Review: Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole -- a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her -- she can't believe she's finally found her soul mate . . . someone who truly loves and understands her.

At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her close friend Zack, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all her time with another boy? As the months pass, though, Alex can no longer ignore Cole's small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats.

As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose "love" she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose -- between her "true love" and herself.

My Review:

This book was nearly impossible to put down.  Saying I enjoyed it would be the wrong description.  It would be better to say that I could not stop reading it until I finished it.  

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

Cole did not seem like a bad guy at the beginning.  At the beginning, the reader can see that he seemed like a sweet guy.  Then he began to become controlling of Alex's friendship.  This is when I began to first dislike Cole.  He believed Alex liked Zack, no matter how many times she said there was nothing going on between them.  Once Cole hit Alex, I wanted her to get out of the relationship.  I did not understand why she went back to him as soon as he apologized.  Thankfully, she was able to leave the relationship by the end of the book by getting from her boss, Georgia.


Bethany and Zack were both good friends.  They never really liked Cole, but they tried to get along with him sometimes for Alex's sake.  They became suspicious that Cole might be hurting Alex, and they tried to get her to stop dating him.  Georgia was also a great character.  She was the mother figure who was able to help Alex.


If you want to read a heavier YA contemporary book with a message, read Bitter End.

Katie