REVIEW: Trust by Kylie Scott

OUR REVIEW:

Shel: Over the last year or so we've enjoyed having some of our favorite contemporary romance writers venturing into the YA world which is the world you'll enter in Trust--a mature YA world. It starts off in tragedy involving our heroine, Edie, and follows her as she tries to work through all of the trauma and stress of that night. Edie's reactions--from closing herself off from the people who hurt her, lashing out and standing up for herself, to finding friends who could be worthy and protective of her, and feeling both apathy, restlessness, stress, and a desire to explore and push boundaries--seemed exactly how many teenagers and adults would cycle after such an event. What makes this novel so readable, though, is that those harder emotional moments are balanced out with a lot of humor and vulnerability and awkwardness and I think that, especially, is something that teens will relate to. It's that jumble of all sorts of emotions that may not always seem to go together (and they way she expresses them) that makes Edie so fun to read. 

Court: I declare this to be the best young adult novel that I have read in at least 5 years. It is a top favorite because of all of the things Shelley listed, but to expound on that a little bit...it is the epitome of the teenage experience...especially as you're transitioning into adulthood. The trauma she experienced and how she dealt with it...and just learned to be okay in her skin as she is bullied and having to make new friends and be betrayed by people she trusted....it is just the most well rounded, well written book I have read this year, as well. Kylie Scott is an exceptionally talented author and I feel like I have been made better by her words. 

Shel: The secondary characters--Hang, Anders, and especially John--also provide great comic relief and a way for Edie to learn how to live and trust after living through such a horrific event. I loved the friend group Kylie Scott created for Edie and all of the parties and places she invented; they had this great blend of reality and fiction that gave it a John Hughes film quality to the story arc and now that I'm thinking about it, this would make a great teen film: tons of humor, sarcasm, angst, and trauma with an underlying pathos that makes it so relatable. Trust is a book I would love to add to my classroom bookshelf; I know I'd have a lot of students who'd love it. Court:  Right! I am going to get this one on my bookshelf so I can lend it far and wide...It has all of the flair of a teen drama, with a traumatic event that will keep you guessing...as well as a beautiful coming of age story that really explores the relationship with John and Edie as they go from survivors to friends to maybe something more...John is a great character. He's honest. He communicates. He really grows as a character in this book and helps Edie grow and I loved the two of them together. Another late night caused by Kylie Scott and you definitely will not hear me complain.

BUY THE BOOK: http://amzn.to/2uXs5Nl

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.

After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen-year-old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.

While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.

An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.

Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.