While nothing has quite lived up to Eleanor & Grey (my first introduction to this author), I still enjoy her books and get excited each time I see a new release. Nobody does “real” and gritty as she does.
This is the story of Ian and Hazel. They live in a small town in Nebraska, but both have bigger plans: Ian is going to be a Rockstar (with his band, The Wreckage – catch that title) and Hazel is NOT going to be her mother.
When Hazel gets a job at the local patriarch’s ranch (Big Paw just happens to be Ian’s grandfather), Ian treats her….well, like the pigshit she has to dig out. But he has his reasons…or so he thinks.
With any Brittainy Cherry book, we get a lot of backstory on the two main characters, and they are fully developed people. One of the strengths of her writing is building these characters who feel like they could literally walk off the page at any moment.
This time she also captures the absolute hopelessness of a small town that has been ravaged by zero opportunities while also addressing the epidemic of meth and opioid use that tends to follow failing towns. Those passages are among the most raw and realistic.
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TheWreckageofus
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3ey4c4x
Amazon Audio: https://amzn.to/2ATroMy
As always, I was drawn to the characters and their relationship as they moved from hate to dislike to understanding to friendship and beyond. I love the way this author tracks relationships.
However, as with the past couple of books, there is a great build up but then the end seems rushed. There were a couple of character transitions that seemed a little rocky along the way, but once the inevitable split between Ian and Hazel occurs, it isn’t the end-all, be-all that it should be. Dare I say, there wasn’t enough angst?
And I was really ticked off that the resolution of Charlie, and even Jean to an extent, were both almost asides. Charlie especially deserved a much bigger end to his story. As it was, it seemed like an afterthought, or just a plot manipulation. It didn’t match the influence he had on the earlier parts of the story.
That being said, I enjoyed Ian and Hazel’s journey, just as I do each time I read this author. And I will still look forward to the next one.
