Kristin Dwyer

la vida de Ellis y en su relación con Easton, se ve obligada a mudarse al otro extremo del país, lejos de todo lo que conoce.

Ahora, Ellis lleva un año sin hablar con Easton y quizá sea mejor así; quizás el vacío que ha dejado en su corazón desaparezca con el tiempo.

Sin embargo, cuando recibe una invitación al cumpleaños de la madre de Easton, que le tendió la mano cuando más lo necesitaba, Ellis deja a un lado su orgullo y regresa por unos días. Al volver, se verá atrapada en la telaraña de dolor, traición y rabia que dejó atrás, además de tener que reencontrarse con el chico al que nunca ha dejado de amar.… (mere)

THE ATLAS OF US by Kristin Dwyer is one of the best books I've read all year. Ms. Dwyer uses Atlas to showcase the ravages of grief. Atlas's story and her emotions are raw. It is as powerful a story as you can imagine.

With THE ATLAS OF US, Ms. Dwyer is one of less than ten authors who have made me shed tears while reading a novel. I don't cry easily. It takes the perfect combination of excellent writing, well-developed characters, and a plot that hits up against my personal experiences or fears. Ms. Dwyer achieves all of that and more, hence the tears flowing freely down my face at 1 AM.

As Atlas travels down the trail with her fellow lost causes, you experience every one of her emotions, and there are many. Through Atlas, Ms. Dwyer shows there is nothing tidy about grief. Atlas is a mess. She knows it but doesn't know what to do about it. Her emotions are visceral, and watching her fight her feelings while avoiding showing any feelings is painful but necessary. As she starts to heal, mainly thanks to the patience and determination of her new friends, we see her accepting those emotions and, subsequently, opening herself up to others.

At the same time, Atlas mentions several times how she dreads seeing other people's reactions when they learn the news of her loss. This is an equally important message as often what we mean to be a valid message of support and love may not come across as such to the recipient. Often, what we say or how we say it may cause the recipient to construe our messages as pity or, even worse, as relief that we aren't in the same situation. If anything else, it makes you reconsider your words the next time someone you know experiences a loss.

I opened THE ATLAS OF US expecting a sad story. I was not expecting it to sweep me up into the agony of emotions Atlas experiences, and I was not expecting to cry. Finishing THE ATLAS OF US didn't ease the ache in my chest either. Five days later, I remain haunted by Atlas and her emotional catharsis. I cannot recommend THE ATLAS OF US highly enough. If it is powerful enough to make me cry, then I know you are going to love it as well.… (mere)

" I'm thinking about him
Again
In this moment that doesn't have room for him. In a place he isn't invited. And I have to be careful because memories are like rain.
A harmless drop here and there fall against my mind, then suddenly, I'm standing beneath a flood"

This is the first thing you read when you crack this (e)book open and you can just tell you're in for a mentally taxing, emotionally bumpy, rough ride. Sit back... strap in... and get ready for a rollercoaster of Feels. You'll be frustrated, angry, sad, hopeful and other adjectives too. You'll also cry... a lot... unless you're a sociopath... if so, that's sad because you'll be missing out on having your feelings flung about, stomped on and messed with mercilessly... in a good way... sounds unappetizing? Not for me, I gladly experienced this (and more) and would ask for it again and again... it was worth every teary-eyed sob in the night.

This read snuck up on me. I spent most of my time trying to figure out who was right and why they were both being idiots and by the end, I was wondering how I arrived at the epilogue so soon. BUT, how was the actual execution you might be asking?? Glad you asked!! It was near perfection! The writing? Gorgeous with just the right amount of flowery/touching/deep prose at key moments. The dialogue? Exceptional, so good you'll feel like your eavesdropping on the character's private moments. The characters? Those were gray and distressed and tortured in all the sorts of ways that Life tends to inflict, which made them incredibly real and yummy... especially Easton... oh how I looooved Easton (a big, mushy sensitive, cinnamon roll)!! Our FMC, Ellis, on the other hand, kept making such immature/self sabotaging decisions/actions that I found myself wanting to reach right into my ereader and smack her... repeatedly... and I'm not a violent person (usually). Inevitably, if there was a wrong thing to say at a clutch moment... She'd either say it or nothing at all. Know what that's like?? It's extremely frustrating, that's what it's like, BUT still, I soldiered on for over 300 pages. Did that deter me from staying up all night... bleary eyed and sleep deprived... crying (not so) silent sobs until my husband begged me to put the (e)book down (for both our sakes) and go to sleep?? Nope, sleep is overrated... right?

This standalone hurt my heart... broke it... shattered it into tiny shards, then tried to put it back together again... gold filling the cracks... Kintsugi style. Now the sun is up, and people are already eating brunch... I read through the wee hours and through the Sunrise and well past breakfast time and at the end of it all... I feel heart broken, raw and wrung out. That's not to say that it ended one way or another, I wouldn't spoil your journey like that, but I will say this... Ellis was very immature, annoying (most of the time), proud, bold and extremely stubborn BUT she also loved with her whole heart.... Easton as well!! And I loved almost all of the characters for that same trait... except for Ellis' parents (especially her mom)... they can go take a long walk off of a short pier in shark infested waters.

Overall:

This was an addictive torture. I know that sounds quite unpleasant, BUT it was a sweet plucking of my heart strings for our FMC... for our MMC... for everyone, even those hurting differently in the end.

I can't leave off without discussing that ending!?! No spoilers but WOW!! Hearing Easton from his own perspective was an awesome addition... it is obvious now why Kristin Dwyer chose to keep the majority of the book from Ellis' perspective... it really built the tension, tragedy, and unrequited (??) desire. The sloooow teasing of the entire love/hate(??) story was brought together beautifully, especially due to that drawn-out reveal!

I can honestly say that I wholeheartedly endorse this book... especially if you like to do a bunch of reading with your heart lodged in your throat and big fat tears in your eyes. If that sounds like your thing then HEY, you've found your next read!! If not, then I'd still give this a chance... you never know, maybe you're not actually a sociopath... BUT if you are, we still love you and you never know... you can just as easily appreciate how deftly it was crafted... no messy emotions to muddle the senses.

P.s.- this was sooo good. I reread my favorite parts again... twice... even though I just finished it this morning. It is that addicting! I thought about it all day as I shuffled along, sleep deprived and a bit sluggish, BUT blissfully nurturing a book high.

P.P.S- it has been ~ a week now and I'm still thinking about my favorite and least favorite parts PLUS how much these characters make me feel... it is definitely going into my Favorites pile!!… (mere)

"Some Mistakes Were Made" captured the delight and pain of first love. It was raw and honest, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting. Ellis was a very sympathetic character and I was hoping she would find the right path. Her emotions and feelings were real, and I loved following her journey.

The author captured the idea of family perfectly. Too often the adults in YA novels are dysfunctional but I adored the Albreys and the way they welcomed Ellis into their lives with open arms. The banter between the three brothers (Easton, Dixon and Tucker) was delightful. I adored each of them.

I didn't realise this was Kristin's debut novel. She has written a book that many teenagers will relate to as she caught the essence of being a teenager in love and the heartbreak when it is over. A great read.… (mere)