A review by rayne_1906
Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

2 hours 24 minutes - I liked this a lot more than I expected. A lot of YA fiction, particularly contemporary fiction, I find to be too juvenile for me to enjoy properly (not a fault of the book - I am just no longer the intended audience). However, while clearly YA, this touched on a lot of important and difficult topics, including abuse, self-harm, and suicide, and mostly handled them very maturely. I liked that Sara Barnard didn't just depict these issues to be cut and dry, and Suzanne's character felt very realistic. I also saw a lot of myself in Caddy, and overall, I thought the depiction of teenage friendships very accurate. I am curious about the sequel, but a part of me doesn't want it to risk ruining the way this book made me feel if I don't enjoy it as much, so I'll have to see how I feel.