Review- Falling For You by Lisa Schroeder

Summary-

Rae's always dreamed of dating a guy like Nathan. He’s nothing like her abusive stepfather—in other words, he’s sweet. But the closer they get, the more Nathan wants of her time, of her love, of her...and the less she wants to give. 

As Rae’s affection for Nathan turns to fear, she leans on her friend Leo for support. With Leo, she feels lighter, happier. And possessive Nathan becomes jealous. 

Then a tragedy lands Rae in the ICU. Now, hovering between life and death, Rae must find the light amid the darkness…and the strength to fight for life and the love she deserves.

Review-

Falling For You is a heart breaking young adult novel. But the best part about it for me was that even through all of it never gave up on hope. It wasn't an easy or light read. It was more of a dark contemporary read but still it managed to send out a message. I think the line "Where light shines, darkness disappears" from the book fits its theme perfectly.

Rae is a normal high school student. She lives with her mom and step dad. She works hard everyday in the hopes of getting away from her miserable life when she finally turns eighteen. Rae was a sensible character. She had her head on her shoulders and was very responsible. The abuse she had to face at home from her step dad was just horrendous. Her mother's neglect of the whole thing made the situation even more pitiful.

But Rae has no choice but to get through till she turns eighteen. She just craves for some love and affection. Here comes in the new boy at school, Nathan. Nathan seems like the guy she's always dreamed of. On the outside Nathan seems perfect but as she starts getting to know him his controlling and crazy possessive way makes Rae fear him.

All along this, quietly supporting her and giving her strength is her friend Leo. Leo was a super sweet guy. He was kind and gentle and just wanted to be there for Rae always. But Rae's hesitant because of her disastrous experience with Nathan. I loved the slow pace at which Leo and Rae got closer. Romance is definitely not the focus in the book but it was nice none the less.

Falling For You is filled with beautiful poems Rae writes. I think those were the best parts of the book. At times the conversations felt a little broken as if they couldn't flow smoothly. That was my only complaint. The book is realistic. It touches a number of subjects and was portrayed quite well. If you're looking for a dark contemporary read Falling For You is the book.

Janhvi