There is an audience for every book--I am not a member of the audience for WHEN I CAST YOUR SHADOW. The relentless incest and toxic relationships made me feel sick to my stomach.

I really struggled to get through this book. I put it down at least five times, only to give it another chance after a few days. The summary sounded so intriguing, I kept thinking that it would get better if I stuck it out just a bit longer. Unfortunately, it wasn't well-executed and never got better, which made for a tedious and problematic read.

After Dashiell "Dash" Bohnacker's untimely demise due to an overdose, his family is struggling to come to terms with their loss. Ruby, Dashiell's little sister, seeks solace in her dreams about her older brother. However, these dreams soon take a dark turn and Ruby becomes an unwitting host to her brother's spirit as he attempts to escape the Land of the Dead. Everett, Ruby's twin brother, realizes what has happened and begins a quest of his own to save his sister.

I think most of my problems with this book stemmed from the fact that I didn't like any of the characters. I wasn't able to connect with any of them and I honestly felt uncomfortable due to some of their actions. At times, Ruby seemed almost like a small child instead of a teenager. I couldn't understand any of her actions, particularly once she knew the truth. There was also an incestuous aspect of her relationship with Dash that really creeped me out. As for Dash and Everett, neither was well developed and I was never able to understand their motivations. Additionally, I was never convinced of Dash being a good or lovable person, despite the centrality of that idea to the story. Overall, none of the characters felt even remotely like real people to me.

I honestly wasn't sure of what the plot was for a majority of the story. There was no explanation for how or why any of the events were happening. Also, there was also a tendency to tell, not show. There were also a few scenes that really disturbed me. The worst one was the sex between Everett and Dash's pregnant girlfriend while Dash was inhabiting Everett's body (Yes. That seriously happened. I had to stop reading for a while after it). Additionally, none of the characters even reacted to any of the paranormal occurrences. Instead of freaking out or anything, Ruby and Everett just took everything in stride. On top of everything, the villain had absolutely no depth or reasoning for any of his actions.

This book just wasn't for me. When I Cast Your Shadow had an incredibly intriguing premise but ultimately had a poorly developed plot and unlikeable characters.

DNF at 50%

Conceptually - this had the potential to be a really fantastic book. That said, the actual execution left little to be desired. I completely understand what the author was trying to do here and to some extent she was successful. I mean Ruby and Everett truly encapsulate the idea of how far one will go for the people they love. And an examination of sibling relationships/rivalries? Count me in! I think where the author starting losing me was with the slow-moving and almost wayward plot as well as the inability to ever really connect with any of the characters. Ruby's over the top admiration for her older brother had me cringing and it made her chapters all the more difficult to read. In terms of Everett, while I liked him well-enough, I also never really felt all that invested in him either. And Dashiell, I just, well, he felt like such a caricature, so much so that it bordered on annoying. And because these character flaws felt so blatant to me it made it all the more difficult to really immerse myself in their stories.

In addition to my inability to connect with the characters, I also never really felt like I was getting a handle on the purpose of all of this taking over of bodies and death/demons/evil beings (or whatever they were) wanting what's theirs, etc. etc. etc. While I could see all of the pieces, I simply couldn't put them all together in a way that not only felt cohesive but also allowed me to really understand why I was supposed to care what happened to any of these people.

At the end of the day, I wanted to like this novel, I really did, and I may revisit it after it's published and put on our library shelves, but for now, after doing more skimming than reading, I have to throw in the towel. It's simply taking way too long.

I want to thank NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing me with this copy in exchange for an honest review

This is the kind of book you love or hate, and although I really wanted to like it, it wasn't like that. I ended up struggling to finish it, and although it has moments in which I thought it would improve, I really think it was bored and problematic

1/5 Stars

The story follows the Bohnacker family after the death of the oldest son, Dashiell. One of his sisters Ruby misses him so much that she begins to dream about him, but what begins as an innocent dreams due to a great and difficult loss, becomes something more and Ruby begins to be possessed by the spirit of his late brother, at this way he tries to return to finish his unfinished busines, but after a while his other brother Everett, after talking with Dash through Ruby realizes that the objectives of his brother are much darker than they imagined


I know that sounds incredible and in fact, the idea is great, but I feel that it hasn't been well executed, I can see the concept and I get it, but it hasn't worked for me


I had many difficulties with the characters, I feel that everyone has something that makes me feel uncomfortable or just doesn't make me understand their actions or their thoughts. Ruby is extremely naive and somewhat silly at times, I don't think she adds much to the story to be honest. We have Dash, he's nasty and his "purposes" weren't enough to convince me otherwise, I couldn't stand his presence and lastly we have Everett who was the character that I liked the most, but unfortunately his POVs are focused on his sister, so I feel that I haven't been able to get to know him more deeply, at least he's the least psychopath in the family.

I feel that the way in which the characters react to the paranormal facts is too fake, it's like they experience that kind of thing every day or something, it hasn't felt real for me


It's supposed to be the story of a family that goes through a great loss and we're also supposed to see how they deal with that, which I found deep , interesting and I thought that could give the book a very good complement. That never happened, I didn't find a well-assembled family but I found very different individuals from each other living under the same roof. As they relate to each other is so weird and has made me feel chills, in fact, there's something very incestuous happening here, which has made me feel really uncomfortable.
The father of these guys is so creepy, and maybe it's the idea, but even so, that didn't work for me, I think if there was something that had to be solid in a plot like this was the family unit but I didn't find that


Leaving the negative aside, the idea itself and the paranormal fact it's good, I feel that the author had a brilliant idea but I couldn't say that it was well executed. Even so, if I finished the book, miraculously, it was thanks to the author's writing style, although it is not of my favorites, it is quite fluid


Finally, I think that when situations are happening there has to be a justification for them. Things happen all the time in this book, without explanation. I need to know why or what has led them to make those decisions, but I still don't know

In short, if I would have to describe this book in one word it will be uncomfortable or strange. It's a shame that I didn't like it, I thought I would find a great mystery book with a paranormal touch, I thought it would be worth it, because I've heard great things about the author but maybe it just not for me, so being honest, I would not recommend it, except that you're looking for a book with a very disturbing family dynamics or something like that.

PS: I want to clarify that as always, the idea is not to offend those who have enjoyed the book (in fact it makes me very happy if you liked it), but it's just to express my opinion as honestly as possible, with respect guys, thanks for reading

This book, man. I wanted to like it so much, but I just couldn’t. I really love the way Sarah Porter writes – she makes you feel uncomfortable while at the same time making you unable to put the book down. The relationship between Ruby and her dead brother, Dashiell, made me a little too uncomfortable, though, and I mostly wanted to kill Dashiell all over again. Ruby is also incredibly naïve and everyone around her tries to keep her that way, which is just annoying. Everett was the most likeable, but even he ended up making me super uncomfortable with his thoughts about the women he knows. The writing style didn’t make up for having such unlikeable characters – seriously, every single character was unlikeable. I usually like books like that, but this one was just too weird, too incestuous, too much for me. I almost DNF’d it but I wanted to see how things would play out so I skim read from about 60% to the end and it just kept getting weirder. So, yeah, if you like weird books, maybe give this one a try. Hopefully you’ll have a better experience with it.

A teenage girl calls her beloved older brother back from the grave with disastrous consequences.

This is what caught my eye when I came across this book on Goodreads. Not really in the genre that I usually read, but I was really intrigued. I do enjoy a good haunting/ghost story - while it had that dark and eery vibe to it, it kind of fell through on being super spooky.
I also had a really hard time connecting with the characters. They seem to speak, and act as if they were quite young rather than mid-teenage. The relationship Ruby and Dashiell was definitely pretty uncomfortable. She had an infatuation with her brother that was not at all sibling-like.
With that being said, I do like the idea behind this but I wish it had been executed differently.

I think that the idea behind the story was an interesting one that I have not read before. This book puts a new spin on grieving the loss of a loved one and how it can affect someone. All of the members of the family in this book are grieving Dashiell differently. Ruby has the most difficulty moving on and is clinging to any pieces of him she has left while Everett and her father are moving on in different ways. I also found the author's take on the land of the dead and forces that are in charge there to be creepy and descriptive. The author transports you there with her words and paints a vivid picture.

I think that if it weren't for the odd family dynamic and characters that I felt I couldn't relate to that I would have really enjoyed the story. It seemed like there was an odd romantic undertone in the relationship between Dashiell and Ruby. I know that she idolized him but it comes off in a manner that reminds me of unrequited love. It made me uncomfortable which made it difficult to continue reading the book. I also thought that the family dynamic with Ruby, Everett, Dashiell, and their Dad was peculiar. It didn't seem like any family dynamic that I had seen before and I wasn't sure what to make of it. I had a hard time wrapping my head around it.

I found it very hard to connect with the characters which in turn made it difficult to connect to the story. Everett was the only character that I liked because he seemed to be the only person with any redeeming qualities. Ruby seemed to need therapy because she had some deep seated issues. I didn't like Dashiell so I didn't really care what happened to him although I did find him interesting. It seemed like everyone but the father and to a certain extent Everett thought that Dashiell walked on water but he was so manipulative. He gave Ruby so many backhanded compliments or even nasty ones but it's like she was basically saying "thank you sir may I have another".

Eh. Really: eh. I'm not sure about this review. Never had this feeling? Let's me sat that I was excepting this book to in a certain way, and well, it's. But there's the other side, the dark side. That made me sound really tragic and dramatic.
But When I Cast Your Shadow isn't trying to give a good example. It talks about a dysfunctional family, extremely problematic, and a part of me wants to scream: "that's not family!". Yet, this doesn't make the Bohnacker less truthful or real.

The family is wrong on so many levels, full of bias, ready to hurt itself every time it can. There's nothing right.
The protagonists are problematic too. They're walking flaws. And that made me reflect. Yes, we should read more about good examples in books, but that doesn't make the Bohnacker less... valid? I don't even know if this can be considered as the right term. They're characters who grew up in bad place and that surely had its consequences on their mind and way to act.
Does it make them right? No. They're still problematic. They're quite stupid and cruel too.

So, I basically spend all of the book immersed in a strange morbid book with a mix of interest and me screaming: "stops, you all have big problems!"
Basically, don't open this book if you're searching from flowers and rainbows.
On a scale from the better to the worst, Evrett is the one who save himself. He does any wrong things but at least he tries to save the situation.

Ruby is... full of illusions? Completely under Dashiell's influence? Or maybe she knows what her so loved big brother is trying to do? Maybe deep inside her she knows it. But I don't think so. Don't expect Ruby to be your strong female protagonist because she's terribly blind to whole world, to who is hurting her and to who is trying to save for real.
It was frustrating. Every time she was right there to change, capable to turn the events... she went right straight to: NOPE.

Dashiell has all my hate. And he deserves it. At a certain point of the book I asked myself: but the alive-Dashiell was trying to change? I had the feeling to have read some hints. Yet dead-Dashiell is a classic selfish asshole, who never care about hurting the people he says to care about. I really think that even if Aloysius is the bad guys of the book, Dashiell was a villain too.

For ending this review, I note of interest should be written about the Land of the Dead and Porter's interpretation of it. It's strange her crazy just like her way of writing promises. Anyway, When I Cast Your Shadow is the kind of book that makes me say two things at the same time: "try out this creepy and sick book" and "don't open it".
Not so sure about how much my opinion about is going to help you with it. I liked this one? Yes. Problematic issue? Yes again. Did I feel them as justified? Not really.

I was hoping I would love this book, but it was nothing like what I was expecting. I really didn’t like it…

I really enjoy paranormal stories, especially ones that make me believe it could actually be real. And although this one felt scary, it mainly felt messed up and it didn’t grip me at all. I was so confused and bored, I couldn’t care less about any of it.

Basically, this story is about Dash after he died due to an overdose. He was loved by everyone, especially his sister Ruby and also Everett (Ruby’s twin brother). But although Dash is dead it doesn’t mean he is completely gone, and so he starts visiting Ruby in her dreams trying to reach her, to possess her and her brother, to escape the world he is in now.

Sounds awesome right? Well, it wasn’t. I couldn’t understand Ruby’s obsession love for Dash. It was irrational since he is basically the worst person ever. And although I understand that he was very good manipulating people it still didn’t make me believe Ruby could be that stupid.

Dash is a narcissist and an idiot. I couldn’t care less what would happen to him. But above all, I couldn’t handle a lot of things that happen because of him. Some of them just disgusted me and made me highly uncomfortable. I just couldn’t and I even thought about DNFing it after that (although I clearly didn’t because I was still hoping it could get better. Well, the tidy bit it did, didn’t really compensate the rest).

And then, we have Everett. I actually enjoyed his character until the point where he starts to be pitied and I just started losing interest. But he was the best of them all.

The characters were just very weird and not very realistic in my opinion. They were very unreliable which I normally love, but in this case did not. Especially Ruby… She was so incredibly annoying! She couldn’t make up her mind about anything, she didn’t have any other thought that didn’t include Dash in it and I just couldn’t understand her. Until the point, I started to understand and I just had to close the book because it was that bad.

And then we still have the villain of the story, that once again didn’t make sense to me. He just sort of appeared and that’s about it. There wasn’t much reason for him to be like he was or even to be there at all.

To sum up, the characters were weird and I couldn’t understand them, and I’m basically on the verge of hating them.

I really wanted to like this book and I thought the idea was really great, I didn’t really like the execution. Even the world that was supposed to feel dark and thrilling did nothing for me…

I didn’t have any problem with the writing tho, so I do intend on trying other books from the author, especially Vassa in the Night that I heard to be really good and I love anything with Russian folklore in it. Hopefully, I will like it better than this one, because this book was definitely not for me.

Do you like the CW tv show Supernatural? If so, this book might be for you. This is another case of ‘the dead won’t stay dead.’ I would call it a possession, not some kind of weird fantasy or dream-state type of magic. The book was dark, eerie, and magical, mostly because of the writing. The diction in the novel reminded me of the language used in fantasy novels. The kind where characters speak in rhymes and riddles. So yes, conversations between characters sounded very odd.

This book was definitely twisted. An example is that the premise explained how Dashiell decided to possess Ruby, his little sister. It was a harrowing experience for the living Bohnacker siblings when their big brother decided that the best possible course of action was to possess his siblings. Then again, what can you expect from a brother with an unclean track record?

Some characters appeared to be wicked, some were dull, and a few were heroic. I would say that Everett is my favorite character because he was a logical person. But when it comes to his sister, he was willing to put himself in danger in order to protect her. It reminded me of what Sam and Dean would do for each other in Supernatural.

The side characters (and their roles) were like page-fillers. They were simply there to help advance the plot. The villains were also predictable. They were the ‘cruel forces’ shrouded in mystery. Only when you finish the book will you ‘sort of’ understand what these creatures want. I’m still unclear on what they are… demons? monsters? evil spirits? I was bothered by the POVs from these creatures. Needless to say, this book has multiple POVs.

Also, I noticed the names were changing when the character is possessed (and not possessed). For instance, Dashiell would call Ruby, “Ruby Slippers,” and it would be the title for the chapter (which POV was speaking). If Ruby wasn’t possessed, the title would just be Ruby. I thought it was creative idea and I had to point it out!

If you haven’t been exposed to a lot of supernatural or paranormal books/tv shows/movies in the media, then you might not appreciate this book. I’ve seen a lot of people giving up on this book because of its uniqueness. It’s unique because I haven’t read anything like this before!

The plot is essentially about an evil supernatural force that is after Dashiell (along with other supernatural forces just like it), which is why Dashiell comes back to the land of the living and uses Ruby as a tether to the living. Of course, Everette wouldn’t let anything happen to Ruby (his twin) If you’re curious as to why and how Dashiell came back, then you might want to pick up this book.

Supernatural forces and drama all in one package? What more could you ask for? I’m definitely recommending this book to fans of the Supernatural tv show. I admit that I had trouble reading this book in the beginning because it was weird and slightly disturbing. This book wasn’t what I was expecting but I ended up enjoying it. I know it’s not for everyone, but I hope you enjoy the book if you do decide to read this.

DNF 8% - I committed to myself to try to read at least 15%, but I just couldn't. I honestly don't know why I requested this book, but it's just so weird and super dark right from the beginning. The writing's not that great either. Such a weird book.

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Plot: I will admit that I had completely different expectations going into this book. I was expecting more of a paranormal haunting, but When I Cast Your Shadow was more of a fantastical read. Regardless of my prior expectations, When I Cast Your Shadow was a wash for me because it was confusing from chapter one. The writing was overly flowery given the subject matter and it was all just...weird. I don't know how to describe it or even find a positive thing to report.

Characters: Ruby and her brother Everett were twins who recently lost their older brother. Ruby was the most distraught over her brother's death and kept dreaming about him. The family dynamic intrigued me at first. There was some underlying hatred that was never realized or explored. I found that to be the most disappointing because this was a family with a lot of baggage to unpack. Although Everett and Ruby were high schoolers, I found them to be a lot younger, this was mostly because they kept referring to each other by their childhood nicknames. You can only take someone who calls their brother "Never Ever" seriously for so long before it becomes cringeworthy.

Worldbuilding: There were two worlds that played a major role in this novel: our realm and the Land of the Dead. None of the overlap made much sense and I didn't think that the author made the best use of the realm of the dead.

Short N Sweet: I, unfortunately, can't recommend this novel or even try to explain what it was about.

Huge thank you to the lovely people at Tor for allowing me the opportunity to read this on NetGalley!

I absolutely LOVED Vassa in the Night so of course I was super excited about this new Sarah Porter book! I was not disappointed one bit! Sarah Porter still remains, in my mind, probably the most original and inventive YA author writing at the moment. Her work is definitely not for everyone since it is soooo dark and creepy, but if you can handle that kind of thing, I highly highly recommend her work.

When I Cast Your Shadow is extremely dark, and it deals with super twisted relationships between characters, both alive and dead. It is told from multiple perspectives, and the plot, such as it is, is very scattered (but not in a bad way). I thought the multiple perspectives were done extremely well, and each character had something to add to the story. The relationships between characters were delightfully twisted, and the scattered nature of the plot worked well for the story being told.

Highly highly recommend!!

DNF @14%

I wanted to like this, I really did. I was excited for the gritty mystery and dark paranormal elements to the story, but I did not like the characters or the writing - specifically the dialogue. I found the dialogue to be very juvenile. For me, it didn't fit with the tone of the story and the harsh threats that were present. I also didn't like any of the characters.

Ruby is incredibly naive, frustratingly so, and is completely blinded by her brother, only seeing him through rose-color glasses where he was a misunderstood genius, who was thoughtful and more lovable than she could ever hope to be. Her father is also kind of a psychopath, who readily admits he wish that Dash had died as an infant to prevent the taint of his influence from reaching Ruby and Everett. Everett was probably the most likable, but it seemed like even his chapters were focused on Ruby, not on his feelings or mindset.

This book just wasn't for me. I liked the idea of the books more than the actual book itself. The characters, Ruby especially, made it difficult to get into. I couldn't appreciate the dark elements of the story because of Ruby's personality and the dialogue's immaturity.

Hopefully other's will love this book, but it wasn't for me.

"I've been waking up every morning gasping and sobbing, my hands thrashing at the air as I try to grab him, stop him, before it's too late. That nightmare is bad enough, but this was so much worse."

Well... take a seat and grab a snack because I feel this is going to be a pretty long review (we'll see about that). I was really anticipating this book because it seems like a pretty creepy read now that fall is almost here and, yes, you guessed right, Halloween. So I was super excited to read it and love it so I could recommend it for Halloween. But unfortunately, this was a total no for me.

I haven't read anything by Sarah Porter before, though I own her previous book Vassa In The Night. So when I read the synopsis, it sounded like something creepy but not too scary for a little nugget like me. And, though the premise was pretty interesting, I had mayor problems with the story and the characters, and unfortunately for me, it wasn't as creepy or horror-y as I wanted it to be. 

"People almost never believe things because they're objectively true. They just believe in whatever made-up reality hurts them the least."

The characters were a mayor turn off to me. I hated all of them. When I started the book I didn't hate them but didn't like them either, but as I continued reading they started doing things that didn't make sense and it was a "no" to me. Ruby was incredibly naive and stupid, and she was one of the most annoying characters I've ever read from. Her way of thinking made no sense at all to me, and sometimes I felt she was acting like a twelve-year-old little girl instead of her actual age.

And oh, man, the relationship she had with her brother Dashiell was so messed up and toxic. If I was a bit upset before, this made me salty, guys. It was so toxic and problematic and she made it feel like it wasn't like that at all, and he loved her. And yeah, he might, but the things he did to her and the way Dashiell treated her was so bad and just because he needed something of hers and his younger brother, Everett, that nope. 

The only one I felt I didn't hate as much was Everett. Of course he wasn't perfect and there were plenty of things he did I didn't agree with, but if I have to choose one of the sibblings, I would choose him. He wasn't my cup of tea, but out of all of them, he made the most sense to me, and I liked his development. 

"Nothing here is real, but that doesn't mean this isn't a dangerous place for you. Unreality can follow you out of here by circuitous routes, Ruby-Ru, and dreams can have consequences years after you think they're long gone."

The story had that dark and eery vibe I wanted it to have, but having so many POVs was another mayor turn off to me. I didn't get why there were so many and not the three of the sibblings, because they only confused me even more and came out of nowhere. 

I'm so sad about the whole story because usually I really love books that are so confusing and twisted, but I considered multiple times DNFed it, but I pushed myself to conitnue just to see if the ending would compensate the whole story. And guess what? It did not. It wasn't as mindblowing as I hoped, and to be honest, I didn't like the ending, maybe because by that time I was pretty salty with the characters and the whole story. But oh, well. 

Another thing I noticed was that sometimes I felt like there was no plot at all. Maybe it was because the story was so slow and confusing and there weren't many things you understood, but at times I was thinking "okay, but what's the whole plot in this book???".

So overall, even though at first I thought this book was totally right of my alley and a perfect Halloween read, the story ended up disappointing me and the characters were incredibly problematic (yes, I'm talking to you, Dashiell!).

I recieved an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This doesn’t change my opinion whatsoever. All thoughts are my own.

*REVIEW WILL BE POSTED ON MY BLOG AND SOCIAL MEDIAS ON SEPTEMBER 7TH.*

I was a fan of Porter's debut, Vassa in the Night, and immediately knew I wanted to read this book. I found her writing to be quite captivating, and although her style leaned darker than my norm, I found that I enjoyed her storytelling and wanted more. When I Cast Your Shadow is a ghost story that involves possession, but it is also a story about a family that is grieving, about family dynamics, about trust, about penance.

"it's up to me to remember him the way he really was. To fight for his memory."

The supernatural aspects of the story were quite intriguing and also quite macabre. The descriptions of the dead lands and how the possessions were accomplished made my mouth both cringe and form an "O". Porter's writing really flourished in these parts, and there were definitely a few times that I got a little spine tingle.

"Dashiell is all over this house: the walls are made of his laughter, he permeates our skin, and the breath inside my lungs has the same wave as his hair."

I thought Porter did a great job exploring this family from all sides. First there was the relationship between Dash and each member of the family. In life, Dashiell was a difficult son and brother to love. He was an addict, who exhibited many of the standard addict behaviors. The lies and the manipulations left his brother and father with quite an unfavorable opinion of him, but Ruby was always and remained enchanted by him. There was also the relationship between Ruby and Everette. Everette was the brother who loved Ruby with no strings. He was willing to do anything to protect her, but I could not say the same for Dash. The entire family was under a cloud of grief over Dash's untimely death, while kind of still dealing with their abandonment issues, and this created some very complicated emotions within their home.

"Reality exists somewhere, maybe, but it's not where everybody thinks it is. Not in this kitchen. Not in my bowl of yogurt and granola. Not in this family."

I liked seeing how each character changed and grew over the course of this book. The changes were not immediate, but everyone experienced positive growth -- even Dash. The very last chapter of the book was from Dash's POV, and it took us into the future. I was really happy that Porter included this chapter, because it showed the outcome of all of this for Ruby, Everett, their dad, and even Dash's girlfriend. You could even say it told us how this entire incident changed Dash, and I always need that closure that it provided.

"And you'll be going home, to find out who you are without me, and who you can love instead. I think you'll know both those things soon."

After finishing my second Porter book, I can say that she has a dark and twisted style, which may not be for everyone. However, I loved how her books were a break from my norm and challenged me as a reader.

WHEN I CAST YOUR SHADOW isn't going to be a book for everyone, but it was definitely a book that I would have devoured as a teenager and I subsequently devoured as an adult. It's unapologetic in its darkness, but there are threads of light and whimsy underneath the odd and the intense. The cast of characters are all vividly drawn and the way Porter uses whimsical nicknames to mask the darkness is inspired. It's delightfully weird and incredibly imaginative and it's a book I've spent a long time thinking about after I finished the last page.

I absolutely loved Vassa in the Night, even if it was seriously weird. This book, however, could not hold my attention. I felt like the narrative wandered all over the place and rambled a lot, which made it boring and very easy to put down. I can't deny that Porter makes the effort to always do something unique, which I appreciate in a book world full of tropes and cliches, but taking a risk doesn't always work out. Here, it was too weird for me. It wasn't even that the story itself was too weird, but the style made it hard to get into. I will continue to look out for Porter's books, but this one was a miss for me.

I am very conflicted with how I feel about this book. I very into it at the beginning, and I loved the ending, but the middle fell flat for me.
The beginning of this book to me was really good, Sarah's writing pulled me in immediately, and I was hanging on every word. I was really into the character (I loved how different Ruby and Everette were; Ruby saw only the good in her brother Dash, and was blinded to all the bad things he had done, while Everette saw, for the most part, the bad stuff that Dash had done). I was also really into where the plot was going, because I honestly had no idea, but as the story went on I just started to loose my interest.
I don't know if it was because I have been in a mood lately where I want to only read cutesy contemporary book or because I have not had a lot of time to read because I was working so much, but I just didn't find myself needing to get back into reading the book once I had gotten about a fourth of the way into it. I was starting to loose interest in some of the characters (Ruby especially, she was starting to annoy me a bit) and the plot was just going way to slow for me.
I finally sat down with the book when I only have about 25% left to finish and made myself get through it, and the ending ended up bringing back my interest that I had in the beginning. One thing that the last portion of the book had that the beginning didn't was Elena, and I WISH she would have had a bigger part in this book. I think that this book do a fantastic job on not having a focus on romance (and instead having a big focus on family) so I don't think including Elena in the beginning to be this big romance plot would have been good, but I ended up really liking her character a lot so I would have liked to see more of her. Also, she just seemed to have been thrown in halfway through the book as an afterthought which I didn't like.
Finally, the ending was just perfect. It was wroth pushing myself though the book when I wasn't feeling it just to read those last couple of pages. I'm not going to say anything more because I don't want to spoil anything, but just know it was worth it.