“Breathe. No one will break me. I’m strong. Breathe. Just breathe.”
On the outside, Willow appears to have it all. She’s beautiful, smart, from an influential family, and she dates the most popular guy in school—Jaden. But she would walk away from it all in a second. Willow is tormented by lies and suffocating guilt, not the hearts and flowers people believe her life is full of.
She carries a dark secret. Plagued by nightmares and pain, the secret dominates her life. If she hadn't walked away. If she had just…but she didn’t. And now she has to live with her choice. But when someone uncovers her family’s past, they use it against her, crushing her spirit little by little. She tells herself she just has to make it to graduation. Then she can leave Middleton, and her secret, far behind.
When Brody transfers to Cassidy High, he turns Willow’s life upside down. He shows her what it feels like to live again, really live. And suddenly, she isn't satisfied with just surviving until graduation. She wants a normal life—with Brody—and he wants her. But the closer they become, the more it threatens to unravel the secret she’s worked so hard to hide.
Willow finds true love with Brody. Will she let his love save her, or walk away from him to keep her secret safe?
Review
This is one of those books. The kind of book which reels you in like a fish on a line. I was skeptical about this book in the beginning, mostly because I have read many books with a similar synopsis as this one. First thing that came to my mind was, "Oh no. Not another book where the heroine acts like her world is crumbling around her and it really isn't." But this book isn't like that at all. Unspeakable is a book showing the darker sides of life, a side not many people talk about. It's about betrayal and loss of trust in someone who should have protected you; it's about trying to deal with the cards life has given you, even if the burden is not yours to carry.
I was hooked from the first page. It's not a predictable plot, and when you think, "Yes, finally she gets a break!" it's only to be shoved back into the storm and ripped apart into a gagillion pieces. The main character, Willow, is relatable and likeable, and I wished at times I could have jumped into the book and given her a hug when the person who was supposed to help her didn't. Not many books get to me like this one did, and I think it's because I have known people who have been in Willow's situation.
There were only two issues (and a couple more teensy, tiny issues) that I had with this book. One was the character of Tim, one of Willow's friends. Though he is mentioned throughout the book and is given dialogue here and there, he felt more to me like a filler character. I would have liked to see him given a bigger role in helping Willow, like Jenna does throughout the book.
My second issue is certain stereotypes that made an appearance in this book. Specifically, it was the portrayal/description of the football players and cheerleaders that bothered me. I know a lot of fiction portrays jocks as dumb and cheerleaders as airhead bimbos, but that's not something that flies with me. Being stereotyped in real life is bad enough and I think it would be nice if it could be left out of books, as all it does is foster those negative stereotypes in real life.
There are some things that I noticed were left unresolved, but I hope since this is described as being the 1st book of a series that the issues are resolved/answered in later books.
Overall, this is a heart-wrenching read, and was docked a platypire for issues mentioned above. I'll be looking for the second book whenever it becomes available. Also, there is a prequel novella to this book available on Amazon, called Finding Willow.
Finally, I give this book 4 out of 5 well deserved Platypires.