Can't Look Away Review

Can't Look Away By Donna Cooner

Death is something I know well in my life. I've been through a few deaths myself and this book was something I think we help me with them. Torrey Grey is a beauty vlogger with her whole life on video for anyone to watch but after a drunk driver kills her sister in a car crash, her life is completely changed. She blames herself for her sister's death and so does many of her follows.

This book has a lot going for it. It shows the pain of losing someone and moving to a new city with the intent of helping the family move on. It shows the dying want of Torrey to fix in just as she did at her last high school, with the popular kids.

I think this book went well because of:

Characters:

This book has one of my favorite characters in it and they aren't even the main part of the book. Mrs. Annie Florence and Maria Rivera. They are a side character but I think they were amazing. The two are best friends and don't impact the main character very much. I think they are fun anyway. Maria is the grandma to Luis Rivera, the main love interest. From sugar skeletons to ice tea on the porch on a hot day, the two are great for each other and they made me smile.

From there, Luis Rivera. When I first meet him, I thought he would fit the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks but he turns into more. I love that not everything about he was just given to us when we wanted it. We learn about him the more we read about him. I think the best thing about him is how he doesn't push Torrey to talk about anything. He is there to listen to her and help her but he doesn't push to know the details. He knows about her vlog and YouTube videos but doesn't treat her like some big star. She is a normal girl who needs help with grieving her sister. He's a loveable character who had me rooting for him and Torrey to get together.

And for the main girl herself, Torrey Grey. Torrey Grey is a grieving, teenager who has hit it big in the world of YouTube. Her online presence as Beautystarz15 was one of the biggest parts of her life before her sister was killed. As the book went on, her need to check her accounts went down and so did the bed comments and blog posts about her. Torrey was a bit bland in the beginning but I think this was a choice by the author. Torrey is grieving the death of her sister and so she feels a bit distant from the world. Slow as the book goes on she becomes more fo herself. She becomes more full of life and we get to see the real Torrey Grey shin through.

Raylene Anderson was another high point for this book. The most relatable character through the whole thing. Raylene is Torrey's cousin. She was the girl she gave her rides to schools and was the bit annoying at times. Raylene was the character who I felt the closest to. She was about her cat and twirling. I think she was that bit in Torrey's life that she needed. Raylene is a girl who tries so hard but is always happy with the outcome. She looks on the bright side of things and even gets to be an alternate for the twirling team at her high school.

Blair Cummingham was a girl who I wish I could forget. She was a bit there. I understand that she is obsessed with the world and only cares about staying on top. I think there could have been more to her character. I think she is what Torrey could have become if she let herself. Blair is the top girl of the school, she tries to look the best, even if she is only borrowing clothes from a family member's shop and she hangs out with only the most popular kids at the school. It is a privilege, not a right, to sit with her. I think there wasn't much to her other than she is the popular girl.

And that leads to Mia Rogers, one of Blair's friends. She got a bit more character depth than Blair. She thinks that Torrey is a threat and is the one to tell everyone who Torrey is. She is jealous of Torrey and aims through the book to tear her down. I think Mia was a bit sad. She just wanted the approval of Blair and she though Torrey was getting in the way. There wasn't much else to her character.

I would like to comment on all three girls, Blair, Mia, and the other girl Emily. I think these three could have just been replaced with the three girls from Main Girls and you would be set for the book. They were there to create tension and drama. They weren't given much characterization. I don't think this is a bad thing but I just wished there was something more to them that I could have seen.

Moving on.

The story as a whole:

I think there is a good message behind it all. The story didn't feel rushed and each part worked with each other well. There wasn't any part of this novel where I was confused or lost. I think the one thing I would have changed was the love subplot. If you don't know, romance is not my thing but I'm experimenting with more romance novel and better written love stories. I think this novel rushed this a bit much. There were parts I think were spot on. I was all for the first kiss but towards the end I wasn't so much for it. I think the graveyard scene was a bit soon for there relationship but other than that I liked it.

For small parts, I can't complain too much. The biggest thing for me was the characters and their purpose in this novel. I feel like they fit this very cliches reason and I feel like there could have been more done with them.

One more thing, I have always had this question, how do you write a good climax in a realist fiction novel? This book's climax was amazing. I feel like this book has just the right amount of spirits and the dead compared to the living and how we see things. I was very happy with how things wrapped up with this novel.

Setting:

I'm not from Texas. Washington State is very different, I believe that Texas but with this novel, I feel like I have a better understanding of Texas. I liked how the Torrey wasn't from the area but compared it back to her home town. Anyone would have done this but I liked how it gave me a clearer picture of the area.

I feel like the town this story takes place is a very generic place. A coffee place, a Mexican restaurant, a high school. My very town has all this and more. I think the best place was the Morge and Cemetery. I have a thing where I find cemeteries very interesting. They can have old graves from hundreds of years back to recent as yesterday. Each person there has a story. I liked how the moral and lesson of this story tied in with a graveyard.

Can't Look Away is a book that I can't get off my mind. From the characters to the story keeps my mind running. I think for a middle schooler this book is good. Maybe even a freshman in high school. The story lesson is good and the story is one I've not read other places.

Want a quick read with a good story, pick this book up and give it a go.

~Kimberly