Grit

by Gillian French

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

This book was a bit different than I expected. I don't know what I expected exactly, but something a little more thriller-like, a little more mysterious. But really, this is mostly a story of Darcy's journey, and the obstacles she has to overcome.

I liked how strong Darcy was, and how important family was to her, too. But sometimes I wasn't really connecting to her, which was tough, but I liked her determination a lot. Her family was extremely close- her aunt and cousin even living on the same land. And sometimes that made for some family troubles, but they were fiercely protective of each other, which I really liked.

The story follows Darcy through a difficult summer. She's working a very hard, physically laborious job, all while trying to overcome some really nasty and unfair rumors. There is a lot of slut-shaming being thrown Darcy's way, and it is not okay. Then there's the disappearance of a former friend, and the town is quite focused on that, of course.

And then... there's a beauty pageant. And honestly, I am not really even sure why this needs to be a thing? Maybe it is so we can see that Nell is capable of things that her mom refuses to let her do? But as a side character, who the reader already knows is capable, I don't see how this changes anything. Meanwhile, at work and socially, Darcy is facing harassment from a horrible dude. It was just... a lot of different stuff going on, and I kind of wished it was whittled down just a bit.

Bottom Line: I liked that Darcy was given a chance to change and grow and discover, but I don't know that she needed all these storylines in which to do so. Had one or two been cut out, the focus on the others probably would have made me a bit more connected to the book.

*Copy provided for review