I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Stepping Off Place by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum Series: The Stepping Off Place #1
Published by Quill Tree Books on 7/28/20
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pages: 480
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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It’s the summer before senior year. Reid is in the thick of Scofield High’s in-crowd thanks to her best friend, Hattie, who has been her social oxygen since middle school.
But summer is when Hattie goes to her family’s Maine island home. Instead of sitting inside for eight weeks, waiting for her to return, Reid and their friend, Sam, enter into a pact—to live it up, one party at a time.
But days before Hattie is due home, Reid finds out the shocking news that Hattie has died by suicide. Driven by a desperate need to understand what went wrong, Reid searches for answers.
In doing so, she uncovers painful secrets about the person she thought she knew better than herself. And the truth will force Reid to reexamine everything.
Short and Sweet
Reid and Hattie are best friends, but when Hattie dies by drowning Reid’s world comes crashing down. But when they say that Hattie committed suicide, Reid just doesn’t understand how. Reid starts to question Hattie’s death and if there were any clues her past that could have showed this outcome.
Characters
Reid: Reid is interesting to say the least. She feels like she needs Hattie to survive, Hattie is the push Reid needs to go out and do things like go to parties or talk to people. Without Hattie, Reid basically has to figure out who she is without her best friend.
Hattie: Hattie is someone who is brave and is ready for an adventure. When we do have scenes with Hattie in them we see she’s always trying to push Reid out of her comfort zone and help her try new things. Hattie seemed normal during the times we do see her.
Sam (Hammy): Sam is a friend of Reid’s and he and Reid decide to hangout together because Hattie will be gone the whole summer. I liked Sam he was a really good friend, he would try to make sure Reid and fun and after Hattie’s death he was there to make sure she was okay.
Quotes
~ “She knew me better than I knew myself.”
My Thoughts
~ So we only get Reid’s POV but the book alternates from the past to the present. In the past we get to see how Reid and Hattie were together and in the present we see how Reid is dealing with Hattie’s death.
~ I liked Reid at the beginning of the book and later I realized that she’s grieving Hattie’s death but the way she was treating people ruined her character for me. I didn’t like how hopeless she was being she really felt like she couldn’t survive without Hattie but she had all this support around her but it was like she wouldn’t try.
~ Like I mentioned earlier Reid was grieving for what felt like 3/4’s of the book. She also started getting a little crazy she was too much for me.
~ Reid obviously didn’t want to believe Hattie died by suicide so she came up with theories she also tried to do a little investigating into Hattie’s life and last moments.
~ I liked seeing how everything came together, Hattie may have seemed fine but as the book progresses everything clicks.
Overall
The book started off great and I was interested in seeing the friendship between Hattie and Reid. Towards the end I was put off by Reid’s attitude and how she was treating people. Overall the book was okay but the only thing that kept me from loving it was Reid.
