Trust

I picked this up on a whim but got pleasantly surprised and sucked into the story. The beginning for sure was an interesting way to start the book but pulled me in nonetheless. I loved Edie and I loved John (honestly I LOVED Anders, the most).

I really enjoyed the progression of their relationship. And Edie's inner monologue exploring anxiety, panic attacks, night terrors, and PTSD symptoms felt really well presented from the perspective of a teenager trying to deal after everything that happened to her and John.

Normally I would get bored with books of similar boy meet girl, girl like boy, boy wants to be friends until - f e e l i n g s. The way the author wrote this though was very compelling to me even with the pop culture references (a very small peeve of mine).

I liked that our main character is presented as a thicker girl and actually stayed that way throughout the book. I hate when I read a book about a plus sized woman/girl and it feels like her size changes throughout the book without the author meaning to. Here we had none of that, and yes she does get mean remarks and insults regarding her weight but she owns it.

I do kinda wish that this was dual POV but that's just me being spoiled and wanting to know what john was thinking a lot of the time. Like I could see what he was doing and guess how he felt but, uhhh what I wouldn't give to find what he felt the whole time.

People might have things to critique this about but I honestly can't find any fault in the book at all. I have this warm fuzzy feeling just thinking about it (ok maybe the ending was a little concise and short for me but still...). I have to give it 5 stars just cause I am real happy about just everything that happened.

If you love your characters real and snarky, you'll love Trust as much as I did.

Edie is a great heroine, vulnerable yet tough, whose character arc is superb.
John is the perfect hero for her.

Thoroughly enjoyed.

Trust hooked me in from the very first sentence, I was so enthralled by Edie and John's story that I literally couldn't put my Kindle down until I read every word!

Edie and John meet by chance, they interact with each other during a life threatening event that changes their lives. Edie never really fit into the private school she attended and after being held hostage during a robbery, she gets angry at a bully (good for her!) and ends up transferring to the local public high school where she runs into John.

John is trying to change his life around in order to achieve a different future. The path he was taking, drug dealing with his brother, doesn't work for him anymore and he wants to be better. So he's focusing in getting his grades up, thinking about his future, cleaning up his act. He can't believe when he sees Edie in his school. There's a connection between them, they need each other and even though superficially they couldn't be more different, they have so much more in common than even they thought possible.

I absolutely loved Edie. She's so damn brave, fierce, funny, she just kept fighting back and I it's impossible not to fall in love with her. Honestly, one of the toughest heroines I've read and she's only 17! And yes, she's flawed but even in her moments of insecurity she's stunningly honest with herself. I also loved John, how he shares glimpses of his feelings, his past, what he wants for his future, how he feels a little lost but he just keeps pushing himself to be better, how protective he gets and how he's so sweet with Edie. The secondary characters were also really good, I fell in love with Hang, Anders kept making me laugh and I wanted even more of Carrie and Sophia too, the power of friendship is perfectly shown. 

Honestly, Trust was so much more than what I thought it would be: brilliantly written, realistic, angsty, heartbreaking, breathtaking, addictive and powerful. Definitely, a top favorite, a must read and a game changer.