Interesting.
I do not know what even to say. I guess it is not healthy to indulge in a ‘fiction story’ like I have just put myself through. Because I am literally speechless. I am left with unsettling feeling. I know there is second and third book of the series, so I will likely need to read them as well. Perhaps to get closer.
The characters are really likeable. Basically all of them - they all go through a lot of development and I do not see reason to dislike any character at the end of the book.
I have to give to the other for brilliant set-up as story could have gone multliple ways. While story focused on depressional aspect a lot, which was cause of exclusion, it could have taken a route of wrongful accusation of the rumour application.
The solution though was logical and even realistic. Of course, there were a lot of things which also seemed out of the box, for example whole Jake thing eventually and maybe the romance between Bronwyn and Nate.
Do not get me wrong, I loved the relationship development between Bronwyn and Nate. I rooted for them and while eventually things went well, it still got a thumb at my own heart, perhaps because it was so nicely written and developed - too good to be true. Perhaps in that sense it indeed was too unrealistic, went too far, with all young teen love.
Indeed, it seems to me that the book transforms young people to their adult maturity experiencing and going through traumatic and sinister event(s). The people in the book grew up and become less naive about life. The four all were dishonest and careless and this seemed to be addressed as this was the cause of everything that spiraled onward. Eventually though it seems the four learned their lesson. And this is perhaps also the moral of the story, to live in honest way and to be mindful and be empathetic and compassionate.
Thinking also, back there was a interesting aspect to perhaps reflect on a bit as well:
‘Your choice.’ Anger flares inside me - at both his words and how he spits them out without even looking at me. ‘None of this is a choice,’ I say. - Cooper to his dad
As Cooper notes and what can be extended to the other three, they were ‘set up’ by their circumstances and environment to act along, to pursue their own agenda, cheat and not thinking of wider implications. As moral tells, this unconscious thinking and self-justification is wrong.
In fact, none of this all was the conscious choice of any of the four (or the rest for that matter). It is important to highlight the conscious part, because the hurt who triggered the chain reaction, was conscious and we all know what happened. Therefore, oblivion is absolutely sad and impermissible. One’s unconscious action might have an devastating effect thought and framed of as with conscious intent.