Saving 6 - Chloe Walsh

Sighhhhh, let’s talk about it. 

Unfortunately, this one is a no for me. For context, this book is the third in a series called ‘Boys of Tommen’.  The stories center around a family that faces domestic abuse from their alcoholic father. The first two books mainly focused on the sister’s story who was bullied both in school and at home. Most times, she was protected and defended by her elder brother, Joey. He served as protector, parent and somewhat of a provider for his younger siblings. Which brings us to the third book, his story. 

From what I’ve said, you can tell there was a lot to unpack in his story and I was looking forward to that. Having to be an adult when he’s still a child, battling addiction, not to mention just trying to get through high school. Joey was stuck between wanting to get out of an abusive home (almost 18) and staying to protect his siblings. As if all of that wasn’t enough, his mother likening him to his abusive father left him with a warped perception of himself. The guy was going through a lot. 

I was really REALLY looking forward to his story. So for it to be mostly about Aoife (his girlfriend) really threw me for a loop. I wouldn’t have minded, cause who doesn’t like a romance story, but she somehow managed to be the most annoying character I’ve encountered in a while. She seemed mature and understanding in the first two books so this shift was unexpected. I guess I should’ve been more understanding given that these are high school characters but something (everything) about Aoife just didn’t do it for me. I should also take that as my sign that YA books aren’t for me anymore. 

I tried to push past it because like I said, I was here for Joey’s story. Maybe it got better, maybe it didn’t. Sadly, that’ll remain a mystery for me. 

(If any of you have read it and want to tell me about it, I wouldn’t mind.)