Point of Retreat (Slammed, #2)

by Colleen Hoover

[violetpeanut]

Oh, Colleen Hoover, why do you play with my emotions so? Talk about a roller-coaster ride!

“Sometimes two people have to fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together.”

That quote pretty much sums up this book. The next chapter in Will and Lake's story is told from Will's POV. I loved that we got to see Will's thought process and get to see Lake through his eyes. I think it showed a whole other dimension to their relationship. First, we see the day to day routines that Will and Lake have developed. All those little things that make up a true relationship. It's not always about making out and staring into each other's eyes (although there's some of that, too). It's about making a life together.

Things start to fall apart when Will's ex-girlfriend shows up and tries insinuate herself into Will's life again. In spite of his best efforts to keep her away, she ends up causing Lake to question Will's true reason's for being with her.

Colleen Hoover is an absolute master at making you feel exactly what her characters are feeling. All of the doubt and insecurity and anger and frustration and despair. All of these characters could jump right out of the book and continue living their lives in the real world at any moment. There is nothing forced or artificial about their personalities or the dialogue. She also includes so many details that make you really believe that this could be a real story happening somewhere right now. The star jar, the gnome, basagna, and so so many other details make this a truly authentic story. That's really the best thing about these books - they are real and authentic and genuine and they make you feel something when you read them.

It's not all depressing, angsty stuff, though. There are some laugh out loud moments and some really triumphant moments as well. As I said in my review of Slammed, I'm generally not a fan of poetry but these books make me want to go check out a slam somewhere. The poems here are fantastic and emotional and powerful. Some of my very favorite moments involved the poems.

There are a couple of new characters introduced that really round out the cast of the book, Kiersten and her mom, Sherry. Kiersten is the precocious 10 year old who lives next door. She's clever and sarcastic and I loved every scene she was in. There's a small subplot involving Kiersten that really made me feel for her and I loved her poem, Butterfly You. In fact, I loved Kiersten so much that I would be very interested in reading a spin-off book about her and her mom.

Overall, this was a fantastic book. The writing is superb, the characters are genuine and amazing, the scenes and settings are authentic and I think everyone should read it.