Crash Into Me by Albert Borris
Page Count: 257
Reading Level: YA
Summary: Owen, Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae have one thing in common: they all want to die. When they meet online after each attempts suicide and fails, the four teens make a deadly pact: they will escape together on a summer road trip to visit the sites of celebrity suicides...and at their final destination, they will all end their lives. As they drive cross-country, bonding over their dark impulses, sharing their deepest secrets and desires, living it up, hooking up, and becoming true friends, each must decide whether life is worth living--or if there's no turning back.
My review: I didn't know what to expect when I first started reading this book. A suicide pact between four strangers? A cross-country drive to off themselves? It sounded dark and depressing. Crash Into Me proved me wrong. Yes, it dealt with depressing topics and dark thoughts but the story wasn't overburdened by them. I liked the four friends, especially Owen. I won't reveal their secrets and by the end there were some really cool twists and revelations. There was even a "Wow, where'd that come from?" moment which only made my reading experience better. The writing was smooth, each character was deftly drawn and the dialogue was convincing. I did tire of the instant messaging used as a device to show us the characters. As for the lists they were interesting and some were funny. This was a heavy subject matter and the author handled it brilliantly.
Favorite scene: "I don't know why, but I miss my dad, too. I wonder if I will ever cry about him. Suddenly I'm very aware of how much I have cried this week. I don't remember crying at all for years. I cried in the tent with Audrey, and in the car with the gun, and I think another time. I'm not used to all this emotion." (Page 175)
Cover comment: I really liked the cover, especially the guy who's supposed to be Owen and the snake on his arm, but I'm not convinced the model looks anything like Audrey is supposed to. Still, it's a cool cover.
Rating: +++1/2
For fans of: Contemporary YA.
Book source: Swapped.
Reviewed by: Meghan and Laurie
Sound like an interesting rad with an original plot. Great review
ReplyDeleteThis one sounds good. It's a book I overlooked at first but that's recently caught my attention. Thanks for your review! :D
ReplyDeleteI read this book. I agree, the female on the cover doesn't fit how I picture Audrey at all. I liked the text messages throughout the book however. It gave a glimpse of how the odd friendships formed. I wasn't sure how the book would end, the author kept me guessing throughout. I wasn't disappointed.
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