Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Bully and victim. Tormenter and tormented. Villain and hero.
Ellie McCallum was a bully. No connection to anyone or anything. A sad and lonely existence for a young woman who had come to expect nothing more for herself. Her only happiness coming from making others miserable.
Particularly Freaky Flynn.
Flynn Hendrick lived a life completely disconnected even as he struggled to become something more than that boy with Asperger's. He was taunted and teased, bearing the brunt of systematic and calculated cruelty, ultimately culminating in a catastrophic turn of events that brought Ellie and Flynn’s worlds crashing down.
But then Flynn and Ellie grew up.
And moved on.
Until years later when their paths unexpectedly cross again and the bully and the freak are face to face once more.
When labels come to define you, finding yourself feels impossible. Particularly for two people disconnected from the world who inexplicably find a connection in each other.
And out of the wreckage of their tragic beginnings, an unlikely love story unfolds.
But a painful past doesn’t always want to let go. And old wounds are never truly healed…and sometimes the further you try to run from yourself the closer you come to who you really are.
My Thoughts (spoiler-free):
The story was alternatively narrated by Ellie and Flynn.
Flynn has Asperger's syndrome*, which makes him the 'freak' in school.
Enter Ellie, the bully. She made Flynn's life a lot harder than it already was.
Although Ellie was Flynn's personal hell, he still liked her.
It was heartbreaking to read Flynn's POV. It's like: *stab* *twist* *twist* every freaking time!
Story time.
When I was in High school (Middle school for Americans), everyone in our section (incuding me) will tease a certain guy until he cries and gets angry. It even got to the point where all of us were called to the guidance counselor and his mother transferred him to another school. I don't know if he had Asperger's or maybe something else, but he was definitely mentally challenged. And reading this story reminded me of the times we treated him like crap and it also made me think how horrible he must have felt. We were on a Christian school, mind you.
Rating: 5/5 hearts
*Asperger syndrome is a form of autism, which is a lifelong disability that affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people. They usually have difficulties in social communication, social interaction and social imagination.
Source: http://www.autism.org.uk/
"Is Patch inspired by a real person?" Becca said that he was. *cue the squealing*. The guy who inspired Patch is from her high school, she said he looked "dangerous and rough" and even admitted that she looked him up on Facebook, but unfortunately didn't find him.
