The Last to Let Go

by Amber Smith

"When her mother is arrested for killing Brooke's abusive father, Brooke must confront the shadow of her family's violence and dysfunction"--

• ISBN10: 1481480731
• ISBN13: 9781481480734
• Publish Date: 6 February 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber]

The Last to Let Go was so. good. I was drawn in by the premise, as I’m always curious to see how authors portray domestic abuse, and I was certainly not disappointed by how this book turned out.


Amber Smith did an amazing job with this one and the portrayal of domestic abuse and how it affects the children. In this book, Brooke’s father is abusive towards his wife and his children. You can tell that Smith has done her research, and some scenes were incredibly hard hitting and difficult to read, making this a fantastic book to read if you’re interested in the subject matter.

I really liked all of the characters in this one. Not just Brooke, but her brother and her sister as well. I liked how they all reacted to the abuse differently, and how they all had different feelings towards their mother killing their father.

Brooke is also dealing with her feelings towards a girl at school. She’s not openly gay (yet), so she has that to deal with as well. Their relationship was adorable, and while seeing Brooke struggle to balance her home life (or lack thereof) and these feelings was difficult, but so worth it.

Reading this has made me want to get Smith’s debut, The Way I Used to Be, which deals with assault. I’m excited to see how she deals with another difficult subject matter.

[Sam@WLABB]

This book was a Can't-Wait Wednesday pick for me, and my initial thoughts based on the synopsis were that there would be a lot of suffering and loss. I can confirm, that the main character and her siblings suffered a great deal in this story, but they also pushed forward, and as the title states, they let go.

•Pro: Considering this was a book about domestic abuse, there was a strong sense of family woven into the story. After their loss, family and family-like members reached out to help Brooke and her siblings, reconnecting with them after many years. I was happy to watch these relationships grow and flourish as Brooke and her siblings worked through their issues.

•Pro: We shared many painful and beautiful moments with these three siblings. Though their connections were strained, I never doubted their love for each other.

•Pro: I like that this was not a story of abuse. We did witness some abuse through flashbacks, but the bulk of the story was the aftermath. Brooke had to deal with the emotional damage, as well as, manage her life without her parents. Don't get me wrong, this was painful, but I appreciate the focus on the recovery versus the battle to survive.

•Con: Although hopeful, the ending left me a little wanting. I watched these three kids struggle throughout the book and would have liked a few more questions answered.

•Pro: Thank you, Amber Smith, for giving us Dani and Tyler. They provided most of the bright spots in this story, and I really needed those moments.

•Pro: This was a tough and honest look at the cycle of abuse. Brooke's grandparents were abused or abusers, and her parents ended up being abused or abusers. By the end of this book, I felt hopeful that the cycle would end here for this family. Brooke and her sister were getting professional help, they were talking about what happened, and were receiving care and support, which had previously been missing.

•Pro: Witnessing Brooke trying to hold onto her past life brought tears to my eyes, because the harder she tried to keep things the same, the more she unraveled. I breathed a sigh of relief, when she finally came to terms with the situation, and, as her siblings had, let go.

•Pro: Brooke was a fighter, no doubt, and I was rooting for her the whole time. She made mistakes. She paid for her mistakes, but she grew and came out stronger from this ordeal.

Overall: This was a beautifully written book about something very ugly. My heart broke over and over again as Brooke tried to hold onto the past with both hands. However, my heart was mended, when she ultimately found solace by letting go.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

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