Left Drowning by Jessica Park

Left Drowning by Jessica Park
Release Date: July 16, 2013
Publisher: Amazon Skyscape
Pages: 399
Series: n/a
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
What does it take to rise from life’s depths, swim against the current, and breathe?

Weighted down by the loss of her parents, Blythe McGuire struggles to keep her head above water as she trudges through her last year at Matthews College. Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning.

My Thoughts:
If I had to describe this book in one word, the word I would choose is “intense”. This is not a traditional romance, but I found it well worth a read to experience the intense love between the characters. It wasn’t just romantic love that was explored here, but also familial love and friendship between the whole group.

‘Left Drowning’ features characters who are flawed, very deeply in some aspects. These people have had terrible things happen to them, and they haven’t dealt with their situations in very healthy ways, or even at all. I feel like it’s common in New Adult books to read about broken characters finding each other and reluctantly giving in to love and healing each other. Technically this book has that, but it didn’t feel like a plot device to me. The emotions in this book definitely feel very real, and to me it was like reading about real people with painful pasts.

This book is tough to read at times. There are moments when you will hate one character in particular, and will feel your heart break with the other. There are multiple times your heart might ache, but there was also a big emphasis on the strength of love and of family. Jessica Park is fabulous at writing secondary characters, especially families, so this book contains a great supporting cast. To me the book was about not giving in, even when it would be easier to let people push you away. ‘Left Drowning’ was not an easy story to get through, but I believe it's a rewarding one in the end.

The Cover:
Pretty.

Rating:
[4/5]

Find Left Drowning by Jessica Park on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.