Books I've Loved: Drowning Instinct

This book took my breath away.  It's dark, creepy, realistic and tragic all at the same time.  In other books where a kid falls for a teacher, I often wonder how they could be so stupid.  In this story, I never felt that way.  Everything that happens unfolds in a horribly, awful, but perfectly understandable way.

It's told as a police interview so right from the start you know something awful has happened and that Jenna, the MC is involved.  As the story unfolds, your sympathies switch from one character to another so quickly it's unsettling.  But it's that uncertainty and mistrust of everyone that keeps you turning the pages.

This is a book that will stay with you long after you've closed its covers.  It will cling to you like a film of dust to your skin and you'll find yourself thinking about it at odd moments of the day, wondering if maybe you missed something here, or misunderstood something there.

If you don't believe me, here's the blurb:

There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain... magnetism.

And there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.