*TRIGGER WARNING... Suicide*
This was a good book. You can feel as it you are part of it. The plot and characters are well-balanced. I found myself completely lost from reality into this book!

“…things happen. Bad things. Good things. And we can’t do anything to stop them. Sometimes life just has to play itself out.”

This book! As a long time fan of Ellen Hopkins and her refusal to back away from tough topics, I was excited to give Heidi's novel a read in hopes that it too would tackle the grittier side of Paige's struggles. And I was not disappointed.

I really wanted to like this one but I just did not care for it. I found a hard time getting lost in to the story, I found myself not being able to focus or connecting with the characters.

I wasn't 100% sure what to expect with this book, just that it would be a crazy and edgy ride which it was for sure. Inspired by a true series of events that happened in the author's hometown of Palo Alto in 2015 where a group of teens ended up falling prey to what was called a "contagious teen suicide cluster". Paint My Body Red, takes us to the hometown in California of Paige Mason where their senior year the class and town will experience several of their classmates committing suicides by jumping in front of trains. The last was Paige's stepbrother Ty and this caused her a major breakdown, Paige's mother was worried and afraid that Paige would be next and so on a whim to save her daughter, she sent her to visit her father's ranch in Wyoming. Paige's dad is dying and they aren't sure how long he has to live as he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and is becoming a shell of the cowboy he once was. Here on the ranch, Paige though with the help of her dad, Anna, and Jake - she will slowly find her old self and the part that had been getting depressed will dissolve into a happier Paige. One who loves the country air and everything surrounding the ranch. Here she feels at home and a strong peace that she hasn't felt for a long time. Within this book, Paige also keeps a diary where she writes about what happened in the past leading up to the decision that made her come and stay with her dad. I liked this book, as you can see how much Paige was struggling and that love and people making an effort can change someone's perspective on life.

From reading Kling’s other novel, Sea, I knew that Paint My Body Red would be beautiful and suffused with emotion. And it didn’t disappoint. The writing was nice, the characters were real and deep, the storyline was so, so intriguing. The only thing that I didn't like (which is the reason why I gave this book a 4 instead of a 5) was there was too much usage of the f-word for my tastes (and a little bit of sexual content). But, that is just me, and it didn’t necessarily take away from the story. Sometimes I felt the swearing fit the characters—I guess—but I still didn’t care for it. However, that was the only bad thing for me. The rest of the novel was good.

For most of the novel, I could not stop reading. I was so anxious to find out the truth, find out what really happened to Paige and what happened with Ty. Ty was a mystery, and I wanted so much to find out more about him. That’s part of the reason that kept me reading. Ty was such a broken character and he needed love, but he just went searching in the wrong place for it.

I really liked the set-up of the story. It’s told in the now of Paige’s story, and then it goes into flashbacks of her past as she writes in her journal in an attempt to sort out what happened and to let her feelings out. I felt that this added depth to Paige’s story and allowed the reader to live what Paige went through. It was actually hard to read sometimes, as I found out bit by bit what Paige was going through. I felt her pain. This is one thing that I think Kling does so well. She really gets people and how people think, and so the emotions that her characters have feel real. And for me, even if a book isn’t written amazingly with beautiful writing and complex, intriguing plots, as long as it has the right emotion, I will love that book.

This book, however, didn’t lack in plot or character development or writing style. Basically it had everything good going for it. I particularly liked Jake and his charm and honesty. He was what Paige needed. He helped show her what real love could be like. That was a beautiful romance, definitely not without its trials, but, I think trials help make something beautiful and stronger. A lesson exemplified through Paige as she found her own strength and courage and love for herself.

This book was such a great read. I would recommend it to readers looking for a deeply emotional, haunting story that is so dense that it’s hard to read sometimes because it hurts, but that’s so intriguing you can’t put it down, and that is so beautiful because of its characters trying so hard to live and love.

*I would like to thank the publicist for Entangled TEEN for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for a review!*

I was so eager to pick up this book. The premise is about a teen who is sent to stay at her father's ranch for a while. Because back at home, one by one, students are committing suicide. Her mother is terrified that she might be next, so in a move to protect her daughter, sends her where she thinks she'll be the safest!

The story is told alternating between the past, and present. I thought the author did a really good job of weaving the two time tables together quite seamlessly. The character's are quite compelling and the often shied away from topic of suicide is address masterfully.

This was full of twists and mysterious situations, everything I love! This was a really quick and entertaining read, highly recommend it!