Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard Published by Macmillan Children's Books on February 11th 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Format: Physical
Source: Library
I was brave
She was reckless
We were trouble
Best friends Caddy and Rosie are inseparable. Their differences have brought them closer, but as she turns sixteen Caddy begins to wish she could be a bit more like Rosie – confident, funny and interesting. Then Suzanne comes into their lives: beautiful, damaged, exciting and mysterious, and things get a whole lot more complicated. As Suzanne’s past is revealed and her present begins to unravel, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be. But the course of both friendship and recovery is rougher than either girl realises, and Caddy is about to learn that downward spirals have a momentum of their own.
Beautiful Broken Things is a great look at what it means to be a good friend. We have three very different people who come together and have this great dynamic. Reading about them and their interactions, I would love to be a part of that friendship. It was like reading Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants all over again. At the beginning of the book, it starts to head in a direction I’m well familiar with, the dynamic between having three friends instead of two in a group. And I’m really glad that dynamic was explored throughout the book, but it wasn’t the main focus.
Well. What else to say about it without giving anything away!?!
I loved the writing. It’s beautiful and the words seemed to flow off the page. I felt Barnard used the writing to each of the characters advantages and each had their own unique voice, which is fantastic.
I also loved how relatable the main character was. Cad is, I think, like a lot of us. The parts I enjoyed reading is when Cad would hesitate, she would talk through her thought process and we could see exactly where we identify with her and where we divert. In addition, Cad spends an exorbitantly large amount of time doubting herself and that’s expressed not just through her thoughts, but also every sentence and dialogue she spends with Rosie, Suzanne and (highlight for spoiler) Tariq.
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