For me, stories centered around the arts are a hit or miss. I either end up a squealing fangirl or I struggle through the book. Perhaps the problem is that many of these novels have similar themes, such as passion or competition, which make the sub-sub-genre more predictable. It takes a degree of uniqueness to make a novel about the arts stand out. Upon reading the summary of The Way It Hurts by Patty Blount, I saw the promise of the story and was eager to give it a try. 

Kristen and Elijah may have the same end goal, but they are complete opposites when it comes to musical genres. Kristen performs in musicals, hoping to follow in the path of her grandmother, an ex-theater queen and a woman of elegance in even her older age. Elijah plays in a hard rock band with friends, posting their performances on YouTube and hoping to make it big so that he can stay and help out with his autistic sister. When Elijah's friends bring him to a high school performance of Cats, he is impressed by Kristen's voice onstage and offers her a place to sing with his band. Kristen, charmed by Elijah, considers his offer before discovering his true identity as a member of the very band she had criticized under an alias online. Despite her hesitancy, she takes Elijah up on his offer at her grandmother's suggestion to boost her chances of getting into the theater program of her dreams. Singing with the band isn't so easy.

As I mentioned previously, the story has a promising premise. The sub-plots of the characters are definitely emotionally-driven. For some or even most, they hit home. It's scary when someone you look up to, someone dear, suddenly faces a medical crisis and possibly death. At especially an older age, there's the question of how much time you have left with the aforementioned person. Kristen, seeing her grandmother in a hospital bed and so void of the vivacity she once exuded, realizes the reality of the situation and what it means. Then, there's the difficulty of guaranteeing safety and sanctuary for someone in a world lacking of privacy and respect. It's hard to trust someone other than yourself to treat people you love as they deserve, and Elijah struggles with that. These sub-plots are my favorite aspect of the novel because they invoke thought. 

However, on the emotional front, the delivery falls short and consequently creates melodrama. The banter, although entertaining, begins to drag on with the lack of action between exchanged words. There is also an overuse of lyrics, even as they align with events in the novel. Throughout the book, the one time I felt emotionally connected with the characters was when there was a raw and honest interaction between Kristen and her grandmother. I might have teared up reading it, but I wanted to see more of that interaction. It was lovely! 

"Okay. I have to get to school. And, Etta, the band—well, my band—we're playing at the mall and at the county festival this summer, and you'll be there, of course, because I'm your favorite granddaughter, right?" That was our joke... I was her only granddaughter. Tears dripped down by face, falling onto Etta's arm.
Stories should be relatable. It is said that they allow us to travel to different worlds, but emotions keep us tethered to the real world and our inner selves. This may just be a me thing, but I can't understand how Elijah is so eager to share his stage and is not in the least bit nervous or jealous about Kristen changing his band or stealing the spotlight. Sure, he wants to take care of his sister and is willing to go so far to do that, but there's got to be some little part of him that's conflicted. I just can't imagine someone that selfless both inside and out. Kristen and Elijah don't know each other for long before he trusts her readily, out of character for someone who has his guard up with even long-time friends. Maybe it's just because I'm not much of an insta-crush person. 

On the topic of insta-crushes, there are other romantic interests who are minor characters and they appear almost child-like and innocent in their behavior. The accuracy of portrayal is distracting, especially when the band later becomes locally famous. In the age of modern internet, fame is usually wide-spread. They have a good following, but it's not impressive enough for, in terms of a realistic worldwide ratio, a good turn-out at a local performance.  

Despite the cheesiness of the story, I did enjoy reading it. It is a quick read and, while I don't particularly like Kristen or Elijah, I love the kooky grandmother Etta. The ending is also a nice one. I'm sorry to rate The Way It Hurts only two out of five stars because I feel like there are those out there will enjoy the read. It just didn't suit my taste, which docked a majority of the stars.

Kristen has always criticized Elijah's band on a social media site focused on artists, at times attracting a streak of offenses from band members and too-dedicated fans. It is at least an irony that the moment the first meet, the two feel attract and Elijah knows his band needs exactly what only Kristen's talent can provide. And he's desperate enough to get money for his sister to do anything.

I think this story had a real good idea, and the book presented great situations that show how scary the internet can be nowadays. In theory, it was so good I feel it's a pity it didn't translate into a superb book. It's still nice. I'd give it 3.5 but the many flaws got in the way of rounding it up.

I think this shouldn't have been a romance. Kristen and Elijah's relationship is too twisted, and I didn't get the feeling of love conquers all that was needed to convince me they could work. Still, they for sure were characters that felt real.

First, we have Kristen, who is basically an internet troll without even noticing. Her messages to the band are offensive, she stirs up the fans and she never gives up, always ready to criticize the same things. as chauvinistic as the band's lyrics and behavior could be, two wrongs don't make a right. (And aside from a pogo stick mention, we only saw them behaving like that but never the lyrics themselves to have an opinion of our own).

And yes, Elijah misbehave on purpose, because that's what he understands metal is, what their fans like. It took him really long to notice his ways and I'm not so confident he really changed. He uses Kristen, despite her objections, and allow it all to explode. He's too blind to notice all the fame the fake online battle between Kristen and him attracted to care about Kristen's actual safety in the real world. And the worst is it's almost all forgiven just because that was just his persona, he's not really like that.

I acknowledge the characters did change through the book. But I don't think it was enough, which does happen in real life. Really, who changes 100%? But when you're reading a romance, you want to cheer for the characters and that is hard when there's a bad aftertaste. Also, the side characters could have been more than stereotypes, maybe that could have distracted me.

This would have been a great story if the author's goal wasn't so obviously the romance. As such, I think she failed to give each of them the redemption they needed.

Still, this was nice, and intense, and surely engaging. Notwithstanding my critic on the side characters, I think the author portrayed Elijah's sister very well, she's autistic and that for sure demanded a hell lot of research she could have easily avoided. Not that I'm knowledgeable in the topic but for me it seemed much superior to what others are doing out there.

This is a good book but it brings sensitive content and sure lots of possible triggers, like online abuse. It's really a twisted story, which was given a romance treatment. It's not that it doesn't knowledge the former—unlike Hush, Hush or Twilight—, it really does. But it doesn't do enough, in my opinion, to leave us with those dreamy eyes romances were supposed to. At last, this was my first Patty Blount but her talent is undeniable; there will be a next.

3.5 stars

I really love the topics the author included on this book. From autism, bullying, to the danger of words written on the net. But even do I loved the topics I didn't like how all of them played out. The parents and our MC seem to be bothered by Anna. Our MC was kind of an a** when replying on his social media. I know everything got better by the end but I still feel bother by all that by the end and I couldn't fully enjoy the happiness.
I have to say that even do our MC had the best of intentions towards his sister and his band he did come out as bit of a douchebag.
I loved the author approach to things but the down side was she gave just to much information about simple things like I grabbed the bags, empty the bags, put the bags bag to its place. I am not a fan of reading books that give to much information. So that was the only down side I had about reading this book. Besides that I did enjoy reading this book.
I'm a tough critic so me not saying I hated this book is a big plus.

The Way It Hurts is a story about music and the passion to take that music to as many people as possible. It is also a story about the impact of social media. The Way It Hurts is a novel with plenty of drama and characters with very strong emotions.

Kristin is counting on a summer music program to give her an edge when it comes time for her conservatory application. For Kristin, singing, performing, and dancing is everything. Elijah wants to take his heavy metal band all the way. He dreams of fame. When he sees Kristin perform, he knows her voice could be the thing to promote his band. He posts a picture of her and a comment about wanting her in his band. But convincing Kristin to sing with them might be hard after she discovers he is the one she spars with online and his post quickly sparks a derogatory backlash. But Kristin decides that performing with Ride Out could benefit her, and so starts to use the social media outcry to her own advantage. But when the comments online become increasingly sinister and her relationship with Elijah's band mates struggles from the beginning, Elijah and Kristin will have to decide how much they will risk for what they want.

Firstly, let me state that I found the synopsis originally provided with this book misleading. There is no picture taken of Eli's swooning face, he takes a photo of Kristen and posts his own, easily misconstrued, comment. And I don't think Elijah and Kristen finds themselves in the midst of a social media maelstrom - they have a large part in creating it. As it escalates, Kristin is forced to bear the brunt of rude comments and disgusting photos and suggestions, which Elijah largely dismisses until it begins to effect him.

There is no shortage of drama in this book. The focus of the book is predominately on music and Elijah's band. There are practice sessions, song writing, performances, and plenty of band promotion, which is what starts the problems on social media. This will all, perhaps, appeal to readers who enjoy this side of the music industry, particularly heavy metal.

I believe the underlying theme of this novel is so important. Social media and the way it can be used to both help and hurt is a huge issue, as is understanding staying safe on social networks. However, while I think The Way It Hurts raises these issues, I do not believe that it was consistent in its message. Elijah remains largely oblivious to the impact of his comments and postings. When Kristin tries to address the concerns she has, he brushes her off. Unfortunately, Kristin very easily becomes distracted by Elijah, one minute angry at him because he is not listening to her and then suddenly over her anger because he has a soft look in his eyes. Because of this, I felt that the issues of online safety were not truly addressed. It quickly becomes a background issue to the band and relationship drama.

Further, I am uncertain about what messages this book was trying to send about social media. How the characters deal with the backlash might be one solution, it doesn't provide a solution to staying safe while still partaking in online social media forums. A secondary character points out to Elijah his part in starting and perpetuating the backlash against Kristin, but this only seems to sink in because the outcry began to impact his sister. I'm sure there any many interpretations that could be taken from the characters and their actions, but I was left feeling unresolved and uncertain about the book's position and how positive it is.

Elijah's sister was, I thought, a beautiful and important addition to the story, as was the support for those with Autism and the people who care for them, as was the discussion around home care verses institutional care.

Kristin and Elijah spend a lot of time fighting, Kristin and Elijiah are both very self confident and opinionated, but there are some sweet moments when they put everything aside and support each other. Their romance remains - for a large portion of the book - as an impossibility, which raises the tension. However, this also creates some jealousy. On that note, seriously, why must we resort to name calling when another girl is talking to a guy you like!? Not cool. I don't care if that's what authors think teenagers really do! Let's not promote it.

The epilogue just made me angry, so I won't address my concerns here at length, let me just say, wouldn't life be nice if everything worked out like that, but I didn't find it helpful or particularly relevant, but perhaps it is nice if you are promoting the message that dreams can be achieved.

I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy music, the creation of music and the fame to which that can lead, or for readers who enjoy books with lots of drama and conflict between characters.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

~Disclaimer~
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.
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This book is told from two points of view, Kristen and Elijah. Eli is in a Rock band hell bent on making it big. His one wish is to make enough money to care for his autistic sister Anna. Kristen wants to be on broadway. She wants to beef up her resume to get into a good arts school. Their world collide when Eli sees Kristen preform o
in her schools production of Cats. He thinks she would be a key addition for his band to finally make it. He wants her. One of his band mates thinks sh will be their Yoko and break up the band. Eli promises that he will stay away from her. But will he be able to? At what lengths will he go to to give their band exposure?

I like that this book was told using two points of view. It gave different prespectives on the same issue. Eli and Kristen had opposite reactions to what was happening on social media. Eli thought that things being said online didn't really matter because they were just words. As long as people were talking about their band that's all that mattered. Whereas Kristen was very frightened about what was being said about her, she took it as threats. Women can be treated very badly online. This book really shows how what someone writes about you online can scare and affect you. People started going after Kristen personally, going so far as to threaten her online and in public. Just because these things are being said online doesn't make them any less real or frightening.
I thought that this book was very relevant to todays teens. Social media is a big part of teenage life. A lot of bullying now occurs online versus in person. It is easier to be mean behind a screen.
This is a good read to start a conversation about online perceptions, bullying and online threats.

4/5 ⭐

An interesting story about the music industry and the negative aspects of social media. Well written, but will only appeal to a niche group of teens because the focus is on heavy metal music. I loved the inclusion of Eli's sister Anna, who has autism.

I really enjoyed this read.
I have a slight fascination with how social media affects our lives. That's shown here, in this story when one small action is taken out of context and it spirals out of control. The reality is, that's it very real, and it's scary.

I gave this a 4 star rating, as the first half of the book was a rather slow build up. The second half, however, was really enjoyable.

I haven't read any other books by this author, but plan on doing so as she seems to cover some social media issues in her other stories as well

**Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary cops of THE WAY IT HURTS in exchange for my honest review.**

Eli maintains a rock star attitude to keep up appearances for his band. Underneath his cool exterior, he worries his parents want to send his social needs sister, Anna, to a residential home. Kristen is broadway bound hoping to follow in her grandmother Etta's footsteps. She has no time for heavy metal music or sexist players like Eli. But when Kristen joins his band, sparks fly setting in motion a series of viral posts, trolls and threats on and offline which bring the stressors in both their families to a crescendo.

Because of the way Patty Blount handles social issues with subtlety and purpose, she is a must read for me so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of THE WAY IT HURTS. Both Eli and Kristen have interesting, complex families and backstories. I loved her devotion to Etta and his to Anna. Anna's storyline with both profound autism and a chromosomal disorder and the severity of her conditions with a residential facility a real possibility is not often found in YA literature and was realistically portrayed, except the availability of centers and no mention of funds to pay for such a costly facility. I appreciated how Blount dealt with the more severe side of the spectrum with no easy answers. Eli's devotion to Anna was incredibly sweet.

Plotwise, THE WAY IT HURTS started slow with band and music details setting up the important second half of the story. I couldn't put the book down during the last 50%.

THEMES:

-Miscommunication on and offline filled the story, with both characters often making assumptions without checking for the source.
-Internet bullies and trolling
-Danger of giving location online
-The importance of family
-Special needs siblings
-Misogyny

THE WAY IT HURTS has broad appeal to male and female audiences including reluctant readers. She delivers social commentary subtly without beating readers over the head with her important points.

Elijah needs to win to support his special needs sister, Anna who is thirteen to his seventeen and facing being admitted to a residential facility due to her severe autism.

Kristen wants to make her grandma proud so getting rejected from New York performance college hits her hard until Elijah approaches her about singing with his band after hearing her perform live at their school despite her singing musical theatre not rock. Eli supports her as her grandma later suffers a bad stroke despite their turbulent relationship.

Throughout the book, there are a lot of sexists remarks made as well as online interactions under pseudonym handles on websites. When Eli and Kristen confront what's being said about mainly Kristen, they argue but get past it eventually despite feeling attracted to each other and sharing a kiss, they go on to date others for a while as the pressure gets too much as news stations pick up on their band's drama the pressure could prove too much for them all...

It was a very dramatic book and I did feel like Kristen was a weak female character throughout just taking what's said and letting Eli try and deal with it especially at the end of the book when the future is revealed about what they're doing now.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I have read other music stories that feel better than this. I couldn't follow along with it at all

I have read other music stories that feel better than this. I couldn't follow along with it at all

I really loved Patty Blount's previous books. But build up in The Way It Hurts took too long. From the description readers are lead to believe that the novel is about a social media backlash but almost the first half of the book is a typical YA musician/band novel with little substance. Mostly based on the stellar nature of the previous works by this author, I expected a lot more from this novel.