Blog Tour Review: Knee Deep – Jolene Perry

Reviewer’s Thoughts:

This isn’t your typical teenage romance book.  Instead, this is a story of a young girl caught in the fairytale of first love and what she goes through to understand that sometime Prince Charming isn’t the boy/man you thought he would be.

It’s always been Ronnie and Shawn.  Even when Shawn’s family moved away, Ronnie stayed faithful to the boy who was her first kiss and professed his undying love for her.  But when Ronnie’s family returned to town, Ronnie noticed Shawn wasn’t the same boy he was before.  He’s turned sullen, argumentative, possessive and very, very angry.  The one thing Ronnie isn’t willing to give up for Shawn is her role in the school’s production of Romeo and Juliet.  She figures it will be fun, especially since she’s playing opposite her best friend, Luke, who is Romeo.

Luke has always been there for Ronnie, even when Shawn wasn’t around.  But it’s not until the play that Luke’s true feelings for Ronnie start coming to the surface.  And when he suspects Shawn of hurting Ronnie, he has to battle not only his need to protect his best friend, but also himself when he realizes that despite everything Ronnie will not choose him.

It’s been a few days since I finished this book and I’m still at a loss of what to say that will do it justice.  Jolene Perry wrote a story that felt like a bird’s eye view to the emotional torment Ronnie went through with her relationship with Shawn, Luke, her parents and ultimately herself.  Ronnie was a girl who was so caught up in the image she had built of her relationship with Shawn, that she didn’t want to believe what was happening between the two of them.  She made excuses and blamed herself when Shawn would rage at her and would spin his apology into a warped sense of love.

Ronnie’s raw emotions, determination, and unwillingness to listen to others were perfectly captured as both teenage angst as well as someone who had been abused by a person who was supposed to unconditionally love her.

This was definitely a book that I could not put down once I started it.  It’s emotionally challenging and at times frustrating, but so worth it when we get to the final page.

eBook