“Julie, you’re not responding to my maleness.”

19. The Violent Season – Sara Walters

The whole urban legend thing about violence in Wolf Ridge, Vermont ticking up every November was doubtlessly not started by someone who works in law enforcement or in any proximity to survivors of domestic violence because they would know that as the holidays approach, there are more domestics, but, they’re happening all the time anyway. All of the time. Everywhere. And without anything actually supernatural in this story – downer – it’s mainly a tale of a toxic relationship between two teens. Wyatt, who won’t give up, and Cash, who constantly pushes her away and then lures her back, over and over and over. It’s not a very fun read. There’s also a mystery so we don’t have to just wallow forever, but it’s not the biggest mystery if you just look at the roles the characters are playing.

Toxicity and teenagers go together like wine and cheese or weed and Taco Bell, and they’re not glorifying it here, I imagine if you were a teenager who didn’t realize that this person who keeps leading you on needs to be left in the dust so you can have your own life, this might be useful. But, one other thing I’ve noticed regardless of how many violent relationships/almost relationships/even non-violent almost relationships or dysfunctional relationships there are is that everyone thinks theirs is different. It’s not. It’s really not. There are so many more emotionally unavailable people to find, don’t stick to just one, teens. I’m being facetious, but really, there are a lot of people out there incapable of a healthy relationship and it’s impossible to “fix” someone who doesn’t want to be “fixed,” even if you think you can do it. Perhaps they could learn lessons about being violent towards others in jail while they take a nice break and learn about no contact orders. There’s nothing supernatural there either.

I don’t mind the aims of this story, but I did mind the execution. The lure of the potential ghostage that didn’t happen, the obviousness of Cash as a character who barely had a grey area (I know, I wouldn’t understand. Except I do, I have experience.) and the whole rich dude sweeps her off her feet so she knows that she’s not alone and can overcome this one craptastic situation through a class project bit. Really.

 

Find someone who respects your napping space and your authority over yourself, like Salem and Hen Wen.