REVIEW: TO MY HERO ~ A BLOG OF OUR JOURNEY TOGETHER by DANIELLE SIBARIUM

Series: Stand alone
Category/Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
Publisher: KFR Communications
Publication Date: 4/13
Format: ebook
Pages: 258
Source: Received from author for review

It would’ve been different if I had courage, even an ounce of it. But I was a coward from the day I met you, Ryan Crowley. I still am. In the end it doesn’t matter. The bottom line is the same. It’s my fault.

When the unthinkable happens Carly Cavanough is left beaten, betrayed, and devastated. Her best friend doesn’t understand. Her parents won’t listen. Everyone in her life turns against her. She’s alone. Completely alone, except for Ryan Crowley, the boy she’s been crushing on for years. She won’t admit to him what she can’t admit to herself. But he understands without words. He knows more about what she’s going through than she can possibly imagine and he knows what it will take to start the healing.

With Ryan’s help Carly begins to piece together the fragments of her once perfect life and embarks on a journey of love and healing, just long enough for the rug to be pulled out from under her again. Can she find the strength and will to pull herself together to save Ryan and herself when their lives are on the line?

 

 

To My Hero: A Blog of Our Journey Together was a powerful story, told in a very unique manner. The story consists of a series of entries, from Carly to Ryan, told in chronological order. It is told with a strong sense of foreboding, and begins a horrific event. As To My Hero goes on, it continues to tell of Carly's journey with Ryan past that intense beginning, leading to another night in which events become out of control.

 

I know what I've said about To My Hero is terribly vague, but I'm not quite sure what to say about it, without ruining the story. Going into it, all I knew was that this was Carly's version of hers' and Ryan's story, it was told in a blog format, that it seemed that something awful had happened to her, and that Ryan is her hero. And this is exactly what happens, but the fragile, yet strong, loving, and sweet relationship between Ryan and Carly is what made this story shine.

 

Ryan was a dream come true for me. I love a thoughtful young man (ugh, I sound OLD) who genuinely wants the very best for the girl he loves.  A guy who will go to the mat to make sure she is taken care of, with no expectations. Carly was not easy for Ryan to always be there for. And that is okay. Here's the deal, girls who go through what Carly has, have every right to cry, withdraw, doubt, be angry, and unreasonable. It hurts me to see readers call girls, particularly teens who've been abused "dumb". The point of Carly's journey isn't that she begins the story handling everything well and making the best decisions. The point is that Carly, with a lot of love and help from Ryan, learns and grows.

 

To My Hero deals with tough subject matter, but in a very thoughtful and well-handled manner. Some of what we're dealing with here is sexual trauma. And this leads me to say: I take issue with all of the books that use sexual trauma as a plot device in a careless way. I know that the trauma can be a jumping point for drama, but you know what? Good sex with a hot guy does not heal the pain of sexual assault/abuse. I'm sorry, it just doesn't.  And for Sibarium's very thoughtful take on the aftermath, I have to give her major, major credit. I'm not making a comparison story-wise, but as far as responsible handling of sexual trauma goes, I would compare this book to Easy by Tammara Webber.

 

To My Hero is a story that caught me by surprise. I was taken by Carly's story, the connection and relationship between her and Ryan, and ultimately their journey together.

 



 

Favorite Quote:

  "What if I want strings?"
  You stopped and turned to me, your blue eyes betraying your surprise. "What?"
  "What if I want strings? What if I want to pick up where we left off? What if what I really want are thick steel cables that no one can sever, tying us together?"   ~ Kindle,30%
 

 

 

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