennifer Brown clearly did her research when writing this book. Bitter End presents a story that's fairly common though often in an undercurrent in society, bringing it to a new light with a teenage girl who is vulnerable, yes, but learning to find herself through a maze of abuse.

Bitter End could very easily have been a so-so read. All that had to happen was have an emotionally disconnected main character with no spine and a self-deprecating attitude. Luckily, however, Alex was none of the above. She was a strong girl with the world at her feet, and the terror of her relationship with Cole was that it didn't start with blatant physical abuse. Cole slowly chipped away her armour until he had her in the palm of his hand. By that time, it was so believable that Alex was alone in her world that, as a reader, I could understand why Cole had such a power over her. Bitter End presented a harrowing tale with a main character that broke my heart and slowly helped me piece it back together again...a feat that is hard to find in a lot of the books I read.

I have a habit of looking for flaws in the books I read today, but I have to admit that I couldn't find any in Bitter End. Emotional and raw, I give it a 5 out of 5, and I'd recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy contemporary fiction. Fans of Raw Blue will probably find this to be an extraordinary read.

23 comments:

  1. this book sounds like an amazing read

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  2. Thanks for the review Melissa : I absolutely want to read this book now. It seems really moving and I'm crazy about contemporary fiction!

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  3. Issues of abuse are very difficult for me to read. It does sounds as if Brown did an authentic job with her characters since most abusers to whittle away at their victims until it is hard for them to believe they are anything without the abuser. This is also an important issue for teens to read about because I think date abuse is much more prevalent than it seems. Thanks for your thoughts and an amazing review.

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  4. What a beautiful review, Melissa! I've had this book on my TBR list & even though I do want to read it, I know it will be hard for me. Relationship abuse is probably the most difficult for me to stomach in YA contemps. I'm not sure why. But this one sounds like it's been well written & hopefully leaves me with a better feeling. Thank you for posting this wonderful review.

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  5. I LOVED this one. My old friend used to be abused by her boyfriend and I believe that Jennifer wrote everything right about abusive relationships. Thanks for the review!
    -Danna

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  6. Fantastic review Melissa. The fact that the abuse doesn't immediately start out as physical is what makes it so insidious. This sounds like an important books for teenage girls in particular to read.
    Looks like your decision to read more contemporary YA fiction this year paid off with this one :)

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  7. I LOVED Hate List, so I'm really looking forward to reading Bitter End! Now that I see you loved it so much, I'm definitely going to have to make reading it a priority! It sounds so emotional and honest.
    Fab review! :)

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  8. Wow. This one sounds so amazing. I love how you said it could have easily been just an okay read, but Jennifer manages to catapult it to another level and make it something that sticks with you. Fantastic review Melissa!

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  9. You already had me sold, but then you mentioned Blue Raw at the end and I was a goner. Will definitely be reading this one.

    Now I've got a rec for you. Have you read Stay by Deb Caletti. The premise for that book is very similar to BE. I think you would like it.

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  10. I'm so glad this one was good. I LOVEDx5 Hate List, so I was nervous about this one, but from your review it seems like a total score!

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  11. Ahh can't wait to read this and you just got me even more excited!

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  12. Oh that good. It's always the ones that doesn't seem to capture me that are the best and then i have to reconsider

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  13. This one sounds great. Reminds me of Stay by Deb Caletti (just read a review for that one). Glad you enjoyed it! :)

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  14. I just finished Raw Blue about a week ago and loved it. So, I'm totally adding this one to my wishlist. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  15. Liked reading your thoughts on this book. I've got it on order for my library (and will try to give everyone else a chance at it before I snag it for myself!). :)

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  16. WOW! I am so hooked and its not even funnny! Seriouly, I am going to order it now! Great review!

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  17. I've heard that this one is beautifully done, which I'm glad about. I find it hard to read books like this, but I might pick it up. I think it's important that there are stories like this, so people realize that abuse happens in different ways, and that it can start off small and grow from there.

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  18. Wow, this sounds fabulous. I like the contrast between a strong girl and an abusive relationship. It's nice to read really raw books occasionally, even if they're difficult.

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  19. Oh I have this one on my tbr and I'm so glad you reviewed it. I'm looking forward to this one. I do like a powerful book now and again.

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  20. This sounds so amazing!! I cannot wait to read it and a 5 star from you must be a great read:)

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  21. I'm really, really, really wanting this book! I was in a similar relationship and I think I would be able to relate very well. I'm very glad that someone finally decided to write about something like this because really it's a very common thing.
    Great review!

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  22. Great review! I'm glad you just jumped in instead of leading. I think I'll love this book. I was so not a contemp fiction girl, yet my shelf is full of them. Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. I haven't seen it before.

    Heather

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  23. This sounds really good. I'm really jumping up in my YA contemporary reads. One day they were all so so and then all of the sudden..BAM...YA contemp turned wonderful. Great review, I'm going to have to give this one a try.

    Jen
    In the Closet With a Bibliophile

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