Far From You

Just take all the stars, Far From You. I finished this book this morning, and I still can't stop thinking about it! Books with real LBGQT characters are few and far between. Books where that person is a main character, and you can honestly feel their pain through the words? Even fewer and farther between. I just want to hug this book. I want to buy a ton of copies and just pass them out to the masses. I really enjoyed this.

“But my heart isn't simple or straightforward. It's a complicated mess of wants and needs, boys and girls: soft, rough, and everything in between, an ever-shifting precipice from which to fall.”

That quote only highlights how well Sophie's bi-sexuality is handled in Far From You. This is a topic that is often misrepresented, but I can honestly say that I felt like Tess Sharpe handled it like a pro. Not only that, but she managed to weave in dealing with addiction, the power of friendship, what it's like to become reliant on someone, and feeling misunderstood. Every word had a purpose. Every piece of this book had something to say. Yet, it never became too much. It was never heavy handed. I found myself sitting right next to Sophie, and all I wanted to do was reach out and hold her hand.

Now, there is also a mystery here. One that, in my opinion, is perfectly meshed into the story. Contrary to what normally happens when I read mystery/thriller books, I didn't see the ending coming. That made me happy. It also made me really sad, but that was more because Sophie had already been through so much. I just wanted happiness for her. I know that some readers didn't like the mystery aspect. You might not. Still, I can't deny that I thought it made for a great addition to this book. It gave Tess Sharpe a great excuse to keep flashing back to Sophie and Mina's younger days, and it was a beautiful thing.

In case you couldn't already tell, I fell desperately in love with this book. When I start reading at night, and actually pass out trying to keep reading, I know that I've fallen hard. It was Sophie, it was Trev, it was Mina, all keeping me reading well into the night. Such a great cast of characters, in an equally amazing book.