From the Bookshelf of Addicted to YA…

By Your Side

Kasie West

Start date: March 1, 2018

Finish date: March 31, 2018

Discussion: Stand Alone

Why we're reading this: Won the poll for the stand alone BOTM
[close] Won the poll for the stand alone BOTM

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Stand Alone

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What Members Thought

Feb 17, 2019 Vanessa Gayle ⚔️ Fangirl Faction rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-ebook-read, reviewed, romance, contemporary, uno-challenge, young-adult

4.5/5 Stars

Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers.

This book delighted me so much! I felt heart soar, I laughed, I felt my heart ache, and I felt so fulfilled at the end. I cannot stop reading Kasie West books! I think that I am hooked for good.

I really connected with this book. Autumn, the main character, has generalized anxiety disorder and much of the book deals with her trying to handle her anxiety attacks. I have a social anxiety disorder that I have to deal with daily that I also take 4.5/5 Stars

Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers.

This book delighted me so much! I felt heart soar, I laughed, I felt my heart ache, and I felt so fulfilled at the end. I cannot stop reading Kasie West books! I think that I am hooked for good.

I really connected with this book. Autumn, the main character, has generalized anxiety disorder and much of the book deals with her trying to handle her anxiety attacks. I have a social anxiety disorder that I have to deal with daily that I also take medications for so it was so easy for me to get in sync with Autumn's character. The only people that know about her anxiety disorder are her parents, brother, and the mysterious boy that experiences one of her attacks while they are locked inside the library over the weekend. Autumn has never told her friends about her anxiety issues because she didn't think that they would accept her, she didn't want to be treated differently, and she didn't want to make excuses for herself for having to take a step back sometimes. I thought that the representation of anxiety was very well displayed through Autumn's character.

These characters were all fantastic! I loved Autumn, I loved Dax, and I loved her friends and family. I honestly felt that Jeff was annoying and immature in the beginning but I loved him at the end. He turned out to have such a big heart and showed that he really cared about Autumn. He even made me laugh at the end a few times with his carefree and charming personality. Dallin was irritating through most of the book, but I could understand his viewpoints throughout the book with his lack of knowledge of Autumn's anxiety issues. I loved Autumn's friendship with Lisa and her entire friend group as a whole. And I loved how they accepted her admission of her anxiety and supported her no questions asked. I loved the positive representation of family that was presented with both Autumn's family and Jeff's parents. I also liked the representation of not so great parents and the consequences and affects it can have on children through Dax's story.

And on that note, I also liked the sensitive issues that were addressed apart from the anxiety disorder. Dax's story was heart wrenching and moving. I liked seeing inside the foster care system and seeing that things aren't always what they seem. I liked that West wasn't afraid to give Dax a sad backstory full of heartbreaking things. I really did love his character. Dax and Autumn both had amazing character growth in this book and it was a pleasure to read.

The only thing that really irked me about this book was the unbelievable premise for the plot. The way that the plot develops is beautiful and I loved that, but in the very beginning, the fact that Autumn was trapped inside a library and had no way out and no way to call for help felt absurd to me. Strongly absurd. What library keeps its only telephones inside locked offices? And what doors refuse to open from the inside? Seriously? Apart from this huge oversight of unbelievability, I felt that the remaining plot points were played out beautifully.

Overall, I felt that this was the most emotional Kasie West book that I have read yet. (My fourth book from her in total!) I loved seeing more emotional circumstances and issues with the characters. It really made them feel more real and story more impactful. I have no doubt that Kasie West fans will adore this book!

More reviews on my blog: Novel Nerd Faction ...more

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Apr 04, 2017 Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: susan-s-gcac

I wish they had half stars. This book is a 4.5 star. If they didn't prolong her talking about her anxiety disorder then this would have been 5 stars hands down. I hate when YA authors make so much of somethings. Having raised 5 kids with disorders I understand most things but I have 5 with varying disorders and they all talk openly and honestly and I believe that most kids and teens do as well. Other then that tiny little detail I thought this was a great book and I enjoyed every aspect of this ...more

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