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My Rating: 5 stars

Alex doesn’t know how her mother died, and her father refuses to discuss what happened. Alex’s dream is to visit Colorado, where her mother was headed on the night she died, with her two childhood best friends, Zack and Bethany. Just when everything seems to be going as usual, a new student arrives at her school. And when Alex falls for him –Cole, a strikingly handsome sports star – she can’t believe she’s found her soul mate, someone who actually understands her. At first, everything is perfect. Alex and Cole are happy together. And even though Cole is dangerously jealous of Zack and extremely rude to Bethany, Alex tries to not pay attention to that minor flaw in their relationship. But then, suddenly, Cole’s pinches, shoves and put-downs seem less and less like a joke and more serious. Alex spends most of her time trying to avoid making Cole angry. In the end, Alex is forced to pick between her boyfriend – who’s “love” she can’t even recognize anymore – and herself.
As soon as I finished reading Hate List and saw that Jennifer Brown had a second book, I knew I just HAD to read it. And just like Hate List, this book is absolutely beautiful. Although this book is based on a topic not easily discussed and emotional topic, I feel like Jennifer Brown did a brilliant job capturing ever element of Alex’s story. The characters seemed so real and I felt like I was inside the book, experiencing everything as they did. I can’t put into words how much I adore this book and its author. I read it while on the beach and had to force myself not to cry, especially towards the end. Please, as soon as you can, go out and read this book. You will not regret it.