But+I+Love+Him

//But I Love Him// by Amanda Grace

Ann had her whole life ahead of her. She had a great track career and a best friend. She had college applications coming up and a whole lifetime of opportunity. Then she met Connor. Ann isn't sure quite when it happens, it was no one point in time. Slowly she gives up sports, friends, fun, future and happiness. But she's happy when she's with him. He's all she wants—he's all she has. I think this is an important one to have on the list. It is all about being in a bad relationship with a mildy abusive boyfriend. I think many girls would be able to spot the signs of a bad relationship forming if they read books like this and Bitter End by Jennifer Brown. This is not one for boys though, I don't think it would appeal to them at all. Definitely for older readers too.

-Brittany Moore Hall Memorial Library.

This was an okay book with a dark subject matter; physical and psychological abuse. The story is told in reverse. It starts with the climax and goes to the point of when everything happened. The whole story is literally backwards. Because the story is backwards is the reason (for me, at least) why it isn't as intense. The author stated though that it is written this way because she want people to get mad at the main character for not getting out of the bad relationship sooner. This way you aren't exactly sure when things so horribly bad. It was an interesting concept and it kept my attention.

The main character, Ann, is a typical highschool girl who has goals and dreams. She is on the cross country team and she has a summer job, a best friend, etc. But all of that changes after she meets Connor, the antagonist. The abuse doesn't start right away even though because the book is told back to front you know that when you first start reading he is an abuser. It is slowly thrown into a relationship with a bunch of "sorrys" by the bad party.

I don't support this being on the list. I don't think it was well-written or appealing enough. I thought that Dessen's book, Dreamland, was much better on this topic.

Kathy Watson Kimball Library, Atkinson