TITLE: Knee Deep
AUTHOR: Jolene B. Perry
RATING: 4 STARS
PUBLISHED: May 2012 - Tribute Books
SERIES: No
Purchase on Amazon Kindle
"Shawn is the guy Ronnie Bird promised her life to at the age of fourteen. He's her soul mate. He's more uptight every day, but it's not his fault. His family life is stressful, and she's adding to it. She just needs to be more understanding, and he'll start to be the boy she fell in love with. She won’t give up on someone she’s loved for so long.
Luke is her best friend, and the guy she hangs with to watch girlie movies in her large blanketopias. He's the guy she can confide in before she even goes to her girlfriends, and the guy who she's playing opposite in Romeo and Juliet. Now her chest flutters every time he gets too close. This is new. Is Ronnie falling for him? Or is Juliet? The lines are getting blurry, but leaving one guy for another is not something that a girl like Ronnie does.
Shawn’s outbursts are starting to give her bruises, and Luke’s heart breaks as Ronnie remains torn. While her thoughts and feelings swirl around the lines between friendship and forever, she’s about to lose them both."
MY REVIEW:
Knee Deep is a beautiful coming of age novel about love, abuse, and self-discovery. It's intense and gut-clenching, but it's also light and sweet! It's a great balance of dark of light.
Ronnie has been in love with Shawn since she was fourteen, and she is convinced that she is going to spend the rest of her life with him. He is her forever. Lately, Shawn's been stressed, tense, controlling, and forceful, but Ronnie knows the Shawn she fell in love with is still in there somewhere because she still sees glimpses of him every now and then. Keeping Shawn happy is taking a toll on Ronnie mentally and physically, but she keeps making excuses for him and covering for him. Ronnie wants to be with Shawn, so why does her heart skip a beat every time she's near Luke, her best friend. When did her movie marathons with Luke turn into tingles and butterflies? And now that she's playing Juliet to Luke's Romeo in the school play, how does she know if it's real? Or an act? What choice will Ronnie make when her heart is split in two.
Yes, there is a love triangle in this novel. I never once doubted my favorite. The controlling, abusive boyfriend or the attentive, loving best friend? I'll take option B please!! Especially since he 1) is absolutely precious 2) has a heart of gold 3) watches chick flicks 4) wears cartoon t-shirts 5) is one of the best friends a girl could ask for!
Ms. Perry did a wonderful job developing the characters in this novel. I think that character development is one of the MOST important things in novels about abuse. Authors have to get the characters just right for the story to be received right, and in my opinion, Ms. Perry nailed it!
It's difficult to explain how I feel about novels written on abuse. I used this example in one of my reviews the other day and I'm going to use it again here because it's the easiest way to explain how I feel. Ya know when your watching a scary movie and you see the girl running up the stairs and you just want to scream "STOP!"? I'm sure it's not politically correct to admit it, but that is how I feel when I read a novel about abuse. That was also the case with Knee Deep. This novel had me super invested, a little stressed out, and a little bit frustrated. Although some of those things may sound negative, they aren't. In my opinion, anytime a book makes me feel that strongly, it's a good thing. I'd much rather get really worked up then feel nothing at all.
I gave Knee Deep by Jolene B. Perry 4 STARS. I strongly recommend this novel!
Ronnie has been in love with Shawn since she was fourteen, and she is convinced that she is going to spend the rest of her life with him. He is her forever. Lately, Shawn's been stressed, tense, controlling, and forceful, but Ronnie knows the Shawn she fell in love with is still in there somewhere because she still sees glimpses of him every now and then. Keeping Shawn happy is taking a toll on Ronnie mentally and physically, but she keeps making excuses for him and covering for him. Ronnie wants to be with Shawn, so why does her heart skip a beat every time she's near Luke, her best friend. When did her movie marathons with Luke turn into tingles and butterflies? And now that she's playing Juliet to Luke's Romeo in the school play, how does she know if it's real? Or an act? What choice will Ronnie make when her heart is split in two.
Yes, there is a love triangle in this novel. I never once doubted my favorite. The controlling, abusive boyfriend or the attentive, loving best friend? I'll take option B please!! Especially since he 1) is absolutely precious 2) has a heart of gold 3) watches chick flicks 4) wears cartoon t-shirts 5) is one of the best friends a girl could ask for!
Ms. Perry did a wonderful job developing the characters in this novel. I think that character development is one of the MOST important things in novels about abuse. Authors have to get the characters just right for the story to be received right, and in my opinion, Ms. Perry nailed it!
It's difficult to explain how I feel about novels written on abuse. I used this example in one of my reviews the other day and I'm going to use it again here because it's the easiest way to explain how I feel. Ya know when your watching a scary movie and you see the girl running up the stairs and you just want to scream "STOP!"? I'm sure it's not politically correct to admit it, but that is how I feel when I read a novel about abuse. That was also the case with Knee Deep. This novel had me super invested, a little stressed out, and a little bit frustrated. Although some of those things may sound negative, they aren't. In my opinion, anytime a book makes me feel that strongly, it's a good thing. I'd much rather get really worked up then feel nothing at all.
I gave Knee Deep by Jolene B. Perry 4 STARS. I strongly recommend this novel!
